---
title: So the python replied, “How can you give me all the animals for food… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics
description: So the python replied, “How can you give me all the animals for food, seeing that they do not belong to you?” Who acts: python, you, animals. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xxix.--why a Python Never Swallows a Tortoise., with its dependency tree and t
---

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# Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxix.--why a Python Never Swallows a Tortoise., sentence 21

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So the python replied, “How can you give me all the animals for food, seeing that they do not belong to you?”

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**Who acts:** python, you, animals · **What happens:** reply, give, see, not belong · **To what, where:** animals, python, you · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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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 (python, you, animals), 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:pg70959:22:21
# text = So the python replied, “How can you give me all the animals for food, seeing that they do not belong to you?”
1	So	so	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	python	python	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	replied	reply	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
6	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	How	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	10	advmod	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
9	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	ccomp	_	_
11	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	10	iobj	_	_
12	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	14	det:predet	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
15	for	for	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	seeing	see	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	advcl	_	_
19	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	23	mark	_	_
20	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	23	nsubj	_	_
21	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	23	aux	_	_
22	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	23	advmod	_	_
23	belong	belong	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	ccomp	_	_
24	to	to	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
25	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	23	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reply** *speech: ask* | past | the python |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **give** *in a quote* | can | you | all animals | the python *= python* |  |  | for food | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP NP PP.asset»: agent=Agent i=Recipient animal=Theme for food=Asset |
| 3 | **see** *in a quote* | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 4 | **not** **belong** *in a quote* | present · do-support | animals *= animal* |  | you |  |  |  | vn attend-107.4-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme |

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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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