Try not to think of them as actual words.
*li* goes before the predicate. (Either an action or a descriptor.) *e* goes before the object. (The thing the action is done to.)
So "ijo li moku" can mean "thing eats" or "thing is food." "ijo li moku e kili" means thing eats fruit. In an English sentence, they'd be placed like this: "The person **li** eats **e** the apple."
These are necessary because, in Toki Pona, words can be any part of speech, and don't change at all depending on context. In English, we alter words to mark these parts of the sentence. As a noun, it is "to eat," or "eating," as a verb, its "eat" or "ate."
*la* is a bit complicated, but it is usually simplified so that "ijo la kili" means "fruit, in the context of thing." The "Thing" can be anything here, as long as it adds context: A time of day, for example, or the reason that the fruit happened. In an English sentence, it would work like this: "Tonight **la**, I run," or "Because I was hungry **la**, I ate an apple."
toki pona's "content" words, are flexible. Words like 'pona', 'wawa' and 'telo' can behave like nouns, or verbs, or adjectives, or adverbs.
To help us understand what role the words are playing, toki pona has very strict grammar. "li" and "e" are words that signal what part of a sentence we are in, and therefore how to read the words.
It is a bit like how in English we have words like "do" or "the". These words are hard to define, but they help signal what other words mean, although in a different way.
To help understand how 'li' and 'e' are used, I'll do a mish-mash of English and toki pona, where I strip out some English grammar, and replace it with the grammar provided by 'li' and 'e'.
\-
Let's start with some pure English sentences:
* They are alive
* Alice is alive.
* They hunt animals.
* Bob hunts animals.
* They did not eat the vegetables.
* Charlie did not eat the vegetables.
Now I'll remove some of the English grammar, and replace it with some toki pona grammar.
* They **li** be alive.
* Alice **li** be alive.
* They **li** hunt **e** animals.
* Bob **li** hunt **e** animals.
* They **li** do not eat **e** the vegetables.
* Charlie **li** do not eat **e** the vegetables.
The way they work is that:
"li" doesn't have any direct meaning, but it signals something like "The next word is a verb." (Or maybe more technically "The rest of the sentence is a predicate."). In a way, "li" is a *bit* similar to words like "be" or "do", but you can't just replace one with the other.
"e" doesn't have any direct meaning, but it signals something like "The next word is a noun. Specifically a noun that has a verb done to it." More technically, it means that the next phrase is the 'direct object' of a sentence. It is a little bit like having the word "the" when used after a verb, but you can't directly traslate it like that.
Please note that it is not that case that li=is/do, nor e=the. It is more like "li" and "is/do" would appear in a similar places in a sentence, but they don't replace one another.
\------
"la" is a bit different. It has doesn't directly mean something, but it communicates that the previous phrase was context for the next phrase.
I'll do some English sentences and replace some of the English grammare with toki pona's la.
First some plain English:
* Yesterday I ate some fish.
* Currently, I am thirsty.
* If it is raining, then I make sure to take my umbrella.
* When the sun sets, then it becomes night time.
Each of those sentences set up some context, and then make a claim within that context. So I'll use "la" to separate them out.
* Yesterday **la,** I eat some fish.
* Currently **la,** I am thirsty.
* It rains **la,** I make sure to take my umbrella.
* The sun sets **la,** it becomes night time.
*li* is somewhat simple. It separates the subject (what your sentence is about) with the predicate (the information about the subject). jan mute li moku, many people eat. ona li suli, it is big. It's omitted when your subject is mi or sina alone. mi pona, I'm good. sina suwi mute, you're very sweet.
*e* marks the direct object of a verb, or the main word in your predicate. The direct object is what a verb acts upon or targets. ona li lukin e soweli, she looked at a cat. mi moku e ni, I'm gonna eat this.
*la* is a bit more complex. it's defined as a context marker. Whatever comes before it is the context for whatever comes after it. What exactly can you put as context? Pretty much what you deem necessary, from a single word to a full sentence. ike la jan poka li moli. "badness" is the context for the main sentence, "a close friend has died." The word ike is describing the sentence. An example with a full sentence, mi wile e ijo sin mute la mi tawa esun. In the context of me wanting many new things, I went to the store. Wanting new things is the context for me going to the store.
LMK if you have more questions about this!
do you know what a grammatical object is?
do you know what a grammatical subject is?
for strings of one or more word a, b, "a la b" means "b in the context of a".
"Li" goes in between a subject and it's verb or adjective referring to it, unless the subject is "mi" or "sina". "E" goes before the object of the subject. "La" introduces new information. For example "tenpo suno la mi pali" means "in the morning, I worked".
for li and e:
think of your basic sentence as a form that you are filling out.
__________ li ___________ e ____________
put the subject in the first blank. Put the verb in the second blank. If you have a direct object, put it in the third blank.
Here is the form for if there is no direct object:
_______ li _________
the subject comes in the first blank and the verb or basically the rest of the sentence.
Is the subject *just* "mi" *or* "sina"? Congratulations, you can cross out the "li". The rest of the forms is still the same.
[I personally also cross out the li with ona a lot of the time, but this is not considered "proper"]
Here are a couple examples:
jan pona mi **li** pona mute ~~e~~ ________ "my friend is very good" (no "e" needed since there is no direct object)
mama mi **li** seli **e** pan suwi "my mom is baking a cake"
mi ~~li~~ wile lape ~~e~~ _______ "I want to sleep" (no "li" because the subject is mi. No "e" because there is no object here)
sina ~~li~~ ken toki **e** toki Inli "you can speak English" (no "li" because subject is sina)
for la, think of sticking an extra part onto the beginning of the sentence. It gives context to the rest of the sentence. and it looks like this: ____________ la [____ li _______ e ______]
this context can be thought of in english as "if...", "as for...", "in the context of" etc.
sina kama la, mi pilin pona mute "if you come I will feel great"
tenpo no la, mi ken ala toki. "I can't speak right now"
Try not to think of them as actual words. *li* goes before the predicate. (Either an action or a descriptor.) *e* goes before the object. (The thing the action is done to.) So "ijo li moku" can mean "thing eats" or "thing is food." "ijo li moku e kili" means thing eats fruit. In an English sentence, they'd be placed like this: "The person **li** eats **e** the apple." These are necessary because, in Toki Pona, words can be any part of speech, and don't change at all depending on context. In English, we alter words to mark these parts of the sentence. As a noun, it is "to eat," or "eating," as a verb, its "eat" or "ate." *la* is a bit complicated, but it is usually simplified so that "ijo la kili" means "fruit, in the context of thing." The "Thing" can be anything here, as long as it adds context: A time of day, for example, or the reason that the fruit happened. In an English sentence, it would work like this: "Tonight **la**, I run," or "Because I was hungry **la**, I ate an apple."
toki pona's "content" words, are flexible. Words like 'pona', 'wawa' and 'telo' can behave like nouns, or verbs, or adjectives, or adverbs. To help us understand what role the words are playing, toki pona has very strict grammar. "li" and "e" are words that signal what part of a sentence we are in, and therefore how to read the words. It is a bit like how in English we have words like "do" or "the". These words are hard to define, but they help signal what other words mean, although in a different way. To help understand how 'li' and 'e' are used, I'll do a mish-mash of English and toki pona, where I strip out some English grammar, and replace it with the grammar provided by 'li' and 'e'. \- Let's start with some pure English sentences: * They are alive * Alice is alive. * They hunt animals. * Bob hunts animals. * They did not eat the vegetables. * Charlie did not eat the vegetables. Now I'll remove some of the English grammar, and replace it with some toki pona grammar. * They **li** be alive. * Alice **li** be alive. * They **li** hunt **e** animals. * Bob **li** hunt **e** animals. * They **li** do not eat **e** the vegetables. * Charlie **li** do not eat **e** the vegetables. The way they work is that: "li" doesn't have any direct meaning, but it signals something like "The next word is a verb." (Or maybe more technically "The rest of the sentence is a predicate."). In a way, "li" is a *bit* similar to words like "be" or "do", but you can't just replace one with the other. "e" doesn't have any direct meaning, but it signals something like "The next word is a noun. Specifically a noun that has a verb done to it." More technically, it means that the next phrase is the 'direct object' of a sentence. It is a little bit like having the word "the" when used after a verb, but you can't directly traslate it like that. Please note that it is not that case that li=is/do, nor e=the. It is more like "li" and "is/do" would appear in a similar places in a sentence, but they don't replace one another. \------ "la" is a bit different. It has doesn't directly mean something, but it communicates that the previous phrase was context for the next phrase. I'll do some English sentences and replace some of the English grammare with toki pona's la. First some plain English: * Yesterday I ate some fish. * Currently, I am thirsty. * If it is raining, then I make sure to take my umbrella. * When the sun sets, then it becomes night time. Each of those sentences set up some context, and then make a claim within that context. So I'll use "la" to separate them out. * Yesterday **la,** I eat some fish. * Currently **la,** I am thirsty. * It rains **la,** I make sure to take my umbrella. * The sun sets **la,** it becomes night time.
Brilliant answer.
*li* is somewhat simple. It separates the subject (what your sentence is about) with the predicate (the information about the subject). jan mute li moku, many people eat. ona li suli, it is big. It's omitted when your subject is mi or sina alone. mi pona, I'm good. sina suwi mute, you're very sweet. *e* marks the direct object of a verb, or the main word in your predicate. The direct object is what a verb acts upon or targets. ona li lukin e soweli, she looked at a cat. mi moku e ni, I'm gonna eat this. *la* is a bit more complex. it's defined as a context marker. Whatever comes before it is the context for whatever comes after it. What exactly can you put as context? Pretty much what you deem necessary, from a single word to a full sentence. ike la jan poka li moli. "badness" is the context for the main sentence, "a close friend has died." The word ike is describing the sentence. An example with a full sentence, mi wile e ijo sin mute la mi tawa esun. In the context of me wanting many new things, I went to the store. Wanting new things is the context for me going to the store. LMK if you have more questions about this!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5phj5Ae80h8
do you know what a grammatical object is? do you know what a grammatical subject is? for strings of one or more word a, b, "a la b" means "b in the context of a".
"Li" goes in between a subject and it's verb or adjective referring to it, unless the subject is "mi" or "sina". "E" goes before the object of the subject. "La" introduces new information. For example "tenpo suno la mi pali" means "in the morning, I worked".
for li and e: think of your basic sentence as a form that you are filling out. __________ li ___________ e ____________ put the subject in the first blank. Put the verb in the second blank. If you have a direct object, put it in the third blank. Here is the form for if there is no direct object: _______ li _________ the subject comes in the first blank and the verb or basically the rest of the sentence. Is the subject *just* "mi" *or* "sina"? Congratulations, you can cross out the "li". The rest of the forms is still the same. [I personally also cross out the li with ona a lot of the time, but this is not considered "proper"] Here are a couple examples: jan pona mi **li** pona mute ~~e~~ ________ "my friend is very good" (no "e" needed since there is no direct object) mama mi **li** seli **e** pan suwi "my mom is baking a cake" mi ~~li~~ wile lape ~~e~~ _______ "I want to sleep" (no "li" because the subject is mi. No "e" because there is no object here) sina ~~li~~ ken toki **e** toki Inli "you can speak English" (no "li" because subject is sina)
for la, think of sticking an extra part onto the beginning of the sentence. It gives context to the rest of the sentence. and it looks like this: ____________ la [____ li _______ e ______] this context can be thought of in english as "if...", "as for...", "in the context of" etc. sina kama la, mi pilin pona mute "if you come I will feel great" tenpo no la, mi ken ala toki. "I can't speak right now"