--- title: When the boys saw who it was had come to play with them, they asked… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: When the boys saw who it was had come to play with them, they asked him why he did not always come out and join them, so he told them that his grandmother would not allow him to go out of the house. Who acts: boys, Ogor, grandmother. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphins --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/7/109/) [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/) / [Ix.--the Story of the War Between Inku…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/7/) / 109 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Ix.--the Story of the War Between Inkum and Enfitop., sentence 109 When the boys saw who it was had come to play with them, they asked him why he did not always come out and join them, so he told them that his grandmother would not allow him to go out of the house. **Who acts:** boys, Ogor, grandmother · **What happens:** see, come, play, ask, not come out, join · **To what, where:** Ogor, boys, house · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Ix.--the Story of the War Between Inkum and Enfitop.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (boys, Ogor, grandmother), 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:pg70959:7:109 # text = When the boys saw who it was had come to play with them, they asked him why he did not always come out and join them, so he told them that his grandmother would not allow him to go out of the house. 1 When when ADV WRB PronType=Int 4 advmod _ _ 2 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 3 det _ _ 3 boys boy NOUN NNS Number=Plur 4 nsubj _ _ 4 saw see VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 16 advcl _ _ 5 who who PRON WP PronType=Rel 9 nsubj _ _ 6 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 9 nsubj _ _ 7 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 9 aux:pass _ _ 8 had have VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 9 aux _ _ 9 come come VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 4 ccomp _ _ 10 to to PART TO _ 11 mark _ _ 11 play play VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 9 xcomp _ _ 12 with with ADP IN _ 13 case _ _ 13 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 11 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 14 , , PUNCT , _ 4 punct _ _ 15 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 16 nsubj _ _ 16 asked ask VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 17 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 16 iobj _ _ 18 why why ADV WRB PronType=Int 23 advmod _ _ 19 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 23 nsubj _ _ 20 did do AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 23 aux _ _ 21 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 23 advmod _ _ 22 always always ADV RB PronType=Tot 23 advmod _ _ 23 come come VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 16 xcomp _ _ 24 out out ADV RB _ 23 advmod _ _ 25 and and CCONJ CC _ 26 cc _ _ 26 join join VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 23 conj _ _ 27 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 26 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 28 , , PUNCT , _ 31 punct _ _ 29 so so ADV RB _ 31 advmod _ _ 30 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 31 nsubj _ _ 31 told tell VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 16 conj _ _ 32 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 31 iobj _ _ 33 that that SCONJ IN _ 38 mark _ _ 34 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 35 nmod:poss _ _ 35 grandmother grandmother NOUN NN Number=Sing 38 nsubj _ _ 36 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 38 aux _ _ 37 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 38 advmod _ _ 38 allow allow VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 31 xcomp _ _ 39 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 38 iobj _ _ 40 to to PART TO _ 41 mark _ _ 41 go go VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 38 xcomp _ _ 42 out out ADP IN _ 45 case _ _ 43 of of ADP IN _ 45 case _ _ 44 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 45 det _ _ 45 house house NOUN NN Number=Sing 41 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 46 . . PUNCT . _ 16 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **see** | past | the boys | | | | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus | | 2 | **come** | past · perfect · passive | | | | | | who *nsubj*; company *nsubj* | tree rules | | 3 | **play** | to-infinitive | | | | | | with boys *= boy* | vn play-114.2-1 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent with they=Theme | | 4 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | boys *= boy* | | Ogor | | | | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S»: agent=Agent he=Recipient clause=Topic | | 5 | **not** **come out** *not said to happen* | past · do-support | Ogor | | | | | always, out *property* | vn become-109.1 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Patient | | 6 | **join** | infinitive | Ogor *not said here* | boys *= boy* | | | | | vn mix-22.1-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Patient | | 7 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | Ogor | | boys *= boy* | | | | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent they=Recipient clause=Topic | | 8 | **not** **allow** *not said to happen* | would | Ogor's grandmother | | Ogor | | | | vn allow-64.1-1 «NP V NP S»: agent=Causer he=Beneficiary clause=Eventuality | | 9 | **go out** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | Ogor's grandmother *not said here* | the house | | | | | 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 108](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/7/108/) - next →: [sentence 110](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/7/110/) - ↑ back to [Ix.--the Story of the War Between Inkum and Enfitop.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/7/)