---
title: It is always possible, of course, in these cases, that poison may ha… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics
description: It is always possible, of course, in these cases, that poison may have been administered, but it is most difficult to get any proof. Who acts: ju. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Opening, with its dependency tree and the pragmatics of every clause.
---

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# Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Opening, sentence 76

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It is always possible, of course, in these cases, that poison may have been administered, but it is most difficult to get any proof.

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**Who acts:** ju · **What happens:** be, administer, get · **To what, where:** poison, cases, proof

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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: who acts (ju), 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:pg70959:1:76
# text = It is always possible, of course, in these cases, that poison may have been administered, but it is most difficult to get any proof.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	4	advmod	_	_
4	possible	possible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	course	course	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	these	this	DET	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	11	det	_	_
11	cases	case	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
13	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	14	det	_	_
14	poison	poison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
15	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	18	aux	_	_
16	have	have	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	aux	_	_
17	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	18	aux:pass	_	_
18	administered	administer	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
20	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	24	cc	_	_
21	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	24	expl	_	_
22	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	24	cop	_	_
23	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	24	advmod	_	_
24	difficult	difficult	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	_
25	to	to	PART	TO	_	26	mark	_	_
26	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	24	csubj	_	_
27	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	28	det	_	_
28	proof	proof	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | ju |  |  |  |  | of course; always, possible *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **administer** | may · perfect · passive |  | that poison |  | this cases |  |  | vn contribute-13.2-1-1 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: subject=Theme |
| 3 | **is** | present | ju *not said here* |  |  |  |  | difficult *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **get** | to-infinitive |  | any proof |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer proof=Stimulus |

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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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