--- title: The people then decided that it was because Essama was kept so long… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: The people then decided that it was because Essama was kept so long in the fatting-house which caused her to kill the goat, and they agreed that for the future girls should only stay in the fatting-house for a few days, as they would then not be tempted to steal and bring shame upon their families. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/26/80/) [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/pg70959/26/) / 80 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 3, sentence 80 The people then decided that it was because Essama was kept so long in the fatting-house which caused her to kill the goat, and they agreed that for the future girls should only stay in the fatting-house for a few days, as they would then not be tempted to steal and bring shame upon their families. **Who acts:** people, fatting house · **What happens:** decide, keep, cause, kill, agree, stay · **To what, where:** amount, fatting house, ESSAMA, goat, shame · **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 3. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (people, fatting house), 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:pg70959:26:80 # text = The people then decided that it was because Essama was kept so long in the fatting-house which caused her to kill the goat, and they agreed that for the future girls should only stay in the fatting-house for a few days, as they would then not be tempted to steal and bring shame upon their families. 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 people people NOUN NNS Number=Plur 4 nsubj _ _ 3 then then ADV RB PronType=Dem 4 advmod _ _ 4 decided decide VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 5 that that SCONJ IN _ 11 mark _ _ 6 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 11 nsubj:pass _ _ 7 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 11 aux:pass _ _ 8 because because SCONJ IN _ 11 mark _ _ 9 Essama Essama PROPN NNP Number=Sing 11 nsubj:pass _ _ 10 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 11 aux:pass _ _ 11 kept keep VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 4 ccomp _ _ 12 so so ADV RB _ 13 advmod _ _ 13 long long ADV RB Degree=Pos 11 advmod _ _ 14 in in ADP IN _ 18 case _ _ 15 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 18 det _ _ 16 fatting fatting NOUN NN Number=Sing 18 compound _ SpaceAfter=No 17 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 16 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 18 house house NOUN NN Number=Sing 11 obl _ _ 19 which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 20 nsubj _ _ 20 caused cause VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 18 acl:relcl _ _ 21 her she PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 20 iobj _ _ 22 to to PART TO _ 23 mark _ _ 23 kill kill VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 20 xcomp _ _ 24 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 25 det _ _ 25 goat goat NOUN NN Number=Sing 23 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 26 , , PUNCT , _ 29 punct _ _ 27 and and CCONJ CC _ 29 cc _ _ 28 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 29 nsubj _ _ 29 agreed agree VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 4 conj _ _ 30 that that SCONJ IN _ 37 mark _ _ 31 for for ADP IN _ 34 case _ _ 32 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 34 det _ _ 33 future future NOUN NN Number=Sing 34 compound _ _ 34 girls girl NOUN NNS Number=Plur 37 obl _ _ 35 should should AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 37 aux _ _ 36 only only ADV RB _ 37 advmod _ _ 37 stay stay VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 29 ccomp _ _ 38 in in ADP IN _ 42 case _ _ 39 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 42 det _ _ 40 fatting fatting NOUN NN Number=Sing 42 compound _ SpaceAfter=No 41 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 40 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 42 house house NOUN NN Number=Sing 37 obl _ _ 43 for for ADP IN _ 46 case _ _ 44 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 46 det _ _ 45 few few ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 46 amod _ _ 46 days day NOUN NNS Number=Plur 42 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 47 , , PUNCT , _ 54 punct _ _ 48 as as SCONJ IN _ 50 mark _ _ 49 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 50 nsubj _ _ 50 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 54 aux _ _ 51 then then ADV RB PronType=Dem 54 advmod _ _ 52 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 54 advmod _ _ 53 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 54 aux:pass _ _ 54 tempted tempt VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 37 conj _ _ 55 to to PART TO _ 56 mark _ _ 56 steal steal VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 54 advcl _ _ 57 and and CCONJ CC _ 58 cc _ _ 58 bring bring VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 56 conj _ _ 59 shame shame NOUN NN Number=Sing 58 obj _ _ 60 upon upon ADP IN _ 62 case _ _ 61 their their PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 62 nmod:poss _ _ 62 families family NOUN NNS Number=Plur 58 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 63 . . PUNCT . _ 4 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **decide** | past | the people | | | | then | | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 2 | **keep** | past · passive | | amount | | the fatting house | | Essama *nsubj:pass*; long *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: subject=Theme in house=Location | | 3 | **cause** | past | the fatting house | | ESSAMA | | | | tree rules | | 4 | **kill** | to-infinitive | the fatting house *not said here* | the goat | | | | | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent goat=Theme | | 5 | **agree** *speech: agree* | past | people | | | | | | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 6 | **stay** | should | | | | the fatting house for a few days | | for the future girls | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in house=Location | | 7 | **not** **tempt** | would · passive | | | | | then | | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle» | | 8 | **steal** | to-infinitive | | | | | | | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 9 | **bring** | infinitive | | shame | | | | upon people's families | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP together»: agent=Agent shame=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 79](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/26/79/) - next →: [sentence 81](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/26/81/) - ↑ back to [Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/26/)