Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 9. Yesterday and Tomorrow
Lifri slows down and they catch up. What did Mentu do yesterday? What will happen tomorrow? Tense markers and day-reference words all in one place — they belong together.
bavlamdei — "the day that arrives next" and prulamdei — "the day that passed." The words explain themselves!
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
 ca le cabdei mi zvati le zdani | Today I'm at home. |
 ca le prulamdei mi pu klama le panka | Yesterday I went to the park. |
 ca le bavlamdei mi ba klama le panka | Tomorrow I'll go to the park. |
 do pu tavla ma | Who did you talk to? |
 mi pu tavla la lifri | I talked to Lifri. |
 mi pu klama le panka .i ku'i mi ba klama le zdani | I went to the park, but I'll go home. |
 le panka cu zabna | The park is nice. |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pu | past tense — the action happened before now |
| ba | future tense — the action will happen after now |
| ku'i | discursive: but / however — often .i ku'i between sentences |
| cu | separator — marks the end of a noun phrase and the start of the predicate (no translation) |
| cabdei | today (lit. "current day") |
| bavlamdei | tomorrow (lit. "next-adjacent day") |
| prulamdei | yesterday (lit. "previous-adjacent day") |
Grammar note:
pu and ba come just before the predicate and shift the time. mi pu klama = "I went." mi ba klama = "I will go." cu is a small structural word — in le panka cu zabna, it signals "the noun phrase is done, here comes the predicate." It carries no meaning of its own. .i ku'i links two sentences with a contrast: past action, but future plan.
The compound day-words combine naturally with tense: ca le prulamdei mi pu klama = "at yesterday I went." mi na djuno (from Lesson 8) works perfectly when you're not sure about tomorrow: say mi na djuno instead of committing.
Practice dialogue
Linto tells Mentu about her own yesterday and tomorrow — different from his.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
 do pu klama ma ca le prulamdei | Where did you go yesterday? |
mi pu klama le panka | I went to the park. |
 mi pu klama le zdani .i ku'i mi ba klama le panka | I went home. But I'll go to the park. |
ca le bavlamdei xu do ba klama | Tomorrow, will you go? |
 go'i .i mi ba klama ca le vanci | Yes — I'll go in the evening. |
 .ui | Great! |
Anticipation prompts
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| I went to the park. | mi pu klama le panka |
| I will go home. | mi ba klama le zdani |
| Yesterday I went to the park. | ca le prulamdei mi pu klama le panka |
| Tomorrow I'll go to the park. | ca le bavlamdei mi ba klama le panka |
| The park is nice. | le panka cu zabna |
| I went to the park, but I'll go home. | mi pu klama le panka .i ku'i mi ba klama le zdani |
Spaced recall — Lessons 7–8
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| cerni coi .i mi gleki | Good morning! I'm happy. |
| ca le vanci mi klama le panka | In the evening I go to the park. |
| do sutra tavla | You speak fast. |
| ko masno tavla | Speak slowly! |
| mi na djuno | I don't know. |
| xu do jimpe | Do you understand? |
| ca le donri mi gleki | During the day I'm happy. |
| ca le nicte mi tatpi | At night I'm tired. |
| ti'u li cacra bu vo mi tatpi | At 4 o'clock I'm tired. |
| .oi .i ma ca tcika | Ugh — what time is it? |
Challenge
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| I spoke slowly yesterday. Tomorrow I'll go to the park. | mi pu masno tavla ca le prulamdei .i ca le bavlamdei mi ba klama le panka |