Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 13. Buying Things
On the way home, they stop at a shop. te vecnu = to buy. .e links things you're buying into a list. mutce pushes any predicate to an extreme.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
 .ai mi klama lo zarci | I'm going to go to a shop. |
 .ai mi te vecnu su'o cidja | I'm going to buy some food. |
 .ai mi te vecnu lo titnanba .e lo jisra | I'm going to buy cookies and juice. |
 xu le jisra cu kargu | Is the juice expensive? |
na kargu .i tolkargu | Not expensive — cheap. |
 le cidja cu mutce kargu | The food is very expensive. |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| zarci | shop, store |
| te vecnu | to buy — lit. "the buyer's role in a sale"; mi te vecnu X = "I buy X" |
| su'o | at least one / some (quantifier) — su'o cidja = "some food / at least some food" |
| .e | and — connects two noun phrases: A .e B = "A and B" |
| mutce | very, a lot — mutce kargu = "very expensive" |
Grammar note:
.e links noun phrases: lo titnanba .e lo jisra = "cookies and juice." The prefix tol- (Lesson 12) works with any predicate to give its opposite. mutce intensifies: mutce tolkargu = "very cheap." su'o before a noun means "some / at least one": su'o cidja = "some food" — slightly more emphatic than plain lo cidja.
Practice dialogue
Linto compares prices.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
 xu le titnanba cu kargu | Are the cookies expensive? |
na kargu .i tolkargu | Not expensive. Cheap. |
 le jisra cu mutce tolkargu | The juice is very cheap. |
 .ai mi te vecnu lo titnanba .e lo jisra | I'm going to buy cookies and juice. |
 .ui | Yay! |
Anticipation prompts
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| I'm going to buy cookies and juice. | .ai mi te vecnu lo titnanba .e lo jisra |
| I'm going to a shop. | .ai mi klama lo zarci |
| The food is very expensive. | le cidja cu mutce kargu |
| I'm going to buy some food. | .ai mi te vecnu su'o cidja |
Spaced recall — Lessons 10–12
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| .au mi citka lo nanba | I want to eat bread. |
| .au mi pinxe lo djacu | I want to drink water. |
| .ai mi klama lo gusta | I'm going to a restaurant. |
| xu kargu | Is it expensive? |
| lo stasu cu meryru'u li re no | The soup costs 20 dollars. |
| go'i .i .ai mi pleji | Yes. I'll pay. |
| mi nelci lo jdini | I like money. |
| .ai mi pleji lo jdini | I'm going to pay money. |
Challenge
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| Tomorrow I'll go to the shop. I'll buy cookies and water. They're cheap! | ca le bavlamdei .ai mi klama lo zarci .i .ai mi te vecnu lo titnanba .e lo djacu .i tolkargu |