Lesson 6: modal terms: time and space#

mi citka le cirla

Possible translations:

I eat cheese. I ate cheese. I always eat cheese. In a moment, I will have just finished eating cheese.

Tenses in Lojban are optional; we don't have to think all the time about which tense to use.

Context often resolves what is correct. We add tenses when we feel we need them.

Lojban tenses treat time and space the same. Saying that I worked a long time ago is not grammatically different from saying I work far away to the north. English treats words like earlier, past tense ending -ed, and space words like in or near in three different schemes, while in Lojban they follow the same principle.

Points in time and place#

A tense modal particle without an argument following it describes the event as relative to here and now:

mi pinxe ba mi ba pinxe I will drink.

mi pinxe bu'u mi bu'u pinxe I drink at this place.

A tense modal term with an argument following it describes the event as relative to the event in that argument:

mi pinxe ba le nu mi cadzu I drink after I walk.

Events relative to other events in time#

In English, we use the so-called "sequence of tenses":

la .alis. pu cusku le se du'u ri pu penmi la .doris. Alice told that she had seen Doris before.

Here, the event had seen Doris happens before the event Alice said. However, in

la .alis. pu cusku le se du'u ri ca kansa la .doris. Alice told that she was with Doris.

the two events (told and was with Doris) happen at the same time.

Thus, in English:

• the tense of the main relation is understood relative to whoever utters this relation.
• the tense of the relation inside the main relation is also understood relative to whoever utters this relation.

In Lojban:

• only the tense of the main relation is relative to whoever utters the relation.
• the other tenses are relative to each other. This is why, in la .alis. pu cusku le se du'u ri pu penmi la .doris. the second pu is relative to the first pu. In la .alis. pu cusku le se du'u ri ca kansa la .doris., we use ca (at the same time) which is relative to the outer relation (pu cusku — said).

However, we can use the modal term nau (at the time or place of the speaker), which will give the same effect as how English works:

Here is an example in English style:

la .alis. pu cusku le se du'u ri nau pu kansa la .doris. Alis said that she was with Doris.

Distance in time and space#

fau

modal term: at the same time, place or situation as …

ca

modal term: at … (some time), at the same time as …; "present tense"

bu'u

modal term: at … (some place); here (at this place)

zi

just (short time ago) or soon (in a short time)

vi

near …

za

a while ago or in a while, in an unspecified time

va

not far from …

zu

long time ago or in a long time

vu

far away from …; far away

This is how we can use tense combinations to specify how far we go into the past or future:

• pu zu means a long time ago
• pu za means a while ago
• pu zi means just
• ba zi means soon
• ba za means in a while
• ba zu means in a long time

Notice the vowel order i, a, and u. This order appears repeatedly in Lojban and might be worth memorizing. Short and long are always context-dependent, relative, and subjective. For example, two hundred years is a short time for a species to evolve but a long time to wait for the bus.

zi, za, and zu modify the tense particle like pu and ba that is said before it:

• pu zu is a long time ago. pu shows that we begin in the past, and zu indicates that it is a long time backwards.
• zu pu is far away in time; there is a point after some event. zu shows that we begin at some point far away in time from now, and pu indicates that we move backward from that point.

Thus, pu zu is always in the past, whereas zu pu could be in the future.

Spatial distance is marked similarly by vi, va, and vu for short, unspecified (medium), and long distance in space.

To specify distance in time or space, we use the modal term la'u with an argument specifying the distance:

ba ku la'u le djedi be li ci mi zvati ti In three days, I will be here.

The space equivalent of ca is bu'u, and fau is more vague than the two of them, as it can mean time, space, or situation.

ba za vu ku mi gunka Some time in the future, I will work a place far away.

gunka

to work

mi bu'u pu zu gunka I used to work here a long time ago. I here-past-long-time-distance work

pu zu vu ku zasti fa le ninmu .e le nanmu Long ago and far away, a woman and a man lived.

The last sentence is how fairy tales often begin.

Duration in time and space#

ze'i

modal term: for a short time

ve'i

modal term: over a small space

ze'a

modal term: for some time

ve'a

modal term: over some space

ze'u

modal term: for a long time

ve'u

modal term: over the long space

Again, it's easy to remember given the pattern i, a, u.

mi ze'u bajra I run for a long time.

do ze'u klama le mi'a gugde ze'u You spend a long time coming to our country.

mi'a

we without you

gugde

… is a country

mi ba zi ze'a xabju la .djakartas. Pretty soon, I'm going to live in Jakarta for a while.

le jenmi pe la .romas. ba ze'u gunta la .kart.xadact. The army of Romans will be attacking Carthage for a long time.

This does not mean that Romans are not attacking Carthage these days. In Lojban, if we say that something is true at a particular time, it doesn't mean that it is not true at any other time. You can say pu ba ze'u so that we know that this activity was in the future when viewed from some point in the past but in the past when viewed from today.

le xamsi sea/ocean

le ve'u xamsi ocean

le cmana mountain/hill

le ve'u cmana mountain

le ve'i cmana hill

ti ve'u gerku That's a big dog. This is a dog covering a large space.

«pu'o» — ‘to be about’, «ba'o» — ‘no longer’, «za'o» — ‘still’, «xa'o» — ‘already’#

Here are several sets of modal terms that can help us add finer meanings when necessary.

With event contours, unlike pu, ca, and ba, we view each event as having a shape with certain stages:

pu'o

modal term: to be about to do something (the event has not yet happened)

ba'o

modal term: to be no longer doing something, to have done something (the event has ended)

Examples:

mi ba tavla le mikce I will speak to the doctor (and I might be speaking now too).

mikce

$x_1$ is a doctor

mi pu pu'o tavla le mikce I was about to speak to the doctor (I was not speaking at that time, the event hadn't started by that time).

le sanmi ca pu'o bredi The meal is not ready yet.

mi pu ba'o tavla le mikce I had spoken to the doctor.

mi ba ba'o tavla le mikce I will have spoken to the doctor.

.a'o mi ba zi ba'o gunka I hope soon I will have done the work.

za'o

modal term: still. The event is in process beyond its natural end

xa'o

unofficial modal term: already, too early. The event already started and it is too early

Examples:

ri'a ma do za'o zvati vi Why are you still here?

la .kevin. xa'o zvati vi Kevin is already here.

Stages of event#

mi co'a tavla I started talking.

ra ca'o ciska She keeps writing.

ra pu co'u vasxu He stopped breathing (sudden unpredictable change).

vasxu

$x_1$ breathes $x_2$

mi pu mo'u citka le plise I've eaten the apple up.

la .maks. pu mo'u zbasu ti voi dinju Max has built this house.

ra pu de'a vasxu She ceased to breath (but may breath again later).

mi pu di'a citka le plise I resumed eating apples.

co'a

modal term: the event starts (the border of the event)

ca'o

modal term: to be doing something (the event is in progress)

co'u

modal term: the event stops

mo'u

modal term: the event ends (the border of the event)

de'a

the event pauses (the event can be expected to continue)

di'a

the event resumes

mi de'a ze'i jundi BRB (I'll be right back).

mi di'a jundi I am back (being attentive).

jundi

$x_1$ pays attention to $x_2$

These two expressions are common in text chats for indicating that you are away or not paying attention, and then coming back online:

One could, of course, also say just de'a or di'a and hope the point gets across.

Continuous and progressive events#

ru'i

modal term: the event is continuous

.i mi pu ru'i citka le plise I was continuously eating apples.

Note the difference:

• ru'i indicates that the event is continuous and never pauses.
• ca'o implies that the event progresses. It may sometimes pause and then resume its progress.

Place contours#

Event contours can be used to refer to space if we prefix them with fe'e:

le rokci cu fe'e ro roi zvati The stones are everywhere.

‘to the left’, ‘to the right’#

le prenu cu sanli le dertu bu'u le pritu be mi The person stands on the ground to the right of me.

le gerku cu vreta le ckana bu'u le zunle be le verba The dog is lying on the bed to the left of a child.

ko jgari le panbi poi zunle Take the pen on the left.

le mlatu cu plipe bu'u le crane be do A cat jumps in front of you.

ko catlu le dinju poi crane Look at the house in the front.

le verba cu zutse le stizu bu'u le trixe be mi The child sits on the chair behind me.

le prenu cu sanli ki mi bu'u le pritu be le tricu bei mi The person stands to the right of a tree from my viewpoint.

le dinju cu zunle le rokci ti The house is to the left of the rock if viewed from here.

zunle

$x_1$ is to the left of $x_2$ as viewed from $x_3$

pritu

$x_1$ is to the right of $x_2$ as viewed from $x_3$

crane

$x_1$ is in front of $x_2$ ($x_1$ is between $x_2$ and whoever watches) as viewed from $x_3$

trixe

$x_1$ is behind $x_2$ as viewed from $x_3$

sanli

$x_1$ stands on $x_2$

zutse

$x_1$ sits on $x_2$

vreta

$x_1$ lies on $x_2$

le dertu

the ground, the dirt

le ckana

the bed

le stizu

the chair

le pelji

the paper

le penbi

the pen

Practice: position#

Practice: vehicles#

marce

$x_1$ is a vehicle carrying $x_2$

se marce

$x_1$ is a passenger of $x_2$

karce

$x_1$ is a car carrying $x_2$

bloti

$x_1$ is a boat carrying $x_2$

vinji

$x_1$ is an aircraft carrying $x_2$

trene

$x_1$ is a train of cars $x_2$

Enriching vocabulary. New words using tenses#

Many single English words correspond to word combinations in Lojban:

pixra

$x_1$ is a picture of $x_3$

le vi'a pixra

the picture in 2D

le vi'u pixra

the picture in 3D, a sculpture

le ve'i cmana

the hill (literally "mountain/hill covering little space")

le ve'u xamsi

the ocean (literally "sea/ocean covering large space")

le ba'o tricu

stump of a tree (literally "the no longer tree")