The Complete Lojban Language
instructs the listener to do whatever is necessary to make Example 2.58 (p. 25) true; it means “Talk!” Other examples:
- Example 2.60
| ko | sutra |
- Be fast!
The ko need not be in the x1 place, but rather can occur anywhere a sumti is allowed, leading to possible Lojban commands that are very unlike English commands:
- Example 2.61
| mi | tavla | ko |
- Be talked to by me.
- Let me talk to you.
The cmavo ko can fill any appropriate sumti place, and can be used as often as is appropriate for the selbri:
- Example 2.62
| ko | kurji | ko |
and
- Example 2.63
| ko | ko | kurji |
both mean “You take care of you” and “Be taken care of by you”, or to put it colloquially, “Take care of yourself”.
2.15 Questions
There are many kinds of questions in Lojban: full explanations appear in Section 19.5 (p. 451) and in various other chapters throughout the book. In this chapter, we will introduce three kinds: sumti questions, selbri questions, and yes/no questions.
The cmavo ma is used to create a sumti question: it indicates that the speaker wishes to know the sumti which should be placed at the location of the ma to make the bridi true. It can be translated as “Who?” or “What?” in most cases, but also serves for “When?”, “Where?”, and “Why?” when used in sumti places that express time, location, or cause. For example:
- Example 2.64
| ma | tavla | do | mi |
| Who? | talks | to-you | about-me. |
Who is talking to you about me?
The listener can reply by simply stating a sumti:
- Example 2.65
- la djan.
- John (is talking to you about me).
Like ko, ma can occur in any position where a sumti is allowed, not just in the first position:
- Example 2.66
| do | [cu] | tavla | ma |
| You | - | talk | to what/whom? |
A ma can also appear in multiple sumti positions in one sentence, in effect asking several questions at once.
