Chapter 20. selma'o Catalogue#

A selma'o is a grammatical word-class in Lojban — a group of cmavo that share the same grammatical behavior. Knowing a cmavo's selma'o tells you exactly where it can appear in a sentence. This chapter provides a reference catalogue of all major selma'o with their key members and functions.

---

A — Sumti Logical Connectives (eks)#

Connects two sumti logically. Used between sumti in afterthought position.

mi .e do klama — I and you go.

---

BAI — Modal Tags#

Pre-built modal/case tags. Attach to selbri as tense-like tags. See Chapter 10.

Key members: mu'i (motivated by), ki'u (justified by), ri'a (physical cause), ni'i (logical entailment), sepi'o (using tool), bai (compelled by), gau (agent), fi'o (custom modal — followed by any selbri).

---

BE / BEI / BEhO — Inner Slot Fillers#

Used inside descriptions to fill numbered places of the selbri.

le dunda be le rozgu bei mi — the giver of the rose to me.

---

BO — Closest Scope Grouper#

bo right-groups two adjacent elements (tanru components, sentences, sumti).

mi .e do bo mi'o klama — I, and (you-and-I), go. (grouping with bo)

---

BY — Letter Names#

The selma'o containing all lerfu names: .abu .ebu .ibu .obu .ubu ybu by. cy. dy. … etc. See Chapter 18.

---

CAhA — Actuality/Potentiality#

Marks whether a bridi is actual, potential, or a general law.

mi ka'e limna — I am capable of swimming (but maybe haven't). mi pu'i limna — I can swim and have done so.

---

COI — Vocative Markers#

Used to address people or open communications.

coi .djan. doi .alis. — Hello John, [addressing] Alice.

---

CUhE — Tense/Modal Question#

cu'e asks "what tense/modal applies?":

cu'e do klama — When/how are you going?

---

DAhO — Assignment Canceller#

da'o cancels all current pronoun assignments (ko'a, ko'e, broda, etc.) without a topic change.

---

DOI — Vocative Marker#

doi introduces a direct address (vocative). May optionally precede the name; also used alone to re-address.

doi .alis. klama — Alice, go!

---

FA — Place Tags#

Tags for explicitly marking sumti places. Used when reordering arguments.

klama fa mi fe le zarci — go, x₁=I, x₂=the store.

---

GA — Forethought Logical Connectives (geks)#

Forethought connectives that precede both sentences; gi separates them.

ge mi klama gi do cadzu — Both I go and you walk.

---

GAhO — Interval Boundary Markers#

Modifies interval expressions to indicate open/closed boundaries:

mi cadzu ga'o le zarci ke'i le briju — I walk from the store (inclusive) to the office (exclusive).

---

GIhA — Bridi-Tail Connectives (giheks)#

Connects two bridi-tails sharing the same x₁.

mi citka gi'e pinxe — I eat and drink.

---

GOI — Relative Phrase Markers#

Introduces relative phrases (possessives and identifiers). See Chapter 11.

---

GOhA — Pro-bridi#

Anaphoric references to previous bridi. See Chapter 5.

---

GUhA — Forethought Selbri Connectives (guheks)#

Forethought connectives inside tanru/selbri:

gu'e blanu gi xunre gerku — a both-blue-and-red dog.

---

I — Sentence Separator#

.i separates sentences. Can be compounded with connectives and modals:

.i — new sentence (same topic) .ije — and (next sentence) .ibo — closely related next sentence ni'o — new paragraph/topic (selma'o NIhO)

---

JA — Tanru/Selbri Connectives (jeks)#

Logical connectives used within tanru or between selbri:

barda je blanu — big and blue.

---

JOI — Non-Logical Connectives (joiks)#

Non-logical connectives for masses, sets, sequences, alternation:

mi joi do — me-and-you as a single mass. la .alis. ce la .djan. — the set {Alice, John}.

---

KE / KEhE — Tanru Grouping#

ke opens a grouping in tanru; ke'e closes it (elidable at end of selbri). Also used for scalar negation scope: na'e ke … ke'e.

---

KEI — Abstraction Terminator#

kei closes all NU abstractions. Elidable at end of bridi or before cu.

---

KOhA — Pro-sumti#

The large class of sumti-replacing cmavo. See Chapter 5.

Subgroups:

• mi-series: mi, do, mi'o, ma'a, mi'a, do'o, ko
• ti-series: ti, ta, tu
• di'u-series: di'u, di'e, dei, do'i
• ko'a-series: ko'a–ko'u (assignable with goi)
• ri-series: ri, ra, ru (anaphoric)
• vo'a-series: vo'a–vo'e (reflexive)
• da-series: da, de, di (logical variables)
• Special: zo'e (unspecified), zu'i (typical), ce'u (lambda), ma (question), ke'a (relative clause)

---

LE — Description Operators#

All the gadri (article-like words) that build sumti from selbri. See Chapter 3.

---

NA — Bridi Negation#

---

NAhE — Scalar Negation#

---

NIhO — Paragraph Markers#

---

NU — Abstractors#

All NU cmavo package a bridi as an abstraction sumti. See Chapter 12.

---

PU — Tense (Temporal Direction)#

---

SE — Place Conversion#

---

UI — Attitudinals and Discursives#

The large class of free-modifier particles expressing emotion, attitude, evidential stance, and discourse structure. See Chapter 7.

Key members: .ui (happy), .oi (pain), .au (desire), .ai (intent), .ei (obligation), pe'i (I opine), ti'e (reportedly), ka'u (I know by experience), ru'a (I postulate), ju'a (I assert), pau (question marker), pei (attitude question), dai (empathy), fu'i (easy), bi'u (new information), si'a (similarly).

---

VA — Spatial Distance#

---

ZAhO — Aspect (Event Contour)#

See Chapter 16 for full table. Key members: pu'o (about to), co'a (starts), ca'o (ongoing), co'u (stops), mo'u (completes), za'o (too long), ba'o (resultant state), co'i (whole event).

---

ZI — Temporal Distance#

---

ZOI — Foreign Quote#

zoi introduces a foreign-text quotation using delimiter words. la'o does the same but creates a name sumti. See Chapter 17.

---

ZOhU — Topic/Comment Separator#

zo'u separates the topic (or prenex) from the comment bridi. See Chapter 17.

---

Alphabetical supplement — more selma'o (short index)#

The subsections above are grouped by topic. The table below lists additional common selma'o in alphabetical order with a one-line role and a pointer to where this book treats them (or to the chapter that uses them most). Use it when you meet a cmavo in the wild and want a quick label.

The alphabetical supplement above and the topic table earlier in this chapter cover all selmaʼo a learner will encounter. Rarer classes and specialist examples are addressed where their cmavo are introduced throughout this book.

Beyond this catalogue#

This chapter covers all selmaʼo a learner needs, organised by topic (earlier tables) and alphabetically (the supplement above).

-- cmavo lookup by class: jbovlaste lists every cmavo with rafsi and official gloss.

• Formal grammar: Chapter 21 of this book gives a prose overview of the formal rules; parser tools are linked there.