6. Variables with generalized quantifiers

So far, we have seen variables with either nothing in front, or with the cmavo ``ro'' in front. Now ``ro'' is a Lojban number, and means ``all''; thus ``ro prenu'' means ``all persons'', just as ``re prenu'' means ``two persons''. In fact, unadorned ``da'' is also taken to have an implicit number in front of it, namely ``su'o'', which means ``at least one''. Why is this? Consider Example 2.3 again, this time with an explicit ``su'o'':

6.1)  su'o da zo'u da viska mi
    For-at-least-one X : X sees me.
    Something sees me.

From this version of Example 2.3, we understand the speaker's claim to be that of all the things that there are, at least one of them sees him or her. The corresponding universal claim, Example 3.2, says that of all the things that exist, every one of them can see the speaker.

Any other number can be used instead of ``ro'' or ``su'o'' to precede a variable. Then we get claims like:

6.2)  re da zo'u da viska mi
    For-two-Xes : X sees me.
    Two things see me.

6.3)  su'ore da zo'u da viska mi
    For-at-least-two Xes : X sees me.

The prenex may be removed from Examples 6.2 and 6.3 as from the others, leading to:

6.4)  re da viska mi
    Two Xes see me.

6.5)  su'ore da viska mi
    At-least-two Xes see me.

Now we can explain the constructions ``ro prenu'' for ``all persons'' and ``re prenu'' for ``two persons'' which were casually mentioned at the beginning of this Section. In fact, ``ro prenu'', a so-called ``indefinite description'', is shorthand for ``ro DA poi prenu'', where ``DA'' represents a fictitious variable that hasn't been used yet and will not be used in future. (Even if all three of ``da'', ``de'', and ``di'' have been used up, it does not matter, for there are ways of getting more variables, discussed in Section 14.) So in fact

6.6)  re prenu viska mi
    Two persons see me.

6.7)  re da poi prenu cu viska mi
    Two Xes which are-persons see me.

6.8)  re da poi prenu zo'u da viska mi
    For-two Xes which are-persons : X sees me.