Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 26. Coming Back
The morning of departure. Sorting out who has which car — and what comes after the visit.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
 xu do ba klama fu le karce pe do | Will you go by your own car? |
 na go'i .i mi pu klama fu le taksi | No — I came by taxi. |
 ta cu taksi xu | Is that a taxi? |
 .ue .i go'i | Wow — yes! |
 tu cu karce pe mi | That over there is my car. |
 le karce pe do cu melbi | Your car is beautiful. |
 ba le nu vitke kei xu do ba di'a klama ti | After the visit, will you come back here? |
 go'i .i co'o ro do | Yes! Goodbye, everyone! |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| di'a | resuming / going back to (aspect marker) — di'a klama = "come back / return" |
| pe | of / belonging to (loose possessive — lighter than be) — le karce pe do = "your car" |
| ta | that — near the listener (demonstrative; ti = here / ta = there / tu = yonder) |
| tu | that yonder — far from both speaker and listener |
Grammar note:
ba le nu [bridi] kei = "after [event]." kei closes the event-noun started by nu: le nu vitke kei = "the visiting." ba le nu vitke kei = "after the visit." Compare lo nu tavla do kei (Lesson 18) — same structure.
pe is a loose possessive: le karce pe do = "the car of yours." It connects a noun phrase to a following sumti more lightly than be (which binds tighter inside descriptions). In casual speech, pe is often preferred after a complete noun phrase.
The three demonstratives: ti = here / near me (Lesson 23); ta = there / near you; tu = yonder / far from both of us.
co'o ro do = "goodbye, everyone!" — co'o (Lesson 1) + ro do = "all of you." Likewise coi ro do = "hello, everyone!"
Practice dialogue
Mentu calls Lifri after arriving home.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
.ui .i mi di'a zvati le zdani be mi | Yay! I'm back at my home. |
.ui .i xu do pu klama fu le taksi | Yay! Did you come by taxi? |
go'i .i le taksi cu xamgu | Yes. The taxi was good. |
ba le nu vitke kei xu do ba di'a klama ti | After the visit, will you come back here? |
go'i .i coi ro do | Yes! Hello to everyone! |
 .ui .i co'o | Yay! Goodbye! |
Anticipation prompts
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| Will you go by your car? | xu do ba klama fu le karce pe do |
| I came by taxi. | mi pu klama fu le taksi |
| Is that a taxi? | ta cu taksi xu |
| After the visit I'll return home. | ba le nu vitke kei mi di'a klama le zdani |
| Your car is beautiful. | le karce pe do cu melbi |
| Goodbye, everyone! | co'o ro do |
Spaced recall — Lessons 23–25
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| mi pu klama fu le taksi | I came by taxi. |
| .ue | Wow! |
| le tcadu cu sepli mi lo ki'otre be li mu no | The city is 50 km from me. |
| le zdani be do cu melbi | Your home is beautiful. |
| le panka cu zmadu le zarci | The park is better than the shop. |
| le tcadu cu simlu zabna | The city seems nice. |
Challenge
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| After eating, I'll return home by taxi. | ba le nu citka kei mi di'a klama le zdani fu le taksi |