Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 6. At the Restaurant
This lesson introduces location questions with bu'u ma (where?), and the important .aunai — "I don't want to."
I feel like I've been eating and drinking for three lessons straight. When do we get to grammar?
This is the grammar. You already know tense markers, attitudinals, articles, question words, and the verb-first sentence shape — you just learned them through soup and juice.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| .au pei do ca citka | Would you like to eat now? |
| .au mi ca citka | I'd like to eat now. |
| .aunai .i ba za go'i | I don't want to. I'll eat in a while. |
| .ai mi pinxe | I'm going to drink something. |
| bu'u ma | Where? |
| mi na djuno | I don't know. |
| .ai mi klama lo gusta | I'm going to go to some restaurant. |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| .aunai | I don't want to |
| go'i | (repeat of the previous sentence's predicate — here: eat) |
| bu'u | at (location tense marker) |
| bu'u ma | where? |
| gusta | restaurant |
So .aunai .i ba za go'i = "I don't want to. In a while I will [do the same thing again]." go'i is an incredible shortcut.
It echoes the last predicate. Very natural in rapid Lojban conversation.
Written prompts
Say in Lojban: I don't want to eat now. (.aunai mi ca citka)
Say in Lojban: Where? (bu'u ma)
Say in Lojban: I'm going to go to some restaurant. (.ai mi klama lo gusta)
Recycle — Lessons 3–5
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| mi na djuno le du'u do ba klama ma | I don't know where you will go. |
| .ai mi pinxe lo jisra ca le vanci | I'm going to drink some juice in the evening. |
| xu do nelci lo gusta | Do you like restaurants? |
Say in Lojban: I want to eat soup at the restaurant. (.au mi citka le stasu lo gusta)