ELG: Subjunctives in detail: Difference between revisions

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==Subjunctives==
#REDIRECT [[Extended Lojban Grammar (ToDo)]]
<font color="#00F">Developer version contains 2 realizations of imaginary mood (P, imagination), 7 realizations of possible-events mood (P, potentiality) and two realizations of context mood (R, environment, world). For end users we propose using da'inai/da'i and fau. All variants:
 
R. fau/nu'o/pu'i - fanbu/xo'i nu'o (short rafsi '''-nu'o-''')/xo'i pu'i (short rafsi''' -pus-''') - sei fatci/sei tolfatci(??)
 
P (main clause). da'inai/da'i - sei tolxanri/sei xanri
 
P (fau clause). nocu'o/so'ocu'o/su'ocu'o/so'ecu'o/rocu'o - nomu'ei/so'omu'ei/su'omu'ei/so'emu'ei/romue'i - narcumki/narlakne/cumki/lakne/vudbi - ka'enai/???/ka'e/???/nakuka'enaku - narcumki/narlakne/cumki/lakne/narnarcumki - ka'enai/???/ka'e/???/bi'ai - je'unai/la'anai/la'acu'i/la'a/je'u
*'''fanbu''' is an experimental gismu (see description below)
*'''vudbi''' is an experimental gismu (easy mnemonics: vudbi ~= "would be" ~= 必 bì).
*The second place of '''cumki/lakne/vudbi''' is ignored because it makes no sense if we assume that they can be semantically derived from '''kanpe'''.
*We won't use CAhA because otherwise we'd have to remember two sets of words: gismu and tags.
*{ca'a} is a mystery as of now.
 
</font>
===Introduction. '''fau''' and '''da'i'''===
 
In this lesson we'll talk about subjunctive worlds. Let me explain what it means.
 
The first basic word in this section is.
:'''da'i''' (UI3). The clause containing this particle describes an imaginary, not real event.
 
The opposite word for it is:
:'''da'inai'''. The clause containing this particle describes an actual, real, not an imaginary event.
 
Constructs with '''da'i''' are usually translated to English with so called auxiliary verbs such as ''can/could, will/would, may/might, should'' and ''must''. Clauses with '''da'i''' in English are said to be in subjunctive mood.
 
The second basic word that we'll deal with in this lesson is '''fanbu'''.
:'''fanbu''' = x1 is a situation / time / place / "internal world" / event / circumstances / conditions (by default this world/this time/this place/this reality) in which x2 actually takes place
 
:'''lo nu mi ca ciska cu se fanbu'''
:''The event of me writing now is actually taking place''.
 
This verb covers some situation, imaginary or real. Sometimes such situation happens during some time in some place. You might notice that this powerful word '''fanbu''' in some ways resembles Einstein's concept of unity between time and space. Well, actually in the Quechua language a similar concept of ''pacha'' (roughly translated as ''a world'') has existed for at least hundreds of years. However, our '''fanbu''' can cover even imaginary situations.
:'''fanbu''' covers such verbs as '''fasnu''', '''vanbi''' (hence its similarity to those two), '''tcini''', '''cabna''', '''selzvati''', '''munje''' but it has a more generalized meaning.
 
The verb '''fanbu''' describes events or situations taking place in a described world.
 
'''fanbu''' is very useful when joining two events within one without raising any causal relation like in the following sentence: "By banging his gavel and standing up, the judge declared the trial adjourned".
 
We'll use one short and very useful preposition here:
:'''fau''' = ''in the event/situation/world of ...''
:'''fau''' = '''fi'o fanbu'''
Often it's more convenient to use this preposition '''fau''' instead of the full verb '''fanbu'''.
 
We might want to combine those two words with each other. That's how we get several scenarios.
 
Let's discuss them all.
 
==='''da'i''' and '''fau''' in main and in embedded clauses===
:'''da'i broda fau da''' describes events taking place not in '''da''', i.e. not in our fanbu. In other words we create an <u>imaginary</u> world and talk about it.
:'''broda fau da'i da''' talks about <u>probabilities</u> of events in '''da ''' - the fanbu we previously created in our speech and now describe. We don't create any new worlds here.
 
We can omit '''da'i''' in such sentences making them more vague and short.
{{notci|Omitting '''da'i''' doesn't add factuality to the clauses where it is absent.}}
You should add '''da'inai''' only to explicitly state factuality.
 
==='''da'i broda'''. Imagination===
 
Let's compare the following sentences:
:a) '''da'i mi pavyseljirna'''
:''I could be a unicorn.''
:b) '''da'inai mi pavyseljirna'''
:''I am a unicorn.''
:c) '''mi pavyseljirna'''
:''I am a unicorn.''
 
In the sentence a) the event is imagined.
 
The word '''da'inai''' from sentence b) explicitly states that the event is not imagined by anyone and therefore takes place in this world.
 
The meaning of the sentence c) would be clear from it's context.
 
===='''da'i broda fau lo nu broda'''====
:'''da'i mi gleki fau lo nu mi ponse lo megdo rupnu'''
:<code>I am happy in-an-imaginary-world-in-which I have one million dollars.</code>
:''I would/could be happy if I had one million dollars.''
:''I would/could be happy in a world where I had one million dollars.''
:''I imagine myself being happy and having one million dollars.''
 
Here the event inside '''fau''' is equally imagined together with '''mi gleki'''. And here is the reverse example:
:'''da'inai mi gleki fau lo nu mi ponse lo megdo rupnu'''
:''Having one million dollars I am happy.''
 
==='''broda fau da'i da'''. Probabilities===
The following constructs can be used.
 
#'''broda fau da'i da''' = ''x1 is possible; x1 may/can possibly happen.''
#'''broda fau da'i ro da'''= ''x1 is certain; x1 would necessarily happen.''
#'''broda fau da'i so'e da''' = ''x1 is probable; x1 will probably/is likely to happen.''
#'''broda fau da'i so'o da''' = ''x1 is remotely probable; x1 could/might happen.''
#'''broda fau da'i so'u da''' = ''x1 is not likely, probably not.''
#'''broda fau da'i no da''' = ''x1 is not possible.''
As you can the difference between these is the number of fanbu we take into account.
 
Suppose you come home and hear someone scratching. You can say one of the following sentences (we'll omit '''da'i''' for brevity):
:'''fau da ti mlatu.'''
:''This might be/possibly is a cat. It is possible that this is a cat.''
:(You keep several animals at home. So it might be your cat scratching but you are not sure).
 
:'''fau ro da ti mlatu.'''
:''this must be/certainly is the cat.''
:(You have a cat and such noise can be produced by only one object, that cat).
 
:'''fau so'e da ti mlatu.'''
:''This should be/probably is the cat.''
:(If you have a dog then it can also produce such sounds but your dog usually doesn't do that so the cat is more likely).
 
:'''fau so'u da ti mlatu.'''
:''It is not probable that this is the cat.''
:'''fau no da ti mlatu'''
:''This can't be the cat. This must be not the cat. It is impossible that this is the cat.''
 
Of course we can rephrase any of those sentences as e.g.
:'''da fanbu lo nu ti mlatu'''
:''The state of this being-a-cat is possible''.
 
====Double negation====
Sometimes it's necessary to use double negation. Let's show how this works using examples from English and Chinese.
 
The structure 非...不可 (fēi … bùkě) is one of the most commonly used in Mandarin Chinese. It means "must"/"absolutely must"/"need to." 非 means "not"/"no" and 不可 means "not possible". It's literally translated as "not not possible."
:'''mi na'e cfifa'i ra fau no da'''
:我非批评她不可。
:''wǒ fēi pīpíng tā bùkě''
:<code>I can't not to criticize her</code>.
:''I absolutely must criticize her.''
 
:'''mi'a na'e tadni fau no da'''
:我们非学习不可。
:''wǒmen fēi xuéxí bùkě''
:''We must study.''
 
===='''broda fau da'i PA nu brode'''====
:Here is a story. A tourist lady glances smilingly at another tourist lady, already seated, as she passes down the aisle. The seated tourist lady says
:- Oh! Have I taken your seat?
:- No. And if you had, it wouldn't have mattered!
The last sentence in Lojban would be '''na go'i i fau da'i lo nu do go'i na vajni'''
Here we have a speaker displaying publicly a feature of a privately imagined world. The amazing thing is that we all trust the speaker of this graceful sentence to "know" the causal laws by which she runs events in her own imaginary world, and so we trust her report of this causal linkage! We trust her, in short, to know herself so well that she can speak "truly" of an imaginary situation in which she has probably never found herself before!
 
Here are other examples.
:'''fau da'i ronu mi megdo rupnu ponse vau mi ricfu'''
:''If I have a million dollars, I'm necessarily rich.''
 
:'''fau da'i su'o nu lo trene cu spofu vau mi jai lerci'''
:''If the train breaks down, I could be late.''
:<code>If the train breaks down (or: had broken down), I could be late (= it could happen that I am late).</code>
 
:''In some possible world in which the train breaks down, I am late.''
:'''fau da'i su'o nu do mi jibni vau mi do darxi'''
:''Were you (ever) to come near me, it's possible that I'd hit you.''
 
===='''broda PU da'i PA nu brode'''====
As said earlier '''fanbu''' is a more general verb compared to '''cabna'''. Therefore instead of '''fau''' we can use tenses described in earlier chapters like '''pu''', '''ca''', '''ba''' or (in verb form) '''purci''', '''cabna''', '''balvi''' and combine them with '''da'i'''.
:'''mi gleki ca da'i su'o nu mi ponse lo megdo rupnu'''
:''I might be happy when I have one million dollars''
:'''fau da'i ro nu do mi ba jibni vau mi do darxi'''
:''If you come near me, I will hit you.''
:'''ba nu fau da'i da la toriz cu jinga fo lo ba co'e'''
:''Come what may, the Tories will win the next election.''
:'''fau da'i su'o nu do mi ba jibni vau mi do darxi'''
:''If you ever come near me, it's possible that I'll hit you.''
:'''fau da'i da la toriz ba jinga fo lo ba co'e'''
:''The Tories could win the next election.''
 
=====Some more examples to show the power of '''fau da'i'''=====
:'''fau da'i da la toriz cu jinga fo lo ba co'e'''
:''The Tories could have won the next election''
:'''fau da'i ro da ro nanmu cu prenu'''
:''Men are necessarily people.''
:''In every possible world, every man is a person''
:'''fau da'i ronu lo trene cu spofu vau mi jai lerci'''
:''If the train breaks down (or: had broken down), I would be late''
:''In every possible world in which the train breaks down, I am late''
:'''fau da'i ronu do mi jibni vau mi do darxi'''
:''Were you (ever) to come near me, I would hit you.''
:''Whenever you come near me, I would hit you.''
:'''fau da'i ro da la toriz cu jinga fo lo ba co'e'''
:''It's impossible that the Tories could have failed to win the next election.''
 
==='''da'i broda fau da'i lo nu brode'''. Imagination and probabilities===
We can also describe an alternative imagined world using '''da'i''' in the main clause and talk about possible events in it using '''fau da'i'''. Thus we get full subjunctive claims.
:'''da'i mi gleki fau da'i su'o nu mi ponse lo megdo rupnu.'''
:''I might (possibly) be happy if I had one million dollars.''
:'''da'i mi gleki fau da'i so'e nu mi ponse lo megdo rupnu.'''
:''I should (probably) be happy if I had one million dollars.''
:'''da'i mi gleki fau da'i ro nu mi ponse lo megdo rupnu.'''
:''I would (certainly) be happy if I had one million dollars.''
 
We don't have to combine '''da'i''' with '''fau da'i''' all the time. We do that when we want maximum clarity giving the subjunctive world this optional second dimension.
 
===Likelihood of possibilities===
When we want to specify the pro- or counterfactuality of our subjunctive worlds we use such clauses as ''but it'll never happen'' or ''which is impossible'' or ''and that's quite possible''.
 
Let's show how we can express them.
:'''da'i mi gleki fau lonu mi ponse lo megdo rupnu i da'inai go'i fau da'i noda'''
:''I would be happy if I had one million dollars, which (the event of me having one million dollars) is not possible.''
 
As usual '''go'i''' copies the previous verb phrase but doesn't copy '''da'i''' or any other particle of class UI or '''sei''' clause. Then '''da'inai''' is used in this copied phrase. This '''da'inai''' refers to the current non-imagined world. And a new '''fau da'i''' clause is added thus stating that the imaginary event of me having one million dollars is not possible inside this world.
:'''da'i mi gleki fau lonu mi ponse lo megdo rupnu i da'inai go'i fau da'i su'o me'i so'e da'''
:''I would be happy if I had one million dollars, which (the event of me having one million dollars) is possible but not likely.''
:'''da'i mi gleki fau lonu mi ponse lo megdo rupnu i da'inai go'i fau da'i so'e me'i ro da'''
:''I would be happy if I had one million dollars, which (the event of me having one million dollars) is likely but not certain.''
 
And this is how we can create contradictions. Let's use our example with '''morsi'''.
:'''mi na'e pacna lo nu do morsi'''
:''I don't hope you die (and you didn't yet!)''
:'''mi na'e pacna lo nu do morsi i me ri da'inai'''
:''I don't hope you die (but yet, you do!)''
 
===Advanced management of '''fau''' and '''da'i'''===
Some parts of a verb phrase can refer to imaginary objects, others to non-imagined objects. In such cases we mark different parts of the phrase with '''da'i''' or '''da'inai''' where needed.
#'''da'inai lo panzi be ra cu bilma'''
#:''His kids are ill (it is known he has kids and it is known they are ill).''
#'''lo da'inai panzi be ra cu bilma fau da'i da'''
#:'''Maybe his kids are ill (i.e., it is known that he has kids but it is not known whether they are ill).'''
#'''di bilma fau ro nu di da'inai panzi be ra'''
#:''His kids'll be ill OR If he has kids, they are ill (i.e., it is unknown whether he has kids, but if he does, they are certainly ill).''
#'''di bilma fau su'o nu di da'inai panzi be ra'''
#:''Maybe his kids are ill (i.e., it is unknown if he has kids but if he does, they may be ill).''
#'''di bilma fau ro nu di da'i panzi be ra'''
#:''His kids would be (would have been) ill (i.e., if he had kids they would be ill, but he doesn't).''
#'''di bilma fau su'o nu di da'i panzi be ra'''
#:''His kids might've been ill (if he had kids, but he doesn't, so we'll never know).''
#'''lo panzi be ra cu bilma fau ro da'''
#:''His kids are (must be) ill (i.e., as implied by some other fact such as his staying home from work).''
#'''lo panzi be ra cu bilma fau da'''
#:''His kids may be ill (i.e., as implied by some other fact such as his staying home from work).''
 
===Global subjunctivity===
Subjunctivity can be implied in many other places. When you say
:'''lo'e cinfo cu fengu'''
:''Typical lion is angry.''
 
you don't state that it is angry now. Actually you are not talking about any given lion but about some typical, i.e. imaginary one. Similarly,
:'''mi vedli lo ka pu bajra'''
:''I remember myself running.''
 
talks about past events that are retained only in your memory.
 
In some languages future tense is equivalent to subjunctive mood. This makes sense as future events can usually only be predicted, i.e. imagined.
 
The words '''metfo''' and '''pesna''' (and the interjection '''pe'a''') describe events and objects as having imagined properties.
 
====Words with '''da'i''' copied from the clause into arguments====
Another example showing that '''da'i''' is implied in many abstraction places of verbs.
:'''mi catlu lo nu do morsi'''
:''I watch you die (and you really do die, else how could I watch it?)''
 
The second place of the verb '''catlu''' copies the value of '''da'i/da'inai''' from the main clause.
 
So when you have '''da'inai''' stated or implied by context in the main clause ('''mi catlu''') it is also present inside '''lo nu do morsi'''. But e.g. explicitly adding'''da'i''' into the inner clause leads to no effect. It can't override '''da'i''' in the main clause.
 
====Words with static '''da'i''' in arguments====
Other verbs can have some places with '''da'i''' implied (and not copied from external verb phrase). Some of them can be completely defined using '''fanbu''' and '''da'i'''. Here are some of them with glosses.
 
* EXPECT
:'''kanpe''' = ''x1 expects/looks for the occurrence of x2 (da'i-event), expected likelihood x3 (0-1, default '''li so'a''', i.e. near 1); x1 subjectively evaluates the likelihood of x2 (event) to be x3.''
:'''x1 x2 x3 kanpe = ga'a x1 x2 da'i se fanbu me x3 da'''
 
:'''mi kanpe lo nu do ba jinga vau li so'e'''
:<code>I expect with a high probability that you will win.</code>
:''You'll probably win.''
 
:'''kanpe''' describes possible events in our fanbu from the viewpoint of it's creator or user.
 
:'''mi kanpe lo nu mi cortu fau ro nu lo rokci cu farlu lo tuple be mi'''
:''I know for a fact that if a rock lands on my foot, it will hurt.''
* POSSIBLE
:'''cumki''' = ''x1 (da'i-event/state/property) is possible under conditions x2; x1 may/might occur; x1 is a maybe.''
:'''x1 x2 cumki''' = '''x1 da'i se fanbu su'o x2'''
:'''x1 cumki''' = '''fa zi'o fe x1 fi li su'o kanpe'''
* PROBABLE
:'''lakne''' = ''x1 (da'i-event/state/property) is probable/likely under conditions x2.''
:'''x1 x2 lakne''' = '''x1 da'i se fanbu so'e x2'''
:'''x1 lakne''' = ''fa zi'o fe x1 fi li so'e kanpe''
* WOULD BE
:'''vudbi''' = ''x1 (da'i-event/state/property) must occur under conditions x2; x1 can't not to occur; x1 is a must; it's impossible that it wouldn't x1 under conditions x2; it would would necessarily x1 under x2; it is not the case that it is possible that it is not the case that x1 happens under conditions x2''
:'''x1 vudbi''' = '''x1 da'i se fanbu ro x2'''
:Technically '''vudbi''' = '''naku naku cumki'''. '''naku...naku''' creates a negation scope only between the two '''naku'''.
* DESIRE
:'''djica''' = ''x1 wants x2 (da'i-event)''
 
:'''mi djica lo ka vitke fi la .paris.'''
:''I would rather visit Paris. I want to visit Paris.''
 
:Indeed, what we desire is always in our imaginary world.
* HOPE
:'''pacna''' = ''x1 hopes for x2 (da'i-event) with likelihood x3 (by default''' liso'a '''i.e. close to 1)''
:'''pacna''' has the same place structure as''' kanpe''', but in addition to a vague, may be even impartial expectation, it has the meaning of "hope". In fact '''pacna''' is something like '''kanpe je djica'''.
* INTEND
:'''te mukti''' = ''x1 is motivated to bring about result/goal/objective x2 (da'i-abstraction) by x3 (motive, abstraction)''.
 
:'''mi te mukti lo ka vitke fi la .paris.'''
:''I will visit Paris. I intend to/I'm gonna visit Paris.''
 
:'''mi te mukti vitke fi la .paris.'''
:''I'm visiting Paris intentionally.''
* CAPABLE
:'''kakne''' = ''x1 can/is able to do x2 (ka, da'i-abstraction).''
 
:'''mi pu kakne lo ka gunka'''
:''I could work. I was able to work.''
* SHOULD
:'''te javni''' = ''x1 should/ought to do x2 (da'i-abstraction) under rule x3.''
 
:'''mi te javni lo ka gunka'''
:''I should work.''
* Don't have to, Needn't, Don't need to, Lack (absence) of obligation
:'''na te javni'''
* NEED, NECESSITY
:'''nitcu'''
* HAVE TO, OBLIGATION
:'''bilga''' = ''x1 must/is obliged to do x2 (da'i-abstraction) under conditions x3.''
 
:'''mi bilga lo ka gunka'''
:''I must work. I have to work.''
* ALLOW
:'''curmi''' = ''x1 allows/permits x2 (da'i-abstraction)''
* FORBID
:'''tolcru''' = ''x1 forbids/prohibits x2 (da'i-abstraction)''
* ADVISE
:'''stidi'''
* BE SURE
:'''birti''' = ''x1 is certain/sure/positive/convinced that x2 (da'i-abstraction) is true''
* DOUBT
:'''senpi''' = ''x1 doubts that x2 (da'i-abstraction) is true.''
:'''senpi''' = '''nalbirti'''
* IMAGINARY
:'''xanri''' = ''x1 (da'i-abstraction) is imagined by x2''
 
:'''mi se xanri lo nu mi pavyseljirna.'''
:''I imagine myself being a unicorn.''
:''I could be a unicorn.''
 
====Words with static '''da'inai''' in arguments====
Other verbs can have '''da'inai''' implied in one of it's arguments.
 
* SURPRISE
:'''spaji = '''''x1 (da'inai-abstraction) surprises/startles/is unexpected <nowiki>[and generally sudden]</nowiki> to x2.''
===ToDo===
<sup>in order of importance
 
1. ''mi na pacna lo nu do morsi''
 
I don't hope you die (and you probably didn't yet!)'''''''
 
2. ''15:30:51 - latro`a: x1 is the real causal effect that would make x2 bring about x3 were x2 to happen''
 
15:31:00 - latro`a: involves one thing that is in reality
 
15:31:23 - latro`a: that seems to be the clincher that has been missing for me with the other subjunctive work
 
15:33:42 - latro`a: lo nu mi djica lo nu citka lo plise cu broda lo da'i nu mi ponse lo banzu rupnu vau lo nu mi te vecnu lo plise
 
15:34:02 - latro`a: "The fact that I want to eat an apple means that if I had enough money I would buy an apple"
 
lo da'inai nu mi plise djica cu se rinka lo nu mi tevecnu lo plise gi'o mi ponse lo rupnu
 
'''''''
 
* <sup>''15:50:54 - arxokuna: 15:49:25 - latro`a: there's the real reason, which lives in the real world and is untouched in the imaginary world''
* ''15:50:54 - arxokuna: 15:49:38 - latro`a: and then there are the two events, the cause and the effect, which live only in the imaginary world''
* ''15:51:29 - latro`a: va'i pe'i''
* ''15:52:11 - latro`a: a statement only involving hypothetical events (e.g. "If I had the money I would buy an apple") is incomplete, because it doesn't make it clear what that actually means about reality''
* ''15:52:56 - latro`a: in terms of this broda it leaves the broda1 up to context, which is fine if it's obvious, but in lojban that means it should be zo'e, not just altogether absent''
* ''15:53:10 - latro`a: if it's relevant but its value is obvious, then it should have a place''
* ''15:55:41 - arxokuna: and then there are the two events, the cause and the effect, which live only in the imaginary world <nowiki><</nowiki>-- da da'inai rinka lo da'i nu de rinka de''
* ''15:55:50 - arxokuna: 15:55:41 - arxokuna: and then there are the two events, the cause and the effect, which live only in the imaginary world <nowiki><</nowiki>-- da da'inai rinka lo da'i nu de rinka *di*''
* ''15:55:51 - latro`a: I disagree''
* ''15:56:03 - latro`a: or rather, I think that's not a good way of thinking about it''
* ''15:56:11 - latro`a: but that it is how you would encode it in existing words''
* ''15:56:50 - arxokuna: a statement only involving hypothetical events (e.g. "If I had the money I would buy an apple") is incomplete, because it doesn't make it clear what that actually means about reality <nowiki><</nowiki>-- if you have '''.i da'i''' then yes, it's not clear. but you can mark arbitrary parts of the sentence with da'i or da'inai''
* ''15:57:12 - latro`a: if none of the arguments exist, the entire statement is hypothetical''
* ''15:57:23 - arxokuna: in terms of this broda it leaves the broda1 up to context, which is fine if it's obvious, but in lojban that means it should be zo'e, not just altogether absent <nowiki><</nowiki>-- explicitly mark broda with what you need.''
* ''15:57:30 - latro`a: neither "I have the money" nor "I buy an apple" are real in this example''
* ''15:57:40 - latro`a: hm?''
* ''15:57:44 - latro`a: you mean write out its place structure?''
* ''15:58:22 - arxokuna: "If I had the money I would buy an apple" - okay. both are hypothetical . then just start it with '''.i da'i'''''
* ''15:58:39 - arxokuna: for maximum vagueness in causality use '''fanbu'''''
* ''15:58:59 - latro`a: ...you're missing the original point now -_-''
 
3. ''we should mention sei fatci together with da'inai.''
 
4. ''ko'e jai se curmi fai ko'a.''
 
5. <sup>By combining fanbu with verbs of kanpe series we can get at least one more useful word. xo'i nu'o = se fanbu da da'i gije na se fanbu x1 is unrealised; x1 shows unrealised potential ra gletu sei xo'i nu'o ra gletu fau da'i da fau da'inai no da She is a virgin. And we also have xo'i pu'i = cumki je fanbu x1 is realised; x1 has realised it's potential fanbu and xo'i pu'i differ only in emphasis as any event first needs to be possible (fau da'i da) in order to become actual (fanbu).
 
6. Time travellers:
:''sei na cumki mi zvati ti fau lonu mi pu catra lo mi roryrorci pu lo nu ri rorci lo rorci be mi ''
 
I couldn't be here had I killed my grandparent before he/she engendered my parent.
 
But you can also say:
:'''da'inai mi pu catra lo mi roryrorci pu lo nu ri rorci lo rorci be mi ije ku'i .ue mi za'o zvati ti '''
:''I did actually kill my grandparent before he/she engendered my parent, but (surprise!) I'm still here.''
 
7. ...while traveling in Australia this Spring my wife and I heard an Irish comedian tell the following joke:
 
Pat says to Mike, "Have you heard that Sean O'Casey died?"
 
"No!" says Mike. "When'd he pass away, then?"
 
Pat rubs his chin and says: "Well, if he'd a lived 'til next Thursday, he'd have been dead a month!"
 
I don't think I've ever encountered a clearer instance of a speaker inviting a listener to join him in a private world...in this case, a preposterous one in which Sean O'Casey is visibly both dead and alive. Thus in Pat's subjunctive world, the Law of Excluded Middle is itself set aside. His friend Sean ''has ''to be both dead and not dead for this convenient calculation to work!
 
And yet it does work! That is one of the most elegant things about our use of subjunctive worlds. We can evidently rearrange the "realities" of our external worlds so cleverly as to be able to explore all sorts of fancies in them...sometimes quite useful fancies, such as what one is going to do in an emergency.
 
8. http://jbovlaste.lojban.org/dict/dai'i
 
9. What is {ca'a}?
 
10. subjunctives
Mi hapci sukui lepo mi bragai
Leslie: means that I might be happy in some world where I am king
gleki: perfect sense
Leslie: Mi hapci sufeu lepo mi bragai
gleki: Mi hapci sufeu lepo mi bragai = ?
Leslie: means that I am happy in some world where I am king
Leslie: My happines might be possible in the first sentence only after abdication, for example

Latest revision as of 10:50, 10 August 2014

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