---
title: The next day the hare called all his company together, and told them… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics
description: The next day the hare called all his company together, and told them that he had nearly lost his life the previous day on account of his long tail, as he had sat down on an ant heap with his tail down one of the holes, and some animal inside had caught hold of it and tried to pull him inside to kill
---

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# Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxv.--how Two Bendega Young Men Changed Their Skins., part 2, sentence 75

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The next day the hare called all his company together, and told them that he had nearly lost his life the previous day on account of his long tail, as he had sat down on an ant heap with his tail down one of the holes, and some animal inside had caught hold of it and tried to pull him inside to kill him, but to save his life he had cut his tail off with a knife, and he strongly advised them to do the same.

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**Who acts:** day hare, hare, men · **What happens:** call, tell, lose, sit down, catch, try · **To what, where:** company, men, life, account, ant heap, animal · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xxv.--how Two Bendega Young Men Changed Their Skins., part 2. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (day hare, hare, men), 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:pg70959:19:75
# text = The next day the hare called all his company together, and told them that he had nearly lost his life the previous day on account of his long tail, as he had sat down on an ant heap with his tail down one of the holes, and some animal inside had caught hold of it and tried to pull him inside to kill him, but to save his life he had cut his tail off with a knife, and he strongly advised them to do the same.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	next	next	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	hare	hare	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
7	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	9	det:predet	_	_
8	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	company	company	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	xcomp	_	_
10	together	together	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
14	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	iobj	_	_
15	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	19	mark	_	_
16	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj	_	_
17	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	19	aux	_	_
18	nearly	nearly	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
19	lost	lose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	13	ccomp	_	_
20	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	21	nmod:poss	_	_
21	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obj	_	_
22	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
23	previous	previous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
24	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obl:unmarked	_	_
25	on	on	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
26	account	account	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obl	_	_
27	of	of	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
28	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	30	nmod:poss	_	_
29	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	30	amod	_	_
30	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	35	punct	_	_
32	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	35	mark	_	_
33	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	35	nsubj	_	_
34	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	35	aux	_	_
35	sat	sit	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	19	conj	_	_
36	down	down	ADP	RP	_	35	compound:prt	_	_
37	on	on	ADP	IN	_	40	case	_	_
38	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	40	det	_	_
39	ant	ant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	40	compound	_	_
40	heap	heap	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	35	obl	_	_
41	with	with	ADP	IN	_	43	case	_	_
42	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	43	nmod:poss	_	_
43	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	40	nmod	_	_
44	down	down	ADP	IN	_	45	case	_	_
45	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	35	obl	_	_
46	of	of	ADP	IN	_	48	case	_	_
47	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	48	det	_	_
48	holes	hole	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	45	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
49	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	55	punct	_	_
50	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	55	cc	_	_
51	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	52	det	_	_
52	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	55	nsubj:pass	_	_
53	inside	inside	ADV	RB	_	52	advmod	_	_
54	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	55	aux	_	_
55	caught	catch	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	parataxis	_	_
56	hold	hold	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	55	obj	_	_
57	of	of	ADP	IN	_	58	case	_	_
58	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	56	nmod	_	_
59	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	60	cc	_	_
60	tried	try	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	55	conj	_	_
61	to	to	PART	TO	_	62	mark	_	_
62	pull	pull	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	60	xcomp	_	_
63	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	62	obj	_	_
64	inside	inside	ADV	RB	_	62	advmod	_	_
65	to	to	PART	TO	_	66	mark	_	_
66	kill	kill	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	62	advcl	_	_
67	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	66	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
68	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	76	punct	_	_
69	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	76	cc	_	_
70	to	to	PART	TO	_	71	mark	_	_
71	save	save	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	76	advcl	_	_
72	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	73	nmod:poss	_	_
73	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	71	obj	_	_
74	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	76	nsubj	_	_
75	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	76	aux	_	_
76	cut	cut	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	55	parataxis	_	_
77	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	78	nmod:poss	_	_
78	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	76	obj	_	_
79	off	off	ADP	RP	_	76	compound:prt	_	_
80	with	with	ADP	IN	_	82	case	_	_
81	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	82	det	_	_
82	knife	knife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	76	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
83	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	87	punct	_	_
84	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	87	cc	_	_
85	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	87	nsubj	_	_
86	strongly	strongly	ADV	RB	_	87	advmod	_	_
87	advised	advise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	76	conj	_	_
88	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	87	obj	_	_
89	to	to	PART	TO	_	90	mark	_	_
90	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	87	xcomp	_	_
91	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	92	det	_	_
92	same	same	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	90	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
93	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | participle | the day hare *not said here* | hare's company |  |  |  | together *property* | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past |  |  | men *= man* |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent they=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 3 | **lose** | past · perfect | hare | hare's life |  | account of hare's long tail | day | nearly *property* | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent life=Eventuality |
| 4 | **sit down** | past · perfect | hare |  |  | a ant heap with hare's tail |  | down one of the holes | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent on heap=Location |
| 5 | **catch** | past · perfect · passive |  | some animal |  |  |  | hold of tail *obj* | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP.beneficiary NP»: subject=Beneficiary hold=Theme |
| 6 | **try** | past |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 7 | **pull** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | hare |  |  |  | inside *property* | vn push-12-1 «NP V NP ADJP-Result»: agent=Agent he=Result |
| 8 | **kill** | to-infinitive |  | hare |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |
| 9 | **save** | to-infinitive | hare *not said here* | hare's life |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent life=Theme |
| 10 | **cut off** | past · perfect | hare | hare's tail |  |  |  | with a knife | vn stop-55.4-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Affector tail=Eventuality |
| 11 | **advise** *speech: other* | past | hare | men *= man* |  |  |  | strongly *property* | vn advise-37.9-1 «NP V NP how S\_INF»: agent=Agent they=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 12 | **do** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | men *= man* *not said here* | the same |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent same=Eventuality |
| 14 | **account** |  |  | hare's long tail |  |  |  |  | nom account «communication transitive»: of=patient |
| 15 | **hold** |  |  | tail |  |  |  |  | nom hold «act transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .note -->
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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