Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 11. Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday
The three essential day-words: le cabdei (today), le bavlamdei (tomorrow), le prulamdei (yesterday). And birti — to be certain.
bavlamdei — "the day that arrives after" and prulamdei — "the day that passed." The words describe themselves!
That's what a logical language does — roots combine in ways that describe their own meaning. Once you learn enough roots, new words become guessable.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| xu do djica lo nu do tavla mi ti'u li cacra bu ze | Do you want to talk to me at 7 o'clock? |
| .u'u tu'a li cacra bu ze milxe na'e se kufra mi | Sorry, 7 o'clock is a little inconvenient for me. |
| pei do tavla mi ca le bavlamdei | How about you talk to me tomorrow? |
| pei mi'o casnu ca le bavlamdei | How about you and I have a discussion tomorrow? |
| tu'a le bavlamdei cu zabna | As for tomorrow — that works fine. |
| pei ca le cabdei | How about today? |
| mi pu tavla la gleki ca le prulamdei | I talked to Gleki yesterday. |
| ca le xu cabdei | Today? |
| ca le xu cabdei .i mi na birti | Today? I'm not sure. |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| cabdei | today's day |
| bavlamdei | tomorrow |
| prulamdei | yesterday |
| casnu | to discuss |
| mi'o | you and I (we two, the pair of us) |
| birti | to be certain / sure |
| ca le xu … | as for today/tomorrow/… (questioning the specific day) |
mi na birti — so the negation goes right after mi, before the verb? Not at the end?
na always comes after the subject and before the selbri (main verb). Never at the end — that's an English habit to unlearn.
Written prompts
Say in Lojban: I'm not sure. (mi na birti)
Say in Lojban: I talked to Happy yesterday. (mi pu tavla la gleki ca le prulamdei)
Say in Lojban: How about tomorrow? (pei ca le bavlamdei)
Recycle — Lessons 8–10
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| xu tu'a le bavlamdei cu se kufra do | Is tomorrow convenient for you? |
| mi pu klama le panka ca le prulamdei | I went to the park yesterday. |
| vanci coi .i pei mi'o casnu ca le cabdei | Good evening! How about we discuss today? |
Say in Lojban: I'll talk to my friend at 9 o'clock tomorrow. (mi ba tavla le pendo ti'u li cacra bu so ca le bavlamdei)