--- title: The spider could not understand how it was that the grasshopper had… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: The spider could not understand how it was that the grasshopper had managed to get back to the play so quickly, but, as he saw him there, he was too hungry to trouble much about that, and went back again to get the food he was so much in need of. Who acts: spider, grasshopper. A sentence of «Ikom fo --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/6/42/) [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/) / [Vii.--how Two Friends Fell Out: the Sp…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/6/) / 42 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Vii.--how Two Friends Fell Out: the Spider and the Grasshopper., sentence 42 The spider could not understand how it was that the grasshopper had managed to get back to the play so quickly, but, as he saw him there, he was too hungry to trouble much about that, and went back again to get the food he was so much in need of. **Who acts:** spider, grasshopper · **What happens:** not understand, manage, get back, see, be, go back · **To what, where:** food, Dabi · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Vii.--how Two Friends Fell Out: the Spider and the Grasshopper.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (spider, grasshopper), 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:pg70959:6:42 # text = The spider could not understand how it was that the grasshopper had managed to get back to the play so quickly, but, as he saw him there, he was too hungry to trouble much about that, and went back again to get the food he was so much in need of. 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 spider spider NOUN NN Number=Sing 5 nsubj _ _ 3 could could AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 5 aux _ _ 4 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 5 advmod _ _ 5 understand understand VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 0 root _ _ 6 how how ADV WRB PronType=Int 13 advmod _ _ 7 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 13 nsubj:pass _ _ 8 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 13 aux:pass _ _ 9 that that SCONJ IN _ 13 mark _ _ 10 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 11 det _ _ 11 grasshopper grasshopper NOUN NN Number=Sing 13 nsubj:pass _ _ 12 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 13 aux _ _ 13 managed manage VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 5 ccomp _ _ 14 to to PART TO _ 15 mark _ _ 15 get get VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 13 xcomp _ _ 16 back back ADV RB _ 15 advmod _ _ 17 to to ADP IN _ 19 case _ _ 18 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 19 det _ _ 19 play play NOUN NN Number=Sing 16 obl _ _ 20 so so ADV RB _ 21 advmod _ _ 21 quickly quickly ADV RB _ 15 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 22 , , PUNCT , _ 27 punct _ _ 23 but but CCONJ CC _ 27 cc _ SpaceAfter=No 24 , , PUNCT , _ 27 punct _ _ 25 as as SCONJ IN _ 27 mark _ _ 26 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 27 nsubj _ _ 27 saw see VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 5 conj _ _ 28 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 27 obj _ _ 29 there there ADV RB PronType=Dem 27 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 30 , , PUNCT , _ 34 punct _ _ 31 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 34 nsubj _ _ 32 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 34 cop _ _ 33 too too ADV RB _ 34 advmod _ _ 34 hungry hungry ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 5 parataxis _ _ 35 to to PART TO _ 36 mark _ _ 36 trouble trouble NOUN NN Number=Sing 34 advcl _ _ 37 much much ADV RB _ 34 advmod _ _ 38 about about ADP IN _ 39 case _ _ 39 that that PRON DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 34 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 40 , , PUNCT , _ 42 punct _ _ 41 and and CCONJ CC _ 42 cc _ _ 42 went go VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 5 parataxis _ _ 43 back back ADV RB _ 42 advmod _ _ 44 again again ADV RB _ 42 advmod _ _ 45 to to PART TO _ 46 mark _ _ 46 get get VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 42 advcl _ _ 47 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 48 det _ _ 48 food food NOUN NN Number=Sing 46 obj _ _ 49 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 52 nsubj _ _ 50 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 52 cop _ _ 51 so so ADV RB _ 52 advmod _ _ 52 much much ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 48 acl:relcl _ _ 53 in in ADP IN _ 54 case _ _ 54 need need NOUN NN Number=Sing 52 conj _ _ 55 of of ADP IN _ 54 case _ SpaceAfter=No 56 . . PUNCT . _ 5 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **not** **understand** | could | the spider | | | | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus | | 2 | **manage** | past · perfect · passive | | food | | | | the grasshopper *nsubj:pass* | tree rules | | 3 | **get back** | to-infinitive | | | | | | quickly *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer | | 4 | **see** | past | grasshopper | Dabi | | there | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer he=Stimulus | | 5 | **is** | past | grasshopper | | | | | about that; trouble *advcl*; hungry *property* | tree rules | | 6 | **go back** | past | | | | | again | | vn convert-26.6.2 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Patient | | 7 | **get** | to-infinitive | | the food | | | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer food=Stimulus | | 8 | **is** | past | grasshopper | the food *not said here* | | | | need *conj*; much *property* | tree rules | 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 41](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/6/41/) - next →: [sentence 43](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/6/43/) - ↑ back to [Vii.--how Two Friends Fell Out: the Spider and the Grasshopper.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/6/)