---
title: Then a large and deep grave was dug, and a number of slaves were kil… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics
description: Then a large and deep grave was dug, and a number of slaves were killed by knocking them on the head with wooden clubs. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Iv.--how Elili of Inkum Died, and Was Brought Back to Life Again., with its dependency tree and the 
---

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# Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Iv.--how Elili of Inkum Died, and Was Brought Back to Life Again., sentence 35

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Then a large and deep grave was dug, and a number of slaves were killed by knocking them on the head with wooden clubs.

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**What happens:** dig, kill, knock · **To what, where:** large grave, number, slaves, head

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This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Iv.--how Elili of Inkum Died, and Was Brought Back to Life Again.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: 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:pg70959:5:35
# text = Then a large and deep grave was dug, and a number of slaves were killed by knocking them on the head with wooden clubs.
1	Then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	8	advmod	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
3	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	deep	deep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	_
6	grave	grave	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj:pass	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux:pass	_	_
8	dug	dig	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	number	number	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj:pass	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	slaves	slave	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nmod	_	_
15	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	16	aux:pass	_	_
16	killed	kill	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	conj	_	_
17	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	18	mark	_	_
18	knocking	knock	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	16	advcl	_	_
19	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	obj	_	_
20	on	on	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	_
23	with	with	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
24	wooden	wooden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	25	amod	_	_
25	clubs	club	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dig** | past · passive |  | a large grave |  |  | then |  | vn poke-19-1-1-1 «NP V NP.theme»: subject=Theme |
| 2 | **kill** | past · passive |  | a number of slaves |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 3 | **knock** | gerund |  | slaves *= slave* |  | the head |  | with wooden clubs | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP PP.destinations»: agent=Agent they=Theme on head=Destination |

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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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