--- title: When they arrived at their house, however, they found that Aictor ha… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: When they arrived at their house, however, they found that Aictor had got there before them, for they saw him sitting on the top of a palm-tree, and when they came near they could hear him calling out, “Agbor Adam! Who acts: men, Aictor. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elp --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/25/84/) [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/) / 84 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 2, sentence 84 When they arrived at their house, however, they found that Aictor had got there before them, for they saw him sitting on the top of a palm-tree, and when they came near they could hear him calling out, “Agbor Adam! **Who acts:** men, Aictor · **What happens:** arrive, find, get, see, sit, come · **To what, where:** house, Aictor, top, Agbor 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 (men, Aictor), 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:pg70959:25:84 # text = When they arrived at their house, however, they found that Aictor had got there before them, for they saw him sitting on the top of a palm-tree, and when they came near they could hear him calling out, “Agbor Adam! 1 When when ADV WRB PronType=Int 3 advmod _ _ 2 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 3 nsubj _ _ 3 arrived arrive VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 11 advcl _ _ 4 at at ADP IN _ 6 case _ _ 5 their their PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 6 nmod:poss _ _ 6 house house NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 7 , , PUNCT , _ 8 punct _ _ 8 however however ADV RB _ 3 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 9 , , PUNCT , _ 3 punct _ _ 10 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 11 nsubj _ _ 11 found find VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 12 that that SCONJ IN _ 15 mark _ _ 13 Aictor Aictor PROPN NNP Number=Sing 15 nsubj _ _ 14 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 15 aux _ _ 15 got get VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 11 ccomp _ _ 16 there there ADV RB PronType=Dem 15 advmod _ _ 17 before before ADP IN _ 18 case _ _ 18 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 15 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 19 , , PUNCT , _ 22 punct _ _ 20 for for SCONJ IN _ 22 mark _ _ 21 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 22 nsubj _ _ 22 saw see VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 11 conj _ _ 23 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 22 obj _ _ 24 sitting sit VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 22 xcomp _ _ 25 on on ADP IN _ 27 case _ _ 26 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 27 det _ _ 27 top top NOUN NN Number=Sing 24 obl _ _ 28 of of ADP IN _ 32 case _ _ 29 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 32 det _ _ 30 palm palm NOUN NN Number=Sing 32 compound _ SpaceAfter=No 31 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 30 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 32 tree tree NOUN NN Number=Sing 27 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 33 , , PUNCT , _ 37 punct _ _ 34 and and CCONJ CC _ 37 cc _ _ 35 when when ADV WRB PronType=Int 37 advmod _ _ 36 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 37 nsubj _ _ 37 came come VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 11 conj _ _ 38 near near ADP IN _ 41 mark _ _ 39 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 41 nsubj _ _ 40 could could AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 41 aux _ _ 41 hear hear VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 37 advcl _ _ 42 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 43 nsubj _ _ 43 calling call VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 41 ccomp _ _ 44 out out ADP RP _ 43 compound:prt _ SpaceAfter=No 45 , , PUNCT , _ 48 punct _ _ 46 “ " PUNCT `` _ 48 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 47 Agbor Agbor PROPN NNP Number=Sing 48 compound _ _ 48 Adam Adam PROPN NNP Number=Sing 43 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 49 ! ! PUNCT . _ 11 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **arrive** | past | men *= man* | | | men's house | | however *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 2 | **find** | past | men *= man* | | | | | | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Theme | | 3 | **get** | past · perfect | Aictor | | | there | before men *= man* | | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer | | 4 | **see** | past | men *= man* | Aictor | | | | | tree rules | | 5 | **sit** | gerund | Aictor *not said here* | | | the top of a palm tree | | | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent on top=Location | | 6 | **come** | past | men *= man* | | | | | | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 7 | **hear** | could | men *= man* | | | | | | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus | | 8 | **call out** *speech: assert* | gerund | Aictor | Agbor Adam | | | | | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | 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 83](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/25/83/) - next →: [sentence 85](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/25/85/) - ↑ 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/)