---
title: The approximate date of the importation of rods into this country is… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics
description: The approximate date of the importation of rods into this country is probably known, and cannot be more than about sixty years ago, and most likely considerably less. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Opening, with its dependency tree and the pragmatics 
---

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# Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Opening, sentence 108

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The approximate date of the importation of rods into this country is probably known, and cannot be more than about sixty years ago, and most likely considerably less.

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**What happens:** know, not be, import · **To what, where:** approximate date, rods

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This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Opening. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.

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**Mova's own parse.** This tree may be wrong.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = book:pg70959:1:108
# text = The approximate date of the importation of rods into this country is probably known, and cannot be more than about sixty years ago, and most likely considerably less.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	approximate	approximate	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	date	date	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	importation	importation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	rods	rod	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	_
9	into	into	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	11	det	_	_
11	country	country	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
12	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	aux:pass	_	_
13	probably	probably	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
14	known	know	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
17	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	20	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	20	advmod	_	_
19	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	20	cop	_	_
20	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	23	advmod	_	_
21	than	than	ADP	IN	_	20	fixed	_	_
22	about	about	ADV	RB	_	23	advmod	_	_
23	sixty	sixty	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	24	nummod	_	_
24	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	25	obl:unmarked	_	_
25	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	31	punct	_	_
27	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	31	cc	_	_
28	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	29	advmod	_	_
29	likely	likely	ADV	RB	_	30	advmod	_	_
30	considerably	considerably	ADV	RB	_	31	advmod	_	_
31	less	less	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	14	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	14	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **know** | present · passive |  | the approximate date of the importation of rods into this country |  |  |  | ago, less, probably *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: subject=Stimulus |
| 2 | **not** **is** | can |  |  |  |  |  | more *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **import** |  |  | rods into this country |  |  |  |  | nom importation «act transitive»: of=patient |

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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.

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**Text:** «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Project Gutenberg book 70959 (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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