Re: Use of "la" vs. putting adj./adv. after verb?
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 5:32 pm
toki!janAleje wrote:Hi everyone! I'm new here, but hope to one day be a fluent tokiponist. I'm a little confused as to the use of "la." According to this: http://rowa.giso.de/languages/toki-pona ... ons_en.pdf it "separates an adverb of context" from the sentence. I don't know what an "adverb of context" is, but I assume it's some type of adverb. What I'm wondering is, for example, would you be able to say "he eats well" in two ways: "ona li moku pona" and "pona la ona li moku"? Thanks for the help.
Simply put, "la" allows you to start a sentence with a preposition: sina jan pona tawa mi. → tawa mi la sina jan pona.
The preposition "lon" is omitted, though: mi moku lon tomo. → tomo la mi moku.
Even more tricky, but the last thing to mention is that in "if"-sentences, "lon ni" is omitted: mi lape lon ni: mi wile lape. → mi wile lape, la mi lape.
If you say *"pona la ona li moku", that should mean the same as *"ona li moku lon pona", "he eats at good", which is not used for "he eats good" or "ona li moku pona".
Regards