--- title: [7] The natives believe that when a man whose first-born child is a… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: [7] The natives believe that when a man whose first-born child is a boy happens to hit a toe on his right foot against a stone on his way to a town, that he will be badly received at that town, but if the toe which is hit by the stone is on his left foot, then the people will welcome him and treat h --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/29/28/) [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/) / [Fig. 2.--chief Indoma’s Compound.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/29/) / 28 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Fig. 2.--chief Indoma’s Compound., sentence 28 \[7\] The natives believe that when a man whose first-born child is a boy happens to hit a toe on his right foot against a stone on his way to a town, that he will be badly received at that town, but if the toe which is hit by the stone is on his left foot, then the people will welcome him and treat him kindly. **Who acts:** natives, man, boy, stone, toe, people · **What happens:** believe, bear, be, happen, hit, receive · **To what, where:** 7, boy, toe, man, town, left foot · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Fig. 2.--chief Indoma’s Compound.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (natives, man, boy, stone), 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:pg70959:29:28 # text = [7] The natives believe that when a man whose first-born child is a boy happens to hit a toe on his right foot against a stone on his way to a town, that he will be badly received at that town, but if the toe which is hit by the stone is on his left foot, then the people will welcome him and treat him kindly. 1 [ [ PUNCT -LRB- _ 2 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 2 7 7 NUM CD NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card 6 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 3 ] ] PUNCT -RRB- _ 2 punct _ _ 4 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 5 det _ _ 5 natives native NOUN NNS Number=Plur 6 nsubj _ _ 6 believe believe VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 7 that that SCONJ IN _ 19 mark _ _ 8 when when SCONJ WRB _ 18 mark _ _ 9 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 10 det _ _ 10 man man NOUN NN Number=Sing 18 nsubj _ _ 11 whose whose PRON WP$ Poss=Yes|PronType=Rel 15 nmod:poss _ _ 12 first first ADJ JJ Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord 14 amod _ SpaceAfter=No 13 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 12 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 14 born bear VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 15 amod _ _ 15 child child NOUN NN Number=Sing 10 nmod _ _ 16 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 18 cop _ _ 17 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 18 det _ _ 18 boy boy NOUN NN Number=Sing 19 nsubj _ _ 19 happens happen VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 6 ccomp _ _ 20 to to PART TO _ 21 mark _ _ 21 hit hit VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 19 xcomp _ _ 22 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 23 det _ _ 23 toe toe NOUN NN Number=Sing 21 obj _ _ 24 on on ADP IN _ 27 case _ _ 25 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 27 nmod:poss _ _ 26 right right ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 27 amod _ _ 27 foot foot NOUN NN Number=Sing 21 obl _ _ 28 against against ADP IN _ 30 case _ _ 29 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 30 det _ _ 30 stone stone NOUN NN Number=Sing 21 obl _ _ 31 on on ADP IN _ 33 case _ _ 32 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 33 nmod:poss _ _ 33 way way NOUN NN Number=Sing 21 obl _ _ 34 to to ADP IN _ 36 case _ _ 35 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 36 det _ _ 36 town town NOUN NN Number=Sing 33 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 37 , , PUNCT , _ 43 punct _ _ 38 that that SCONJ IN _ 43 mark _ _ 39 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 43 nsubj _ _ 40 will will AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 43 aux _ _ 41 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 43 aux:pass _ _ 42 badly badly ADV RB Degree=Pos 43 advmod _ _ 43 received receive VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 19 conj _ _ 44 at at ADP IN _ 46 case _ _ 45 that that DET DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 46 det _ _ 46 town town NOUN NN Number=Sing 43 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 47 , , PUNCT , _ 62 punct _ _ 48 but but CCONJ CC _ 62 cc _ _ 49 if if SCONJ IN _ 62 mark _ _ 50 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 51 det _ _ 51 toe toe NOUN NN Number=Sing 62 nsubj _ _ 52 which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 54 nsubj:pass _ _ 53 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 54 aux:pass _ _ 54 hit hit VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 51 acl:relcl _ _ 55 by by ADP IN _ 57 case _ _ 56 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 57 det _ _ 57 stone stone NOUN NN Number=Sing 54 obl _ _ 58 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 62 cop _ _ 59 on on ADP IN _ 62 case _ _ 60 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 62 nmod:poss _ _ 61 left left ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 62 amod _ _ 62 foot foot NOUN NN Number=Sing 19 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 63 , , PUNCT , _ 68 punct _ _ 64 then then ADV RB PronType=Dem 68 advmod _ _ 65 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 66 det _ _ 66 people people NOUN NNS Number=Plur 68 nsubj _ _ 67 will will AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 68 aux _ _ 68 welcome welcome VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 62 parataxis _ _ 69 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 68 obj _ _ 70 and and CCONJ CC _ 71 cc _ _ 71 treat treat VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 68 conj _ _ 72 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 71 obj _ _ 73 kindly kindly ADV RB _ 71 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 74 . . PUNCT . _ 6 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **believe** | present | the natives | 7 | | | | | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus | | 2 | **bear** | participle | | | | | | | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer | | 3 | **is a** | present | a man a man a man's born child's born child | a boy | | | | | tree rules | | 4 | **happen** | present | a boy | | | | | | tree rules | | 5 | **hit** | to-infinitive | a boy *not said here* | a toe | | | | against a stone; on boy's way to a town; on boy's right foot | vn hit-18.1-1 «NP V NP PP»: agent=Agent toe=Instrument on foot=Patient | | 6 | **receive** | future · passive | | man | | that town | | badly *property* | vn admit-64.3-1 «NP V NP PP.location»: subject=Theme at town=Location | | 7 | **hit** | present · passive | the stone | the toe | | | | | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme subject=Co-Theme | | 8 | **is** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | the toe | | | boy's left foot | | boy *nmod:poss* | tree rules | | 9 | **welcome** | future | the people | boy | | | then | | vn admit-64.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme | | 10 | **treat** | infinitive | the people *not said here* | | boy | | | kindly *property* | vn equip-13.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent he=Recipient | 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 27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/29/27/) - next →: [sentence 29](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/29/29/) - ↑ back to [Fig. 2.--chief Indoma’s Compound.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/29/)