--- title: The hare managed with some difficulty to climb down the tree, but wh… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: The hare managed with some difficulty to climb down the tree, but when he reached the ground he was afraid to cross over to the land from the island, as he thought the alligators or big fish might catch him. Who acts: friend, alligators. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elp --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/16/18/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/) / [Xxii.--a Story of the Great Famine.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/16/) / 18 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxii.--a Story of the Great Famine., sentence 18 The hare managed with some difficulty to climb down the tree, but when he reached the ground he was afraid to cross over to the land from the island, as he thought the alligators or big fish might catch him. **Who acts:** friend, alligators · **What happens:** manage, climb down, reach, be, cross over, think · **To what, where:** hare, tree, ground, island, friend · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xxii.--a Story of the Great Famine.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (friend, alligators), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree. **Mova's own parse.** This tree may be wrong. ## The tree {#tree} ```conllu # sent_id = book:pg70959:16:18 # text = The hare managed with some difficulty to climb down the tree, but when he reached the ground he was afraid to cross over to the land from the island, as he thought the alligators or big fish might catch him. 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 hare hare NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 nsubj:pass _ _ 3 managed manage VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 0 root _ _ 4 with with ADP IN _ 6 case _ _ 5 some some DET DT PronType=Ind 6 det _ _ 6 difficulty difficulty NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 obl _ _ 7 to to PART TO _ 8 mark _ _ 8 climb climb VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 3 advcl _ _ 9 down down ADP RP _ 8 compound:prt _ _ 10 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 11 det _ _ 11 tree tree NOUN NN Number=Sing 8 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 12 , , PUNCT , _ 16 punct _ _ 13 but but CCONJ CC _ 16 cc _ _ 14 when when SCONJ WRB _ 16 mark _ _ 15 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 16 nsubj _ _ 16 reached reach VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 parataxis _ _ 17 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 18 det _ _ 18 ground ground NOUN NN Number=Sing 16 obj _ _ 19 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 21 nsubj _ _ 20 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 21 cop _ _ 21 afraid afraid ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 16 advcl _ _ 22 to to PART TO _ 23 mark _ _ 23 cross cross VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 21 xcomp _ _ 24 over over ADV RB _ 23 advmod _ _ 25 to to ADP IN _ 27 case _ _ 26 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 27 det _ _ 27 land land NOUN NN Number=Sing 23 obl _ _ 28 from from ADP IN _ 30 case _ _ 29 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 30 det _ _ 30 island island NOUN NN Number=Sing 23 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 31 , , PUNCT , _ 34 punct _ _ 32 as as SCONJ IN _ 34 mark _ _ 33 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 34 nsubj _ _ 34 thought think VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 16 conj _ _ 35 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 36 det _ _ 36 alligators alligator NOUN NNS Number=Plur 41 nsubj _ _ 37 or or CCONJ CC _ 39 cc _ _ 38 big big ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 39 amod _ _ 39 fish fish NOUN NN Number=Sing 36 conj _ _ 40 might might AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 41 aux _ _ 41 catch catch VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 34 ccomp _ _ 42 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 41 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 43 . . PUNCT . _ 3 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **manage** | participle · passive | | the hare | | | | with some difficulty | vn caring-75.2-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme | | 2 | **climb down** | to-infinitive | | the tree | | | | | vn run-51.3.2 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Initial\_Location tree=Theme | | 3 | **reach** | past | friend | the ground | | | | | vn body\_motion-49.2-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Agent ground=Theme | | 4 | **is** | past | friend | | | | | afraid *property* | tree rules | | 5 | **cross over** | to-infinitive | friend *not said here* | | | the island | | to the land; over *property* | vn escape-51.1-1-3 «NP V PP.initial\_location PP.destination»: agent=Theme to land=Initial\_Location from island=Destination | | 6 | **think** *speech: other* | past | friend | | | | | | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme | | 7 | **catch** | might | the alligators or big fish | friend | | | | | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=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:** «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. - ← previous: [sentence 17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/16/17/) - next →: [sentence 19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/16/19/) - ↑ back to [Xxii.--a Story of the Great Famine.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/16/)