---
title: When the time arrived for making the farms, the python took all his… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics
description: When the time arrived for making the farms, the python took all his people out into the bush, but as they had no matchets or arms to use them with, all they could do was to roll themselves about in the grass and then burn it. Who acts: time, python, men, all. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from So
---

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# Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 1, sentence 74

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When the time arrived for making the farms, the python took all his people out into the bush, but as they had no matchets or arms to use them with, all they could do was to roll themselves about in the grass and then burn it.

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**Who acts:** time, python, men, all · **What happens:** arrive, make, take, have, use, do · **To what, where:** farms, people, bush, matchets, men, grass

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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 (time, python, men, all), 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:pg70959:24:74
# text = When the time arrived for making the farms, the python took all his people out into the bush, but as they had no matchets or arms to use them with, all they could do was to roll themselves about in the grass and then burn it.
1	When	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	4	mark	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	arrived	arrive	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	advcl	_	_
5	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	making	make	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	farms	farm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	python	python	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
12	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
13	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	15	det:predet	_	_
14	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obj	_	_
16	out	out	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
17	into	into	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	bush	bush	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
21	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	24	cc	_	_
22	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	24	mark	_	_
23	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	24	nsubj	_	_
24	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	conj	_	_
25	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	26	det	_	_
26	matchets	matchet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	24	obj	_	_
27	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	28	cc	_	_
28	arms	arm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	conj	_	_
29	to	to	PART	TO	_	30	mark	_	_
30	use	use	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	24	advcl	_	_
31	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	30	obj	_	_
32	with	with	ADP	IN	_	34	case	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	32	punct	_	_
34	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	40	nsubj:outer	_	_
35	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	37	nsubj	_	_
36	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	37	aux	_	_
37	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	34	acl:relcl	_	_
38	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	40	cop	_	_
39	to	to	PART	TO	_	40	mark	_	_
40	roll	roll	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	30	advcl	_	_
41	themselves	themselves	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	40	obj	_	_
42	about	about	ADP	IN	_	45	case	_	_
43	in	in	ADP	IN	_	45	case	_	_
44	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	45	det	_	_
45	grass	grass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	40	obl	_	_
46	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	48	cc	_	_
47	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	48	advmod	_	_
48	burn	burn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	40	conj	_	_
49	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	48	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
50	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **arrive** | past | the time |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **make** | gerund | the time *not said here* | the farms |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset farm=Product |
| 3 | **take** | past | the python | python's people |  | the bush |  | out *property* | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent people=Theme into bush=Destination |
| 4 | **have** | past | men *= man* | no matchets or arms |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent matchet=Patient |
| 5 | **use** | to-infinitive | men *= man* *not said here* | men *= man* |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Patient |
| 6 | **do** | could | men *= man* |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 7 | **is** | past | all |  |  |  |  | about the grass; men *= man* *obj*; roll *property* | tree rules |
| 8 | **burn** | infinitive | all *not said here* | grass |  |  | then |  | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

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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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