2.13 Possession
- Example 2.53
| la'e di'u | [cu] | pluka | mi |
- This (the meaning of the last sentence; i.e. that the dog is beautiful) pleases me.
Example 2.53 (p. 25) uses one sumti to point to or refer to another by inference. It is common to write la'edi'u as a single word; it is used more often than di'u by itself.
2.13 Possession
“Possession” refers to the concept of specifying an object by saying who it belongs to (or with). A full explanation of Lojban possession is given in Chapter 8 (p. 161). A simple means of expressing possession, however, is to place a sumti representing the possessor of an object within the description sumti that refers to the object: specifically, between the le and the selbri of the description:
- Example 2.54
| le mi gerku | cu | sutra |
| The of-me dog | - | is fast. |
- My dog is fast.
In Lojban, possession doesn't necessarily mean ownership: one may “possess” a chair simply by sitting on it, even though it actually belongs to someone else. English uses possession casually in the same way, but also uses it to refer to actual ownership or even more intimate relationships: “my arm” doesn't mean “some arm I own” but rather “the arm that is part of my body”. Lojban has methods of specifying all these different kinds of possession precisely and easily.
2.14 Vocatives and commands
You may call someone's attention to the fact that you are addressing them by using doi followed by their name. The sentence
- Example 2.55
- doi djan.
means “Oh, John, I'm talking to you”. It also has the effect of setting the value of do; do now refers to “John” until it is changed in some way in the conversation. Note that Example 2.55 (p. 25) is not a bridi, but it is a legitimate Lojban sentence nevertheless; it is known as a “vocative phrase”.
Other cmavo can be used instead of doi in a vocative phrase, with a different significance. For example, the cmavo coi means “hello” and co'o means “good-bye”. Either word may stand alone, they may follow one another, or either may be followed by a pause and a name. (Vocative phrases with doi do not need a pause before the name.)
- Example 2.56
| coi. | djan. |
| Hello, | John. |
- Example 2.57
| co'o. | djan. |
| Good-bye, | John. |
Commands are expressed in Lojban by a simple variation of the main bridi structure. If you say
- Example 2.58
| do | tavla |
| You | are-talking. |
you are simply making a statement of fact. In order to issue a command in Lojban, substitute the word ko for do. The bridi
- Example 2.59
| ko | tavla |
