---
title: The python was therefore compelled to leave the food and go home as… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics
description: The python was therefore compelled to leave the food and go home as he was unable to work, but he made a vow to revenge himself upon all the people. Who acts: python. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xxix.--why a Python Never Swallows a Tortoise., with 
---

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# Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxix.--why a Python Never Swallows a Tortoise., sentence 6

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The python was therefore compelled to leave the food and go home as he was unable to work, but he made a vow to revenge himself upon all the people.

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**Who acts:** python · **What happens:** compel, leave, go, be, work, make · **To what, where:** python, food, vow

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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), 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:pg70959:22:6
# text = The python was therefore compelled to leave the food and go home as he was unable to work, but he made a vow to revenge himself upon all the people.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	python	python	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
4	therefore	therefore	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	compelled	compel	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	leave	leave	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	go	go	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	conj	_	_
12	home	home	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
13	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
14	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
15	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
16	unable	unable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	advcl	_	_
17	to	to	PART	TO	_	18	mark	_	_
18	work	work	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
20	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	22	cc	_	_
21	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	22	nsubj	_	_
22	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
23	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	vow	vow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	_
25	to	to	PART	TO	_	26	mark	_	_
26	revenge	revenge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	24	acl	_	_
27	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	22	obl	_	_
28	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	31	case	_	_
29	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	31	det:predet	_	_
30	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	31	det	_	_
31	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	22	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **compel** | past · passive |  | the python |  |  |  | therefore *property* | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: subject=Patient clause=Result |
| 2 | **leave** | to-infinitive |  | the food |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent food=Theme |
| 3 | **go** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | home *property* | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **is** | past | python |  |  |  |  | unable *property* | tree rules |
| 5 | **work** | to-infinitive | python *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 6 | **make** | past | python | a vow  revenge |  |  |  | upon all people; python *obl* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent vow=Product |

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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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