--- title: Chief Kekong replied, “If you love this young man, whom you have nev… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: Chief Kekong replied, “If you love this young man, whom you have never before seen, and go away with him as his wife, you may be sold as a slave, as you are such a fine girl, or you might possibly be killed; and although I am Chief of Okuni, I have no power in Chief Kaku’s town, and should not be ab --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/24/32/) [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/) / 32 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 1, sentence 32 Chief Kekong replied, “If you love this young man, whom you have never before seen, and go away with him as his wife, you may be sold as a slave, as you are such a fine girl, or you might possibly be killed; and although I am Chief of Okuni, I have no power in Chief Kaku’s town, and should not be able to help you. **Who acts:** Chief, you · **What happens:** reply, love, see, go away, sell, be · **To what, where:** young man, you, fine girl, power, town · **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 (Chief, you), 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:pg70959:24:32 # text = Chief Kekong replied, “If you love this young man, whom you have never before seen, and go away with him as his wife, you may be sold as a slave, as you are such a fine girl, or you might possibly be killed; and although I am Chief of Okuni, I have no power in Chief Kaku’s town, and should not be able to help you. 1 Chief Chief PROPN NNP Number=Sing 3 nsubj _ _ 2 Kekong Kekong PROPN NNP Number=Sing 1 flat _ _ 3 replied reply VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ SpaceAfter=No 4 , , PUNCT , _ 32 punct _ _ 5 “ " PUNCT `` _ 32 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 6 If if SCONJ IN _ 8 mark _ _ 7 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 8 nsubj _ _ 8 love love VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 32 advcl _ _ 9 this this DET DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 11 det _ _ 10 young young ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 11 amod _ _ 11 man man NOUN NN Number=Sing 8 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 12 , , PUNCT , _ 18 punct _ _ 13 whom whom PRON WP PronType=Rel 18 obl _ _ 14 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 18 nsubj _ _ 15 have have AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 18 aux _ _ 16 never never ADV RB PronType=Neg 17 advmod _ _ 17 before before ADV RB _ 18 advmod _ _ 18 seen see VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 11 acl:relcl _ SpaceAfter=No 19 , , PUNCT , _ 21 punct _ _ 20 and and CCONJ CC _ 21 cc _ _ 21 go go VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 8 conj _ _ 22 away away ADV RB _ 21 advmod _ _ 23 with with ADP IN _ 24 case _ _ 24 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 21 obl _ _ 25 as as ADP IN _ 27 case _ _ 26 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 27 nmod:poss _ _ 27 wife wife NOUN NN Number=Sing 21 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 28 , , PUNCT , _ 8 punct _ _ 29 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 32 nsubj:pass _ _ 30 may may AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 32 aux _ _ 31 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 32 aux:pass _ _ 32 sold sell VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 3 parataxis _ _ 33 as as ADP IN _ 35 case _ _ 34 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 35 det _ _ 35 slave slave NOUN NN Number=Sing 32 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 36 , , PUNCT , _ 43 punct _ _ 37 as as SCONJ IN _ 43 mark _ _ 38 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 43 nsubj _ _ 39 are be AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 43 cop _ _ 40 such such DET PDT PronType=Ind 43 det:predet _ _ 41 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 43 det _ _ 42 fine fine ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 43 amod _ _ 43 girl girl NOUN NN Number=Sing 32 parataxis _ SpaceAfter=No 44 , , PUNCT , _ 50 punct _ _ 45 or or CCONJ CC _ 50 cc _ _ 46 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 50 nsubj:pass _ _ 47 might might AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 50 aux _ _ 48 possibly possibly ADV RB _ 50 advmod _ _ 49 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 50 aux:pass _ _ 50 killed kill VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 32 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 51 ; ; PUNCT : _ 56 punct _ _ 52 and and CCONJ CC _ 56 cc _ _ 53 although although SCONJ IN _ 56 case _ _ 54 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 56 nsubj _ _ 55 am be AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 56 cop _ _ 56 Chief Chief PROPN NNP Number=Sing 3 obl _ _ 57 of of ADP IN _ 58 case _ _ 58 Okuni Okuni PROPN NNP Number=Sing 56 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 59 , , PUNCT , _ 61 punct _ _ 60 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 61 nsubj _ _ 61 have have VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 56 conj _ _ 62 no no DET DT PronType=Neg 63 det _ _ 63 power power NOUN NN Number=Sing 61 obj _ _ 64 in in ADP IN _ 68 case _ _ 65 Chief Chief PROPN NNP Number=Sing 68 nmod:poss _ _ 66 Kaku Kaku PROPN NNP Number=Sing 65 flat _ SpaceAfter=No 67 ’s 's PART POS _ 65 case _ _ 68 town town NOUN NN Number=Sing 61 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 69 , , PUNCT , _ 74 punct _ _ 70 and and CCONJ CC _ 74 cc _ _ 71 should should AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 74 aux _ _ 72 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 74 advmod _ _ 73 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 74 cop _ _ 74 able able ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 3 parataxis _ _ 75 to to PART TO _ 76 mark _ _ 76 help help VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 74 xcomp _ _ 77 you you PRON PRP Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs 76 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 78 . . PUNCT . _ 3 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **reply** *speech: assert* | past | Chief | | | | | | vn say-37.7-1 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 2 | **love** *a condition, not said to happen, in a quote* | present | you | this young man | | | | | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer man=Stimulus | | 3 | **see** *in a quote* | present · perfect | you | this young man | | | never | before *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer | | 4 | **go away** *in a quote* | infinitive | you *not said here* | | | | | with Chief; as Chief's wife; away *property* | vn help-72.1-2 «NP V PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent with he=Beneficiary | | 5 | **sell** *in a quote* | may · passive | | you | | | | as a slave | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme | | 6 | **is a** *in a quote* | present | you | such fine girl | | | | | tree rules | | 7 | **kill** *in a quote* | might · passive | | you | | | | possibly *property* | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme | | 8 | **is** *in a quote* | present | Chief | | | | | although Chief; of Okuni | tree rules | | 9 | **have** *in a quote* | present | Chief | no power | | Chief's town | | | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent power=Patient | | 10 | **not** **is** *in a quote* | should | | | | | | able *property* | tree rules | | 11 | **help** *in a quote* | to-infinitive | | | you | | | | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent you=Beneficiary | 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 31](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/24/31/) - next →: [sentence 33](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/24/33/) - ↑ 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/)