--- title: Elilli then asked him why he wanted to know, so the chief told her t… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics description: Elilli then asked him why he wanted to know, so the chief told her that they were tired of Chief ’Ndabu and all his family, and wanted to kill them, but that they were afraid of his ju-ju. Who acts: Elilli, chief, wives. A sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/9/36/) [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/) / [Xii.--concerning the Okuni Witches and…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/9/) / 36 # Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xii.--concerning the Okuni Witches and Cannibalism., sentence 36 Elilli then asked him why he wanted to know, so the chief told her that they were tired of Chief ’Ndabu and all his family, and wanted to kill them, but that they were afraid of his ju-ju. **Who acts:** Elilli, chief, wives · **What happens:** ask, want, know, tell, be, kill · **To what, where:** chief, Elilli, wives · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xii.--concerning the Okuni Witches and Cannibalism.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (Elilli, chief, wives), 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:pg70959:9:36 # text = Elilli then asked him why he wanted to know, so the chief told her that they were tired of Chief ’Ndabu and all his family, and wanted to kill them, but that they were afraid of his ju-ju. 1 Elilli Elilli PROPN NNP Number=Sing 3 nsubj _ _ 2 then then ADV RB PronType=Dem 3 advmod _ _ 3 asked ask VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 4 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 3 iobj _ _ 5 why why ADV WRB PronType=Int 7 advmod _ _ 6 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 7 nsubj _ _ 7 wanted want VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 advcl _ _ 8 to to PART TO _ 9 mark _ _ 9 know know VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 7 xcomp _ SpaceAfter=No 10 , , PUNCT , _ 14 punct _ _ 11 so so ADV RB _ 14 advmod _ _ 12 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 13 det _ _ 13 chief chief NOUN NN Number=Sing 14 nsubj _ _ 14 told tell VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 conj _ _ 15 her she PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 14 iobj _ _ 16 that that SCONJ IN _ 19 mark _ _ 17 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 19 nsubj _ _ 18 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 19 cop _ _ 19 tired tired ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 14 advcl _ _ 20 of of ADP IN _ 23 case _ _ 21 Chief Chief PROPN NNP Number=Sing 23 nmod:poss _ _ 22 ’ 's PART POS _ 21 case _ SpaceAfter=No 23 Ndabu Ndabu PROPN NNP Number=Sing 19 obl _ _ 24 and and CCONJ CC _ 27 cc _ _ 25 all all DET PDT PronType=Tot 27 det:predet _ _ 26 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 27 nmod:poss _ _ 27 family family NOUN NN Number=Sing 23 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 28 , , PUNCT , _ 30 punct _ _ 29 and and CCONJ CC _ 30 cc _ _ 30 wanted want VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 parataxis _ _ 31 to to PART TO _ 32 mark _ _ 32 kill kill VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 30 xcomp _ _ 33 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 32 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 34 , , PUNCT , _ 39 punct _ _ 35 but but CCONJ CC _ 39 cc _ _ 36 that that SCONJ IN _ 39 mark _ _ 37 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 39 nsubj _ _ 38 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 39 cop _ _ 39 afraid afraid ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 30 conj _ _ 40 of of ADP IN _ 44 case _ _ 41 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 44 nmod:poss _ _ 42 ju ju NOUN NN Number=Sing 44 compound _ SpaceAfter=No 43 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 42 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 44 ju ju NOUN NN Number=Sing 39 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 45 . . PUNCT . _ 3 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | Elilli | | chief | | then | | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent he=Recipient | | 2 | **want** | past | chief | | | | | | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme | | 3 | **know** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | chief *not said here* | | | | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer | | 4 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | the chief | | Elilli | | | | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent she=Recipient | | 5 | **is** | past | wives *= wife* | | | | | of Chief's Ndabu and chief's family; tired *property* | tree rules | | 6 | **want** | past | | | | | | | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme | | 7 | **kill** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | | wives *= wife* | | | | | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Theme | | 8 | **is** | past | wives *= wife* | | | | | of chief's ju ju; afraid *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 35](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/9/35/) - next →: [sentence 37](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/9/37/) - ↑ back to [Xii.--concerning the Okuni Witches and Cannibalism.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg70959/9/)