Lingwa de Planeta (LdP for short) is a neutral international auxiliary language on the basis of the ten most widely spoken world languages including six western European — English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian — and Chinese, Russian, Hindi, and Arabic. LdP also includes words from other languages to some extent. See more detailed general description at http://lingwadeplaneta.info/
Here you will find practical description. In more detail the LdP phonology is presented in separate work «LdP phonology» (under translation).
The LdP alphabet is based on the Latin one and contains 25 letters:
|
A |
B |
Ch |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
|
a |
b |
ch |
d |
e |
f |
g |
h |
i |
j |
k |
l |
m |
n |
o |
p |
r |
s |
t |
u |
v |
w |
x |
y |
z |
There is no letter «q», and «c» is used only in combination «ch».
Consonants
|
b |
like «b» in «bar» |
|
ch / j |
like «ch» in «cheers» or like «j» in «jack» |
|
d |
like «d» in «duck» |
|
f |
like «f» in «fish» |
|
g |
like «g» in «groom» |
|
h |
like «ch» in the German «Fach» (recommended), or «h» in «home» |
|
k |
like «k» in «cake», aspirated |
|
l |
like «l» in «love» |
|
m |
like «m» in «mamma» |
|
n |
like «n» in «nanny» |
|
p |
like «p» in «papa», aspirated |
|
r |
Any kind of rhotic sound will do. After a vowel it is to be pronounced, however articulated |
|
s |
like «s» in «Sunday». In the position between vowels may be voiced to some degree |
|
sh |
like «sh» in «shoe» |
|
t |
like «t» in «type», aspirated |
|
v, w |
like «w» in «wall». «V» is written mostly in Latinate words like «vidi» or «inventi» for their recognisability |
|
z |
like «dz» in «Dzus fastener» |
The combination «ng» at the end of a word is pronounced as one sound: [η] (like in «doing») is preferred, but [n] is also possible. In the middle of a word this combination is read exactly as combination of «n» plus «g».
The letter «x» denotes the combination of letters «ks». In the position between vowels it is recommended to read it as the combination of letters «gs». In the position before a consonant may be read as [s].
Double consonants are not used.
Vowels
|
a |
like «a» in «father» |
|
e |
like «e» in «men» |
|
i |
like «ea» in «tea» |
|
o |
like «oa» in «boat» |
|
u |
like «oo» in «cool» |
The letter «y».
The letters «i» and «y» denote the same sound [i]. The use of «y» basically indicates that the sound is not stressed: pyu [piú]. Besides, «y» at the end of a word indicates that the word is not a verb: krai to cry — skay sky.
The main rule is: the vowel before the last consonant is stressed:
máta mother, suóla sole (of footwear), matéria matter, konéktia connection, nóve new, kórdia heart, aktór actor, aván forward, krokodíl crocodile, dúmai to think, jámai to gather.
In words of the shape (C)CVV like háo good, well, krái to cry the first vowel is stressed.
In combination "au" "a" is stressed:
áusen outside, áudi to hear, áuto car, máus mouse, káusa cause.
In combinations "ai", "ei" — "i" is not stressed:
máini to mean, fáil file, bréin brain, méil mail.
There are 4 consonant endings which are never stressed. These are –en, –us, –um, –er: ínen inside, íven even, ráiten to the right of, vírus virus, swínus boar, fórum forum, ánglum English (language); ínter between, kompyúter computer.
The endings of nouns and adjectives -ik-, -ul- are unstressed:
gramátika, pedagógika, públika, Áfrika, Amérika, polítike, lógike, únike, psikológike; stímula, ángulo. This doesn’t apply to compound words with –fula like handafúla handful.
Non-standart stress is indicated through a doubled vowel: kwantitaa quantity, kwalitaa quality (and all abstract nouns derived from adjectives via the stressed suffix –itaa); namastee hello, adyoo good-bye, bifoo before, malgree in spite of, shosee highway, milyoo milieu. The use of a doubled vowel is justified by that the stress in LdP is basically quantitative. A doubled vowel in a word with a single vowel (like in 'zoo') is not regarded to be a stress mark.
Stress and word formation.
Plural endings –(e)s, adverb suffix –em and noun suffix –ing do not change stress: suólas soles, kórdias hearts, naturálem naturally (from naturále natural), kúking cooking (from kúki to cook).
Compound words are stressed according to meaning: auslándajén foreigner.
All the suffixes beginning with a consonant are in fact one- or two-syllable semantic particles, so words formed with them may be regarded as compound ones, with the corresponding stress: partídoyuán a party member, sindómnik a homeless person, gínalík womanly (from gína woman), suksésful successful (from suksés success), kúsaishil tending to bite (from kúsai to bite), ófnitúl opener, vídibíle visible, véndiyér seller (from véndi to sell).
Bashán om humanístike transfórmia de sosietáa
Namastée, káre amígos!
Me jói sinsérem por vídi yu, me jói ke nu es snóva tuhún e ke nu mog diréktem diskúsi kwéstias kel agíti nu óli.
Probléma, ke nu zun durán yo pyu kem shi yar, es de tal natúra, ke ye sémpre pyu de sey kwéstias e íli bikám sémpre pyu agúde.
Álso, fórmuli-yen nuy jawábias a íli, nu mus bi sémpre pyu skrupulóse.
In may repórta tudéy me wud yáo detalísi plúri prinsíp-ney téesis prisénti-ney bay me in pasáde yar.
Dan, al konklúsi may bugrán bashán, me shwo-te, ke fo nu es tótem evidénte ke humanístike transfórmia de sosietáa es buevítibíle.
Durán pási-ney yar he ye tóte séria de evénto kel testimóni konviktívem, ke planetáre sivilisasión múvi kway a suy dekádia.
Me dúmai, ke partisipántas de konferénsia ve analísi i eválui sey evéntos in ley bashán.
Ya, fo nu es tótem evidénte ke humanístike transfórmia de sosietáa es buevítibíle, bat tóshi kláre es se ke tal transfórmia ve evénti tóka dan, wan fo máiste jen de planéta dwa kósa bikám evidénte: an un taráf, ke fóre konsérvia de exísti-she sosiále ordína es buposíble; an ótre taráf, ke oni tréba adópti nóve ordína fóndi-ney on humanístike ideáles.
Konsérnem buposiblitáa de fóre exístia de sosietáa fóndi-ney on komérsike relátias, hir ólo es kláre: samájia om se es tem pyu blíse, kem pyu agúde manifestásiónes de globále krísa in ol suy fulitáa.
Fo koy taim dominánte kláses, sértem, ve mog ankór trómpi jenmín de ley stánes, obskúri-yen in káda dáo toy fákto ke globále problémas es in kausále konéktia kun fundamentále prinsíp de presénte organísia de sosietáa – prinsíp de profít.
Bat on nuy planéta ye ya bu sháo intéle jen kel vídi sey konéktia e shwo om da.
Tu klósi muh a íli komplétem es apéne posíble.
E se signífi, ke, según ke globále problémas expándi e agrávi, samájia om ley vére natúra sal buevítibílem bikám generále.
me — I
yu — you (sg.)
lu — he
ela — she
ta — he, she, it (common for animate)
da — it (inanimate)
nu — we
vu — you (pl.)
ili — they
Common pronoun for animate objects in 3rd person singular.
Kwo ta shwo? — What does he/she say?
Me vidi ta — I see him/her (or an animal).
Es doga. Ta nami Sharik — It’s a dog. Its name is Sharik.
This pronoun can be used instead of lu and ela, which is comfortable for native speakers of languages without genders and special pronouns for "he" and "she" (e.g., Chinese, Finnish). Besides, it is convenient to use this pronoun in situations when the gender of a person is not defined exactly:
Es sempre hao si jen jan kwo ta yao – It is always good, when a man (or it may be a woman as well) knows what he/she wants.
The pronoun da relates to inanimate objects:
Se es auto. Da go kway. — This is a car. It goes fast.
Da does not have the meaning "this, that" (as reference to the actions, conditions or events mentioned in the preceding or following statement); these meanings are expressed by pronouns "se" (this) and "to" (that): Me jan se — I know this. ("Me jan da" would mean "I know it (some object)").
Personal pronouns are invariable:
Me jan ke yu lubi me. — I know that you love me.
Me dumai mucho om yu — I think much about you.
Ob yu dumai-te mucho om me? — Did you think much about me?
Ela lubi lu. — She loves him.
Lu lubi ela. — He loves her.
The dative case is marked with the preposition "a":
Dai a me sey kitaba, plis! — Give me please this book!
Me dai sey kitaba a ela. — I give this book to her.
Lu diki a nu luy nove bao. — He shows us his new bag.
Dai a ili pyu taim. — Give them more time.
may — my
yuy — your (sg.)
luy — his
elay — her
suy — its, his, her, one's (universal for 3rd person singular)
nuy — our
vuy — your (pl.)
ley — their
When used as a predicate, the same forms are used:
se es may – this is mine
ob sey kitaba es luy o yuy? – is this his book or yours?
walaa texto, oli eror in da es may – here is the text, all the mistakes in it are mine.
Suy is the universal possessive pronoun for the 3rd person singular:
Ela nisi-te suy jamile okos – She dropped her beautiful eyes.
This variant will be more natural for representatives of the Romance languages and for Russians; an English speaker would prefer "elay" instead of "suy". Both are acceptable.
Thus, the system of pronouns in the LdP is quite flexible.
It is natural to use "suy" in situations when the gender of a person is not specified:
Jen yusi suy jansa fo adapti a milyoo. — Man uses his knowledge in order to adjust to the environment.
Ley is the universal possessive pronoun for the 3rd person plural:
Ili tedi me bay ley kwestia. — They tire me with their questions.
se — this (as a noun)
to — that (as a noun)
sey — this, these (before a noun, as an adjective)
toy — that, those (before a noun, as an adjective)
se — this. Used as a noun, indicating actions, circumstances, events, etc., mentioned in the preceding or following statement. Se, as compared with to, indicates a closer (in time or place) object, action, event, etc.
Se es auto — This is a car (these are cars). (‘Se’ may be omitted in such sentences: Es auto — This is a car, literally "is car").
Me jan se — I know this.
Me bu ve shwo a yu om se — I won’t tell you about this.
Expressions "se ke", "se komo"... denote "what…is", "how to" (it is like the French “ce que”):
Se ke yu shwo a me es raite. — What you tell me is right.
Treba samaji se komo organisi gunsa. — It is necessary to understand how to organize the work.
to — that. Used as a noun, indicating actions, circumstances, events, etc., mentioned in the preceding or the following speech. To, as compared with se, indicates a more remote (in time or place) object, action, event, etc.
Se es auto e to es bisikla — This is a car, and that is a bicycle.
To es avion, bu faula — That is an airplane, not a bird.
Me jan to — I know that.
Me ve shwo a yu om to — I shall tell you about that.
"To-es" — "that is".
sey — this, these (before a noun, as an adjective).
Sey auto es hwan — This car is yellow.
Sey autos es hwan — These cars are yellow.
Ob sey dafta es yuy? — Is this copybook yours?
Ob sey daftas es yuy? — Are these copybooks yours?
toy — that, those (before a noun, as an adjective).
Sey auto es hwan e toy auto es blu — This car is yellow, and that car is blue.
Hu es toy jen? — Who is that man?
Ob toy dafta es yuy? — Is that copybook yours?
Ob toy daftas es yuy? — Are those copybooks yours?
The particle “la” (“las” in plural) serves for adjective substanivizer. Sey-la, toy-la — this (one) or that (one), the one — may replace objects already mentioned.
Examples:
Sey-la hu es hir, chu! — (The one) who is here, come out!
Dai a me kitaba! – Kwel? – Sey-la on tabla. — Give me the book! – Which one? – The one on the table.
Dai a me kitabas! – Kwel? – Sey-las on tana. — Give me books! – Which ones? – These ones on the shelf.
Toy-la hu jan, ta bu shwo – He who knows, he doesn’t speak (the one who knows, doesn’t speak).
Walaa dwa kitaba. Sey-la es hao e toy-la es buhao. — Here are two books. This one is good and that one is bad.
Prinsip de menia e toy-la de sinergia – The principle of exchange and that of synergy.
Toy-las hu yao mog go wek — Those who want may go away.
Walaa daftas. Sey-las es fo skribi e toy-las es fo rasmi. – Here are copybooks. These ones are for writing and those ones are for drawing.
what (interrogative pronoun): Kwo es? What is it? Me jan kwo yu dumai – I know what you think.
1) that (relative pronoun): me jan ke yu lubi me – I know that you love me;
2) begins a modifying group after a noun, without prepositions:
Kitaba ke yu tralekti-te — The book that you have read;
Haus ke nu jivi — The house in which we live.
Jen ke me shwo — The man I am talking about.
Dao ke yu go — The way you are going.
3) Used in the beginning of sentences expressing wish: Ke olo bi hao! – May everything be good!
what, which (interrogative): Kwel es lu? — What is he like? Kwel de ili? —Which (one) from them?
Which, what (relative):
jen kel zai lekti kitaba – the person that is reading a book;
kitaba om kel nu shwo-te — the book about which we spoke.
Combination "lo kel" means "what, which" as a noun: ela lai-te sunem, lo kel joisi-te me gro — she came quickly which pleased me much.
In the genitive kel-ney: profesor kel-ney kitabas niun lekti – the professor whose books nobody reads.
1) How, in what way: Komo lu zin-te hir? — How did he enter here? Me bu jan komo lu zin-te hir. — I don't know how he entered. 2) How, how much: Komo gao es toy baum? — How high is that tree?
1) As (in comparisons, references): gran kom elefanta – big as an elefant; kom me yo shwo-te – as I've already said; 2) as, in the capacity of: nau me gun kom disainyer – now I work as a designer.
how much, as much, how many, as many: kwanto da kosti? — how much does it cost? Me bu ve pagi tanto kwanto lu yao – I will not pay as much as he wants.
so much, so many, thus much: Me es tanto fatige! Bu gai gun tanto. - I am so tired! I shouldn't work so much. Tanto kwanto treba – as much as needed; tanto ke me jan - as far as I know; bu tanto…kom – not so much…as.
way – why
wan – when
wo – where; fon wo – where from, a wo – where, whereto
Makes impersonal sentences like: oni shwo – they say; oni samaji ke... – one understands that..., it's clear that...
Common reflexive pronoun for all persons and numbers: yu jan swa — you know yourself; ela odi swa — she hates herself; me wosh-te swa — I washed myself; lu rasi-te swa — he shaved himself; ili senti swa hao — they feel themselves good.
In LdP there is a system of compound pronouns and adverbs. Its important elements are:
koy — some
eni — any, whatever
kada – every
otre — other, another
ol — all, the whole of
nul — no (whatever), none (whatever)
These elements combining with others (loko – place (the suffix "lok" means "place" too), taim – time, ves – time (instance), un – one, komo – how, ni- – negation, -sa – noun suffix) may produce compound pronouns and adverbs:
koysa — something
koyun — someone
koylok — somewhere
koytaim — somewhen, sometime
koygrad — to some degree
koykomo — in some way
enisa — anything, whatever
eniun — anybody, anyone, any (person)
enilok — anywhere
enitaim — anytime
enikomo — in any way
niun — nobody
nikomo — in no way
kadun — everyone
kadalok — everywhere
oltaim — all the time, constantly
nullok — nowhere
nulgrad — not in the least
unves — once, one day
koyves — sometimes
otreves — next time, another time
plurives — a few times, several times;
otrelok — in another place
but there is no strict scheme:
always — sempre,
never — neva,
ever — eva,
nothing — nihsa.
Verbs end in –i (the bulk) or "n":
vidi – to see
audi – to hear
fini – to finish
sidi – to sit
dumai – to think
transformi – to transform
konsulti – to consult
kusai – to bite
gun – to work
zun – to be occupied with, devote oneself to.
There is also a small number of verbs which end otherwise:
shwo – to say, to speak
go – to go
yao – to want.
Verbs with prefixes fa- and mah-, which contain adjectives, end correspondingly:
fa-syao – to diminish, become smaller (syao small)
fa-muhim – to become more important (muhim important)
mah-hao – make better, improve (hao good).
This is the form of the infinitive, present tense and imperative. The same form is used in subordinate clauses expressing a wish:
treba dumai one should think
me (yu, ta, nu, ili) dumai I (you, he/she, we, they) think
dumai! think!
me yao ke yu dumai hao om se I’d like you to think well about it (“I want that you think well about it”);
tu samaji es tu pardoni to understand is to forgive
es taim fo samaji ke... it’s time to understand that...
nu samaji se we understand this
samaji! understand!
wud bi muy hao, si yu samaji ke... it would be very good if you understand that…;
tu go a kino es hao it is good to go to the cinema
lu sal go a kino he is going to go to the cinema
lu go a kino he goes (or is going) to the cinema
go ahir! go here!
me esperi ke yu go a kino I hope that you go to the cinema.
Negation is formed by means of particle bu:
Me bu samaji — I don’t understand.
Lu bu yao — He doesn’t want.
Bu go dar! — Don’t go there!
Bu shwo ke yu bu jan-te! — Don’t say that you didn’t know!
Bu is placed before verb or tense particle.
Verb forms are basically the main verb form plus a particle before or after the verb. If a particle is after the verb, it is written with a hyphen. Thus, the main verb form is always evident, and its stress is preserved.
Particles before the verb:
ve — future tense marker;
he — past tense marker;
zai — marker of continuous aspect;
wud — conditional marker;
gwo — remote past tense marker («some time ago, earlier in life, have been to somewhere or used to do smth»);
sal — immediate future marker («to be going to do smth.»);
yus — immediate past marker («have just done smth»; the word «yus» means «just»);
gei — marks the passive of becoming.
Particles after the verb:
–te — past tense marker (means the same as he);
–she — active participle marker;
–yen — verbal adverb marker;
–ney — a modifier-making particle; with verbs denotes passive participle.
Examples:
pi — to drink
ve pi — will drink;
he pi, pi-te — drank or have drunk;
zai pi — is drinking;
ve zai pi — will be drinking;
zai pi-te — was drinking;
ve he pi, ve pi-te — will have drunk;
he pi-te — had drunk;
wud pi — would drink;
wud pi-te — would have drunk;
gei pi — is being drunk;
ve gei pi — will be being drunk;
gei-te pi — was being drunk;
es pi-ney — is drunk;
bin pi-ney — was drunk;
ve bi pi-ney — will be drunk;
pi-she — drinking (active part., as in “cat drinking water”);
pi-yen — drinking (verbal adverb, as in “drinking water, he remembered about…”);
afte pi — having drunk;
gwo pi — used to drink, or drank (in indefinitely remote past);
sal pi — going or about to drink;
yus pi-te — have just drunk.
Examples:
me ve shwo – I shall say (speak)
nu ve go – we shall go
ela ve lekti – she will read
yu ve gun – you will work
ve pluvi – it will rain
me bu ve go – I won’t go.
There are 2 particles meaning the past tense or the finished action: he (before verb) and –te (after verb):
me he shwo, me shwo-te – I said or I have said
lu he vidi, lu vidi-te – he saw or he has seen
he pluvi, pluvi-te – it rained
me bu he jan, me bu jan-te – I didn’t know.
Why are there two? To give you some freedom of choice and to avoid accumulation of too many particles in one place. It is practical to use –te when there are other particles before the verb: zai pi-te, wud pi-te.
When –te and he are used together, the are equal to the English past perfect tense:
Wan lu lai-te a dom, ela he kuki-te deyfan — When he came home, she had cooked dinner.
The combination of ve with one of the particles is equal to the English future perfect tense:
Wan lu ve lai a dom, ela ve he kuki deyfan (or: ela ve kuki-te deyfan) — When he comes home, she will have cooked dinner.
The both particles are equal in meaning. There is no problem if Europeans use he the same way they use the perfect tenses in their languages.
The verb ‘bi’ to be is special, and it has the past form bin:
Wo yu bin? – Where were you? Where have you been?
To stress the imperative meaning, or to make it clearer, the particle ‘ba’ may be used:
Go ba dar! Go there!
Kan ba hir! Look here!
«Ba» serves also for «let»:
Nu go ba! Let's go!
Nu begin ba! Let's begin!
Ba lu lai! Let him come!
«Ke» in the beginning of a sentence serves for «may»:
Ke olo bi hao! May everything be good!
Ke forsa bi kun yu! May the force be with you!
It is marked by ‘zai’ before the verb:
me zai go fon shop — I am going from the shop.
nau lu zai gun om se – now he is working on this.
Me zai go-te fon shop, wan me miti-te lu — I was going from the shop when I met him.
Ob yu es libre manya klok dwa? – Manya klok dwa me ve zai lekti kitabas in publike kitabaguan. Are you free tomorrow at 2? – Tomorrow at 2 I shall be reading books in public library.
The use of "zai" is not obligatory. It is used only if the continuous aspect of action should be stressed.
Formed with –she: zwo-she doing, vendi-she selling.
This particle is similar to the Chinese particle zhe and to the Russian active participle suffix (vidi-she — vidyaschiy). Additionally, it is close in meaning to the preposition ‘she’.
Basically the same meaning is conveyed through the suffix –anta, which some nouns in LdP have: komersi to trade — komersanta trader, kolori to color — koloranta colorant, konsulti to consult — konsultanta consultant. But these words are not active participles, they are nouns with their own meaning.
The passive of becoming, formed by the auxiliary verb ‘gei’ and verb, indicates an unfinished process:
Dwar gei ofni lentem — The door is being opened slowly (=gets opened) (compare: dwar es ofni-ney – the door is opened).
To gei zwo — That is being done (compare: to es zwo-ney – that is done).
Autos gei kupi kada dey — Cars are bought every day.
The past tense is formed with ‘gei-te’; the future with ‘ve gei’:
Se gei-te zwo so e to ve gei zwo otrem — This was (being) done so, and that will be (being) done otherwise.
"-ney" with verbs denotes passive participle:
pi-ney akwa — the drunk water.
If you want to say that the water is being drunk, add "gei":
gei-pi-ney akwa — the water that is being drunk.
Compound modifiers with -ney are allowed, as an alternative to a subordinate clause. All modifier components are written with a hyphen:
Lu-pi-ney akwa — the water that he drinks/has drunk.
Nu-zwo-ney gunsa — the work that we do/have done.
LdP-skribi-ney mesajas – the messages written in LdP.
The passive of state is formed by "bi" and "verb+ney"; it indicates a state as a result of a finished process:
Olo es yo shwo-ney, ye nihsa fo shwo pyu — All is already said, there’s nothing more to say.
Ob se olo es zwo-ney bay yu? — Is this all done by you?
Toy auto bin kupi-ney char yar bak — That car was bought 4 years ago.
This is formed with –yen (which is in fact the indefinite preposition, when taken alone): vidi-yen seeing, jan-yen knowing.
It should be noted that simultaneity of actions may be also expressed through the preposition «al» (at, in the process of):
Al pasi bus-stop me vidi-te ke ela stendi dar (=Pasi-yen bus-stop…) — Passing by the bus-stop I saw her standing there;
Al vidi lu me krai-te: «Namastee!» (=Vidi-yen lu…) — Seeing him I cried: ‘Hello!’
Constructions “afte + verb” mean “having done smth”: afte vidi having seen, afte soridi having smiled, afte audi having heard.
Afte audi om se, me desidi-te miti lu — Having heard about this, I decided to meet with him.
This is formed with the help of particle wud in both main and subordinate clauses:
Me wud yao audi diferente opinias — I’d like to hear different opinions.
Yu wud mog zwo to si yu wud yao — You could do that if you’d like to.
Me wud go dar si me wud hev taim — I would go there if I had time.
Yeri me wud go-te dar si me wud hev-te taim — Yesterday I would have gone there if I had time.
Me bu wud go dar – I wouldn’t go there.
These are the constructions “to be going to do smth” and “to have just done smth”. The first one is “sal + verb”, the second is “yus + verb in past tense”:
me sal chifan – I am going to have a meal;
me yus he chifan – I have just had a meal;
ta sal go a skola – he (she) is about to go to school;
ta yus he lai – he (she) have just come.
The remote past tense is formed with “gwo + verb” and expresses some action as a fact of the indefinitely remote past, which is connected with the present moment only in terms of having the corresponding experience. This is something that was taking place or used to take place some time ago:
me gwo bi in Paris — I have been to Paris;
me gwo flai kelkem kadalok in mundo — I have flied everywhere in the world;
me gwo audi musika de Prokofiev — I have heard the music by Prokofiev (I have such an experience);
lu gwo zun sporta — he used to go in for sport.
There are 2 variants of tense marking in LdP: the full and the simple one.
The full variant is when you mark verb tense according to sense and without tense concordance (independent from whether it is a main or subordinate clause). The same rule is valid in Russian. Examples:
Me jan-te kwo lu ve yao — I knew what he would like.
May amigo ve skribi a me wo lu bin in saif — My friend will write to me where he has been in the summer.
May amigo skribi-te a me ke lu bin malade bat nau lu es sane snova — My friend wrote to me that he had been ill but now he was sound again.
Gela diki-te a nu suy nove kukla kel mog klosi e ofni okos — The girl showed us her new doll which could close and open its eyes.
Me vidi-te ke lu zai lai e go-te versu lu — I saw that he was coming to me, and went to meet him.
The simple variant is when you don’t mark verb tense at all but use words like ‘today’, ‘yesterday’ etc. and the context to convey the information about time of action. This variant is appropriate in speech. Examples:
Preyeri me zai go fon shop e miti may amigo – Yesterday I was going from the shop and met my friend.
Aftemanya me go fishi – The day after tomorrow I’ll go fishing.
Yeri pluvi e tudey bu pluvi — Yesterday it rained, and today it isn’t raining.
Pasade mes me kan filma om polisyuan e lai-she mes me kan otre filma — Last month I watched the film about a policeman, and next month I’ll watch another film.
However, also in texts the repeated past tense marking is quite often superfluous, e.g. in consequent account of past events. Example:
|
Se eventi mucho yar bak. Dwa jen zai go along kamino e miti jen kel porti un nangwa. Ili lai a ta, shwo: — Hey! Kwo es sub yuy braso? |
This happened many years ago. Two men walked along the road and met a man who carried a pumpkin. They come to him and say: — Hey! What is it under your arm? |
The prefix “fa” (“to get, to become”) may serve as intransitivity marker:
astoni “to astonish” — fa-astoni “to be (become) astonished”.
The causative prefix “mah” may serve as transitivity marker:
lwo “to fall” — mah-lwo “to drop, let fall”.
Many verbs in LdP may be intransitive and transitive in the same form, the same as the English verbs, for example ‘begin’ (‘to begin smth’ vs ‘the film begins’) and ‘develop’ (‘to develop a theory’ vs ‘to develop into a nice personality’). Usually, if the verb is followed by an object, the verb is transitive, otherwise it is not. If ambiguity may arise, one can use the prefixes “fa” and “mah”.
It expresses that an action takes some time or is repeated many times. There may also be a connotation of certain ease and unconstrainedness :
Ba nu shwo-shwo idyen — Let’s talk (chat) a little.
Nau treba kan-kan atentem — Now you should look carefully (keep an eye on smth).
Treba dumai-dumai idyen — One should think a little.
Kwo yu zwo-zwo? — What are you doing now?
Spatial adverbs are placed after the verb and are not used as prefixes:
Go aus! — Go out!
Ela lopi-te wek — She ran away.
Lu kan-te sirkum — He looked around.
Kan inu! — Look inside!
This is an exceptional verb. It has the infinitive ‘bi’, the present tense form ‘es’ and the past tense form ‘bin’.
‘Es’ does not need a subject in clauses like
Es hao. – This (it) is good.
Bu es posible. – This (it) is not possible.
In aphoristic sayings the link-verb ‘es’ might be dropped:
Tu shwo fasile, tu zwo mushkile – To say is easy, to do is difficult.
Char gamba hao, dwa gamba buhao – Four legs good, two legs bad.
The infinitive particle ‘tu’ is used when the infinitive has a meaning close to that of a noun (substantivation):
Tu shwo veritaa es hao – To tell the truth is good.
Tu begin es lo zuy mushkile – To begin is the most difficult thing.
Tu chi fish es hao fo sanitaa – To eat fish is good for health.
Tu pluvi es muhim fo rekolia – Raining is important for the crop.
If the infinitive is placed after another verb, ‘tu’ is not used:
Ta pri chi masu – He likes to eat beef.
Me wud yao lagi sub surya nau – I would like to lie under the sun now.
Me esperi vidi yu sunem – I hope to see you soon.
Oli jen mus gun – All people must work.
Sempre gai samaji lo shefe – One should always understand the most important thing.
Lu pregi-te pi – He asked to drink.
Ela fogeti-te klefi dwar – She forgot to lock the door.
Stopi shwo! – Stop talking!
In cases where the infinitive modifies the meaning of nouns or adjectives, it is preceded by the same preposition that would be used before a noun:
mogsa de lopi longtaim – the ability to run for a long time (=mogsa de longtaim-ney loping)
Lu es tro fatige fo go – He is too tired to go. (=Lu es tro fatige fo going)
Lu es fatige por go – He is tired of walking. (=Lu es fatige por going)
kitaba fo lekti – a book to read (=kitaba fo lekting);
Ob yu es tayare fo go? – Are you ready to go? (=Ob yu es tayare fo going?)
Es taim fo samaji se – It is time to understand this. (=Es taim fo samajing)
Sembli ke problema fo diskusi yok – It seems that there are no problems to discuss. (=Sembli ke problema fo diskusing yok)
Ela go-te a market fo kupi apla – She went to the market to buy apples.
Ela afsosi por kupi grin apla – She is sorry to have bought green apples.
Me joi por vidi yu – I am glad to see you.
Me he lai por vidi luma in yuy winda – I came because of seeing light in your windows.
In subordinate clauses after the relative words "ob", "wo", "komo", etc., the infinitive is used without "tu":
Ela findi-te plasa wo kupi hwan apla – She found a place where to buy yellow apples.
Me bu es serte ob go dar o bu – I am not sure whether to go there or not.
Lu jan komo zwo se – He knows how to do it.
The particle "tu" may be used to mark the infinitive group:
Lu he promesi a me tu bringi un interes-ney jurnal. – He promised to me to bring an interesting magazine. (But: Lu he promesi bringi un interes-ney jurnal a me).
Se bu es fasile, tu begin rasmi in may yash. – It is not easy, to take up drawing at my age.
The verb ‘ye’ means "there is":
in shamba ye mucho stul — in the room there are many chairs;
stul dar ye — there is a chair there.
The negative meaning (absence of smth) is expressed through "bu ye" or "yok" (not available). The latter is placed after the object under discussion:
bu ye stul in shamba — there is no chair in the room.
stul in shamba yok— there is no chair in the room.
mani ye-bu-ye? — Is there any money (to use)?
mani yok — No money available.
It has the general meaning ‘to do, to perform action’ and is used in combination with nouns and adverbs:
fai kwestia — to make (ask) a question;
fai kasam — to make (take) a vow;
fai fiasko — to not succeed;
fai interes om koysa — to take an interest in smth;
fai bak! — may mean "set back" or "throw back!" etc.
fai avan! — may mean "throw forward!" etc.
As distinct from ‘zwo’ (to do, to make) ‘fai’ is a help verb and may be used only in combinations, so “Do it!” is “Zwo se!”
In speech the combination ‘fai+noun’ may sometimes replace verbs that you cannot remember. In such a case ‘fai’ means ‘to use the object in some usual way, to act in usual way in connection with the object’:
fai kitaba — to read a book;
fai kama — to sleep or lie on a bed;
fai kaval — to ride a horse;
fai gitara — to play guitar;
fai kino — to watch a cinema or to go to the cinema;
fai (defai) butas — to lace (unlace) shoes.
Mog — can, may: Me bu mog lekti: kitaba yok. – I cannot read: there is no book. Yu mog zwo se kom yu yao. – You may do it as you like. Bu mog — one can't, it is impossible: Bu mog jivi sin chifan. – One can't live without eating.
Darfi — to have permission, be allowed, (one) may: Lu darfi gun kom medik. — He is allowed to work as a doctor. Me darfi zin ku? — May I come in?
Yao — want: Kwo yu yao? – What do you want? Me yao aiskrem. – I want ice-cream. Me wud yao safari kun yu. – I would like to go to the trip with you.
Mus — must; have to: Oli jen mus chifan fo jivi. – All people must eat in order to live. Manya me mus go a ofis – Tomorrow I must go to the office.
Treba — it is necessary, require: Treba zwo se olo til aksham. – It is necessary to do it all till the evening. Treba kaulu se. – One should consider this. Sey kwestia treba kaulusa. – This question requires consideration. Treba pyu jen. – More people are needed/required.
Nidi — need: Lu nidi yuy helpia. – He needs your help. Durtitaa sempre nidi ahfi swa. – Craftiness always needs to hide.
Gai — (one) should, (one) ought, supposed to: Me gai lekti mucho. – I should read much. Yu bu gai lani. – You should not be lazy. Sempre gai zwo olo so kom gai. – One should always do everything as needed.
Pri — to like: Me pri flor. – I like flowers. Me pri sey flor. – I like this flower. May kinda pri rasmi. – My child likes to draw.
isi, ifi — causative suffixes: klare clear — klarisi, klarifi to make clear, simple simple — simplisi, simplifi to simplify. These suffixes are also synonymous with the prefix 'mah–'.
de(s) – opposite action ("des" if before a vowel): desharji discharge, delodi unload, desorganisi disorganize.
dis – dispersion or division, separation: dai to give – disdai to distribute, give to several people; sendi to send – dissendi to send out/round; lwo to fall – dislwo to fall to pieces.
ek- – denotes that something is done only one time or rather suddenly (from Hindi "ek" one):
tuki to knock — ek-tuki to give a knock
krai to cry — ek-krai to cry out
salti to jump — ek-salti to jump up.
en- —
denotes the beginning of action:
en-somni to fall asleep
en-lubi to fall in love
en-krai to start crying
en-tuki to begin knocking.
fa – conveys the meaning "to get, to become":
akwa fa-warme – water is getting warm
akwa ve fa-warme sunem – water will get warm soon
fa-tume – it is getting dark
fa-gran – to get bigger, enlarge
fa-syao – to diminish, get smaller
fa-dey – it dawns
luy wangas fa-rube – his cheeks redden
fa-garme-te – it became hot
jiva fa-hao sempre pyu – life is getting always better.
When used with verbs, makes them intransitive:
astoni “to astonish” – fa-astoni “to be (become) astonished”.
mah — causative prefix synonymous with the suffix –isi (mah-gran = granisi, mah-blan = blanisi). It is practical to use it with adjectives like ‘hao, gao’. Examples:
treba mah-hao situasion – one should improve the situation
ela zai mah-hao situasion – she is improving the situation.
This prefix also modifies verbs:
jal to burn, be burning — mah-jal to burn (smth).
Lu zai mah-jal paperes – He is burning the papers.
It should be noted that there is also a link-verb ‘mah’ meaning the same as the English “make”:
mah ili zwo se – make them do it
mah kaval lopi – make the horse run
se ve mah yu fogeti se – this will make you forget it
se bu ve mah yu triste – this will not make you sad
mah koyun felise – to make someone happy
mah butas repari-ney – to have the boots repaired
mah gunsa zwo-ney – to get the work done.
mis – equal to the English mis-: misyusi to misuse, miskalkuli to miscalculate.
ri – again, anew: riapari to reappear, rizwo to redo.
tra – through(out): tralekti to read through (from begining to end); tranochi to spend the night.