---
title: Chief Kekong said he would think over what the python had said, but… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics
description: Chief Kekong said he would think over what the python had said, but warned him that ’Ndere had already refused his father. Who acts: Chief. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 1, with its de
---

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# Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 1, sentence 22

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Chief Kekong said he would think over what the python had said, but warned him that ’Ndere had already refused his father.

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**Who acts:** Chief · **What happens:** say, think, warn, refuse · **To what, where:** python, Chief, Ndere · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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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 (Chief), 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:pg70959:24:22
# text = Chief Kekong said he would think over what the python had said, but warned him that ’Ndere had already refused his father.
1	Chief	Chief	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	Kekong	Kekong	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	1	flat	_	_
3	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	think	think	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
7	over	over	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	6	obl	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	python	python	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj:pass	_	_
11	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
12	said	say	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
14	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	warned	warn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
16	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	obj	_	_
17	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	22	mark	_	_
18	’	'	PUNCT	``	_	22	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	Ndere	Ndere	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	22	nsubj:pass	_	_
20	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	22	aux	_	_
21	already	already	ADV	RB	_	22	advmod	_	_
22	refused	refuse	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	15	ccomp	_	_
23	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	24	nmod:poss	_	_
24	father	father	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Chief |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **think** *speech: other* | would | Chief |  |  |  |  | what *obl* | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | past · perfect · passive |  | the python |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: subject=Topic |
| 4 | **warn** *speech: warn* | past | Chief *not said here* |  | Chief |  |  |  | vn advise-37.9-1 «NP V NP.recipient that S»: agent=Agent he=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 5 | **refuse** | past · perfect · passive |  | Ndere |  |  |  | Chief's father *obj* | tree rules |

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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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