--- title: But Agbor Adam, seeing that there was no one within sight, told his… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: But Agbor Adam, seeing that there was no one within sight, told his wife that it would be quite safe, as no one would know, and that, if she gave him some of her fish, he would give her one of the animals he had killed. Who acts: seeing, Agbor Adam, sight, one. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/25/40/) [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/pg70959/25/) / 40 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 2, sentence 40 But Agbor Adam, seeing that there was no one within sight, told his wife that it would be quite safe, as no one would know, and that, if she gave him some of her fish, he would give her one of the animals he had killed. **Who acts:** seeing, Agbor Adam, sight, one, wife, Adam · **What happens:** see, be, tell, know, give, kill · **To what, where:** one, wife, that, some, Adam · **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 2. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (seeing, Agbor Adam, sight, one), 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:pg70959:25:40 # text = But Agbor Adam, seeing that there was no one within sight, told his wife that it would be quite safe, as no one would know, and that, if she gave him some of her fish, he would give her one of the animals he had killed. 1 But but CCONJ CC _ 14 cc _ _ 2 Agbor Agbor PROPN NNP Number=Sing 3 compound _ _ 3 Adam Adam PROPN NNP Number=Sing 14 nsubj _ SpaceAfter=No 4 , , PUNCT , _ 10 punct _ _ 5 seeing see VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 10 csubj _ _ 6 that that SCONJ IN _ 8 mark _ _ 7 there there PRON EX PronType=Dem 8 expl _ _ 8 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 10 cop _ _ 9 no no DET DT PronType=Neg 10 det _ _ 10 one one NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 appos _ _ 11 within within ADP IN _ 12 case _ _ 12 sight sight NOUN NN Number=Sing 10 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 13 , , PUNCT , _ 3 punct _ _ 14 told tell VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 15 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 16 nmod:poss _ _ 16 wife wife NOUN NN Number=Sing 14 iobj _ _ 17 that that SCONJ IN _ 22 mark _ _ 18 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 22 nsubj _ _ 19 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 22 aux _ _ 20 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 22 cop _ _ 21 quite quite ADV RB _ 22 advmod _ _ 22 safe safe ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 14 ccomp _ SpaceAfter=No 23 , , PUNCT , _ 28 punct _ _ 24 as as SCONJ IN _ 28 mark _ _ 25 no no DET DT PronType=Neg 26 det _ _ 26 one one NOUN NN Number=Sing 28 nsubj _ _ 27 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 28 aux _ _ 28 know know VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 14 parataxis _ SpaceAfter=No 29 , , PUNCT , _ 31 punct _ _ 30 and and CCONJ CC _ 31 cc _ _ 31 that that PRON DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 28 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 32 , , PUNCT , _ 35 punct _ _ 33 if if SCONJ IN _ 35 mark _ _ 34 she she PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 35 nsubj _ _ 35 gave give VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 28 conj _ _ 36 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 35 iobj _ _ 37 some some DET DT PronType=Ind 35 obj _ _ 38 of of ADP IN _ 40 case _ _ 39 her her PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 40 nmod:poss _ _ 40 fish fish NOUN NN Number=Sing 37 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 41 , , PUNCT , _ 44 punct _ _ 42 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 44 nsubj _ _ 43 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 44 aux _ _ 44 give give VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 28 conj _ _ 45 her she PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 44 iobj _ _ 46 one one NUM CD NumForm=Word|NumType=Card 44 obj _ _ 47 of of ADP IN _ 49 case _ _ 48 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 49 det _ _ 49 animals animal NOUN NNS Number=Plur 46 nmod _ _ 50 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 52 nsubj:pass _ _ 51 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 52 aux _ _ 52 killed kill VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 49 acl:relcl _ SpaceAfter=No 53 . . PUNCT . _ 14 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **see** | gerund | | | | | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer | | 2 | **is a** | past | seeing | no one | | | | within sight | tree rules | | 3 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | Agbor Adam | | Adam's wife | | | | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent wife=Recipient | | 4 | **is** | would | sight | | | | | safe *property* | tree rules | | 5 | **know** | would | no one | that | | | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer | | 6 | **give** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | wife | some of wife's fish | Adam | | | | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent he=Recipient some=Theme | | 7 | **give** | would | Adam | one of the animals | wife | | | | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent she=Recipient one=Theme | | 8 | **kill** | past · perfect · passive | the animals *not said here* | Adam | | | | | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: subject=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 39](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/25/39/) - next →: [sentence 41](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/25/41/) - ↑ back to [Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/25/)