--- title: Ever since that time it has been a custom, whenever a person is abse… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: Ever since that time it has been a custom, whenever a person is absent when a sick relative dies and wishes to bury him, he first of all finds out how much property there is before he buys things for the funeral, so as to be quite certain that there will be enough to pay for all the expenses of the --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/21/8/) [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/pg70959/21/) / 8 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxv.--how Two Bendega Young Men Changed Their Skins., part 4, sentence 8 Ever since that time it has been a custom, whenever a person is absent when a sick relative dies and wishes to bury him, he first of all finds out how much property there is before he buys things for the funeral, so as to be quite certain that there will be enough to pay for all the expenses of the burial. **Who acts:** body, person, sick relative, much property, certain · **What happens:** be, die, wish, bury, find out, buy · **To what, where:** custom, relative, much property, things This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xxv.--how Two Bendega Young Men Changed Their Skins., part 4. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (body, person, sick relative, much property), 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:pg70959:21:8 # text = Ever since that time it has been a custom, whenever a person is absent when a sick relative dies and wishes to bury him, he first of all finds out how much property there is before he buys things for the funeral, so as to be quite certain that there will be enough to pay for all the expenses of the burial. 1 Ever ever ADV RB PronType=Ind 0 root _ _ 2 since since ADP IN _ 4 case _ _ 3 that that DET DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 4 det _ _ 4 time time NOUN NN Number=Sing 1 obl _ _ 5 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 9 nsubj _ _ 6 has have AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 9 aux _ _ 7 been be AUX VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 9 cop _ _ 8 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 9 det _ _ 9 custom custom NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 acl:relcl _ SpaceAfter=No 10 , , PUNCT , _ 15 punct _ _ 11 whenever whenever ADV WRB PronType=Rel 15 advmod _ _ 12 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 13 det _ _ 13 person person NOUN NN Number=Sing 15 nsubj _ _ 14 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 15 cop _ _ 15 absent absent ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 9 conj _ _ 16 when when SCONJ WRB _ 20 mark _ _ 17 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 19 det _ _ 18 sick sick ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 19 amod _ _ 19 relative relative NOUN NN Number=Sing 20 nsubj _ _ 20 dies die VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 15 advcl _ _ 21 and and CCONJ CC _ 22 cc _ _ 22 wishes wish VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 20 conj _ _ 23 to to PART TO _ 24 mark _ _ 24 bury bury VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 22 xcomp _ _ 25 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 24 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 26 , , PUNCT , _ 31 punct _ _ 27 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 31 nsubj _ _ 28 first first ADV RB NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord 31 advmod _ _ 29 of of ADP IN _ 30 case _ _ 30 all all DET DT PronType=Tot 28 obl _ _ 31 finds find VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 15 parataxis _ _ 32 out out ADP RP _ 31 compound:prt _ _ 33 how how ADV WRB PronType=Int 34 advmod _ _ 34 much much ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 35 amod _ _ 35 property property NOUN NN Number=Sing 31 obj _ _ 36 there there PRON EX PronType=Dem 37 expl _ _ 37 is be VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 35 acl:relcl _ _ 38 before before SCONJ IN _ 40 mark _ _ 39 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 40 nsubj _ _ 40 buys buy VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 31 advcl _ _ 41 things thing NOUN NNS Number=Plur 40 obj _ _ 42 for for ADP IN _ 44 case _ _ 43 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 44 det _ _ 44 funeral funeral NOUN NN Number=Sing 40 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 45 , , PUNCT , _ 51 punct _ _ 46 so so ADV RB _ 51 advmod _ _ 47 as as SCONJ IN _ 51 mark _ _ 48 to to PART TO _ 51 mark _ _ 49 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 51 cop _ _ 50 quite quite ADV RB _ 51 advmod _ _ 51 certain certain ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 56 nsubj _ _ 52 that that SCONJ IN _ 55 mark _ _ 53 there there PRON EX PronType=Dem 55 expl _ _ 54 will will AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 55 aux _ _ 55 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 56 cop _ _ 56 enough enough ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 31 conj _ _ 57 to to PART TO _ 58 mark _ _ 58 pay pay VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 56 advcl _ _ 59 for for ADP IN _ 62 case _ _ 60 all all DET PDT PronType=Tot 62 det:predet _ _ 61 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 62 det _ _ 62 expenses expense NOUN NNS Number=Plur 58 obl _ _ 63 of of ADP IN _ 65 case _ _ 64 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 65 det _ _ 65 burial burial NOUN NN Number=Sing 62 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 66 . . PUNCT . _ 1 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is a** | present · perfect | body | a custom | | | | | tree rules | | 2 | **is** | present | a person | | | | | absent, whenever *property* | tree rules | | 3 | **die** | present | a sick relative | | | | | | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute | | 4 | **wish** | present | a sick relative *not said here* | | | | | | vn wish-62 «NP V for NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme | | 5 | **bury** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | a sick relative *not said here* | relative | | | | | vn put-9.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme | | 6 | **find out** | present | person | much property | | | | first *property* | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent property=Topic | | 7 | **be** | present | much property *not said here* | | | there | | | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 8 | **buy** | present | person | things | | | | for the funeral | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent thing=Theme for funeral=Beneficiary | | 9 | **is** | to-infinitive | | | | | | certain *property* | tree rules | | 10 | **is** | infinitive | certain | | | | | enough *property* | tree rules | | 11 | **pay** | to-infinitive | certain *not said here* | | | | | for all expenses of the burial | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent for expense=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 7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/21/7/) - next →: [sentence 9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/21/9/) - ↑ back to [Xxv.--how Two Bendega Young Men Changed Their Skins., part 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/21/)