Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 18. I Need to Work
Evening. Mentu is tired and has to work tomorrow. Two essential patterns: nitcu (to need) and lo nu (turning a predicate into an event-noun).
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
 .ai mi sipna | I'm going to sleep. |
 ca lerci | It's late now. |
 mi nitcu lo nu mi gunka | I need to work. |
 ma jibri do | What is your job? |
 mi gunka ca le cerni | I work in the morning. |
 mi nitcu lo nu mi sipna | I need to sleep. |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| sipna | x₁ sleeps |
| gunka | x₁ works at x₂ |
| nitcu | x₁ needs x₂ |
| jibri | x₁ is a job / occupation of x₂ |
| lerci | x₁ is late by standard x₂ |
Grammar note:
lo nu X turns a predicate into an event-noun: "the event of X happening." mi nitcu lo nu mi gunka = "I need [the event of] my working" = "I need to work." You can nest any predicate: lo nu mi sipna = "my sleeping," lo nu do tavla = "your talking." This pattern will appear regularly from here on.
Practice dialogue
Linto yawns. Mentu asks about her work, and they wrap up the evening.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
 ca lerci | It's late. |
.ai mi sipna | I'm going to sleep. |
 mi nitcu lo nu mi gunka ca le bavlamdei | I need to work tomorrow. |
 ma jibri do | What is your job? |
mi gunka ca le cerni .i ca lerci | I work in the mornings. It's late. |
je'e .i mi ba sipna | Got it. I'll sleep. |
Anticipation prompts
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| I'm going to sleep. | .ai mi sipna |
| It's late. | ca lerci |
| I need to work. | mi nitcu lo nu mi gunka |
| What is your job? | ma jibri do |
Spaced recall — Lessons 15–17
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| le speni be mi cu gleki | My spouse is happy. |
| le tixnu be mi cu zvati le zdani | My daughter is at home. |
| do xabju ma | Where do you live? |
| mi xabju lo barda tcadu | I live in a big city. |
| le panka cu jibni | The park is near. |
| le bersa be mi cu cmalu | My son is small. |
| le mensi be mi cu zvati le panka | My sister is at the park. |
| le bruna be mi cu nanla | My brother is a boy. |
| ma cmalu | What is small? |
| do se panzi xo da | How many children do you have? |
Challenge
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| I need to sleep. Tomorrow I work in the morning. | mi nitcu lo nu mi sipna .i ca le bavlamdei mi gunka ca le cerni |