--- title: When Chief Erim had been dead two years, the head slave called all t… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: When Chief Erim had been dead two years, the head slave called all the other slaves together, and said that the time had arrived when Oga Erim must die, as he did not think that they would be suspected if they were careful. Who acts: Chief, head slave, time, Oga. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories fro --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/20/47/) [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/) / [Xxv.--how Two Bendega Young Men Change…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/20/) / 47 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxv.--how Two Bendega Young Men Changed Their Skins., part 3, sentence 47 When Chief Erim had been dead two years, the head slave called all the other slaves together, and said that the time had arrived when Oga Erim must die, as he did not think that they would be suspected if they were careful. **Who acts:** Chief, head slave, time, Oga, slaves · **What happens:** be, call, say, arrive, die, not think · **To what, where:** other slaves, slaves · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xxv.--how Two Bendega Young Men Changed Their Skins., part 3. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (Chief, head slave, time, Oga), 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:pg70959:20:47 # text = When Chief Erim had been dead two years, the head slave called all the other slaves together, and said that the time had arrived when Oga Erim must die, as he did not think that they would be suspected if they were careful. 1 When when ADV WRB PronType=Int 6 advmod _ _ 2 Chief Chief PROPN NNP Number=Sing 6 nsubj _ _ 3 Erim Erim PROPN NNP Number=Sing 2 flat _ _ 4 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 6 aux _ _ 5 been be AUX VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 6 cop _ _ 6 dead dead ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 8 amod _ _ 7 two two NUM CD NumForm=Word|NumType=Card 8 nummod _ _ 8 years year NOUN NNS Number=Plur 21 obl:unmarked _ SpaceAfter=No 9 , , PUNCT , _ 12 punct _ _ 10 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 12 det _ _ 11 head head NOUN NN Number=Sing 12 compound _ _ 12 slave slave NOUN NN Number=Sing 8 conj _ _ 13 called call VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 12 acl _ _ 14 all all DET PDT PronType=Tot 17 det:predet _ _ 15 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 17 det _ _ 16 other other ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 17 amod _ _ 17 slaves slave NOUN NNS Number=Plur 13 xcomp _ _ 18 together together ADV RB _ 13 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 19 , , PUNCT , _ 21 punct _ _ 20 and and CCONJ CC _ 21 cc _ _ 21 said say VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 22 that that SCONJ IN _ 26 mark _ _ 23 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 24 det _ _ 24 time time NOUN NN Number=Sing 26 nsubj _ _ 25 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 26 aux _ _ 26 arrived arrive VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 31 advcl _ _ 27 when when ADV WRB PronType=Int 31 advmod _ _ 28 Oga Oga PROPN NNP Number=Sing 31 nsubj _ _ 29 Erim Erim PROPN NNP Number=Sing 28 flat _ _ 30 must must AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 31 aux _ _ 31 die die VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 21 ccomp _ SpaceAfter=No 32 , , PUNCT , _ 37 punct _ _ 33 as as SCONJ IN _ 37 mark _ _ 34 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 37 nsubj _ _ 35 did do AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 37 aux _ _ 36 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 37 advmod _ _ 37 think think VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 31 conj _ _ 38 that that SCONJ IN _ 42 mark _ _ 39 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 42 nsubj:pass _ _ 40 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 42 aux _ _ 41 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 42 aux:pass _ _ 42 suspected suspect VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 37 ccomp _ _ 43 if if SCONJ IN _ 46 mark _ _ 44 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 46 nsubj _ _ 45 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 46 cop _ _ 46 careful careful ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 42 advcl _ SpaceAfter=No 47 . . PUNCT . _ 21 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is** | past · perfect | Chief | | | | | dead *property* | tree rules | | 2 | **call** | participle | the head slave *not said here* | all other slaves | | | | together *property* | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | | 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | | | | | year | | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 4 | **arrive** | past · perfect | the time | | | | | | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 5 | **die** | must | Oga | | | | | | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute | | 6 | **not** **think** *speech: other* | past · do-support | Oga | | | | | | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme | | 7 | **suspect** | would · passive | | slaves *= slave* | | | | | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V NP ADJ»: subject=Attribute | | 8 | **is** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | slaves *= slave* | | | | | careful *property* | tree rules | 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 46](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/20/46/) - next →: [sentence 48](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/20/48/) - ↑ back to [Xxv.--how Two Bendega Young Men Changed Their Skins., part 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/20/)