--- title: Nyam replied, “I do not wish you to marry this man, and would prefer… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: Nyam replied, “I do not wish you to marry this man, and would prefer that you should marry an Okuni man, because if anything happened to you we should be near, and in the case of sickness we would try to help you, whereas if you marry this stranger you will go far away, and we shall not be able to d --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/24/29/) [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/) / [Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/24/) / 29 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 1, sentence 29 Nyam replied, “I do not wish you to marry this man, and would prefer that you should marry an Okuni man, because if anything happened to you we should be near, and in the case of sickness we would try to help you, whereas if you marry this stranger you will go far away, and we shall not be able to do anything for you.” ’ **Who acts:** Nyam, you, anything, we · **What happens:** reply, not wish, marry, prefer, happen, be · **To what, where:** you, man, Okuni man, case, stranger, anything · **Speech:** someone speaks here 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 (Nyam, you, anything, we), 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:pg70959:24:29 # text = Nyam replied, “I do not wish you to marry this man, and would prefer that you should marry an Okuni man, because if anything happened to you we should be near, and in the case of sickness we would try to help you, whereas if you marry this stranger you will go far away, and we shall not be able to do anything for you.” ’ 1 Nyam Nyam PROPN NNP Number=Sing 2 nsubj _ _ 2 replied reply VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ SpaceAfter=No 3 , , PUNCT , _ 8 punct _ _ 4 “ " PUNCT `` _ 8 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 5 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 8 nsubj _ _ 6 do do AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 8 aux _ _ 7 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 8 advmod _ _ 8 wish wish VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 2 ccomp _ _ 9 you you PRON PRP Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs 8 iobj _ _ 10 to to PART TO _ 11 mark _ _ 11 marry marry VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 8 advcl _ _ 12 this this DET DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 13 det _ _ 13 man man NOUN NN Number=Sing 11 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 14 , , PUNCT , _ 17 punct _ _ 15 and and CCONJ CC _ 17 cc _ _ 16 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 17 aux _ _ 17 prefer prefer VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 8 conj _ _ 18 that that SCONJ IN _ 21 mark _ _ 19 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 21 nsubj _ _ 20 should should AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 21 aux _ _ 21 marry marry VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 17 xcomp _ _ 22 an a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 24 det _ _ 23 Okuni Okuni PROPN NNP Number=Sing 24 compound _ _ 24 man man NOUN NN Number=Sing 21 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 25 , , PUNCT , _ 35 punct _ _ 26 because because SCONJ IN _ 35 mark _ _ 27 if if SCONJ IN _ 29 mark _ _ 28 anything anything PRON NN Number=Sing|PronType=Ind 29 nsubj _ _ 29 happened happen VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 35 advcl _ _ 30 to to ADP IN _ 31 case _ _ 31 you you PRON PRP Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs 29 obl _ _ 32 we we PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs 35 nsubj _ _ 33 should should AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 35 aux _ _ 34 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 35 cop _ _ 35 near near ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 21 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 36 , , PUNCT , _ 45 punct _ _ 37 and and CCONJ CC _ 45 cc _ _ 38 in in ADP IN _ 40 case _ _ 39 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 40 det _ _ 40 case case NOUN NN Number=Sing 45 obl _ _ 41 of of ADP IN _ 42 case _ _ 42 sickness sickness NOUN NN Number=Sing 40 nmod _ _ 43 we we PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs 45 nsubj _ _ 44 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 45 aux _ _ 45 try try VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 35 parataxis _ _ 46 to to PART TO _ 47 mark _ _ 47 help help VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 45 xcomp _ _ 48 you you PRON PRP Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs 47 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 49 , , PUNCT , _ 50 punct _ _ 50 whereas wherea VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 45 parataxis _ _ 51 if if SCONJ IN _ 53 mark _ _ 52 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 53 nsubj _ _ 53 marry marry VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 50 advcl _ _ 54 this this DET DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 55 det _ _ 55 stranger stranger NOUN NN Number=Sing 53 obj _ _ 56 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 58 nsubj _ _ 57 will will AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 58 aux _ _ 58 go go VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 55 acl:relcl _ _ 59 far far ADV RB Degree=Pos 60 advmod _ _ 60 away away ADV RB _ 58 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 61 , , PUNCT , _ 67 punct _ _ 62 and and CCONJ CC _ 67 cc _ _ 63 we we PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs 67 nsubj _ _ 64 shall shall AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 67 aux _ _ 65 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 67 advmod _ _ 66 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 67 cop _ _ 67 able able ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 50 conj _ _ 68 to to PART TO _ 69 mark _ _ 69 do do VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 67 xcomp _ _ 70 anything anything PRON NN Number=Sing|PronType=Ind 69 obj _ _ 71 for for ADP IN _ 72 case _ _ 72 you you PRON PRP Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs 69 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 73 . . PUNCT . _ 2 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 74 ” " PUNCT '' _ 2 punct _ _ 75 ’ ' PUNCT '' _ 2 punct _ SpaceAfter=No ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **reply** *speech: assert* | past | Nyam | | | | | | vn say-37.7-1 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 2 | **not** **wish** *in a quote* | present · do-support | Nyam | | you | | | | vn wish-62 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot you=Theme | | 3 | **marry** *in a quote* | to-infinitive | Nyam *not said here* | this man | | | | | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent man=Patient | | 4 | **prefer** *in a quote* | would | Nyam *not said here* | | | | | | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus | | 5 | **marry** *not said to happen, in a quote* | should | you | a Okuni man | | | | | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent man=Patient | | 6 | **happen** *a condition, not said to happen, in a quote* | past | anything | | you | | | | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 7 | **is** *in a quote* | should | we | | | | | near *property* | tree rules | | 8 | **try** *in a quote* | would | we | | | the case of sickness | | | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality | | 9 | **help** *not said to happen, in a quote* | to-infinitive | we *not said here* | | you | | | | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent you=Beneficiary | | 10 | **wherea** *in a quote* | present | | | | | | | tree rules | | 11 | **marry** *a condition, not said to happen, in a quote* | present | you | this stranger | | | | | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent stranger=Patient | | 12 | **go** *in a quote* | future | you | this stranger *not said here* | | | | away *property* | vn meander-47.7 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location stranger=Theme | | 13 | **not** **is** *in a quote* | shall | we | | | | | able *property* | tree rules | | 14 | **do** *in a quote* | to-infinitive | we *not said here* | anything | | | | for you | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent anything=Eventuality | 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 28](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/24/28/) - next →: [sentence 30](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/24/30/) - ↑ back to [Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/24/)