---
title: This proverb is used as a warning to any one to avoid a bad habit or… — Kaffir folk-lore · tree and pragmatics
description: This proverb is used as a warning to any one to avoid a bad habit or an unworthy companion that cannot easily be got rid of. A sentence of «Kaffir folk-lore» by George McCall Theal, Proverbs and Figurative Expressions., with its dependency tree and the pragmatics of every clause.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg71335/26/97/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[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/) / [Kaffir folk-lore](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg71335/) / [Proverbs and Figurative Expressions.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg71335/26/) / 97

# Kaffir folk-lore, Proverbs and Figurative Expressions., sentence 97

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
This proverb is used as a warning to any one to avoid a bad habit or an unworthy companion that cannot easily be got rid of.

<!-- .vintro -->
**What happens:** use, avoid, not get · **To what, where:** proverb, bad habit, unworthy companion

<!-- .vabout -->
This is a sentence of «Kaffir folk-lore» by George McCall Theal, Proverbs and Figurative Expressions.. 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.

<!-- .note-en -->
**Mova's own parse.** This tree may be wrong.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = book:pg71335:26:97
# text = This proverb is used as a warning to any one to avoid a bad habit or an unworthy companion that cannot easily be got rid of.
1	This	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	2	det	_	_
2	proverb	proverb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	as	as	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	warning	warning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	10	det	_	_
10	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	habit	habit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
17	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
18	unworthy	unworthy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	companion	companion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	_
20	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	25	obl	_	_
21	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	25	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	25	advmod	_	_
23	easily	easily	ADV	RB	_	25	advmod	_	_
24	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	25	aux:pass	_	_
25	got	get	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	19	acl:relcl	_	_
26	rid	rid	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	25	xcomp	_	_
27	of	of	ADP	IN	_	26	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | present · passive |  | this proverb |  |  |  | as a warning to any one | vn spend\_time-104 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: subject=Duration as warning=Attribute |
| 2 | **avoid** | to-infinitive |  | a bad habit or a unworthy companion |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V NP.location»: agent=Agent habit=Location |
| 3 | **not** **get** | can · passive |  | a unworthy companion |  |  |  | easily, rid *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING» |

<!-- .note -->
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.

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** «Kaffir folk-lore» by George McCall Theal, Project Gutenberg book 71335 (public domain in the USA). **Tree:** Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), the chapter read in order.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [sentence 96](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg71335/26/96/)
- next →: [sentence 98](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg71335/26/98/)
- ↑ back to [Proverbs and Figurative Expressions.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg71335/26/)