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19

First Steps in Lojban

Lesson 19. Relative clauses and phrases

This chapter includes some pedagogical choices that may differ from other references; for ordinary communication it should be fine.

Koshon
Koshon

Relative clauses allow you to attach extra information to a sumti. You can use a full sentence with poi or noi, or a simple link to another thing with pe or ne.

poi / noi + ku'o

poi
restrictive relative — narrows which referents
noi
non-restrictive — adds side comment
ku'o
closes NOI-clause
ke'a
resumptive pronoun inside the clause (defaults to x1-ish if omitted)

mi citka ti poi ke'a lenku I eat those of these that are cold (only the cold ones).

mi citka ti noi ke'a lenku I eat this, which, by the way, is cold (adding a detail).

Koshon
Koshon

The key difference is that poi restricts the group you're talking about, while noi just adds an incidental description.

ku-internal relatives

Koshon
Koshon

Whether you place the relative clause inside the description (lo [selbri] poi … ku) or after it (lo [selbri] ku poi …) can slightly change the meaning. For most everyday talk, either works, but check the refrence grammar if you need to be extremely precise.

pe / ne — sumti–sumti links

pe
restrictive "related to..."
ne
non-restrictive "incidentally related to..." (like an appositive)

pe sumti ≈ poi ke'a srana sumti (and ne ≈ noi version).

lo nicte pe lo cabdei The night of this day (tonight).

.e'o ko jgari lo kabri ku pe do Please pick up the cup that belongs to you.

po'u / no'u — identity appositives

po'u ≈ poi ke'a du; no'u ≈ noi ke'a du.

mi no'u la .kocon. cu ctuca do I, Koshon, teach you.

le mikce po'u le misno cu zvati lo vi spita The doctor—specifically the famous one—is at this hospital.

Exercise

  • Parse: .i lo bruna poi vu xabju cu benji lo dakli ku po'u lo narju mi ne lo nurma (see answer key in Japanese PDF or unpack with textbook).

True or false

Pick whether each statement is true or false according to the lesson.

  1. Relative phrase shapes are systematic: for example, p marks restrictive and n non‑restrictive uses.

  2. pe/ne mark sameness of referent; po'u/no'u mark some relation.

  3. The terminator for poi/noi clauses is ku'o.

  4. In poi mi klama fi tu, ke'a is assumed to be in the x2 place of klama.