Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 2. Rain and Plans
We'll expand weather talk and add the three most useful Lojban time markers: ca (now), ba (future), pu (past). And our first verb of intention: .ai.
Wait — .ai is a word? It doesn't look like one.
Lojban has a whole class of one-syllable "attitude words." .ai means "I intend to / I'm going to." You'll meet many more.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| le tcima cu zabna vi mi ji'a | The weather is nice at my place too. |
| le tcima ca ku vi mi na'e zabna | The weather here now is not really nice. |
| ca carvi | It's raining now. |
| .i ku'i mi na nelci le nu glare | But I don't like it when it's hot. |
| mi mutce nelci le nu mi tavla do | I really like talking to you. |
| .ai mi citka | I'm going to eat. |
| do ba citka ma | What will you eat? |
| mi na djuno | I don't know. |
| co'o cliva | Goodbye (from the one who is leaving). |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ji'a | also, too |
| ca | now (current tense marker) |
| carvi | to rain |
| ku'i | but |
| nelci | to like |
| glare | to be hot |
| mutce | very, a lot |
| tavla | to talk to |
| citka | to eat |
| ba | future tense marker (will) |
| ma | what? / which? (question word) |
| djuno | to know (a fact) |
So do ba citka ma is literally "you — will — eat — what?" The question word just slots in where the answer would go?
Exactly right. ma is a slot-holder for the unknown. Put it anywhere you'd put a noun and you've asked about that noun.
Written prompts
Say in Lojban: It's raining now. (ca carvi)
Say in Lojban: But I don't like heat. (ku'i mi na nelci le nu glare)
Say in Lojban: I don't know. (mi na djuno)
Recycle — Lesson 1 vocabulary
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| mi milxe se bangu la .lojban. | I speak Lojban a little. |
| le tcima cu zabna vi do | The weather is nice at your place. |
| co'o .i mi cliva | Goodbye — I'm leaving. |
Say in Lojban: Thank you — the weather is nice. (ki'e do .i le tcima cu zabna)