--- title: When the next season arrived and it was time for the farms to be mad… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: When the next season arrived and it was time for the farms to be made, all the people went as usual to make the elephant’s farm and plant his yams, &c., but as the elephant had had such a very bad crop the previous year, he told the people he was very sorry, but that he was unable to supply them wit --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/22/7/) [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/) / 7 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxix.--why a Python Never Swallows a Tortoise., sentence 7 When the next season arrived and it was time for the farms to be made, all the people went as usual to make the elephant’s farm and plant his yams, &c., but as the elephant had had such a very bad crop the previous year, he told the people he was very sorry, but that he was unable to supply them with food that year as he had no yams or plantains to give them. **Who acts:** next season, food, people, python · **What happens:** arrive, be, make, go, plant, have · **To what, where:** time, c., farm, yams, bad crop, people · **Speech:** someone speaks here 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 (next season, food, people, 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:pg70959:22:7 # text = When the next season arrived and it was time for the farms to be made, all the people went as usual to make the elephant’s farm and plant his yams, &c., but as the elephant had had such a very bad crop the previous year, he told the people he was very sorry, but that he was unable to supply them with food that year as he had no yams or plantains to give them. 1 When when SCONJ WRB _ 5 mark _ _ 2 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 4 det _ _ 3 next next ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 4 amod _ _ 4 season season NOUN NN Number=Sing 5 nsubj _ _ 5 arrived arrive VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 20 advcl _ _ 6 and and CCONJ CC _ 9 cc _ _ 7 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 9 nsubj _ _ 8 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 9 cop _ _ 9 time time NOUN NN Number=Sing 5 conj _ _ 10 for for ADP IN _ 12 case _ _ 11 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 12 det _ _ 12 farms farm NOUN NNS Number=Plur 9 nmod _ _ 13 to to PART TO _ 15 mark _ _ 14 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 15 aux:pass _ _ 15 made make VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 9 advcl _ SpaceAfter=No 16 , , PUNCT , _ 5 punct _ _ 17 all all DET PDT PronType=Tot 19 det:predet _ _ 18 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 19 det _ _ 19 people people NOUN NNS Number=Plur 20 nsubj _ _ 20 went go VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 21 as as ADP IN _ 22 case _ _ 22 usual usual ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 20 obl _ _ 23 to to PART TO _ 24 mark _ _ 24 make make VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 20 advcl _ _ 25 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 26 det _ _ 26 elephant elephant NOUN NN Number=Sing 28 nmod:poss _ SpaceAfter=No 27 ’s 's PART POS _ 26 case _ _ 28 farm farm NOUN NN Number=Sing 24 obj _ _ 29 and and CCONJ CC _ 30 cc _ _ 30 plant plant VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 24 conj _ _ 31 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 32 nmod:poss _ _ 32 yams yam NOUN NNS Number=Plur 30 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 33 , , PUNCT , _ 35 punct _ _ 34 & & CCONJ CC _ 35 cc _ SpaceAfter=No 35 c. c. NOUN NN Number=Sing 20 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 36 , , PUNCT , _ 42 punct _ _ 37 but but CCONJ CC _ 42 cc _ _ 38 as as ADP IN _ 40 case _ _ 39 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 40 det _ _ 40 elephant elephant NOUN NN Number=Sing 42 obl _ _ 41 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 42 aux _ _ 42 had have VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 20 parataxis _ _ 43 such such DET PDT PronType=Ind 47 det:predet _ _ 44 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 47 det _ _ 45 very very ADV RB _ 46 advmod _ _ 46 bad bad ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 47 amod _ _ 47 crop crop NOUN NN Number=Sing 42 obj _ _ 48 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 50 det _ _ 49 previous previous ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 50 amod _ _ 50 year year NOUN NN Number=Sing 42 obl:unmarked _ SpaceAfter=No 51 , , PUNCT , _ 53 punct _ _ 52 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 53 nsubj _ _ 53 told tell VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 20 conj _ _ 54 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 55 det _ _ 55 people people NOUN NNS Number=Plur 53 iobj _ _ 56 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 59 nsubj _ _ 57 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 59 cop _ _ 58 very very ADV RB _ 59 advmod _ _ 59 sorry sorry ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 53 ccomp _ SpaceAfter=No 60 , , PUNCT , _ 65 punct _ _ 61 but but CCONJ CC _ 65 cc _ _ 62 that that SCONJ IN _ 65 mark _ _ 63 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 65 nsubj _ _ 64 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 65 cop _ _ 65 unable unable ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 59 conj _ _ 66 to to PART TO _ 67 mark _ _ 67 supply supply VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 65 xcomp _ _ 68 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 67 obj _ _ 69 with with ADP IN _ 70 case _ _ 70 food food NOUN NN Number=Sing 67 obl _ _ 71 that that PRON WDT PronType=Rel 72 det _ _ 72 year year NOUN NN Number=Sing 70 nmod:unmarked _ _ 73 as as SCONJ IN _ 75 mark _ _ 74 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 75 nsubj _ _ 75 had have VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 67 advcl _ _ 76 no no DET DT PronType=Neg 77 det _ _ 77 yams yam NOUN NNS Number=Plur 75 obj _ _ 78 or or CCONJ CC _ 79 cc _ _ 79 plantains plantain NOUN NNS Number=Plur 77 conj _ _ 80 to to PART TO _ 81 mark _ _ 81 give give VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 75 conj _ _ 82 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 81 iobj _ SpaceAfter=No 83 . . PUNCT . _ 20 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **arrive** | past | the next season | | | | | | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 2 | **is a** | past | food | time | | | | for the farms | tree rules | | 3 | **make** | to-infinitive · passive | food *not said here* | | | | | | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP» | | 4 | **go** | past | all people | c. | | | | as usual | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 5 | **make** | to-infinitive | all people *not said here* | the elephant's farm | | | | | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset farm=Product | | 6 | **plant** | infinitive | all people *not said here* | python's yams | | | | | vn establish-55.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent yam=Patient | | 7 | **have** | past · perfect | | such bad crop | | | year | as the elephant | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent crop=Patient | | 8 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | python | | the people | | | | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent people=Recipient | | 9 | **is** | past | python | | | | | sorry *property* | tree rules | | 10 | **is** | past | python | | | | | unable *property* | tree rules | | 11 | **supply** | to-infinitive | python *not said here* | people | | | | with food that year | vn fulfilling-13.4.1-1 «NP V NP-Fulfilling PP.theme»: agent=Agent they=Recipient with food=Theme | | 12 | **have** | past | python | no yams or plantains | | | | | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent yam=Patient | | 13 | **give** | to-infinitive | python *not said here* | | people | | | | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=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 6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/22/6/) - next →: [sentence 8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/22/8/) - ↑ back to [Xxix.--why a Python Never Swallows a Tortoise.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/22/)