--- title: He was a very fine fellow, and wanted to marry ’Ndere so that he mig… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: He was a very fine fellow, and wanted to marry ’Ndere so that he might inherit her father’s property, but having no hands and feet he knew he would stand no chance of winning a girl who had refused so many offers. Who acts: python, chance, girl. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/24/6/) [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/) / 6 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 1, sentence 6 He was a very fine fellow, and wanted to marry ’Ndere so that he might inherit her father’s property, but having no hands and feet he knew he would stand no chance of winning a girl who had refused so many offers. **Who acts:** python, chance, girl · **What happens:** be, want, marry, inherit, have, know · **To what, where:** fine fellow, Ndere, property, no, chance, girl · **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 (python, chance, girl), 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:pg70959:24:6 # text = He was a very fine fellow, and wanted to marry ’Ndere so that he might inherit her father’s property, but having no hands and feet he knew he would stand no chance of winning a girl who had refused so many offers. 1 He he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 6 nsubj _ _ 2 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 6 cop _ _ 3 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 6 det _ _ 4 very very ADV RB _ 5 advmod _ _ 5 fine fine ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 6 amod _ _ 6 fellow fellow NOUN NN Number=Sing 0 root _ SpaceAfter=No 7 , , PUNCT , _ 9 punct _ _ 8 and and CCONJ CC _ 9 cc _ _ 9 wanted want VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 6 parataxis _ _ 10 to to PART TO _ 11 mark _ _ 11 marry marry VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 9 xcomp _ _ 12 ’ ' PUNCT `` _ 13 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 13 Ndere Ndere PROPN NNP Number=Sing 11 obj _ _ 14 so so SCONJ IN ExtPos=SCONJ 18 mark _ _ 15 that that SCONJ IN _ 14 fixed _ _ 16 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 18 nsubj _ _ 17 might might AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 18 aux _ _ 18 inherit inherit VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 11 advcl _ _ 19 her her PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 20 nmod:poss _ _ 20 father father NOUN NN Number=Sing 22 nmod:poss _ SpaceAfter=No 21 ’s 's PART POS _ 20 case _ _ 22 property property NOUN NN Number=Sing 18 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 23 , , PUNCT , _ 31 punct _ _ 24 but but CCONJ CC _ 31 cc _ _ 25 having have VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 31 csubj _ _ 26 no no DET DT PronType=Neg 25 obj _ _ 27 hands hand NOUN NNS Number=Plur 25 obj _ _ 28 and and CCONJ CC _ 29 cc _ _ 29 feet foot NOUN NNS Number=Plur 27 conj _ _ 30 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 31 nsubj _ _ 31 knew know VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 9 conj _ _ 32 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 34 nsubj _ _ 33 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 34 aux _ _ 34 stand stand VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 31 ccomp _ _ 35 no no DET DT PronType=Neg 36 det _ _ 36 chance chance NOUN NN Number=Sing 34 obj _ _ 37 of of SCONJ IN _ 38 mark _ _ 38 winning win VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 36 acl _ _ 39 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 40 det _ _ 40 girl girl NOUN NN Number=Sing 38 obj _ _ 41 who who PRON WP PronType=Rel 43 nsubj _ _ 42 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 43 aux _ _ 43 refused refuse VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 40 acl:relcl _ _ 44 so so ADV RB _ 45 advmod _ _ 45 many many ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 46 amod _ _ 46 offers offer NOUN NNS Number=Plur 43 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 47 . . PUNCT . _ 6 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is a** | past | python | a fine fellow | | | | | tree rules | | 2 | **want** | past | | | | | | | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme | | 3 | **marry** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | | Ndere | | | | | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ndere=Patient | | 4 | **inherit** | might | python | Ndere's father's property | | | | | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent property=Theme | | 5 | **have** | gerund | | no | | | | hands and feet *obj* | tree rules | | 6 | **know** | past | python | | | | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus | | 7 | **stand** | would | python | no chance | | | | | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer chance=Stimulus | | 8 | **win** | gerund | no chance *not said here* | a girl | | | | | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent girl=Eventuality | | 9 | **refuse** | past · perfect | a girl | many offers | | | | | vn reject-77.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent offer=Theme | 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 5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/24/5/) - next →: [sentence 7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/24/7/) - ↑ 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/)