--- title: Just before it got dark the animals began to arrive at the spot wher… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: Just before it got dark the animals began to arrive at the spot where the python had collected his nuts and fruit, and, being very hungry, they asked the python to allow them to eat some of his palm nuts. Who acts: way, dark animals, nuts, python. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Niger --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/22/12/) [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/) / [Xxix.--why a Python Never Swallows a T…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/22/) / 12 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxix.--why a Python Never Swallows a Tortoise., sentence 12 Just before it got dark the animals began to arrive at the spot where the python had collected his nuts and fruit, and, being very hungry, they asked the python to allow them to eat some of his palm nuts. **Who acts:** way, dark animals, nuts, python · **What happens:** get, begin, arrive, collect, be, ask · **To what, where:** spot, python, nuts, some This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xxix.--why a Python Never Swallows a Tortoise.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (way, dark animals, nuts, python), 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:pg70959:22:12 # text = Just before it got dark the animals began to arrive at the spot where the python had collected his nuts and fruit, and, being very hungry, they asked the python to allow them to eat some of his palm nuts. 1 Just just ADV RB _ 4 advmod _ _ 2 before before SCONJ IN _ 4 mark _ _ 3 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 4 nsubj _ _ 4 got get VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 5 dark dark ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 7 amod _ _ 6 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 7 det _ _ 7 animals animal NOUN NNS Number=Plur 8 nsubj _ _ 8 began begin VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 4 parataxis _ _ 9 to to PART TO _ 10 mark _ _ 10 arrive arrive VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 8 xcomp _ _ 11 at at ADP IN _ 13 case _ _ 12 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 13 det _ _ 13 spot spot NOUN NN Number=Sing 10 obl _ _ 14 where where ADV WRB PronType=Rel 18 advmod _ _ 15 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 16 det _ _ 16 python python NOUN NN Number=Sing 18 nsubj:pass _ _ 17 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 18 aux _ _ 18 collected collect VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 13 acl:relcl _ _ 19 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 20 nmod:poss _ _ 20 nuts nut NOUN NNS Number=Plur 18 obj _ _ 21 and and CCONJ CC _ 22 cc _ _ 22 fruit fruit NOUN NN Number=Sing 20 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 23 , , PUNCT , _ 28 punct _ _ 24 and and CCONJ CC _ 28 cc _ SpaceAfter=No 25 , , PUNCT , _ 28 punct _ _ 26 being be AUX VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 28 cop _ _ 27 very very ADV RB _ 28 advmod _ _ 28 hungry hungry ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 4 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 29 , , PUNCT , _ 31 punct _ _ 30 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 31 nsubj _ _ 31 asked ask VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 4 conj _ _ 32 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 33 det _ _ 33 python python NOUN NN Number=Sing 31 obj _ _ 34 to to PART TO _ 35 mark _ _ 35 allow allow VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 31 xcomp _ _ 36 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 35 iobj _ _ 37 to to PART TO _ 38 mark _ _ 38 eat eat VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 35 xcomp _ _ 39 some some DET DT PronType=Ind 38 obj _ _ 40 of of ADP IN _ 43 case _ _ 41 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 43 nmod:poss _ _ 42 palm palm NOUN NN Number=Sing 43 compound _ _ 43 nuts nut NOUN NNS Number=Plur 39 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 44 . . PUNCT . _ 4 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **get** | past | way | | | | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer | | 2 | **begin** | past | the dark animals | | | | | | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality | | 3 | **arrive** | to-infinitive | the dark animals *not said here* | | | the spot | | | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 4 | **collect** | past · perfect · passive | | the python | | | | python's nuts and fruit *obj* | tree rules | | 5 | **is** | gerund | way *not said here* | | | | | hungry *property* | tree rules | | 6 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | nuts *= nut* | the python | | | | | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S\_INF»: agent=Agent python=Recipient clause=Topic | | 7 | **allow** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the python *not said here* | | nuts *= nut* | | | | vn allow-64.1-1 «NP V NP S»: agent=Causer they=Beneficiary clause=Eventuality | | 8 | **eat** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the python *not said here* | some of python's palm nuts | | | | | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent some=Patient | 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 11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/22/11/) - next →: [sentence 13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/22/13/) - ↑ back to [Xxix.--why a Python Never Swallows a Tortoise.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/22/)