Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 23. A Day in the City
di'a means "resuming / going back" — here it's used for returning. Combined with klama it gives you "to come back / return."
So di'a klama ti = "go back here" = "return here." ti is just "here"?
Yes — ti / ta / tu are spatial demonstratives: here / there / way over there. Same distance scale as vi / va / vu but pointing at objects rather than marking locations.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| mi ba klama le tcadu | I'll go to the city. |
| xu do ba klama fu tu'a le karce pe do | Will you go in your own car? |
| na go'i .i mi ba klama fu tu'a le taksi | No. I'll go by taxi. |
| do djica lo nu do zukte ma bu'u le tcadu | What do you want to do in the city? |
| .ai mi te vecnu su'o da bu'u le tcadu | I'm going to buy something in the city. |
| .ai mi vitke le re pendo be mi le tcadu | I'm going to visit my two friends in the city. |
| .i .ai ba le nu vitke kei mi di'a klama ti | After the visit, I'm going to come back here. |
| xu do ca le cerni be le cabdei di'a klama ti | Will you return here today in the morning? |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| di'a | resuming / going back to |
| ba le nu … kei | after (something happens) |
| re pendo be mi | my two friends |
ba le nu vitke kei — "after visiting." So ba le nu [clause] kei is the formula for "after doing something"?
Exactly. le nu turns a verb into an event-noun; ba puts it after that event; kei closes the clause cleanly. You'll see this pattern constantly in storytelling.
Written prompts
Say in Lojban: I'll visit my two friends in the city. (.ai mi vitke le re pendo be mi le tcadu)
Say in Lojban: After eating, I'll return here. (ba le nu citka kei mi di'a klama ti)
Say in Lojban: Will you go by taxi or in your car? (xu do ba klama fu tu'a le taksi je'i le karce pe do)
Recycle — Lessons 20–22
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| mi ba vitke le pendo ca le bavlamdei .i mi ba di'a klama le zdani ba le nu vitke kei | I'll visit a friend tomorrow. I'll return home after the visit. |
| xu do ba stali le tcadu ze'a le jeftu be li pa | Will you stay in the city for one week? |
| mi kanpe lo nu mi di'a klama ti ca le cerni be le bavlamdei | I expect to return here tomorrow morning. |
Say in Lojban: I need to return home after buying food in the city. (mi nitcu lo nu mi di'a klama le zdani ba le nu te vecnu lo cidja bu'u le tcadu kei)