---
title: Now the python was not aware that Chief Kaku had already asked ’Nder… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics
description: Now the python was not aware that Chief Kaku had already asked ’Ndere to marry him, and that she had refused to do so, as if the python had known this he would have gone to somebody else. Who acts: python, Chief, Ndere, this. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Day
---

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# Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 1, sentence 14

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Now the python was not aware that Chief Kaku had already asked ’Ndere to marry him, and that she had refused to do so, as if the python had known this he would have gone to somebody else.

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**Who acts:** python, Chief, Ndere, this · **What happens:** not be, ask, marry, refuse, not do, know · **To what, where:** Ndere, python, somebody

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This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 1. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (python, Chief, Ndere, this), 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:pg70959:24:14
# text = Now the python was not aware that Chief Kaku had already asked ’Ndere to marry him, and that she had refused to do so, as if the python had known this he would have gone to somebody else.
1	Now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	6	advmod	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	python	python	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	aware	aware	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
7	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
8	Chief	Chief	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
9	Kaku	Kaku	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	flat	_	_
10	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
11	already	already	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	asked	ask	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	6	ccomp	_	_
13	’	'	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	Ndere	Ndere	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	marry	marry	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	xcomp	_	_
17	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
20	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	23	mark	_	_
21	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	23	nsubj	_	_
22	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	23	aux	_	_
23	refused	refuse	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	6	parataxis	_	_
24	to	to	PART	TO	_	25	mark	_	_
25	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	23	xcomp	_	_
26	so	so	ADV	RB	_	25	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	33	punct	_	_
28	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	33	mark	_	_
29	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	33	mark	_	_
30	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	31	det	_	_
31	python	python	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	33	nsubj:pass	_	_
32	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	33	aux	_	_
33	known	know	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	23	conj	_	_
34	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	38	nsubj	_	_
35	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	38	nsubj	_	_
36	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	38	aux	_	_
37	have	have	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	38	aux	_	_
38	gone	go	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	33	parataxis	_	_
39	to	to	ADP	IN	_	40	case	_	_
40	somebody	somebody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	38	obl	_	_
41	else	else	ADV	RB	_	40	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
42	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is** | past | the python |  |  |  | now | aware *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past · perfect | Chief | Ndere |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **marry** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | Ndere *not said here* | python |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Patient |
| 4 | **refuse** | past · perfect | Ndere |  |  |  |  |  | vn reject-77.2 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 5 | **not** **do** | to-infinitive | Ndere *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 6 | **know** *a condition, not said to happen* | past · perfect · passive |  | the python |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: subject=Stimulus |
| 7 | **go** | would · perfect | this |  |  | somebody |  | python *nsubj* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to somebody=Initial\_Location |

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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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