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1.1) mi klama le zarci I go-to the market.can be understood as:
1.2) mi cu pu klama le zarci mi pu klama le zarci I in-the-past go-to the market. I went to the market.
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
vi VA short distance va VA medium distance vu VA long distance zu'a FAhA left ri'u FAhA right ga'u FAhA up ni'a FAhA down ca'u FAhA front ne'i FAhA within be'a FAhA north of(The complete list of FAhA cmavo can be found in Section 27.)
Why is this section about spatial tenses rather than the more familiar time tenses of Section 1, asks the reader? Because the model to be used in explaining both will be easier to grasp for space than for time. The explanation of time tenses will resume in Section 4.
2.1) le nanmu va batci le gerku The man [medium distance] bites the dog. Over there the man is biting the dog.
2.2) le nanmu zu'a batci le gerku The man [left] bites the dog.
2.3) le nanmu zu'avi batci le gerku The man [left] [short distance] bites the dog. Slightly to my left, the man bites the dog.
As explained in Section 1, it would be perfectly correct to use ``ku'' to move this tense to the beginning or the end of the sentence to emphasize it:
2.4) zu'aviku le nanmu cu batci le gerku [Left] [short distance] the man bites the dog. Slightly to my left, the man bites the dog.
3.1) le nanmu ga'u zu'a batci le gerku The man [up] [left] bites the dog.
The opposite order also makes sense:
3.2) le nanmu zu'a ga'u batci le gerku The man [left] [up] bites the dog. Above a place to the left of me, the man bites the dog.
3.3) le nanmu zu'avi ga'uvu batci le gerku The man [left] [short distance] [up] [long distance] bites the dog. Far above a place slightly to the left of me, the man bites the dog.
3.4) le nanmu vi zu'a batci le gerku The man [short distance] [left] bites the dog. Left of a place near me, the man bites the dog.
3.5) le nanmu ca'uvi ni'ava ri'uvu ne'i batci le gerku The man [front] [short] [down] [medium] [right] [long] [within] bites the dog. Within a place a long distance to the right of a place which is a medium distance downward from a place a short distance in front of me, the man bites the dog.
Whew! It's a good thing tense constructs are optional: having to say all that could certainly be painful. Note, however, how much shorter the Lojban version of Example 3.5 is than the English version.
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
pu PU past ca PU present ba PU future zi ZI short time distance za ZI medium time distance zu ZI long time distance
Here are some examples of temporal tenses:
4.2) le nanmu puzi batci le gerku The man [past] [short distance] bites the dog. A short time ago, the man bit the dog. 4.3) le nanmu pu pu batci le gerku The man [past] [past] bites the dog. Earlier than an earlier time than now, the man bit the dog. The man had bitten the dog. The man had been biting the dog. 4.4) le nanmu ba puzi batci le gerku The man [future] [past] [short] bites the dog. Shortly earlier than some time later than now, the man will bite the dog. Soon before then, the man will have bitten the dog. The man will have just bitten the dog. The man will just have been biting the dog.
4.5) le nanmu zi pu batci le gerku The man [short] [past] bites the dog. Before a short time from or before now, the man bit or will bite the dog. 4.6) le nanmu zu batci le gerku The man [long] bites the dog. A long time from or before now, the man will bite or bit the dog.
4.7) le nanmu puzu vu batci le gerku The man [past] [long time] [long space] bites the dog. Long ago and far away, the man bit the dog.
4.8) le nanmu batci le gerku puzuvuku The man bites the dog [past] [long time] [long space]. The man bit the dog long ago and far away.
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
ve'i VEhA short space interval ve'a VEhA medium space interval ve'u VEhA long space interval ze'i ZEhA short time interval ze'a ZEhA medium time interval ze'u ZEhA long time interval
Here is an example using a time interval:
5.2) le verba ze'a cadzu le bisli The child [medium time interval] walks-on the ice. For a medium time, the child walks/walked/will walk on the ice.
5.3) le verba pu ze'a cadzu le bisli The child [past] [medium time interval] walks-on the ice. For a medium time, the child walked on the ice. The child walked on the ice for a while.
5.4) mi ca ze'ica cusku dei I [present] [short time interval -- present] express this-utterance. I am now saying this sentence.
By contrast,
5.5) mi ca ze'ipu cusku dei I [present] [short time interval -- past] express this-utterance. I have just been saying this sentence.
5.6) mi pu ze'aba citka le mi sanmi I [past] [medium time interval - future] eat my meal. For a medium time afterward, I ate my meal. I ate my meal for a while.
With ``ca'' instead of ``ba'', Example 5.6 becomes Example 5.7,
5.7) mi pu ze'aca citka le mi sanmi I [past] [medium time interval - present] eat my meal For a medium time before and afterward, I ate my meal. I ate my meal for a while.because the interval would then be centered on the past moment rather than oriented toward the future of that moment. The colloquial English translations are the same --- English is not well-suited to representing this distinction.
Here are some examples of the use of space intervals with and without specified directions:
5.8) ta ri'u ve'i finpe that-there [right] [short space interval] is-a-fish That thing on my right is a fish.
In Example 5.8, there is no equivalent in the colloquial English translation of the ``small interval'' which the fish occupies. Neither the Lojban nor the English expresses the orientation of the fish. Compare Example 5.9:
5.9) ta ri'u ve'ica'u finpe that-there [right] [short space interval - front] is-a-fish That thing on my right extending forwards is a fish.
6.1) mi pu klama le zarci I [past] go-to the market.really means:
6.3) le tricu ba crino the tree [future] is-green The tree will be green.does not imply (as the colloquial English translation does) that the tree is not green now. The vague interval throughout which the tree is, in fact, green may have already started.
This general principle does not mean that Lojban has no way of indicating that a tree will be green but is not yet green. Indeed, there are several ways of expressing that concept: see Section 10 (event contours) and Section 20 (logical connection between tenses).
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
vi'i VIhA on a line vi'a VIhA in an area vi'u VIhA through a volume vi'e VIhA throughout a space/time interval
7.1) le verba ve'a vi'a cadzu le bisli The child [medium space interval] [2-dimensional] walks-on the ice. In a medium-sized area, the child walks on the ice.
The following cmavo is discussed in this section:
mo'i MOhI movement flag
8.2) le verba ri'u cadzu le bisli The child [right] walks-on the ice. To the right of me, the child walks on the ice.
8.4) le verba zu'avu mo'i ri'uvi cadzu le bisli The child [left] [long] [movement] [right] [short] walks-on the ice. Far to the left of me, the child walks a short distance toward my right on the ice.
Here is an example of a movement tense on a bridi not inherently involving movement:
8.5) mi mo'i ca'uvu citka le mi sanmi I [movement] [front] [long] eat my meal. While moving a long way forward, I eat my meal.(Perhaps I am eating in an airplane.)
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
di'i TAhE regularly na'o TAhE typically ru'i TAhE continuously ta'e TAhE habitually di'inai TAhE irregularly na'onai TAhE atypically ru'inai TAhE intermittently ta'enai TAhE contrary to habit roi ROI ``n'' times roinai ROI other than ``n'' times ze'e ZEhA whole time interval ve'e VEhA whole space interval
9.2) mi puzu ze'u di'i velckule I [past] [long distance] [long interval] [regularly] am-a-pupil. Long ago I regularly attended school for a long time.
9.4) mi na'o klama le zarci I [typically] go-to the market I typically go/went/will go to the marketillustrates an interval property in isolation. There are no distance or direction cmavo, so the point of time is vague; likewise, there is no interval cmavo, so the length of the interval during which these goings-to-the-market take place is also vague. As always, context will determine these vague values.
9.5) le verba ru'inai cadzu le bisli The child [continuously-not] walks-on the ice. The child intermittently walks on the ice.
9.6) mi paroi klama le zarci I [one time] go-to the market. I go to the market once. 9.7) mi du'eroi klama le zarci I [too-many times] go-to the market. I go to the market too often.
9.8) mi pu reroi klama le zarci I [past] [two times] go-to the market. I went to the market twice.
9.9) le ratcu reroinai citka le cirli The rat [twice-not] eats the cheese. The rat eats the cheese other than twice
This may mean that the rat eats the cheese fewer times, or more times, or not at all.
9.10) mi ze'e paroi klama le zarci I [whole interval] [once] go-to the market.
Since specifying no ZEhA leaves the interval vague, Example 9.8 might in appropriate context mean the same as Example 9.10 after all --- but Example 9.10 allows us to be specific when specificity is necessary.
9.11) mi ze'epu noroi klama le zarci I [whole interval] [past] [never] go-to the market. I have never gone to the market.says nothing about whether I might go in future.
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
pu'o ZAhO inchoative ca'o ZAhO continuitive ba'o ZAhO perfective co'a ZAhO initiative co'u ZAhO cessitive mo'u ZAhO completitive za'o ZAhO superfective co'i ZAhO achievative de'a ZAhO pausative di'a ZAhO resumptive re'u ROI ordinal tense
10.1) mi pu'o damba I [inchoative] fight. I'm on the verge of fighting.
10.2) la stiv. ca'o bacru Steve [continuitive] utters. Steve continues to talk.
10.3) le verba ba'o cadzu le bisli The child [perfective] walks-on the ice. The child is finished walking on the ice.
10.4) mi ba co'a citka le mi sanmi I [future] [initiative] eat my meal. I will begin to eat my meal. 10.5) mi pu co'u citka le mi sanmi I [past] [cessitive] eat my meal. I ceased eating my meal.
Compare Example 10.4 with:
10.6) mi ba di'i co'a bajra I [future] [regularly] [initiative] run. I will regularly begin to run.which illustrates the combination of a TAhE with a ZAhO.
10.7) mi pu mo'u citka le mi sanmi I [past] [completitive] eat my meal. I finished eating my meal.
In Example 10.7, the meal has reached its natural end; in Example 10.5, the meal has merely ceased, without necessarily reaching its natural end.
10.8) mi pu de'a citka le mi sanmi I [past] [pausative] eat my meal. I stopped eating my meal (with the intention of resuming). 10.9) mi ba di'a citka le mi sanmi I [future] [resumptive] eat my meal. I will resume eating my meal.
10.10) le xirma ca za'o jivna bajra The horse [present] [superfective] compete-type-of runs. The horse keeps on running a race too long.which means that it ran past the finish line (after the race was over --- in most races, the runners do not stop right at the finish line).
10.11) la djan. pu co'i catra la djim John [past] [achievative] kills Jim. John was at the point in time where he killed Jim.
10.13) mi pare'u paroi klama le zarci I [first time] [one time] go-to the store. For the first time, I go to the store once.and
10.14) mi paroi pare'u klama le zarci I [one time] [first time] go-to the store. There is one occasion on which I go to the store for the first time.
The following cmavo is discussed in this section:
fe'e FEhE space interval modifier flag
11.2) mi fe'e ciroi tervecnu lo selsalta I [space:] [three places] buy those-which-are salad-ingredients. I buy salad ingredients in three locations.
11.3) ze'e roroi ve'e fe'e roroi ku li re su'i re du li vo [whole time] [all times] [whole space] [space:] [all places] The-number 2 + 2 = the-number 4. Always and everywhere, two plus two is four.
As shown in Example 11.3, when a tense comes first in a bridi, rather than in its normal position before the selbri (in this case ``du''), it is emphasized.
11.4) tu ve'abe'a fe'e co'a rokci that-yonder [medium space interval - north] [space] [initiative] is-a-rock. That is the beginning of a rock extending to my north. That is the south face of a rock.
12.1) mi klama le zarci ca le nu do klama le zdani I go-to the market [present] the event-of you go-to the house. I go to the market when you go to the house.
12.2) mi klama le zarci pu le nu do pu klama le zdani I go-to the market [past] the event-of you [past] go-to the house.
12.3) le ratcu cu citka le cirla vi le panka The rat eats the cheese [short distance] the park. The rat eats the cheese near the park. 12.4) le ratcu cu citka le cirla vi le vu panka The rat eats the cheese [short distance] the [long distance] park The rat eats the cheese near the faraway park. 12.5) le ratcu cu citka le cirla vu le vi panka The rat eats the cheese [long distance] the [short distance] park The rat eats the cheese far away from the nearby park.
Here the (point-)event of my being dead is the portion of my living-process which occurs after the process is complete. Contrast Example 12.6 with:
12.7) mi morsi ba le nu mi jmive I am-dead [future] the event-of I live.
As explained in Section 6, Example 12.7 does not exclude the possibility that I died before I ceased to live!
Likewise, we might say:
12.8) mi klama le zarci pu'o le nu mi citka I go-to the store [inchoative] the event-of I eatwhich indicates that before my eating begins, I go to the store, whereas
12.9) mi klama le zarci ba'o le nu mi citka I go-to the store [perfective] the event-of I eatwould indicate that I go to the store after I am finished eating.
Here is an example which mixes temporal ZAhO (as a tense) and spatial ZAhO (as a sumti tcita):
12.10) le bloti pu za'o xelklama fe'e ba'o le lalxu the boat [past] [superfective] is-a-transport-mechanism [space] [perfective] the lake. The boat sailed for too long and beyond the lake.
Probably it sailed up onto the dock. One point of clarification: although ``xelklama'' appears to mean simply ``is-a-mode-of-transport'', it does not -- the bridi of Example 12.10 has four omitted arguments, and thus has the (physical) journey which goes on too long as part of its meaning.
12.11) mi klama le zarci reroi le ca djedi I go-to the market [twice] the [present] day I go/went/will go to the market twice today.
12.12) loi snime cu carvi ze'u le ca dunra some-of-the-mass-of snow rains [long time interval] the [present] winter. Snow falls during this winter.claims that the interval specified by ``this winter'' is long, as events of snowfall go, whereas
12.13) loi snime cu carvi ca le ze'u dunra some-of-the-mass-of snow rains [present] the [long time] winter. Snow falls in the long winter.claims that during some part of the winter, which is long as winters go, snow falls.
The following cmavo is discussed in this section:
ki KI sticky tense set/reset
(The last statement does not apply when the two sentences form part of a narrative. See Section 14 for an explanation of ``story time'', which employs a different set of conventions.)
What if the second sentence has a tense anyway?
13.2) mi puki klama le zarci .i le nanmu pu batci le gerku I [past] sticky go-to the market. The man [past] bites the dog.
Here the second ``pu'' does not replace the sticky tense, but adds to it, in the sense that the starting point of its imaginary journey is taken to be the previously set sticky time. So the translation of Example 13.2 is:
13.3) I went to the market. The man had earlier bitten the dog.
13.4) mi pu klama le zarci .i le nanmu pupu batci le gerku I [past] go-to the market. The man [past] [past] bites the dog.
13.5) puku mi ba klama le zarci [past] I [future] go-to the market. Earlier, I was going to go to the market.
Here there are two tenses in the same bridi, the first floating free and specified by ``puku'', the second in the usual place and specified by ``ba''. They are considered cumulative in the same way as the two tenses in separate sentences of Example 13.4. Example 13.5 is therefore equivalent in meaning, except for emphasis, to:
13.6) mi puba klama le zarci I [past] [future] go-to the market. I was going to go to the market.
13.7) mi ba klama le zarci puku I [future] go-to the market [past]. I will have gone to the market earlier. 13.8) mi bapu klama le zarci I [future] [past] go-to the market. I will have gone to the market.
What is the implied tense of the second sentence? Not ``puba'', but only ``pu'', since only ``pu'' was made sticky with ``ki''. So the translation is:
13.10) mi pu klama le ba'o zarci I [past] go-to the [perfective] market I went to the former market.
The significance of the ``ba'o'' in Example 13.10 is that the speaker's destination is described as being ``in the aftermath of being a market''; that is, it is a market no longer. In particular, the time at which it was no longer a market is in the speaker's past, because the ``ba'o'' is interpreted relative to the ``pu'' tense of the main bridi.
Here is an example involving an abstraction bridi:
13.11) mi ca jinvi le du'u mi ba morsi I now opine the fact-that I will-be dead. I now believe that I will be dead.
13.12) mi ki cusku dei I [here and now] express this-utterance. I say this sentence now.
The following mini-story illustrates the important features of story time. A sentence-by-sentence explication follows:
14.1) puzuki ku ne'iki le kevna le ninmu goi ko'a zutse le rokci [past] [long] [sticky] [,] [inside] [sticky] the cave, the woman defined-as she-1 sat-on the rock Long ago, in a cave, a woman sat on a rock. 14.2) .i ko'a citka loi kanba rectu She-1 [tenseless] eat some-of-the-mass-of goat flesh. She was eating goat's meat. 14.3) .i ko'a pu jukpa ri le mudyfagri She [past] cook the-last-mentioned by-method the wood-fire. She had cooked the meat over a wood fire. 14.4) .i lei rectu cu zanglare The-mass-of flesh is-(favorable)-warm. The meat was pleasantly warm. 14.5) .i le labno goi ko'e bazaki nenri klama le kevna The wolf defined-as it-2 [future] [medium] [sticky] within-came to-the cave. A while later, a wolf came into the cave. 14.6) .i ko'e lebna lei rectu ko'a It-2 [tenseless] takes the-mass-of flesh from-her-1. It took the meat from her. 14.7) .i ko'e bartu klama It-2 out ran It ran out.
Example 14.2 is tenseless. Outside story time, it would be assumed that its event happens simultaneously with that of Example 14.1, since a sticky tense is in effect; the rules of story time, however, imply that the event occurs afterwards, and that the story time has advanced (changing the sticky time set in Example 14.1).
Example 14.3 has an explicit tense. This is taken relative to the latest setting of the sticky time; therefore, the event of Example 14.3 happens before that of Example 14.2. It cannot be determined if Example 14.3 happens before or after Example 14.1.
Example 14.5 specifies the future (relative to Example 14.4) and makes it sticky. So all further events happen after Example 14.5.
Example 14.6 and Example 14.7 are again tenseless, and so happen after Example 14.5. (Story time is changed.)
So the overall order is 14.1 - 14.3 - 14.2 - 14.4 - (medium interval) - 14.5 - 14.6 - 14.7. It is also possible that 14.3 happens before 14.1.
15.1) John says that George is going to the market. 15.2) John says that George went to the market. 15.3) John said that George went to the market. 15.4) John said that George had gone to the market.
In Example 15.1 and Example 15.2, the tense of the main sentence is the present: ``says''. If George goes when John speaks, we get the present tense ``is going'' (``goes'' would be unidiomatic); if George goes before John speaks, we get the past tense ``went''. But if the tense of the main sentence is the past, with ``said'', then the tense required in the subordinate clause is different. If George goes when John speaks, we get the past tense ``went''; if George goes before John speaks, we get the past-perfect tense ``had gone''.
The rule of English, therefore, is that both the tense of the main sentence and the tense of the subordinate clause are understood relative to the speaker (not John, but the person who speaks Examples 15.1 through 15.4).
15.5) la djan. ca cusku le se du'u la djordj. ca klama le zarci John [present] says the statement-that George [present] goes-to the market. 15.6) la djan. ca cusku le se du'u la djordj. pu klama le zarci John [present] says the statement-that George [past] goes-to the market. 15.7) la djan. pu cusku le se du'u la djordj. ca klama le zarci John [past] says the statement-that George [present] goes-to the market. 15.8) la djan. pu cusku le se du'u la djordj. pu klama le zarci John [past] says the statement-that George [past] goes-to the market.
Probably the most counterintuitive of the Lojban examples is Example 15.7. The ``ca'' looks quite odd, as if George were going to the market right now, rather than back when John spoke. But this ``ca'' is really a ``ca'' with respect to a reference point specified by the outer ``pu''. This behavior is the same as the additive behavior of multiple tenses in the same bridi, as explained in Section 13.
15.9) la djan. pu cusku le se du'u la .alis pu cusku le se du'u la djordj. pu cusku le se du'u la maris. nau klama le zarci John [past] says the statement-that Alice [past] says the statement-that George [past] says the statement that Mary [now] goes-to the market. John said that Alice had said that George had earlier said that Mary is now going to the market.
16.1) le verba cu cadzu le bisli zu'a le nu le nanmu cu batci le gerku The child walks-on the ice [left] the event-of the man bites the dog. The child walks on the ice to the left of where the man bites the dog.
Example 16.2 means the same thing as:
16.3) le nanmu cu batci le gerku .i zu'a la'edi'u le verba cu cadzu le bisli The man bites the dog. [Left] the-referent-of-the-last-sentence the child walks-on the ice. The man bites the dog. Left of what I just mentioned, the child walks on the ice.
16.4) le nanmu cu batci le gerku .i zu'a le verba cu cadzu le bisli The man bites the dog. [Left] the child [something] walks-on the ice. The man bites the dog. To the left of the child, something walks on the ice.
Do not confuse either Example 16.2 or Example 16.4 with the following:
16.5) le nanmu cu batci le gerku .i zu'aku le verba cu cadzu le bisli The man bites the dog. [Left] the child walks-on the ice. The man bites the dog. Left of me, the child walks on the ice.
In Example 16.5, the origin point is the speaker, as is usual with ``zu'aku''. Example 16.2 makes the origin point of the tense the event described by the first sentence.
16.6) pugi mi klama le zarci gi mi klama le zdani [past] I go-to the market [,] I go-to the house. Before I go to the market, I go to the house.
A parallel construction can be used to express a tense relationship between sumti:
16.7) mi klama pugi le zarci gi le zdani I go-to [past] the market [,] the house.
Because English does not have any direct way of expressing a tense-like relationship between nouns, Example 16.7 cannot be expressed in English without paraphrasing it either into Example 16.6 or else into ``I go to the house before the market'', which is ambiguous --- is the market going?
16.8) mi pugi klama le zarci gi klama le zdani I [past] go-to the market [,] go-to the house. I, before going to the market, go to the house.
17.1) la teris. satre le mlatu .ije la teris. satre le ractu Terry strokes the cat. And Terry strokes the rabbit. 17.2) la teris. satre le mlatu gi'e satre le ractu Terry strokes the cat and strokes the rabbit. 17.3) la teris. satre le mlatu .e le ractu Terry strokes the cat and the rabbit.
17.4) la teris. satre le mlatu .ijebabo la teris. satre le ractu Terry strokes the cat. And then Terry strokes the rabbit.
17.5) la teris. satre le mlatu gi'ebabo satre le ractu Terry strokes the cat, and then strokes the rabbit.
17.6) la teris. satre le mlatu .ebabo le ractu Terry strokes the cat and then the rabbit.Example 17.4 through 17.6 are equivalent in meaning. They are also analogous to Examples 17.1 through 17.3 respectively. The ``bo'' is required for the same reason as in Example 16.2: to prevent the ``ba'' from functioning as a sumti tcita for the following sumti (or, in Example 17.5, from being attached to the following selbri).
17.7) mi bevri le dakli .ije tu'e mi bevri le gerku .ija mi bevri le mlatu tu'u I carry the sack. And (I carry the dog. And/or I carry the cat). I carry the sack. And I carry the dog, or I carry the cat, or I carry both. 17.8) mi bevri le dakli gi'eke bevri le gerku gi'a bevri le mlatu I carry the sack and (carry the dog and/or carry the cat). I carry the sack, and also carry the dog or carry the cat or carry both. 17.9) mi bevri le dakli .eke le gerku .a le mlatu I carry the sack and (the dog or the cat) I carry the sack and also the dog or the cat or both.
To express that I carry the sack first (earlier in time), and then the dog or the cat or both simultaneously, I can insert tenses to form Examples 17.10 through 17.12:
17.10) mi bevri le dakli .ije ba tu'e mi bevri le gerku .ijacabo mi bevri le mlatu tu'u I carry the sack. And [future] (I carry the dog. And/or [present] I carry the cat.) I carry the sack. And then I will carry the dog or I will carry the cat or I will carry both at once.
17.11) mi bevri le dakli gi'ebake bevri le gerku gi'acabo bevri le mlatu I carry the sack and [future] (carry the dog and/or [present] carry the cat). I carry the sack and then will carry the dog or carry the cat or carry both at once.
17.12) mi bevri le dakli .ebake bevri le gerku .acabo le mlatu I carry the sack and [future] (the cat and/or [present] the dog). I carry the sack, and then the cat or the dog or both at once.Examples 17.10 through 17.12 are equivalent in meaning to each other, and correspond to the tenseless Examples 17.7 through 17.9 respectively.
18.1) mi punai klama le zarci I [past] [not] go-to the market. I didn't go to the market.
18.2) mi klama le zarci canai le nu do klama le zdani I go-to the market [present] [not] the event-of you go-to the house. It is not true that I went to the market at the same time that you went to the house. 18.3) le nanmu batci le gerku ne'inai le kumfa The man bites the dog [within] [not] the room. The man didn't bite the dog inside the room. 18.4) mi morsi ca'onai le nu mi jmive I am-dead [continuitive - negated] the event-of I live. It is false that I am dead during my life.
18.5) mi na'e pu klama le zarci I [non-] [past] go-to the market. I go to the market other than in the past. 18.6) le nanmu batci le gerku to'e ne'i le kumfa The man bites the dog [opposite-of] [within] the room. The man bites the dog outside the room. 18.7) mi klama le zarci na'e ca le nu do klama le zdani I go-to the market [non-] [present] the event-of you go-to the house. I went to the market at a time other than the time at which you went to the house. 18.8) mi morsi na'e ca'o le nu mi jmive I am-dead [non-] [continuitive] the event-of I live. I am dead other than during my life.
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
ca'a CAhA actually is ka'e CAhA is innately capable of nu'o CAhA can but has not pu'i CAhA can and has
19.1) ro datka cu flulimna all ducks are-float-swimmers All ducks swim by floating.
19.2) ro datka ca flulimna all ducks [present] are-float-swimmers. All ducks are now swimming by floating.the resulting Example 19.2 might still be considered a truth, even though the colloquial English seems even more likely to be false. All ducks have the potential of swimming even if they are not exercising that potential at present. To get the full flavor of ``All ducks are now swimming'', we must append a marker from selma'o CAhA to the tense, and say:
19.3) ro datka ca ca'a flulimna all ducks [present] [actual] are-float-swimmers All ducks are now actually swimming by floating.
19.4) ro datka ka'e flulimna all ducks [capable] are-float-swimmers. All ducks are innately capable of swimming.
19.5) la djan. ka'e viska John [capable] sees. John is innately capable of seeing. John can see.
19.6) le cukta ka'e viska The book [capable] sees. The book can see.is not true in most epistemologies, since the ability to see is not part of the innate nature of a book.
19.7) ro cifydatka nu'o flulimna all infant-ducks [can but has not] are-float-swimmers. All infant ducks have an undemonstrated potential for swimming by floating. Baby ducks can swim but haven't yet.
19.8) la frank. pu'i viska Frank [can and has] sees. Frank has demonstrated a potential for seeing. Frank can see and has seen.
19.9) mi pu ca'a klama le zarci I [past] [actual] go-to the store. I actually went to the store. 19.10) la frank. pu nu'o klama le zdani Frank [past] [can but has not] goes-to the store. Frank could have, but will not have, gone to the store (at some understood moment in the future).
19.11) ta jelca That burns/is-burning/might-burn/will-burn.
19.12) ta ca ca'a jelca That [present] [actual] burns. That is on fire.and
19.13) ta ka'e jelca That [capable] burns. That is capable of burning. That is inflammable.
19.14) fagri firethe prudent Lojbanist will assume the meaning ``Fire!''
Like many things in Lojban, tenses may be logically connected; logical connection is explained in more detail in Chapter 14. Some of the terminology in this section will be clear only if you already understand logical connectives.
20.1) mi pu je ba klama le zarci I [past] and [future] go-to the market. I went and will go to the market.means the same as:
20.2) mi pu klama le zarci .ije mi ba klama le zarci I [past] go-to the market. And I [future] go-to the market. I went to the market, and I will go to the market.
20.3) mi punai je canai je ba klama le zarci I [past] [not] and [present] [not] and [future] go-to the market. I haven't yet gone to the market, but I will in future.Example 20.3 is far more specific than
20.4) mi ba klama le zarci I [future] go-to the market.which only says that I will go, without claiming anything about my past or present. ``ba'' does not imply ``punai'' or ``canai''; to compel that interpretation, either a logical connection or a ZAhO is needed.
20.5) mi mo'izu'anai je mo'iri'u cadzu I [motion] [left-not] and [motion] [right] walk. I walk not leftward but rightward. 20.6) mi mo'izu'a naje mo'iri'u cadzu I [motion] [left] not-and [motion] [right] walk. I walk not leftward but rightward.
20.7) mi puza bi'o bazu vasxu I [past] [medium] from(It is to be hoped that I have a long life ahead of me.)... to [future] [long] breathe. I breathe from a medium time ago till a long time to come.
One additional use of non-logical connectives within tenses is discussed in Section 21. Other uses will probably be identified in future.
21.1) mi reroi pi'u xaroi cecla le seldanti I [twice] [cross-product] [six times] shoot the projectile-launcher. On two occasions, I fire the gun six times.
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
jai JAI tense conversion fai FA indefinite place
22.1) mi cu klama le zarci I go-to the market. 22.2) le zarci cu se klama mi The market is-gone-to by-me.
(The other members of FA are used to mark the first, second, etc. places of a bridi explicitly:
22.5) fa mi cu klama fe le zarcimeans the same as
22.6) fe le zarci cu klama fa mias well as the simple
22.7) mi cu klama le zarciin which the place structure is determined by position.)
22.8) mi viska le jai vi citka be le cirla I saw the place-of eating the cheese.
Here the eater of the cheese is elided, so no ``fai'' appears.
22.9) mi djuno fi le jai ca morsi be fai la djan. I know about the [present] is-dead of-the-one-called ``John'' I know the time of John's death. I know when John died.
23.1) mi nelci do mu'i le nu do nelci mi I like you with-motivation the event-of you like me. I like you because you like me.places the ``le nu'' sumti in the x1 place of the gismu ``mukti'' (which underlies the modal ``mu'i''), namely the motivating event, the tensed bridi
23.2) mi nelci do ba le nu do nelci mi I like you after the event-of you like me. I like you after you like me.places the ``le nu'' sumti in the x2 place of the gismu ``balvi'' (which underlies the tense ``ba''), namely the point of reference for the future tense. Paraphrases of Example 23.1 and Example 23.2, employing the brivla ``mukti'' and ``balvi'' explicitly, would be:
23.3) le nu do nelci mi cu mukti le nu mi nelci do The event-of you like me motivates the event-of I like you Your liking me is the motive for my liking you.and
23.4) le nu mi nelci do cu balvi le nu do nelci mi The event-of I like you is after the event of you like me. My liking you follows (in time) your liking me.(Note that the paraphrase is not perfect due to the difference in what is claimed; Example 23.3 and Example 23.4 claim only the causal and temporal relationships between the events, not the existence of the events themselves.)
23.5) mi nelci do .imu'ibo do nelci mi I like you. [That is] Because you like me. 23.6) do nelci mi .ibabo mi nelci do You like me. Afterward, I like you.
In Example 23.5, the order of the two bridi ``mi nelci do'' and ``do nelci mi'' is the same as in Example 23.1. In Example 23.6, however, the order is reversed: the origin point ``do nelci mi'' physically appears before the future-time event ``mi nelci do''. In both cases, the bridi characterizing the event in the x2 place appears before the bridi characterizing the event in the x1 place of ``mukti'' or ``balvi''.
23.7) mu'igi do nelci mi gi mi nelci do Because you like me, I like you.and
23.8) bagi do nelci mi gi mi nelci do After you like me, I like you.respectively.
The following cmavo is discussed in this section:
cu'e CUhE tense question
24.2) le verba vi ma pu cadzu le bisli The child [short space] [what sumti?] [past] walks-on the ice. The child at/near what place walked on the ice? Where did the child walk on the ice?
24.3) le nanmu cu'e batci le gerku The man [what tense?] bites the dog. When/Where/How does the man bite the dog?
24.4) va [medium space]. Some ways from here. 24.5) puzu [past] [long time]. A long time ago. 24.6) vi le lunra [short space] The moon. On the moon. 24.7) pu'o [inchoative] He hasn't yet done so.or even the modal reply (from selma'o BAI; see Chapter 9):
24.8) bai la djan. Under John's compulsion.
24.9) do puzi je cu'e sombo le gurni You [past] [short] and [when?] sow the grain? You sowed the grain a little while ago; when else do you sow it?
Additionally, the logical connective itself can be replaced by a question word:
24.10) la .artr. pu je'i ba nolraitru Arthur [past] [which?] [future] is-a-king Was Arthur a king or will he be?
Answers to Example 24.10 would be logical connectives such as ``je'', meaning ``both'', ``naje'' meaning ``the latter'', or ``jenai'' meaning ``the former''.
It is a limitation of the VA and ZI system of specifying magnitudes that they can only prescribe vague magnitudes: small, medium, or large. In order to express both an origin point and an exact distance, the Lojban construction called a ``termset'' is employed. (Termsets are explained further in Chapter 14 and Chapter 16.) It is grammatical for a termset to be placed after a tense or modal tag rather than a sumti, which allows both the origin of the imaginary journey and its distance to be specified. Here is an example:
25.1) la frank. sanli zu'a nu'i la djordj. lu'a lo mitre be li mu [nu'u] Frank stands [left] [start termset] George [quantity] a thing-measuring-in-meters the-number 5 [end termset]. Frank is standing five meters to the left of George.
Here the termset extends from the ``nu'i'' to the implicit ``nu'u'' at the end of the sentence, and includes the terms ``la djordj.'', which is the unmarked origin point, and the tagged sumti ``lo mitre be li mu'', which the cmavo ``la'u'' (of selma'o BAI, and meaning ``with quantity''; see Chapter 9) marks as a quantity. Both terms are governed by the tag ``zu'a''
It is not necessary to have both an origin point and an explicit magnitude: a termset may have only a single term in it. A less precise version of Example 25.1 is:
25.2) la frank. sanli zu'a nu'i lu'a lo mitre be li mu Frank stands [left] [termset] [quantity] a thing-measuring-in-meters the-number 5. Frank stands five meters to the left.
26.1) a'o do pu seju ba roroi ca'o fe'e su'oroi jimpe fi le lojbo temci selsku ciste
cmavo gismu without mo'i with mo'i ----- ----- ------------ --------- ca'u crane in front (of) forward ti'a trixe behind backward zu'a zunle on the left (of) leftward ri'u pritu on the right (of) rightward ga'u gapru above upward(ly) ni'a cnita below downward(ly) ne'i nenri within into ru'u sruri surrounding orbiting pa'o pagre transfixing passing through ne'a next to moving while next to te'e bordering moving along the border (of) re'o adjacent (to) along fa'a farna towards arriving at to'o away from departing from zo'i inward (from) approaching ze'o outward (from) receding from zo'a tangential (to) passing (by) bu'u coincident (with) moving to coincide with be'a berti north (of) northward(ly) ne'u snanu south (of) southward(ly) du'a stuna east (of) eastward(ly) vu'a west (of) westward(ly)
``zo'i'' and ``ze'o'' refer to direction towards or away from the speaker's location, or whatever the origin is.
``fa'a'' and ``to'o'' refer to direction towards or away from some other point.
24.1) do klama le zdani ca ma you go-to the house [present] [what sumti?]. You go to the house at what time? When do you go to the house?
22.3) le ratcu cu citka le cirla vi le panka The rat eats the cheese [short distance] the park. The rat eats the cheese in the park. 22.4) le panka cu jai vi citka le cirla fai le ratcu The park is-the-place-of eating the cheese by-the rat. The park is where the rat eats the cheese.
21.2) la djordj. ca'o co'a ciska George [continuitive] [initiative] writes. George continues to start to write. 21.3) mi reroi ca'o xaroi darxi le damri I [twice] [continuitive] [six times] hit the drum. On two occasions, I continue to beat the drum six times.
Example 19.3 is false in both Lojban and English, since it claims that the swimming is an actual, present fact, true of every duck that exists, whereas in fact there is at least one duck that is not swimming now.
18.9) le verba na'e ri'u cadzu le bisli The child [non-] [right] walks-on the ice The child walks on the ice other than to my right.
16.2) le nanmu cu batci le gerku .izu'abo le verba cu cadzu le bisli The man bites the dog. [Left] the child walks-on the ice. The man bites the dog. To the left, the child walks on the ice.
13.1) mi puki klama le zarci .i le nanmu cu batci le gerku I [past] [sticky] go-to the market. The man bites the dog. I went to the market. The man bit the dog.
12.6) mi morsi ba'o le nu mi jmive I am-dead [perfective] the event-of I live. I die in the aftermath of my living.
11.1) ko vi'i fe'e di'i sombo le gurni You-imperative [1-dimensional] [space:] [regularly] sow the grain. Sow the grain in a line and evenly!
10.12) mi pare'u klama le zarci I [first time] go-to the store. I go to the store for the first time (within a vague interval).
9.3) mi ba ta'e klama le zarci I [future] [habitually] go-to the market. I will habitually go to the market. I will make a habit of going to the market.
9.1) mi puzu ze'u velckule I [past] [long distance] [long interval] am-a-school-attendee (pupil). Long ago I attended school for a long time.
8.3) le verba mo'i ri'u cadzu le bisli ma'i vo'a The child [movement] [right] walks on the ice in-reference-frame the-x1-place. The child walks toward her right on the ice.
8.1) le verba mo'i ri'u cadzu le bisli The child [movement] [right] walks-on the ice. The child walks toward my right on the ice.
5.1) le verba ve'i cadzu le bisli The child [small space interval] walks-on the ice. In a small space, the child walks on the ice. The child walks about a small area of the ice.
4.1) le nanmu pu batci le gerku The man [past] bites the dog. The man bit the dog.
1.3) puku mi klama le zarci In-the-past I go-to the market. Earlier, I went to the market. 1.4) mi klama puku le zarci I go-to in-the-past the market. I went earlier to the market. 1.5) mi klama le zarci pu [ku] I go-to the market in-the-past. I went to the market earlier.