---
title: A law was then passed that, if a husband caught another man in his h… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics
description: A law was then passed that, if a husband caught another man in his house having connection with his wife, he could do whatever he liked with him in the house, but once the man was outside the house, he should not be molested, and the case should be decided before the chiefs. Who acts: man, chief, ch
---

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# Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxiii.--why Edidor Killed Her Husband and Her Lover., sentence 156

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A law was then passed that, if a husband caught another man in his house having connection with his wife, he could do whatever he liked with him in the house, but once the man was outside the house, he should not be molested, and the case should be decided before the chiefs.

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**Who acts:** man, chief, chiefs · **What happens:** pass, catch, have, do, like, be · **To what, where:** law, husband, connection, whatever, house, chief

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This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xxiii.--why Edidor Killed Her Husband and Her Lover.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (man, chief, chiefs), 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:pg70959:17:156
# text = A law was then passed that, if a husband caught another man in his house having connection with his wife, he could do whatever he liked with him in the house, but once the man was outside the house, he should not be molested, and the case should be decided before the chiefs.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	law	law	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
4	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	5	advmod	_	_
5	passed	pass	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	husband	husband	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
11	caught	catch	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	conj	_	_
12	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	13	det	_	_
13	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	16	nmod:poss	_	_
16	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	_
17	having	have	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	13	acl	_	_
18	connection	connection	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
19	with	with	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	21	nmod:poss	_	_
21	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	25	punct	_	_
23	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	25	nsubj	_	_
24	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	25	aux	_	_
25	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	ccomp	_	_
26	whatever	whatever	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	28	obj	_	_
27	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	28	nsubj	_	_
28	liked	like	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	25	acl:relcl	_	_
29	with	with	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
30	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	28	obl	_	_
31	in	in	ADP	IN	_	33	case	_	_
32	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	33	det	_	_
33	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	28	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
34	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	48	punct	_	_
35	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	48	cc	_	_
36	once	once	SCONJ	IN	_	42	mark	_	_
37	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	38	det	_	_
38	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	42	nsubj	_	_
39	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	42	cop	_	_
40	outside	outside	ADP	IN	_	42	case	_	_
41	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	42	det	_	_
42	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	48	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
43	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	42	punct	_	_
44	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	48	nsubj	_	_
45	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	48	aux	_	_
46	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	48	advmod	_	_
47	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	48	aux:pass	_	_
48	molested	molest	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
49	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	55	punct	_	_
50	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	55	cc	_	_
51	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	52	det	_	_
52	case	case	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	55	nsubj:pass	_	_
53	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	55	aux	_	_
54	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	55	aux:pass	_	_
55	decided	decide	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	parataxis	_	_
56	before	before	ADP	IN	_	58	case	_	_
57	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	58	det	_	_
58	chiefs	chief	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	55	obl:agent	_	SpaceAfter=No
59	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pass** | past · passive |  | a law |  |  | then | that *obj* | vn give-13.1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: subject=Recipient that=Theme |
| 2 | **catch** *a condition, not said to happen* | participle · passive |  | a husband |  |  |  | another man *obj* | tree rules |
| 3 | **have** | gerund | another man *not said here* | connection |  |  |  | with chief's wife | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent connection=Patient |
| 4 | **do** | could | chief |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **like** | past | chief | whatever |  | the house |  | with husband | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot whatever=Theme |
| 6 | **is** | past | the man |  |  |  |  | outside the house | tree rules |
| 7 | **not** **molest** | should · passive |  | chief |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Experiencer |
| 8 | **decide** | should · passive | the chiefs | the case |  |  |  |  | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent subject=Topic |

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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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