---
title: The chief then asked the python to return all the different limbs an… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics
description: The chief then asked the python to return all the different limbs and other parts of the body which he had borrowed from the different young men of the town as he had promised to do. Who acts: chief, python. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xxxi.--chief
---

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# Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 1, sentence 48

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The chief then asked the python to return all the different limbs and other parts of the body which he had borrowed from the different young men of the town as he had promised to do.

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**Who acts:** chief, python · **What happens:** ask, return, borrow, promise, do · **To what, where:** python, different limbs, body

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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, python), 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:pg70959:24:48
# text = The chief then asked the python to return all the different limbs and other parts of the body which he had borrowed from the different young men of the town as he had promised to do.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chief	chief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	4	advmod	_	_
4	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	python	python	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	return	return	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
9	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	12	det:predet	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	different	different	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	limbs	limb	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	parts	part	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	_
16	of	of	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	body	body	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	_
19	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	22	nsubj:pass	_	_
20	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	22	nsubj	_	_
21	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	22	aux	_	_
22	borrowed	borrow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	18	acl:relcl	_	_
23	from	from	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
24	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	27	det	_	_
25	different	different	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	27	amod	_	_
26	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	27	amod	_	_
27	men	man	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	22	obl	_	_
28	of	of	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
29	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	30	det	_	_
30	town	town	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	27	nmod	_	_
31	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	34	mark	_	_
32	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	34	nsubj	_	_
33	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	34	aux	_	_
34	promised	promise	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	22	advcl	_	_
35	to	to	PART	TO	_	36	mark	_	_
36	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	34	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
37	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | the chief | the python |  |  | then |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S\_INF»: agent=Agent python=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **return** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the python *not said here* | all different limbs and other parts of the body |  |  |  |  | vn send-11.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent limb=Theme |
| 3 | **borrow** | past · perfect · passive |  | the body |  |  |  | from the different young men of the town; Chief *nsubj* | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP PP.source»: subject=Theme from man=Source |
| 4 | **promise** *speech: promise* | past · perfect | Chief |  |  |  |  |  | vn promise-37.13 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 5 | **do** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | Chief *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

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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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