Just so stories, How the Alphabet Was Made, sentence 295

They turned the hissy-snake the other way round for the Z-sound, to show it was hissing backwards in a soft and gentle way (23); and they just made a twiddle for E, because it came into the pictures so often (24); and they drew pictures of the sacred Beaver of the Tegumais for the B-sound (25, 26, 27, 28); and because it was a nasty, nosy noise, they just drew noses for the N-sound, till they were tired (29); and they drew a picture of the big lake-pike’s mouth for the greedy Ga-sound (30); and they drew the pike’s mouth again with a spear behind it for the scratchy, hurty Ka-sound (31); and they drew pictures of a little bit of the winding Wagai river for the nice windy-windy Wa-sound (32, 33); and so on and so forth and so following till they had done and drawn all the sound-pictures that they wanted, and there was the Alphabet, all complete.

Who acts: pictures, Many, sound pictures, Alphabet · What happens: turn, show, hiss, make, come, draw · To what, where: hissy snake, soft way, twiddle, 24, pictures, nasty nosy noise · Speech: someone speaks here

This is a sentence of «Just so stories» by Rudyard Kipling, How the Alphabet Was Made. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (pictures, Many, sound pictures, Alphabet), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.

Parsed by Mova, not checked by a teacher. This tree is Mova's own parse (the en model, on the CPU, when the site is built); it may be wrong.

The tree

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	They	they	PRON	Case=Nom Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 turned	nsubj
2	turned	turn	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	6 snake	det
4	hissy	hissy	NOUN	Number=Sing	6 snake	compound
5	-	-	PUNCT	_	4 hissy	punct
6	snake	snake	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 turned	obj
7	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	9 way	det
8	other	other	ADJ	Degree=Pos	9 way	amod
9	way	way	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 round	obl:unmarked
10	round	round	ADV	_	2 turned	advmod
11	for	for	ADP	_	15 sound	case
12	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	15 sound	det
13	Z	z	NOUN	Number=Sing	15 sound	compound
14	-	-	PUNCT	_	13 Z	punct
15	sound	sound	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 turned	obl
16	,	,	PUNCT	_	18 show	punct
17	to	to	PART	_	18 show	mark
18	show	show	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	2 turned	advcl
19	it	it	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	21 hissing	nsubj
20	was	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	21 hissing	aux
21	hissing	hiss	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	18 show	ccomp
22	backwards	backwards	ADV	_	21 hissing	advmod
23	in	in	ADP	_	28 way	case
24	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	28 way	det
25	soft	soft	ADJ	Degree=Pos	28 way	amod
26	and	and	CCONJ	_	27 gentle	cc
27	gentle	gentle	ADJ	Degree=Pos	25 soft	conj
28	way	way	NOUN	Number=Sing	21 hissing	obl
29	(	(	PUNCT	_	30 23	punct
30	23	23	NUM	NumForm=Digit NumType=Card	28 way	appos
31	)	)	PUNCT	_	30 23	punct
32	;	;	PUNCT	_	36 made	punct
33	and	and	CCONJ	_	36 made	cc
34	they	they	PRON	Case=Nom Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Prs	36 made	nsubj
35	just	just	ADV	_	36 made	advmod
36	made	make	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 turned	parataxis
37	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	38 twiddle	det
38	twiddle	twiddle	NOUN	Number=Sing	36 made	obj
39	for	for	ADP	_	40 E	case
40	E	E	PROPN	Number=Sing	38 twiddle	nmod
41	,	,	PUNCT	_	44 came	punct
42	because	because	SCONJ	_	44 came	mark
43	it	it	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	44 came	nsubj
44	came	come	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	36 made	conj
45	into	into	ADP	_	47 pictures	case
46	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	47 pictures	det
47	pictures	picture	NOUN	Number=Plur	44 came	obl
48	so	so	ADV	_	49 often	advmod
49	often	often	ADV	_	51 24	advmod
50	(	(	PUNCT	_	51 24	punct
51	24	24	NUM	NumForm=Digit NumType=Card	44 came	obl
52	)	)	PUNCT	_	51 24	punct
53	;	;	PUNCT	_	56 drew	punct
54	and	and	CCONJ	_	56 drew	cc
55	they	they	PRON	Case=Nom Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Prs	56 drew	nsubj
56	drew	draw	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 turned	conj
57	pictures	picture	NOUN	Number=Plur	56 drew	obj
58	of	of	ADP	_	61 Beaver	case
59	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	61 Beaver	det
60	sacred	sacred	ADJ	Degree=Pos	61 Beaver	amod
61	Beaver	Beaver	PROPN	Number=Sing	57 pictures	nmod
62	of	of	ADP	_	64 Tegumais	case
63	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	64 Tegumais	det
64	Tegumais	Tegumais	PROPN	Number=Sing	61 Beaver	nmod
65	for	for	ADP	_	69 sound	case
66	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	69 sound	det
67	B	B	NOUN	Number=Sing	69 sound	compound
68	-	-	PUNCT	_	67 B	punct
69	sound	sound	NOUN	Number=Sing	56 drew	obl
70	(	(	PUNCT	_	71 25	punct
71	25	25	NUM	NumForm=Digit NumType=Card	69 sound	appos
72	,	,	PUNCT	_	73 26	punct
73	26	26	NUM	NumForm=Digit NumType=Card	71 25	conj
74	,	,	PUNCT	_	75 27	punct
75	27	27	NUM	NumForm=Digit NumType=Card	71 25	flat
76	,	,	PUNCT	_	77 28	punct
77	28	28	NUM	NumForm=Digit NumType=Card	71 25	conj
78	)	)	PUNCT	_	71 25	punct
79	;	;	PUNCT	_	92 drew	punct
80	and	and	CCONJ	_	92 drew	cc
81	because	because	SCONJ	_	88 noise	mark
82	it	it	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	88 noise	nsubj
83	was	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	88 noise	cop
84	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	88 noise	det
85	nasty	nasty	ADJ	Degree=Pos	88 noise	amod
86	,	,	PUNCT	_	85 nasty	punct
87	nosy	nosy	ADJ	Degree=Pos	88 noise	amod
88	noise	noise	NOUN	Number=Sing	92 drew	advcl
89	,	,	PUNCT	_	88 noise	punct
90	they	they	PRON	Case=Nom Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Prs	92 drew	nsubj
91	just	just	ADV	_	92 drew	advmod
92	drew	draw	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 turned	conj
93	noses	nose	NOUN	Number=Plur	92 drew	obj
94	for	for	ADP	_	98 sound	case
95	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	98 sound	det
96	N	N	PROPN	Number=Sing	98 sound	compound
97	-	-	PUNCT	_	96 N	punct
98	sound	sound	NOUN	Number=Sing	92 drew	obl
99	,	,	PUNCT	_	103 tired	punct
100	till	till	SCONJ	_	103 tired	mark
101	they	they	PRON	Case=Nom Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Prs	103 tired	nsubj
102	were	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	103 tired	cop
103	tired	tired	ADJ	Degree=Pos	92 drew	advcl
104	(	(	PUNCT	_	105 29	punct
105	29	29	NUM	NumForm=Digit NumType=Card	103 tired	obl
106	)	)	PUNCT	_	105 29	punct
107	;	;	PUNCT	_	110 drew	punct
108	and	and	CCONJ	_	110 drew	cc
109	they	they	PRON	Case=Nom Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Prs	110 drew	nsubj
110	drew	draw	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 turned	conj
111	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	112 picture	det
112	picture	picture	NOUN	Number=Sing	110 drew	obj
113	of	of	ADP	_	120 mouth	case
114	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	118 pike	det
115	big	big	ADJ	Degree=Pos	118 pike	amod
116	lake	lake	NOUN	Number=Sing	118 pike	compound
117	-	-	PUNCT	_	116 lake	punct
118	pike	pike	NOUN	Number=Sing	120 mouth	nmod:poss
119	’s	's	PART	_	118 pike	case
120	mouth	mouth	NOUN	Number=Sing	112 picture	nmod
121	for	for	ADP	_	126 sound	case
122	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	126 sound	det
123	greedy	greedy	ADJ	Degree=Pos	126 sound	amod
124	Ga	Ga	PROPN	Number=Sing	126 sound	compound
125	-	-	PUNCT	_	124 Ga	punct
126	sound	sound	NOUN	Number=Sing	110 drew	obl
127	(	(	PUNCT	_	128 30	punct
128	30	30	NUM	NumForm=Digit NumType=Card	126 sound	appos
129	)	)	PUNCT	_	128 30	punct
130	;	;	PUNCT	_	133 drew	punct
131	and	and	CCONJ	_	133 drew	cc
132	they	they	PRON	Case=Nom Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Prs	133 drew	nsubj
133	drew	draw	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 turned	conj
134	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	135 pike	det
135	pike	pike	NOUN	Number=Sing	137 mouth	nmod:poss
136	’s	's	PART	_	135 pike	case
137	mouth	mouth	NOUN	Number=Sing	133 drew	obj
138	again	again	ADV	_	133 drew	advmod
139	with	with	ADP	_	141 spear	case
140	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	141 spear	det
141	spear	spear	NOUN	Number=Sing	133 drew	obl
142	behind	behind	ADP	_	143 it	case
143	it	it	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	141 spear	nmod
144	for	for	ADP	_	151 sound	case
145	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	151 sound	det
146	scratchy	scratchy	ADJ	Degree=Pos	151 sound	amod
147	,	,	PUNCT	_	146 scratchy	punct
148	hurty	hurty	ADJ	Degree=Pos	151 sound	amod
149	Ka	Ka	PROPN	Number=Sing	151 sound	compound
150	-	-	PUNCT	_	149 Ka	punct
151	sound	sound	NOUN	Number=Sing	133 drew	obl
152	(	(	PUNCT	_	153 31	punct
153	31	31	NUM	NumForm=Digit NumType=Card	151 sound	appos
154	)	)	PUNCT	_	153 31	punct
155	;	;	PUNCT	_	158 drew	punct
156	and	and	CCONJ	_	158 drew	cc
157	they	they	PRON	Case=Nom Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Prs	158 drew	nsubj
158	drew	draw	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 turned	conj
159	pictures	picture	NOUN	Number=Plur	158 drew	obj
160	of	of	ADP	_	163 bit	case
161	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	163 bit	det
162	little	little	ADJ	Degree=Pos	163 bit	amod
163	bit	bit	NOUN	Number=Sing	159 pictures	nmod
164	of	of	ADP	_	168 river	case
165	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	168 river	det
166	winding	wind	VERB	VerbForm=Ger	168 river	amod
167	Wagai	Wagai	PROPN	Number=Sing	168 river	compound
168	river	river	NOUN	Number=Sing	163 bit	nmod
169	for	for	ADP	_	177 sound	case
170	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	177 sound	det
171	nice	nice	ADJ	Degree=Pos	177 sound	amod
172	windy	windy	ADJ	Degree=Pos	174 windy	amod
173	-	-	PUNCT	_	172 windy	punct
174	windy	windy	ADJ	Degree=Pos	177 sound	amod
175	Wa	Wa	PROPN	Number=Sing	177 sound	compound
176	-	-	PUNCT	_	175 Wa	punct
177	sound	sound	NOUN	Number=Sing	168 river	nmod
178	(	(	PUNCT	_	179 32	punct
179	32	32	NUM	NumForm=Digit NumType=Card	177 sound	appos
180	,	,	PUNCT	_	181 33	punct
181	33	33	NUM	NumForm=Digit NumType=Card	179 32	flat
182	)	)	PUNCT	_	179 32	punct
183	;	;	PUNCT	_	186 on	punct
184	and	and	CCONJ	_	186 on	cc
185	so	so	ADV	_	186 on	advmod
186	on	on	ADV	_	2 turned	advmod
187	and	and	CCONJ	_	189 forth	cc
188	so	so	ADV	_	189 forth	advmod
189	forth	forth	ADV	_	186 on	conj
190	and	and	CCONJ	_	192 following	cc
191	so	so	ADV	_	192 following	advmod
192	following	follow	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	2 turned	conj
193	till	till	SCONJ	_	196 done	mark
194	they	they	PRON	Case=Nom Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Prs	196 done	nsubj
195	had	have	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	196 done	aux
196	done	do	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part	192 following	advcl
197	and	and	CCONJ	_	198 drawn	cc
198	drawn	draw	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part	196 done	conj
199	all	all	DET	PronType=Tot	203 pictures	det:predet
200	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	203 pictures	det
201	sound	sound	NOUN	Number=Sing	203 pictures	compound
202	-	-	PUNCT	_	201 sound	punct
203	pictures	picture	NOUN	Number=Plur	196 done	obl
204	that	that	PRON	PronType=Rel	206 wanted	nsubj
205	they	they	PRON	Case=Nom Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Prs	206 wanted	nsubj
206	wanted	want	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	203 pictures	acl:relcl
207	,	,	PUNCT	_	210 was	punct
208	and	and	CCONJ	_	210 was	cc
209	there	there	PRON	PronType=Dem	210 was	expl
210	was	be	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 turned	parataxis
211	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	212 Alphabet	det
212	Alphabet	Alphabet	PROPN	Number=Sing	210 was	nsubj
213	,	,	PUNCT	_	215 complete	punct
214	all	all	DET	PronType=Tot	215 complete	det
215	complete	complete	ADJ	Degree=Pos	212 Alphabet	amod
216	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 turned	punct

Pragmatics

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	turn	past	pictures = picture	the hissy snake			for the Z sound; round property	vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V ADJ.result»: agent=Theme snake=Result
2	show	to-infinitive	pictures = picture not said here					vn transfer_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic
3	hiss	past · progressive	Many		a soft way		backwards property	vn sound_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in way=Location
4	make	past	pictures = picture	a twiddle			for E	vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent twiddle=Product for e=Beneficiary
5	come	past	Many	24	the pictures			vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial_location»: agent=Theme into picture=Initial_Location
6	draw	past	pictures = picture	pictures of the sacred Beaver of the Tegumais			for the B sound	vn create-26.4-1-1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent picture=Result for sound=Beneficiary
7	is a	past	Many	a nasty nosy noise				tree rules
8	draw	past	pictures = picture	noses			for the N sound	vn create-26.4-1-1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent nose=Result for sound=Beneficiary
9	is	past	pictures = picture				29 obl; tired property	tree rules
10	draw	past	pictures = picture	a picture of the big lake pike's mouth			for the greedy Ga sound	vn create-26.4-1-1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent picture=Result for sound=Beneficiary
11	draw	past	pictures = picture	the pike's mouth		again	with a spear behind Many; for the scratchy hurty Ka sound	vn create-26.4-1-1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent mouth=Result for sound=Beneficiary
12	draw	past	pictures = picture	pictures of a little bit of the winding Wagai river for the nice windy Wa sound				vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent picture=Theme
13	wind	gerund						vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme
14	follow	gerund	pictures = picture not said here					vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
15	do	past · perfect	pictures = picture	all sound pictures				vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent
16	draw	participle	pictures = picture not said here					vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent
17	want	past	all sound pictures					vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S_INF»: agent=Pivot
18	be	past	the Alphabet		there			vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme

One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

Text: «Just so stories» by Rudyard Kipling, Project Gutenberg book 2781 (public domain in the USA). Tree: Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. Frames: Mova's frames reader (prag), the chapter read in order.

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