1.1) do mamta mi You are-a-mother-of me. You are my mother.and
1.2) do patfu mi You are-a-father-of me. You are my father.lies in the different selbri.
For the purposes of this chapter, however, all brivla are alike. For example,
1.3) ta bloti That is-a-boat. That is a boat. 1.4) ta brablo that is-a-large-boat. That is a ship.
1.5) ta blotrskunri That is-a-(boat)-schooner. That is a schooner.illustrate the three types of brivla (gismu, lujvo, and fu'ivla respectively), but in each case the selbri is composed of a single word whose meaning can be learned independent of its origins.
The remainder of this chapter will mostly use gismu as example brivla, because they are short. However, it is important to keep in mind that wherever a gismu appears, it could be replaced by any other kind of brivla.
2.1) tu pelnimre tricu that-yonder is-a-(lemon tree). That is a lemon tree. 2.2) la djan. barda nanla John is-a-big boy. John is a big boy. 2.3) mi sutra bajra I quick run. I quickly run/I run quickly.
2.4) mi sutra I am-fast/quick.
2.5) That is a lemon type of tree.
This ``type of'' relationship between the components of a tanru is fundamental to the tanru concept.
2.6) That is a tree which is lemon-ish (in the way appropriate to trees)would be another possible translation of Example 2.1. In the same way, a more explicit translation of Example 2.2 might be:
2.7) John is a boy who is big in the way that boys are big.
2.8) ta klama jubme That is-a-goer type-of-table.include:
2.9) do barda prenu You are-a-large person. 2.10) do cmalu prenu You are-a-small person.are parallel tanru, in the sense that the relationship between ``barda'' and ``prenu'' is the same as that between ``cmalu'' and ``prenu''. Section 14 and Section 15 contain a partial listing of some types of tanru, with examples.
The following cmavo is discussed in this section:
bo BO closest scope grouping
3.1) That's a little girls' school.
What does it mean? Two possible readings are:
3.2) That's a little school for girls. 3.3) That's a school for little girls.
3.4) ta cmalu nixli bo ckule That is-a-small girl -- school.Example 3.3 might be translated:
3.5) ta cmalu bo nixli ckule That is-a-small -- girl school.
What about Example 3.6? What does it mean?
3.6) ta cmalu nixli ckule That is-a-small girl school.
Another way to express the English meaning of Example 3.4 and Example 3.5, using parentheses to mark grouping, is:
3.7) ta cmalu nixli bo ckule That is-a-small type-of (girl type-of school). 3.8) ta cmalu bo nixli ckule That is-a-(small type-of girl) type-of school.
Because ``type-of'' is implicit in the Lojban tanru form, it has no Lojban equivalent.
Note: It is perfectly legal, though pointless, to insert ``bo'' into a simple tanru:
3.9) ta klama bo jubme That is-a goer -- tableis a legal Lojban bridi that means exactly the same thing as Example 2.8, and is ambiguous in exactly the same ways. The cmavo ``bo'' serves only to resolve grouping ambiguity: it says nothing about the more basic ambiguity present in all tanru.
4.1) do mutce bo barda gerku bo kavbu You are-a-(very type-of large) (dog type-of capturer). You are a very large dog-catcher.
In Example 4.1, the selbri is a tanru with seltau ``mutce bo barda'' and tertau ``gerku bo kavbu''. It is worth emphasizing once again that this tanru has the same fundamental ambiguity as all other Lojban tanru: the sense in which the ``dog type-of capturer'' is said to be ``very type-of large'' is not precisely specified. Presumably it is his body which is large, but theoretically it could be one of his other properties.
4.2) ta melbi cmalu nixli ckule That is-a-((pretty type-of little) type-of girl) type-of school. That is a school for girls who are beautifully small. 4.3) ta melbi cmalu nixli bo ckule That is-a-(pretty type-of little) (girl type-of school). That is a girls' school which is beautifully small. 4.4) ta melbi cmalu bo nixli ckule That is-a-(pretty type-of (little type-of girl)) type-of school. That is a school for small girls who are beautiful. 4.5) ta melbi cmalu bo nixli bo ckule That is-a-pretty type-of (little type-of (girl type-of school)). That is a small school for girls which is beautiful.
4.6) ta cmalu bo nixli bo ckule That is-a-little type-of (girl type-of school).means the same as Example 3.4, not Example 3.5. This rule may seem peculiar at first, but one of its consequences is that ``bo'' is never necessary between the first two elements of any of the complex tanru presented so far: all of Examples 4.2 through 4.5 could have ``bo'' inserted between ``melbi'' and ``cmalu'' with no change in meaning.
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
ke KE start grouping ke'e KEhE end grouping
5.1) ta ke melbi cmalu ke'e nixli ckule That is-a-( pretty little ) girl school. 5.2) ta ke ke melbi cmalu ke'e nixli ke'e ckule That is-a-( ( pretty little ) girl ) school. 5.3) ta ke ke ke melbi cmalu ke'e nixli ke'e ckule ke'e That is-a-( ( ( pretty little ) girl ) school ).
Even more versions could be created simply by placing any number of ``ke'' cmavo at the beginning of the selbri, and a like number of ``ke'e'' cmavo at its end. Obviously, all of these are a waste of breath once the left-grouping rule has been grasped. However, the following is equivalent to Example 4.4 and may be easier to understand:
5.4) ta melbi ke cmalu nixli ke'e ckule That is-a-(pretty type-of ( little type-of girl )) type-of school.
Likewise, a ``ke'' and ``ke'e'' version of Example 4.3 would be:
5.5) ta melbi cmalu ke nixli ckule [ke'e] That is-a-(pretty type-of little) ( girl type-of school ).
The final ``ke'e'' is given in square brackets here to indicate that it can be elided. It is always possible to elide ``ke'e'' at the end of the selbri, making Example 5.5 as terse as Example 4.3.
Now how about that fifth grouping? It is
5.6) ta melbi ke cmalu nixli ckule [ke'e] That is-a-pretty type-of ( (little type-of girl) type-of school ) That is a beautiful school for small girls.Example 5.6 is distinctly different in meaning from any of Examples 4.2 through 4.5. Note that within the ``ke
5.7) ta melbi ke cmalu ke nixli ckule [ke'e] [ke'e] That is-a-pretty type-of ( little type-of ( girl type-of school ) ).can equivalently be expressed as:
5.8) ta melbi ke cmalu nixli bo ckule [ke'e] That is-a-pretty type-of ( little type-of (girl type-of school) ).and in many other different forms as well.
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
je JA tanru logical ``and'' ja JA tanru logical ``or'' joi JOI mixed mass ``and'' gu'e GUhA tanru forethought logical ``and'' gi GI forethought connection separator
6.1) barda xunre gerku (big type-of red) type-of dogwill not do, as it means a dog whose redness is big, in whatever way redness might be described as ``big''. Nor is
6.2) barda xunre bo gerku big type-of (red type-of dog)
6.3) barda je xunre gerku (big and red) type-of dog
6.4) xunre je barda gerku (red and big) type-of dog
6.5) barda je pelxu bo xunre gerku barda je ke pelxu xunre ke'e gerku (big and (yellow type-of red)) dog big yellowish-red dog
With no grouping indicators, we get:
6.6) barda je pelxu xunre gerku ((big and yellow) type-of red) type-of dog biggish- and yellowish-red dogwhich again raises the question of Example 6.1: what is does ``biggish-red'' mean?
6.7) ta blanu je zdani that is-blue and is-a-housedefinitely refers to something which is both blue and is a house, and not to any of the other possible interpretations of simple ``blanu zdani''. Furthermore, ``blanu zdani'' refers to something which is blue in the way that houses are blue; ``blanu je zdani'' has no such implication --- the blueness of a ``blanu je zdani'' is independent of its houseness.
With the addition of ``je'', many more versions of ``pretty little girls' school'' are made possible: see Section 16 for a complete list.
A subtle point in the semantics of tanru like Example 6.3 needs special elucidation. There are at least two possible interpretations of:
6.8) ta melbi je nixli ckule That is-a-(beautiful and girl) type-of school.
6.9) That is a girls' school and a beautiful school.or as:
6.10) That is a school for things which are both girls and beautiful.
6.11) ta ke melbi ckule ke'e je ke nixli ckule [ke'e] That is-a-( beautiful type-of school ) and ( girl type-of school )whereas the interpretation specified by Example 6.10 does not. This is a kind of semantic ambiguity for which Lojban does not compel a firm resolution. The way in which the school is said to be of type ``beautiful and girl'' may entail that it is separately a beautiful school and a girls' school; but the alternative interpretation, that the members of the school are beautiful and girls, is also possible. Still another interpretation is:
6.12) That is a school for beautiful things and also for girls.so while the logical connectives help to resolve the meaning of tanru, they by no means compel a single meaning in and of themselves.
6.13) le bajra cu jinga ja te jinga the runner(s) is/are winner(s) or loser(s). 6.14) blanu naja lenku skapi (blue only-if cold) skin skin which is blue only if it is cold 6.15) xamgu jo cortu nuntavla (good if-and-only-if short) speech speech which is good if (and only if) it is short 6.16) vajni ju pluka nuntavla (important whether-or-not pleasing) event-of-talking speech which is important, whether or not it is pleasing
In Example 6.13, ``ja'' is grammatically equivalent to ``je'' but means ``or'' (more precisely, ``and/or''). Likewise, ``naja'' means ``only if'' in Example 6.14, ``jo'' means ``if and only if'' in Example 6.15, and ``ju'' means ``whether or not'' in Example 6.16.
6.17) ricfu je blanu jabo crino rich and (blue or green)
6.18) ricfu je blanu jabo crino bo blanu rich and (blue or green -- blue) rich and (blue or greenish-blue)
An alternative form of Example 6.17 is:
6.19) ricfu je ke blanu ja crino [ke'e] rich and ( blue or green )
6.20) ti blanu joi xunre bolci This is-a-(blue and red) ball.
The ball described is neither solely red nor solely blue, but probably striped or in some other way exhibiting a combination of the two colors. Example 6.20 is distinct from:
6.21) ti blanu xunre bolci This is a bluish-red ballwhich would be a ball whose color is some sort of purple tending toward red, since ``xunre'' is the more important of the two components. On the other hand,
6.22) ti blanu je xunre bolci This is a (blue and red) ballis probably self-contradictory, seeming to claim that the ball is independently both blu and red at the same time, although some sensible interpretation may exist.
6.20) gu'e barda gi xunre gerku (both big and red) type-of dogis equivalent in meaning to Example 6.3. For each logical connective related to ``je'', there is a corresponding connective related to ``gu'e
6.21) gu'e barda je xunre gi gerku ja mlatu (both (big and red) and dog) or cat something which is either big, red, and a dog, or else a catleaves ``mlatu'' outside the ``gu'e--gi'' construction. The scope of the ``gi'' arm extends only to a single brivla or to two or more brivla connected with ``bo'' or ``ke--ke'e''.
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
be BE linked sumti marker bei BEI linked sumti separator be'o BEhO linked sumti terminator
The question of the place structures of selbri has been glossed over so far. This chapter does not attempt to treat place structure issues in detail; they are discussed in Chapter 9. One grammatical structure related to places belongs here, however. In simple sentences such as Example 1.1, the place structure of the selbri is simply the defined place structure of the gismu ``mamta''. What about more complex selbri?
What about the places of ``blanu''? Is there any way to get them into the act? In fact, ``blanu'' has only one place, and this is merged, as it were, with the x1 place of ``zdani''. It is whatever is in the x1 place that is being characterized as blue-for-a-house. But if we replace ``blanu'' with ``xamgu'', we get:
7.1) ti xamgu zdani this is-a-good house. This is a good (for someone, by some standard) house.
Since ``xamgu'' has three places (x1, the good thing; x2, the person for whom it is good; and x3, the standard of goodness), Example 7.1 necessarily omits information about the last two: there is no room for them. Room can be made, however!
7.2) ti xamgu be do bei mi [be'o] zdani this is-a-good ( for you by-standard me ) house. This is a house that is good for you by my standards.
7.3) ti cmalu be le ka canlu bei lo'e ckule be'o nixli be li mu bei lo merko be'o bo ckule la bryklyn. loi pemci le mela nu,IORK. prenu le jecta This is a small (in-dimension the property-of volume by-standard the-typical school) (girl (of-years the-number five by-standard some American-thing) school) in-Brooklyn with-subject poems for-audience New-York persons with-operator the state. This is a school, small in volume compared to the typical school, pertaining to five-year-old girls (by American standards), in Brooklyn, teaching poetry to the New York community and operated by the state.
7.4) mi klama be le zarci bei le zdani [be'o] I go (to-the market from-the house).means the same as
7.5) mi klama le zarci le zdani I go to-the market from-the house.
7.6) melbi je cmalu nixli bo ckule a (pretty and little) (girl school) a school for girls which is both beautiful and smallis simply that of ``ckule''. (The sole exception to this rule is discussed in Section 8.)
7.7) ti xamgu be fi mi bei fe do [be'o] zdani this is-a-good ( by-standard me for you ) housewhich is equivalent in meaning to Example 7.2. Note that the order of ``be'', ``bei'', and ``be'o'' does not change; only the inserted ``fi'' tells us that ``mi'' is the x3 place (and correspondingly, the inserted ``fe'' tells us that ``do'' is the x2 place). Changing the order of sumti is often done to match the order of another language, or for emphasis or rhythm.
Of course, using FA cmavo makes it easy to specify one place while omitting a previous place:
7.8) ti xamgu be fi mi [be'o] zdani this is-a-good (by-standard me) house This is a good house by my standards.
The meaning of Example 7.9 is slightly different from:
7.10) ta blanu zdani ga'a mi That is-a-blue house to-observer me. That is a blue house, as I see it.
See discussions in Chapter 9 of modals and in Chapter 10 of tenses for more explanations.
7.11) le xamgu be do noi barda cu zdani The good-thing for you (who are-large) is-a-house. 7.12) le xamgu be do be'o noi barda cu zdani The (good-thing for you) (which is-large) is-a-house(Relative clauses are explained in Chapter 8.)
7.13) le xamgu be le ctuca [ku] be'o zdani the good (for the teacher ) houserequires either ``ku'' or ``be'o'', and since there is only one occurrence of ``be'', the ``be'o'' must match it, whereas it may be confusing which occurrence of ``le'' the ``ku'' terminates (in fact the second one is correct).
The following cmavo is discussed in this section:
co CO tanru inversion marker
8.1) ta blanu zdani That is-a-blue type-of-house. That is a blue house. 8.2) ta zdani co blanu That is-a-house of-type blue. That is a blue house.
8.3) mi klama be le zarci bei le zdani be'o troci I am-a-(goer to the market from the house) type-of trier. I try to go to the market from the house. 8.4) mi troci co klama le zarci le zdani I am-a-trier of-type (goer to-the market from-the house). I try to go to the market from the house.Example 8.4 is a less deeply nested construction, requiring fewer cmavo. As a result it is probably easier to understand.
As a result, the regular mechanisms (involving selma'o VOhA and GOhI, explained in Chapter 7) for referring to individual sumti of a bridi cannot refer to any of the trailing places of Example 8.4, because they are not really ``sumti of the bridi'' at all.
8.5) ta nixli [bo] ckule co cmalu that (is-a-girl type-of school) of-type little. That's a girls' school which is small.
8.6) ta cmalu ke nixli ckule [ke'e] co melbi that is-a-(little type-of (girl type-of school)) of-type pretty. That's a small school for girls which is beautiful.
8.7) ckule co melbi nixli school of-type pretty girl school for beautiful girlsmeans the same as:
8.8) ke melbi nixli ke'e ckule ( pretty girl ) school
8.9) ckule co nixli co cmalu school of-type (girl of-type little)becomes formally
8.10) ke ke cmalu ke'e nixli ke'e ckule ( ( little ) girl ) schoolwhich by the left-grouping rule is simply
8.11) cmalu nixli ckule little girl school school for little girls
As stated above, the selbri places, other than the first, of
8.12) mi klama co sutra I am-a-goer of-type quick I go quicklycannot be filled by placing sumti after the selbri, because any sumti in that position fill the places of ``sutra'', the seltau. However, the tertau places (which means in effect the selbri places) can be filled with ``be'':
8.13) mi klama be le zarci co sutra I am-a-goer (to the store) of-type quick. I go to the store quickly.
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
go'i GOhA repeats the previous bridi du GOhA equality nu'a NUhA math operator to selbri moi MOI changes number to ordinal selbri mei MOI changes number to cardinal selbri nu NU event abstraction kei KEI terminator for ``nu''
9.1) la djan. klama le zarci John goes-to the market.you may retort:
9.2) la djan. go'i troci John [repeat last] are-a-tryer John tries to.Example 9.2 is short for:
9.3) la djan. klama be le zarci be'o troci John is-a-goer (to the market) type-of trier.because the whole bridi of Example 9.1 has been packaged up into the single word ``go'i'' and inserted into Example 9.2.
9.4) li vo nu'a su'i li re li re The-number 4 is-the-sum-of the-number 2 and-the-number 2.
A possible tanru example might be:
9.5) mi jimpe tu'a nu'a su'i nabmi I understand something-about the-mass-of is-the-sum-of problems. I understand addition problems.
9.6) la prim. palvr. pamoi cusku Preem Palver is-the-1-th speaker. Preem Palver is the first speaker.
9.7) la an,iis. joi la .asun. bruna remei Anyi massed-with Asun are-a-brother type-of-twosome. Anyi and Asun are two brothers.
9.8) ti nu zdile kei kumfa This is-an-event-of amusement room. This is an amusement room.Example 9.8 is quite distinct in meaning from:
9.9) ti zdile kumfa This is-an-amuser room.which suggests the meaning ``a room that amuses someone''.
The following cmavo are discussed in this section:
me ME changes sumti to simple selbri me'u MEhU terminator for ``me''
10.2) la BALtazar. cu me le ci nolraitru Balthazar is one-of-the-referents-of ``the three kings''. Balthazar is one of the three kings.and likewise
10.3) la kaspar. cu me le ci nolraitru Caspar is one of the three kings.and
10.4) la melxi,or. cu me le ci nolraitru Melchior is one of the three kings.
10.5) do du la djan. You are-identical-with the-one-called ``John''. You are John.means the same as
10.6) do me la djan. You are-the-referent-of ``the-one-called `John'''. You are John.
10.7) ta me lai kraislr. [me'u] karce That (is-a-referent of ``the-mass-called `Chrysler''') car. That is a Chrysler car.
10.8) re me le ci nolraitru .e la djan. [me'u] cu blabi Two of the group ``the three kings and John'' are white. 10.9) re me le ci nolraitru me'u .e la djan. cu blabi Two of the three kings, and John, are white.
In Example 10.8 the ``me'' selbri covers the three kings plus John, and the indefinite description picks out two of them that are said to be white: we cannot say which two. In Example 10.9, though, the ``me'' selbri covers only the three kings: two of them are said to be white, and so is John.
Finally, here is another example requiring ``me'u'':
10.10) ta me la'e le se cusku be do me'u cukta That is-a-(what-you-said) type of book. That is the kind of book you were talking about.
There are other sentences where either ``me'u'' or some other elidable terminator must be expressed:
10.11) le me le ci nolraitru [ku] me'u nunsalci the (the three kings) type-of-event-of-celebrating the Three Kings celebrationrequires either ``ku'' or ``me'u'' to be explicit, and (as with ``be'o'' in Section 7) the ``me'u'' leaves no doubt which cmavo it is paired with.
In Lojban, conversion is accomplished by placing a cmavo of selma'o SE before the selbri:
11.1) mi prami do I love you.is equivalent in meaning to:
11.2) do se prami mi You [swap x1 and x2] love me. You are loved by me.
Conversion is fully explained in Chapter 9. For the purposes of this chapter, the important point about conversion is that it applies only to the following simple selbri. When trying to convert a tanru, therefore, it is necessary to be careful! Consider Example 11.3:
11.3) la .alis. cu cadzu klama le zarci Alice is-a-walker type-of goer to-the market. Alice walkingly goes to the market. Alice walks to the market.
To convert this sentence so that ``le zarci'' is in the x1 place, one correct way is:
11.4) le zarci cu se ke cadzu klama [ke'e] la .alis. The market is-a-[swap x1/x2] ( walker type-of goer) Alice. The market is-walkingly gone-to by-Alice.
11.5) le zarci cu se cadzu klama la .alis. The market (is-a-[swap x1/x2] walker) type-of goer to Alice. The market is-a-walking-surface type-of goer to Alice.whatever that might mean. An alternative approach, since the place structure of ``cadzu klama'' is that of ``klama'' alone, is to convert only the latter:
11.6) le zarci cu cadzu se klama la .alis. The market walkingly is-gone-to by-Alice.
But the tanru in Example 11.6 may or may not have the same meaning as that in Example 11.3; in particular, because ``cadzu'' is not converted, there is a suggestion that although Alice is the goer, the market is the walker. With a different sumti as x1, this seemingly odd interpretation might make considerable sense:
11.7) la djan. cu cadzu se klama la .alis John walkingly is-gone-to by Alicesuggests that Alice is going to John, who is a moving target.
12.1) la .alis. cu na'e ke cadzu klama [ke'e] le zarci Alice non- (walkingly goes) to-the market. Alice other-than (walkingly goes) to-the market. Alice doesn't walk to the market.meaning that Alice's relationship to the market is something other than that of walking there. But if the ``ke'' were omitted, the result would be:
12.2) la .alis. cu na'e cadzu klama le zarci Alice non- walkingly goes to-the market. Alice doesn't walk to the market.meaning that Alice does go there in some way (``klama'' is not negated), but by a means other than that of walking. Example 12.1 negates both ``cadzu'' and ``klama'', suggesting that Alice's relation to the market is something different from walkingly-going; it might be walking without going, or going without walking, or neither.
Of course, any of the simple selbri types explained in Section 9 may be used in place of brivla in any of these examples:
12.3) la djonz. cu na'e pamoi cusku Jones is non-1st speaker Jones is not the first speaker.
Since only ``pamoi'' is negated, an appropriate inference is that he is some other kind of speaker.
12.4) mi na'e sutra cadzu be fi le birka be'o klama le zarci I ((non-quickly) ( walking using the arms)) go-to the market. I go to the market, walking using my arms other than quickly.
In Example 12.4, ``na'e'' negates only ``sutra''. Contrast Example 12.5:
12.5) mi na'e ke sutra cadzu be fi le birka [be'o] ke'e klama le zarci I non- ( quickly (walking using the arms) ) go-to the market. I go to the market, other than by walking quickly on my arms.
Now consider Example 12.6 and Example 12.7, which are equivalent in meaning, but use ``ke'' grouping and ``bo'' grouping respectively:
12.6) mi sutra cadzu be fi le birka be'o je masno klama le zarci I (quickly -- (walking using the arms) and slowly) go-to the market. I go to the market, both quickly walking using my arms and slowly. 12.7) mi ke sutra cadzu be fi le birka [be'o] ke'e je masno klama le zarci I ((quickly (walking using the arms)) and slowly) go-to the market. I go to the market, both quickly walking using my arms and slowly.
However, if we place a ``na'e'' at the beginning of the selbri in both Example 12.6 and Example 12.7, we get different results:
12.8) mi na'e sutra cadzu be fi le birka be'o je masno klama le zarci I ((non- quickly) -- (walking using the arms) and slowly) go-to the market. I go to the market, both walking using my arms other than quickly, and also slowly. 12.9) mi na'e ke sutra cadzu be fi le birka [be'o] ke'e je masno klama le zarci I (non-(quickly (walking using the arms)) and slowly) go-to the market. I go to the market, both other than quickly walking using my arms, and also slowly.
The difference arises because the ``na'e'' in Example 12.9 negates the whole construction from ``ke'' to ``ke'e'', whereas in Example 12.8 it negates ``sutra'' alone.
12.10) mi na'e ke sutra cadzu be fi le birka be'o je masno klama [ke'e] le zarci I non-(quickly ((walking using the arms)) and slowly) go-to) the market. I do something other than quickly both going to the market walking using my arms and slowly going to the market.
And if both ``ke'e'' and ``be'o'' are omitted, the results are even sillier:
12.11) mi na'e ke sutra cadzu be fi le birka je masno klama [be'o] [ke'e] le zarci I non-(quickly walk on my (arm-type and slow) goers) on the market. I do something other than quickly walking using the goers, both arm-type and slow, relative-to the market.
In Example 12.11, everything after ``be'' is a linked sumti, so the place structure is that of ``cadzu'', whose x2 place is the surface walked upon. It is less than clear what an ``arm-type goer'' might be. Furthermore, since the x3 place has been occupied by the linked sumti, the ``le zarci'' following the selbri falls into the nonexistent x4 place of ``cadzu''. As a result, the whole example, though grammatical, is complete nonsense. (The bracketed Lojban words appear where a fluent Lojbanist would understand them to be implied.)
A bridi can have cmavo associated with it which specify the time, place, or mode of action. For example, in
13.1) mi pu klama le zarci I [past] go to-the market. I went to the market.the cmavo ``pu'' specifies that the action of the speaker going to the market takes place in the past. Tenses are explained in full detail in Chapter 10. Tense is semantically a property of the entire bridi; however, the usual syntax for tenses attaches them at the front of the selbri, as in Example 13.1. There are alternative ways of expressing tense information as well. Modals, which are explained in Chapter 9, behave in the same way as tenses.
Similarly, a bridi may have the particle ``na'' (of selma'o NA) attached to the beginning of the selbri to negate the bridi. A negated bridi expresses what is false without saying anything about what is true. Do not confuse this usage with the scalar negation of Section 12. For example:
13.2) la djonz. na pamoi cusku Jones (Not!) is-the-first speaker It is not true that Jones is the first speaker. Jones isn't the first speaker.
Jones may be the second speaker, or not a speaker at all; Example 13.2 doesn't say. There are other ways of expressing bridi negation as well; the topic is explained fully in Chapter 15.
13.3) mi na pu klama le zarci mi pu na klama le zarci It is false that I went to the market. I didn't go to the market.
13.4) mi na na klama le zarci It is false that it is false that I go to the market. I go to the market.
13.5) mi na pu na ca klama le zarci I [not] [past] [not] [present] go to-the market It is not the case that in the past it was not the case that in the present I went to the market. I didn't not go to the market. I went to the market.
Any lujvo or fu'ivla used in a group are glossed at the end of that group.
Note: the two senses of ``blaci kanla'' can be discriminated as:
It is clear that ``tooth'' is being specified, and that ``milk'' and ``eye'' act as modifiers. However, the relationship between ``ladru'' and ``denci'' is something like ``tooth which one has when one is drinking milk from one's mother'', a relationship certainly present nowhere except in this particular concept. As for ``kanla denci'', the relationship is not only not present on the surface, it is hardly possible to formulate it at all.
The following examples show every possible grouping arrangement of
``melbi cmalu nixli ckule'' using ``bo'' or ``ke
Examples 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, and 5.6 are repeated here as Examples 16.1, 16.9, 16.17, 16.25, and 16.33 respectively. The seven examples following each of these share the same grouping pattern, but differ in the presence or absence of ``je'' at each possible site. Some of the examples have more than one Lojban version. In that case, they differ only in grouping mechanism, and are always equivalent in meaning.
The logical connective ``je'' is associative: that is, ``A and (B and C)'' is the same as ``(A and B) and C''. Therefore, some of the examples have the same meaning as others. In particular, 16.8, 16.16, 16.24, 16.32, and 16.40 all have the same meaning because all four brivla are logically connected and the grouping is simply irrelevant. Other equivalent forms are noted in the examples themselves. However, if ``je'' were replaced by ``naja'' or ``jo'' or most of the other logical connectives, the meanings would become distinct.
It must be emphasized that, because of the ambiguity of all tanru, the English translations are by no means definitive --- they represent only one possible interpretation of the corresponding Lojban sentence.
16.1) melbi cmalu nixli ckule ((pretty type-of little) type-of girl) type-of school school for girls who are beautifully small 16.2) melbi je cmalu nixli ckule ((pretty and little) type-of girl) type-of school school for girls who are beautiful and small 16.3) melbi bo cmalu je nixli ckule ((pretty type-of little) and girl) type-of school school for girls and for beautifully small things 16.4) ke melbi cmalu nixli ke'e je ckule ((pretty type-of little) type-of girl) and school thing which is a school and a beautifully small girl 16.5) melbi je cmalu je nixli ckule ((pretty and little) and girl) type-of school school for things which are beautiful, small, and girls Note: same as 16.21 16.6) melbi bo cmalu je nixli je ckule ((pretty type-of little) and girl) and school thing which is beautifully small, a school, and a girl Note: same as 16.14 16.7) ke melbi je cmalu nixli ke'e je ckule ((pretty and little) type-of girl) and school thing which is a school and a girl who is both beautiful and small 16.8) melbi je cmalu je nixli je ckule ((pretty and little) and girl) and school thing which is beautiful, small, a girl, and a school 16.9) melbi cmalu nixli bo ckule (pretty type-of little) type-of (girl type-of school) girls' school which is beautifully small 16.10) melbi je cmalu nixli bo ckule (pretty and little) type-of (girl type-of school) girls' school which is beautiful and small 16.11) melbi cmalu nixli je ckule (pretty type-of little) type-of (girl and school) something which is a girl and a school which is beautifully small 16.12) melbi bo cmalu je nixli bo ckule (pretty type-of little) and (girl type-of school) something which is beautifully small and a girls' school 16.13) melbi je cmalu nixli je ckule (pretty and little) type-of (girl and school) a pretty and little type of thing which is both a girl and a school 16.14) melbi bo cmalu je nixli jebo ckule (pretty type-of little) and (girl and school) thing which is beautifully small, a school, and a girl Note: same as 16.6 16.15) melbi jebo cmalu je nixli bo ckule (pretty and little) and (girl type-of school) thing which is beautiful and small and a girl's school Note: same as 16.30 16.16) melbi jebo cmalu je nixli jebo ckule (pretty and little) and (girl and school) thing which is beautiful, small, a girl, and a school 16.17) melbi cmalu bo nixli ckule (pretty type-of (little type-of girl)) type-of school school for beautiful girls who are small 16.18) melbi cmalu je nixli ckule (pretty type-of (little and girl)) type-of school school for beautiful things which are small and are girls 16.19) melbi je cmalu bo nixli ckule (pretty and (little type-of girl)) type-of school school for things which are beautiful and are small girls 16.20) ke melbi cmalu bo nixli ke'e je ckule melbi bo cmalu bo nixli je ckule (pretty type-of (little type-of girl)) and school thing which is a school and a small girl who is beautiful 16.21) melbi je cmalu jebo nixli ckule (pretty and (little and girl)) type-of school school for things which are beautiful, small, and girls Note: same as 16.5 16.22) melbi je cmalu bo nixli je ckule (pretty and (little type-of girl)) and school thing which is beautiful, a small girl, and a school Note: same as 16.38 16.23) ke melbi cmalu je nixli ke'e je ckule (pretty type-of (little and girl)) and school thing which is beautifully small, a beautiful girl, and a school 16.24) melbi je cmalu jebo nixli je ckule (pretty and (little and girl)) and school thing which is beautiful, small, a girl, and a school 16.25) melbi cmalu bo nixli bo ckule melbi ke cmalu ke nixli ckule [ke'e] [ke'e] pretty type-of (little type-of (girl type-of school)) small school for girls which is beautiful 16.26) melbi ke cmalu nixli je ckule [ke'e] pretty type-of (little type-of (girl and school)) small thing, both a girl and a school, which is beautiful 16.27) melbi cmalu je nixli bo ckule pretty type-of (little and (girl type-of school)) thing which is beautifully small and a girls' school that is beautiful 16.28) melbi je cmalu bo nixli bo ckule melbi je ke cmalu nixli bo ckule [ke'e] melbi je ke cmalu ke nixli ckule [ke'e] [ke'e] pretty and (little type-of (girl type-of school)) thing which is beautiful and a small type of girls' school 16.29) melbi cmalu je nixli jebo ckule melbi cmalu je ke nixli je ckule [ke'e] pretty type-of (little and (girl and school)) thing which is beautifully small, a beautiful girl, and a beautiful school Note: same as 16.37 16.30) melbi je cmalu jebo nixli bo ckule melbi je ke cmalu je nixli bo ckule [ke'e] pretty and (little and (girl type-of school)) thing which is beautiful, small and a girls' school Note: same as 16.15 16.31) melbi je ke cmalu nixli je ckule [ke'e] pretty and (little type-of (girl and school)) beautiful thing which is a small girl and a small school 16.32) melbi jebo cmalu jebo nixli jebo ckule pretty and (little and (girl and school)) thing which is beautiful, small, a girl, and a school 16.33) melbi ke cmalu nixli ckule [ke'e] pretty type-of ((little type-of girl) type-of school) beautiful school for small girls 16.34) melbi ke cmalu je nixli ckule [ke'e] pretty type-of ((little and girl) type-of school beautiful school for things which are small and are girls 16.35) melbi ke cmalu bo nixli je ckule [ke'e] pretty type-of ((little type-of girl) and school) beautiful thing which is a small girl and a school 16.36) melbi je ke cmalu nixli ckule [ke'e] pretty and ((little type-of girl) type-of school) thing which is beautiful and a school for small girls 16.37) melbi cmalu je nixli je ckule pretty type-of ((little and girl) and school) thing which is beautifully small, a beautiful girl, and a beautiful school Note: same as 16.29 16.38) melbi je ke cmalu bo nixli je ckule [ke'e] pretty and ((little type-of girl) and school) thing which is beautiful, a small girl and a school Note: same as 16.22 16.39) melbi je ke cmalu je nixli ckule [ke'e] pretty and ((little and girl) type-of school) thing which is beautiful and is a small school and a girls' school 16.40) melbi je ke cmalu je nixli je ckule [ke'e] pretty and ((little and girl) and school) thing which is beautiful, small, a girl, and a school
10.1) le ci nolraitru the three noblest-governors the three kings
7.9) ta blanu be ga'a mi [be'o] zdani That is-a-blue ( to-observer me ) house. That is a blue, as I see it, house.