Verbos e puntos de refere

(Esta ia es scriveda como un boni de la paje de verbos en la gramatica, ma final nos ia deside no usa lo. La informa en lo es bon e coreta, ma lo es esplicada a modo tro complicada per apare en la gramatica xef.)

En lfn

Un verbo tipal sinifia la aveni o la sesa de un ata (“core”, “para”), un relata (“ave”, “perde”), o un state (“sta”, “fonde”). Verbos en lfn es multe simple. Los ave sola tre tempos e un moda nonreal. Diferes plu sutil es espresada par averbos o par la situa. On pote usa cada verbo sin cambia como un nom.

Tempo presente

La verbo simple ave un sensa presente. Lo indica un ata cual coesiste con un punto de refere. Normal, la punto de refere es simple la momento de parla:

• Me come. – Cuando me dise esta frase, me es comente.

La coesiste pote aplica a la periodo jeneral en cual on parla, an si lo no aplica a la momento esata de parla. A esta modo, on indica atas abitual:

• Me labora en un boteca. – En esta periodo de mea vive, me es empleada en un boteca, an si me dise esta frase cuando me senta sur un plaia en vacanse.

Tempo futur

Si on pone la paroleta va ante la verbo, lo deveni futur. Lo indica un ata cual aveni pos la punto de refere:

• Me va come. – Cuando me dise esta frase, me no ia comensa come. La comensa de la come es ancora en la futur.

Va no es normal elejable. Si un ata es futur, on debe ajunta va a la verbo:

• Me va labora doman. – No: Me labora doman.

Ma on ave casos spesial do on ajunta va a un verbo xef, e esta dona un punto de refere futur a un verbo suordinada en la mesma frase.

Ance, cuando on lista verbos, on pote pone va ante sola la prima:

• Me va come, bevi, e dansa. – Cada ata es futur.

La parola va veni de la lingua franses.

Tempo pasada

Si on pone ia ante la verbo, lo deveni pasada. Lo indica un ata cual aveni ante la punto de refere:

• Me ia come. – Cuando me dise esta frase, la comensa de mea come (e posable ance sua fini) es en la pasada.

Ia no es normal elejable. Si un ata es pasada, on debe ajunta ia a la verbo. Ma, como con va, on ave casos spesial.

Ance, cuando on lista verbos, on pote pone ia ante sola la prima:

• Me ia veni, vidi, e vinse. – Cada ata es pasada.

Cuando un autor raconta un nara imajinada, el usa costumal verbos pasada, como si el descrive cosas cual ia aveni vera en la istoria. Ma esta es sola un costum, e on pote raconta egal bon con verbos presente. Verbos presente pote fa la raconta vive plu en la mente de la lejor o escutor. On pote an usa verbos pasada per la majoria de un raconta, e usa la presente per pasajes spesial vivosa. Esta es un truco de stilo, no un cosa de gramatica.

La parola ia veni de la lingua xavacano.

Moda nonreal

Alga frases parla de cosas nonreal: cosas cual no aveni en realia, ma sola en la mente. Per esemplo:

• Me duta ce el pote leva la petra.
• Me demanda a me si la tera es secur.
• Si tu espera forte, posable tu sonias va deveni real!
• Si me core, me va deveni fatigada.
• Me desira ce tua canta ia gania la premio prima.
• Me vole vola!

La nonrealia de tal cosas es bon indicada par si, o par parolas como duta, desira, espera, e vole. An va ave un sensa de nonrealia, car poca cosas futur es intera sin duta.

Ma, si on vole indica clar ce un aveni es nonreal, on pote ajunta la paroleta ta. Lo veni de la creol aitian.

La usa fundal de ta es cuando on imajina un otra mundo en cual un o plu cosas es diferente. Tal frases conteni comun ance si:

• Me ta es felis si la sol brilia. – Ma lo no brilia.

Par se mesma, ta no indica si la ata es presente, futur, o pasada. Ma on aplica no plu ca un de va, ia, e ta a cada verbo. Donce, per parla de un ata pasada cual on imajina, on no dise ta ia. En loca, on ajunta espresas cual spesifa la tempo – o on ajunta simple va o ia a la verbo pos si, e lasa ta a la verbo xef:

• Si tu dise acel ante du semanas, me no ta comprende alora. – La dise ia aveni (en la imajina) ante du semanas, e la noncomprende ia aveni a la mesma tempo (ance en la imajina).
• Si tu dise acel alora, me no ta comprende. – La mesma sinifia.
• Si tu ia dise acel, me no ta comprende. – Denova la mesma sinifia. On usa asi ia per mostra ce la dise es pasada, e ta per crea un situa en cual on debe comprende acel pasada como sola imajinada.
• Me ta core si tu va core ance. – Ambos de nos core es en un futur imajinada.

On pote usa ance ja en tal frases.

Un otra usa de ta es per indica desiras. Car desiras es cosas imajinada, on pote espresa los con ta:

• Me desira ce la re ta vive longa. – Me no sabe si la re va vive longa. Ma me desira esta.
• La re ta vive longa! – Me esclama mea desira.
• Nos ta dansa! – Me esclama un otra desira.

On estende esta usa per espresa demandas cortes per aida:

• Tu ta abri la porte, per favore? – Me desira ce tu abri la porte, e me espresa esta desira como un demanda.

Ta es elejable. On pote omete lo si la contesto o la situa clari sufisinte ce on parla de un aveni nonreal:

• Me desira ce tu encontra mea ami. – La parola desira indica clar ce on parla de un cosa nonreal, e donce on no nesesa pone ta ante encontra.
• El ia trova nun ci pote aida. – El ia desira ce algun ta aida el, ma el no ia trova un tal person, donce la aida resta clar nonreal, e on no nesesa pone ta ante pote.
• Me duta ce tu crede me. – Me ia considera en mea imajina la idea ce tu crede me, ma me ia rejeta lo como nonprobable. Donce on pote regarda lo como ancora imajinal, e on no nesesa pone ta ante crede.

Puntos de refere

En parla, cuando on usa un verbo presente, lo refere a la momento en cual la parla mesma aveni. Simil, si on usa un verbo futur o pasada, estas refere a momentos en la futur o la pasada de la momento de parla.

Ma on pote crea ance un punto tempora de refere. Esta aveni cuando on reporta un dise o un pensa, sin sita direta la parolas. En lfn, un tal verbo ave la mesma tempo como la verbo en la sita direta:

• Me dise ce me ia come. – En la momento de parla, me dise esta: “Me ia come.” La come presede la dise.
• Me ia dise ce me come. – A un tempo ante la momento de parla, me ia dise esta: “Me come.” La dise e la come ia coesiste a acel tempo.
• Me ia dise ce me ia come. – A un tempo ante la momento de parla, me ia dise esta: “Me ia come.” La come ia presede la dise, e ambos ia presede la momento de parla.
• Me crede ce tu va come. – En la momento de parla, me crede esta: “Tu va come.” La come segue la crede.
• Me va crede ce tu come. – A un tempo pos la momento de parla, me va crede esta: “Tu come.” La crede e la come va coesiste.
• Lo ia pare ce me come. – Ante la momento de parla, lo ia pare ave un situa espresable a esta modo: “Me come.” La pare e la come ia coesiste.
• Lo ia pare ce me ia come. – Ante la momento de parla, lo ia pare ave esta situa: “Me ia come.” La come ia presede la pare, e ambos ia presede la momento de parla.
• Lo ia es posable ce me va cade. – Ante la momento de parla, on ia ave esta posable: “Me va cade.” La cade va aveni (posable) pos cuando me ia pensa de lo, ma la esiste de la posable se mesma ia presede la momento de parla.
• Tu ta dise ce tu ia comprende la libro? – Me desira ce tu va responde esta demanda: “Tu ia comprende la libro?” La comprende presede la demanda e la responde.
• Tu ta dise ce tu ama me? – Me desira ce tu va responde esta demanda: “Tu ama me?” La ama coesiste con la demanda e la responde.
• Tu ta dise ce tu va ama me? – Me desira ce tu va responde esta demanda: “Tu va ama me?” La ama segue la demanda e la responde.

Puntos e linias

On pote imajina multe atas a du modos:

perfeta

• Como un punto simple, sin distingui la comensa e la fini.

nonperfeta

• Como un linia con un strutur interna en cual otra cosas pote aveni.

La forma fundal me come no indica si la ata es un punto o un linia.

-nte

Si on ajunta la sufisa -nte a un verbo, on cambia la verbo a un ajetivo cual sinifia “en un state do la ata de la verbo ia comensa ma no ia fini”. Lo presenta la ata como un linia. La ator “move” longo la linia en tempo, de la comensa a la fini.

• No velia la can dorminte. – La can ia adormi, e lo no ia velia ancora.
• Me es comente un banana. – A la momento de parla, me ia comensa come un banana ma no ia fini. La sinifia es me come, ma me asentua ce la ata aveni ancora. Me es a alga punto en la media de mea come.

La ajetivo con -nte no cambia sua sinifia, an si la verbo cual lo acompania es pasada, futur, o nonreal. Sola sua punto de refere cambia:

• Me ia es comente cuando tu ia telefoni. – A un tempo ante la momento de parla, tu ia telefoni e ia interompe me en media de mea ata de come.
• Sin duta, me va es denova comente cuando tu va telefoni. – Me suposa ironiosa ce un tempo va veni pos la momento de parla, en cual tu va telefoni e me va es denova en media de un ata de come.

Con un cuantia peti de verbos, on tende usa la strutur es -nte sola car la verbo simple no esiste comun en otra linguas relatada:

• La problem es importante. – (Ma egal bon: la problem importa.)

Cuando on ajunta -nte a es, lo deveni esente:

• El es arte e, esente arte, el es un lona.

On pote usa la ajetivos con -nte como averbos e nomes ance:

• Un ruido asustante ia veni de la armario. (ajetivo)
• La om creante scultas es amirable. (ajetivo; = la om ci crea scultas)
• El ia sta tremante a la porte. (averbo)
• Nos ia colie tota de la composantes. (nom)

Ja

Ja es un averbo cual sinifia “a un tempo ante la punto de refere”.

Cuando lo acompania un verbo pasada, ja indica ce la ata ia fini ante acel punto:

• Cuando me ia ave des anios, me ia aprende coce. – La aprende aveni en la anio des-un de mea vive.
• Cuando me ia ave des anios, me ia aprende ja coce. – La aprende comensa e fini en un anio plu temprana. Esta coresponde a la tempo “pasada perfeta” en alga linguas.
• Cuando la enfantes ave des anios, los aprende coce. – Los aprende coce (abitual) en sua anios des-un (a esta scola, per esemplo).
• Cuando la enfantes ave des anios, los ia aprende ja coce. – La aprende comensa e fini (abitual) en un anio plu temprana. Esta coresponde a la tempo “presente perfeta” en alga linguas.

En multe casos, ja servi per obliga comprende la ata como un punto:

• Me ia leje ier tua libro. – On pote imajina la leje egal como un punto o un linia. La difere no es importante.
• Me ia es lejente tu libro. – La leje es clar un linia en cual on pote dise ce otra atas aveni ance.
• Me ia leje ja tu libro. – La leje es clar un punto. La fato ce lo ia ave un comensa e un fini no es pertinente.

La sinifia de ja cambia poca cuando on pone lo a un verbo presente, car (en nosa persepi) nos mesma es asi – en la presente con la ata. Alora, ja indica ce la ata ia comensa ante la punto de refere, ma ce lo no ia fini ancora. Esta es multe simil a la sinifia de -nte, ma si -nte asentua un situa en media de la ata, ja asentua la cambia ce ia aveni a la comensa de la ata:

• La sol es ja a la orizon. – La sol es aora a la orizon car lo ia move ala a un tempo presedente.
• Tu desira un poma? No, me come ja un banana. – Me es ocupada en come un banana car me ia comensa come lo a un tempo presedente.
• Me parla ja portuges. – Me es capas de parla portuges car me ia aprende lo a un tempo presedente.
• Me abita ja asi de cuatro anios. – Me abita asi car me ia veni asi ante cuatro anios e no ia vade a via en la tempo interveninte.

Con verbos futur e nonreal, ja es min comun, ma lo opera como en la pasada. Lo indica ce la ata comensa e fini a un tempo futur (o nonreal) cual presede la punto de refere (ce es ance futur o nonreal):

• Cuando me va ariva, me va come ja. – A un tempo pos la momento de parla, me va comensa e fini un come. E pos acel (posable no direta a pos), me va ariva.
• An si tu ta esplica ja la problem, me no ta comprende lo. – Me imajina me en un state de noncomprende an pos la fini de tua esplica (ance imajinada).

A veses, on trova ja en la strutur es ja -nte. Asi, ja descrive la ajetivo, no la verbo, e donce la sensa presente domina:

• Me es ja lejente tua libro. – A la momento de parla, me es en un state lejente car me ia comensa leje. (= Me leje ja tua libro)
• Me ia es ja lejente tu libro. – A un tempo ante la momento de parla, me ia es en un state lejente, car me ia comensa leje a un tempo an plu temprana. (no la mesma como: Me ia leje ja tua libro)
• Me va es ja lejente tua libro. – A un tempo pos la momento de parla, me va es en un state lejente, car me va comensa leje entre la momento de parla e acel tempo futur. (no la mesma como: Me va leje ja tua libro)

-da

Si on ajunta la sufisa -da a un verbo, on produi un ajetivo pasiva cual descrive la ojeto de la verbo e sinifia “en un state en la aveni de la ata, o en un state pos la fini de la ata”. La situa sufisi comun per distingui la du sinifias, ma on pote ajunta parolas como aora e ja per sujesta plu clar un interprete. On usa par si on vole refere a la sujeto de la verbo orijinal:

• La gato ia es amada par mea tia. – A la tempo pasada de cual on parla, me tia ia ama la gato.
• La fenetra es rompeda. – On ia rompe la fenetra, donce lo es aora en un state mal.
• La casa es bateda par la venta. – Ambigua, ma la situa tende clari.
• La casa es aora bateda par la venta. – Lo es plu clar ce la venta es batente la casa.
• La casa deveni bateda par la venta. – La venta es clar batente la casa.
• La casa es ja bateda par la venta. – La venta ia bate la casa, donce la casa es aora en un state mal.
• Esta ponte ia es desiniada par un injenior famosa. – Un injenior famosa ia desinia esta ponte.
• Lo ia deveni conoseda ce lo es un om perilosa. – Acel conose ia deveni comun.

Comun, on usa on o algun como la sujeto de un frase ativa en loca de un frase pasiva:

• On pinti la sala. – La sala deveni pintida.
• On no conose cuanto persones teme aranias.
• Algun ia come lo.

On pote usa la ajetivos con -da como averbos e nomes ance:

• Per favore, no senta sur la seja rompeda. (ajetivo)
• El ia cade embarasada tra la seja. (averbo)
• Sua novela va es un bonvendeda. (nom)

La ajetivos formida par -nte e -da no es un parte de la conjuga de la verbo. La verbo es es, per esemplo, e la ajetivos es simple ajetivos. Simil, ja no es un parte de la conjuga de la verbo. Lo es simple un averbo con un sinifia de tempo.

Comandas

On no marca la forma de verbos per un comanda. Lo difere de la tempo presente sola par la asentia de la sujeto. La sujeto ta es normal tu o vos – la person o persones a cual on dona la comanda. On pote usa ta si on nesesa inclui la sujeto:

• Para!
• Pardona me.
• Toca la tecla de spasio per continua.
• Vade a via, per favore!
• Tu rena ta veni.

Negas

On nega un verbo con la averbo no, cual presede e la preverbos e la verbo:

• Me no labora oji, e me no va labora doman.
• El no ia pensa ce algun es asi.
• No traversa la strada sin regarda.

Transitivia

Un verbo transitiva es un verbo cual pote es direta segueda par un nom ojetal, sin un preposada interveninte. Un verbo nontransitiva no ave un ojeto. En elefen, cada verbo es prima o transitiva o nontransitiva:

• La porta abri. (prima nontransitiva)
• Me senta. (prima nontransitiva)
• La fango adere a mea botas. (prima nontransitiva)
• El usa un computador. (prima transitiva)
• Los come bananas. (prima transitiva)

On pote lasa la ojeto de un verbo transitiva cade si lo no es nesesada:

• Me coce un ragu.
• Me coce.
• El canta un canta.
• El canta.

Si on ajunta un nom ojetal pos un verbo nontransitiva, la verbo deveni transitiva. La ojeto responde a la sujeto nontransitiva, e la verbo nova sinifia “causa ce (la ojeto) …”:

• Me adere la fango a mea botas. (= Me causa ce la fango adere a mea botas)
• Me abri la porta. (= Me causa ce la porta abri)
• Me senta la enfantes. (= Me causa ce la enfantes senta)

On pote clari o asentua la sensa nontransitiva par un pronom refletante, e la sinifia transitiva par fa:

• La porta abri se. (con sujesta ce nun abri lo, o ce la person ci abri lo es nonpertinente)
• La om fa [ce] la porta abri. (causa ce la porta abri)
• Me senta me.
• Me fa [ce] la enfantes senta.

En alga linguas, la ojeto de un verbo transitiva pote ave un completinte. Lfn usa otra construis en loca:

• Los ia eleje el a presidente. (preposada de state resultante)
• Me ia pinti la casa a blanca. (preposada de state resultante)
• Me ia fa el es felis. (cadena de verbos)
• El ia dise ce me es stupida. (proposa nomal)

La sola eseta es con la verbo nomi. On regarda esta como un esemplo de aposa.

• La esplorores ia nomi la rio la Amazon. (= los ia dona la nom “la Amazon” a la rio)

Verbos sin sujetos clar

Alga verbos no ave sujetos clar. En esta casos, on usa un pronom “pupetin” como un sujeto. La esemplos la plu bon es parolas cual refere a la clima o a la ambiente jeneral:

• Lo neva.
• Lo va pluve.
• Lo es tro calda en esta sala.
• Lo es bon.

Un otra esemplo es cuando la sujeto es vera la proposa nomal cual segue la verbo:

• Lo pare ce tu es coreta.
• Lo es importante ce me no oblida esta.

On ave indica ce alga cosa esiste o es presente. La antonim es on no ave:

• On ave un serpente en la rua.
• On no ave pexes en esta lago.
• On ave multe persones asi oji.

Cadenas de verbos

En lfn, la ojeto de un verbo pote es un proposa nomal – frecuente conteninte sola un verbo o un verbo e se ojeto. Esta verbo suordinada ta es un infinitiva en multe linguas, ma verbos en lfn no ave un forma spesial infinitiva. En loca, on dise ce la segue es un cadena de verbos. On pote ancora inclui un averbo pos la verbo xef, e on pote nega la verbo suordinada:

• Me espera ariva ante tu parti.
• La sol ia pare flota sur la acua.
• Me ia gusta multe escuta oji me musica.
• On pote nunca spele coreta me nom.
• El comensa teme no velia en la matina.
• Me ia fini leje un libro noiante.

Ma on no usa va, ia, e ta en media de un cadena de verbos. Donce on no dise me predise tu va veni, ma me predise tu veni o me predise ce tu va veni.

En la esemplos a supra, ambos verbos ave la mesma sujeto, donce on no nesesa repete lo. Ma on pote inclui lo per claria, si desirada:

• Los no permete se reposa.
• Me no pote imajina me abita ala.

Si la du verbos ave sujetos diferente, on nesesa inclui la sujeto de la verbo suordinada:

• El regarda se enfantes jua.
• El senti la bebe colpa.
• Los ia lasa denova la porta resta abrida.
• Nos crede esta no es coreta.
• Me judi la vino es eselente.

On pote ajunta ce per marca clar la proposa nomal:

• Me judi ce la vino es eselente.
• Me ia trova ce la popla de la vileta ia es amin.

La verbo du se mesma pote es la verbo xef de un otra cadena, e tal continuante:

• Me vole sabe fa la mundo atenta es un loca pasos.

En ajunta a opera como la ojeto de la verbo xef, un verbo suordinada pote apare como la sujeto de un frase o pos un preposada. Un tal verbo coresponde a un infinitiva o nom verbal en otra linguas, e no nesesa un determinante:

• Nada es un bon eserse.
• Scrive un bon libro es multe nonfasil.
• Es o no es, esta es la demanda.
• Me viaja per vide la mundo.
• El ia mori pos nomi se seguor.
• El ia abri la noza par colpa lo forte con un martel.
• On no pote pasea tra la mundo sin lasa impresas de pede.

Car on pote usa pronomes personal como determinantes de posese, e on pote usa verbos como nomes, alga frases pote pare ambigua. Esce “me desira es forte” sinifia “me desira ce me es forte” o “me ave un desira, e esta desira es forte”? La sinifia prima es coreta: “desira” es prima un verbo, e donce on trata lo como un verbo asi. On pote espresa la sinifia du par cambia la frase en modos varios:

• Me desira es forte. (cadena de verbos: Me desira ce me es forte)
• Esta desira de me es forte.
• Me ave un desira forte.
• Me desira, lo es forte.
• Me desira forte.

Verbos como nomes

On pote reusa cualce verbo, sin cambia, como un nom. La nom sinifia o la aveni de la ata verbal o se resulta direta:

• Se condui ia es vera xocante.
• La valsa e la samba es dansas.
• Esta va es un ajunta bela a la ragu.
• Me ia prepara du traduis de la testo.
• “Lfn” es un corti de “lingua franca nova”.
• La universa ia es estrema peti a la momento de se crea.
• La scrive de un bon libro es multe nonfasil. (= Scrive un bon libro es multe nonfasil)

Con un verbo como ajunta, la difere entre un ajunta e un ajuntada es minimal. Ma la traduida es la testo orijinal de cual on jenera la tradui, e un crea es un ata cual produi la creada.

In English

A typical verb denotes the occurrence or abandonment of an action (“run”, “stop”), a relationship (“have”, “lose”), or a state (“stand”, “melt”). In LFN, verbs are very simple. They have just three tenses and a hypothetical mode. Finer differences are expressed with adverbs or implied by the context. Any verb can be reused without change as a noun.

Present tense

The verb on its own has a present sense. It denotes an action that coexists with a reference point. The reference point is normally just the moment of utterance:

• Me come. – I am eating (while I say this sentence).

The coexistence can apply to the general period in which an utterance occurs, even if it doesn’t apply at the exact moment of speech. Habitual actions can be expressed in this way:

• Me labora en un boteca. – I work in a shop. (In the current period of my life, I am employed in a shop, even if I utter this sentence while sitting on a beach on holiday.)

Future tense

Adding the particle va in front of a verb makes it future. It denotes an action that occurs after the reference point:

• Me va come. – I shall eat. (As I say this sentence, I haven’t started eating. The start of my meal is still in the future.)

Va is not usually optional. If an action is in the future, va should be added to the verb:

• Me va labora doman. – I will be working tomorrow. (Not: Me labora doman.)

But there are certain special cases where va is added to a main verb, and this provides a future reference point for a subordinate verb in the same sentence.

Also, in a list of verbs, va can be omitted after all but the first:

• Me va come, bevi, e dansa. – I will eat, drink, and dance. (Each action is in the future.)

The word va comes from French.

Past tense

Adding ia in front of a verb makes it past. It denotes an action that occurs before the reference point:

• Me ia come. – I ate / I have eaten / I was eating. (As I say this sentence, the start of my meal – and possibly its end, too – lies in the past.)

Ia is not normally optional. If an action is past, ia should be added to the verb. But, as with va, there are certain special cases.

Also, in a list of verbs, ia can be omitted after all but the first:

• Me ia veni, vidi, e vinse. – I came, saw, and conquered. (Each action is in the past.)

When authors tell fictional stories, they typically use the past tense, as if describing events that actually occurred in history. But this is only a convention, and it’s equally possible to tell a good story in the present tense. The present tense can make the account seem more vivid in the mind of the reader or listener. It’s also possible to use the past tense for most of a story, and the present tense for particularly lively passages. This is a stylistic trick, not a grammatical issue.

The word ia comes from the Chavacano language.

Hypothetical mode

Some sentences are about hypothetical things: things that don’t exist in reality, but only in the mind. For example:

• Me duta ce el pote leva la petra. – I doubt he could lift the stone.
• Me demanda a me si la tera es secur. – I wonder if the ground is safe.
• Si tu espera forte, posable tu sonias va deveni real! – If you hope fervently, perhaps your dreams will become real!
• Si me core, me va deveni fatigada. – If I run, I will get tired.
• Me desira ce tu canta ia gania la premio prima. – I wish that your song had won first prize.
• Me vole vola! – I want to fly!

The unreal nature of such things is indicated well by si, or by words like duta, desira, espera, and vole. Even va has a sense of the hypothetical, because there’s little of the future that’s entirely certain.

But, to clearly show that an event is hypothetical, the particle ta can be used. It comes from Haitian creole.

The basic use of ta is in imagining another world where one or more things are different. Such sentences usually also involve si:

• Me ta es felis si la sol brilia. – I would be happy if the sun were shining. (But it isn’t shining.)

By itself, ta doesn’t indicate whether the action is present, future, or past. But no more than one of va, ia, and ta can be used with a given verb. This means that, when talking about a past imaginary action, we don’t say ta ia. Instead, we add specific expressions of time, or we simply add va or ia to the verb in the si clause, leaving ta on the main verb:

• Si tu dise acel ante du semanas, me no ta comprende alora. – If you had said that two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have understood (then). (You made your statement (in my imagination) two weeks ago, and my imagined failure to understand also occurred at the same time.)
• Si tu dise acel alora, me no ta comprende. – The same meaning.
• Si tu ia dise acel, me no ta comprende. – The same meaning again. (Ia is used here to show that your statement lies in the past, and ta is used to create a situation in which that past can only be understood as being imaginary.)
• Me ta core si tu va core ance. – I would run if you were to run too. (We both run in an imaginary future.)

ja can also be used in such sentences.

Another use of ta is to indicate desires. Desires are things that we imagine, so we can express them with ta:

• Me desira ce la re ta vive longa. – I wish that the king has a long life. (I don’t know whether the king will have a long life. But I desire it.)
• La re ta vive longa! – Long live the king! (I exclaim my desire.)
• Nos ta dansa! – Let’s dance! (I exclaim another desire.)

This usage is extended to express polite requests for help:

• Tu ta abri la porta, per favore? – Could you open the door, please? (I want you to open the door, and I express this want in the form of a question.)

Ta is optional. It can be omitted if the context or the situation make it clear enough that the event being spoken of is hypothetical:

• Me desira ce tu encontra me ami. – I want you to meet my friend. (The word desira clearly indicates that I’m talking about something imaginary, and so encontra doesn’t require ta.)
• El ia trova nun ci pote aida. – She found nobody who could help. (She wanted someone to help her, but she didn’t find such a person, so the help remains clearly hypothetical, and pote doesn’t require ta.)
• Me duta ce tu crede me. – I doubt you believe me. (In my imagination, I’ve considered the idea that you believe me, but I’ve rejected it as unlikely. Therefore I can continue to regard it as imaginary, and crede doesn’t require ta.)

Reference points

In speech, when we use the present tense, it refers to the moment at which the utterance itself takes place. Similarly, if we use the future or past tense, these refer to moments in the future or past of the moment of utterance.

But we can also create a temporary reference point. This happens when we report an utterance or a thought, without directly quoting the words. In LFN, such verbs have the same tense as they would have had in the direct quotation:

• Me dise ce me ia come. – I say that I have eaten. (At the moment of utterance, I say this: “Me ia come / I have eaten.” The meal precedes my mentioning it.)
• Me ia dise ce me come. – I said that I was eating. (At a time before the moment of utterance, I said this: “Me come / I am eating.” The meal coexisted with my mentioning it, at that time.)
• Me ia dise ce me ia come. – I said that I had eaten. (At a time before the moment of utterance, I said this: “Me ia come / I have eaten.” The eating preceded my mentioning it, and both preceded the moment of utterance.)
• Me crede ce tu va come. – I believe that you’re going to eat. (At the moment of utterance, I believe this: “Tu va come / You’re going to eat.” The meal comes after the belief.)
• Me va crede ce tu come. – I will believe that you are eating. (At a time after the moment of utterance, I will believe this: “Tu come / You are eating.” The belief and the meal will coexist.)
• Ia pare ce me come. – It seemed that I was eating. (Before the moment of utterance, there was an apparent situation that could have been described like this: “Me come / I am eating.” The apparent situation and the meal coexisted.)
• Ia pare ce me ia come. – It seemed that I had eaten. (Before the moment of utterance, there was an apparent situation that could have been described like this: “Me ia come / I have eaten.” The meal preceded the apparent situation, and both preceded the moment of utterance.)
• Ia es posable ce me va cade. – It was possible that I would fall. (Before the moment of utterance, there was this possibility: “Me va cade / I am going to fall.” The fall was (perhaps) going to happen in the future of my thinking of it, but that possibility itself existed before the moment of utterance.)
• Tu ta dise ce tu ia comprende la libro? – Would you say that you understood the book? (I want you to answer this question: “Tu ia comprende la libro? / Did you understand the book?” The understanding preceded the question and the answer.)
• Tu ta dise ce tu ama me? – Would you say that you love me? (I want you to answer this question: “Tu ama me? / Do you love me?” The love coexists with the question and the answer.)
• Tu ta dise ce tu va ama me? – Would you say that you will love me? (I want you to answer this question: “Tu va ama me? / Will you love me?” The love comes after the time of questioning and answering.)

Points and lines

Many actions can be visualized in two ways:

; perfective : As a simple point, with no distinction of start or finish. ; imperfective : As a line with an internal structure within which other things can happen.

The basic form me come doesn’t indicate whether the action is a point or a line.

-nte

Adding the suffix “-nte” to a verb changes the verb into an adjective which – like “-ing” in English – means “in a state in which the verb’s action has started but not finished”. The action is presented as a line. The actor “moves” along the line through time, from the start to the finish.

• No velia la can dorminte. – Don’t wake the sleeping dog. (The dog fell asleep earlier, and hasn’t woken up yet.)
• Me es comente un banana. – I’m eating a banana. (At the moment of utterance, I’ve started to eat a banana, but haven’t finished. The meaning is the same as me come, but I’m emphasizing the fact the action is still occurring. I am at a point somewhere in the middle of my eating.)

The -nte adjective doesn’t change its meaning even if the verb it accompanies is past, future, or hypothetical. Only its reference point changes:

• Me ia es comente cuando tu ia telefoni. – I was eating when you phoned. (At a time before the moment of utterance, you phoned and interrupted me in the middle of my meal.)
• Sin duta, me va es denova comente cuando tu va telefoni. – No doubt I’ll be eating again when you phone. (I imagine ironically that there will be a time after the moment of utterance when you will phone me and I will again be in the middle of a meal.)

With a small number of verbs, the structure es -nte tends to be used purely because the simple form of the verb doesn’t commonly appear in related languages:

• La problem es importante. – The problem is important. (But equally good is: la problem importa.)

When -nte is added to es, the result is esente:

• El es arte e, esente arte, el es un lona. – It is art, and, being art, it is a canvas.

-nte adjectives can also be used as adverbs and nouns:

• Un ruido asustante ia veni de la armario. – A frightening noise came from the cupboard. (adjective)
• La om creante scultas es amirable. – The man creating sculptures is admirable. (adjective; = la om ci crea scultas)
• El ia sta tremante en la porta. – She stood shivering in the doorway. (adverb)
• Nos ia colie tota de la composantes. – We have collected all of the components. (noun)

Ja

Ja is an adverb meaning “at a time before the reference point”.

When it accompanies a past verb, ja indicates that the action finished before that point:

• Cuando me ia ave des anios, me ia aprende coce. – When I was ten, I learned to cook. (The learning occurs in the eleventh year of my life.)
• Cuando me ia ave des anios, me ia aprende ja coce. – When I was ten, I had already learned to cook. (The learning starts and ends in an earlier year. This corresponds to the pluperfect tense in some languages.)
• Cuando la enfantes ave des anios, los aprende coce. – When the children are ten, they learn to cook. (They – typically – learn to cook in the eleventh year of their lives – at this school, for example.)
• Cuando la enfantes ave des anios, los ia aprende ja coce. – When the children are ten, they have already learned to cook. (The learning starts and ends in an earlier year. This corresponds to the perfect tense in some languages.)

In many cases, ja serves to force the action to be seen as a point:

• Me ia leje ier tu libro. – I read your book yesterday. (You can equally well imagine the reading as a point or a line. The difference isn’t important.)
• Me ia es lejente tu libro. – I was reading your book. (The reading is clearly a line within which I can say that other actions also take place.)
• Me ia leje ja tu libro. – I have read your book. (The reading is clearly a point. The fact that it had a start and a finish is irrelevant.)

The meaning of ja changes slightly when it’s added to a present verb, because (in our mind’s eye) we are here ourselves – in the present with the action. Here, ja indicates that the action began before the reference point, but hasn’t yet finished. This is very much like the meaning of -nte, but while -nte emphasizes a point in the middle of the action, ja emphasizes the change that occurred at the start of the action:

• La sol es ja a la orizon. – The sun is already on the horizon. (The sun is now on the horizon because it moved there previously.)
• Tu desira un poma? No, me come ja un banana. – Do you want a banana? No, I’m already eating a banana. (I’m busy eating a banana because I started eating it previously.)
• Me parla ja portuges. – I already speak Portuguese. (I’m able to speak Portuguese because I learned it previously.)
• Me abita ja asi per cuatro anios. – I have lived here for four years. (I live here now because I came here four years ago and haven’t moved away in the meantime.)

With future and hypothetical verbs, ja is less common, but it works as it does with the past tense. It indicates that the action starts and finishes at a future (or hypothetical) time that precedes the reference point (which is also in the future or hypothetical):

• Cuando me va ariva, me va come ja. – When I arrive, I will have eaten. (At a time after the moment of utterance, I will start and finish a meal. And after that – not necessarily immediately after it – I will arrive.)
• An si tu ta esplica ja la problem, me no ta comprende lo. – Even if you had explained the problem, I wouldn’t have understood it. (I imagine myself in a state of incomprehension even after you have finished your explanation – also imaginary.)

Ja sometimes appears in the structure es ja -nte. Here, it modifies the adjective, not the verb, and so the present sense dominates:

• Me es ja lejente tu libro. – I am already reading your book. (At the moment of utterance, I am in a reading state because I have started reading; = Me leje ja tu libro.)
• Me ia es ja lejente tu libro. – I was already reading your book. (At a time before the moment of utterance, I was in a reading state because I had started reading at an even earlier time; not the same as: Me ia leje ja tu libro.)
• Me va es ja lejente tu libro. – I will already be reading your book. (At a time after the moment of utterance, I will be in a reading state because I will have started reading between the moment of utterance and that future time; not the same as: Me va leje ja tu libro.)

-da

Adding the suffix -da to a verb produces a passive adjective which – like “-ed” in English – describes the object of the verb and means “in a state where the action is occurring, or in a state after the action has finished”. The context is often enough to distinguish the two meanings, but words like aora and ja can be added to suggest a particular interpretation more clearly. Par allows the subject of the original verb to be mentioned:

• La gato ia es amada par me tia. – The cat was loved by my aunt. (At the moment in the past that we’re talking about, my aunt loved the cat.)
• La fenetra es rompeda. – The window is broken. (Someone has broken the window, so it’s now in poor condition.)
• La casa es bateda par la venta. – The house is battered by the wind. (Ambiguous, but the context usually makes things clear.)
• La casa es aora bateda par la venta. – The house is now battered by the wind. (It’s clearer that the wind is battering the house.)
• La casa deveni bateda par la venta. – The house is getting battered by the wind. (The wind is clearly battering the house.)
• La casa es ja bateda par la venta. – The house has been battered by the wind. (The wind has battered the house in the past, so the house is now in poor condition.)
• Esta ponte ia es desiniada par un injenior famosa. – This bridge was designed by a famous engineer. (A famous engineer designed this bridge.)
• Lo ia deveni conoseda ce el es un om perilosa. – It became known that he was a dangerous man. (This fact became common knowledge.)

In English “-ed” also forms the basic past tenses of verbs. This is not so with “-da” in LFN. “I worked” is me ia labora, not me laborada or me ia laborada.

An active sentence with on or algun as its subject is often an elegant alternative to a passive sentence:

• On pinti la sala. – The room is being painted. (= La sala deveni pintida.)
• On no conose cuanto persones teme aranias. – It’s not known how many people are afraid of spiders.
• Algun ia come lo. – It was eaten by somebody.

-da adjectives can also be used as adverbs and nouns:

• Per favore, no senta sur la seja rompeda. – Please do not sit on the broken chair. (adjective)
• El ia cade embarasada tra la seja. – He fell, embarrassed, through the chair. (adverb)
• Se novela va es un bonvendeda. – Her novel will be a bestseller. (noun)

The adjectives formed with -nte and -da are not part of the conjugation of the verb. The verb is es, for instance, and the adjectives are just adjectives. Similarly, ja isn’t a part of the conjugation of the verb. It’s simply an adverb of time.

Imperative

The imperative, or command form of the verb, is unmarked. It differs from the present tense in that the subject is omitted. The subject would normally be tu or vos, i.e. the person addressed. Ta can be used if a subject has to be included:

• Para! – Stop!
• Pardona me. – Excuse me / Sorry.
• Toca la tecla de spasio per continua. – Press the spacebar to continue.
• Vade a via, per favore! – Please go away!
• Tu renia ta veni. – Thy kingdom come.

Negation

Verbs are negated with the adverb no, which precedes both the verb and va, ia, or ta:

• Me no labora oji, e me no va labora doman. – I’m not working today, and I won’t be working tomorrow.
• El no ia pensa ce algun es asi. – He didn’t think anyone was here.
• No traversa la strada sin regarda. – Don’t cross the street without looking.

Transitivity

A transitive verb is one that can be directly followed by an object noun phrase, with no intervening preposition. An intransitive verb does not have such an object. In LFN, every verb is primarily either transitive or intransitive:

• La porta abri. – The door opens. (primarily intransitive)
• Me senta. – I sit down / I become seated. (primarily intransitive)
• La fango adere a me botas. – The mud sticks to my boots. (primarily intransitive)
• El usa un computador. – She’s using a computer. (primarily transitive)
• Los come bananas. – They’re eating bananas. (primarily transitive)

The object of a primarily transitive verb can be omitted if it’s redundant:

• Me coce un ragu. – I’m cooking a stew.
• Me coce. – I’m cooking. (= I’m doing cookery, not I’m getting cooked)
• El canta un canta. – He’s singing a song.
• El canta. – He’s singing.

A primarily intransitive verb can be made transitive by simply adding an object. This object is equivalent to the intransitive subject, and the resulting verb means “to cause (the object) to …”:

• Me adere la fango a me botas. – I stick the mud to my boots. (= I cause the mud to stick to my boots)
• Me abri la porta. – I open the door. (= I cause the door to open)
• Me senta la enfantes. – I seat the children. (= I cause the children to sit)

The intransitive meaning can sometimes be clarified or emphasized with a reflexive object, and the transitive meaning with fa:

• La porta abri se. – The door opens. (suggesting that nobody opened it, or treating the person who opened it as irrelevant)
• La om fa [ce] la porta abri. – The man opens the door. (makes the door open, causes that the door opens)
• Me senta me. – I sit myself down.
• Me fa [ce] la enfantes senta. – I sit the children down.

In some languages, the object of a transitive verb can have a complement. LFN uses other constructions instead:

• Los ia eleje el a presidente. – They elected him president. (preposition of resulting state)
• Me ia pinti la casa a blanca. – I painted the house white. (preposition of resulting state)
• Me ia fa el es felis. – I made him happy. (verb chain)
• El ia dise ce me es stupida. – He called me stupid. (noun clause)

The one exception involves the verb nomi, and is regarded as an example of apposition:

• La esplorores ia nomi la rio la Amazon. – The explorers named the river the Amazon. (= los ia dona la nom “la Amazon” a la rio)

Verbs without clear subjects

There are a number of verbs that have no obvious subjects. In such cases, a dummy pronoun is used as a subject. The clearest examples are words referring to the weather or the general environment:

• Lo neva. – It’s snowing.
• Lo va pluve. – It’s going to rain.
• Lo es tro calda en esta sala. – It’s too hot in this room.
• Lo es bon – It’s good.

Another example is when the subject is effectively a trailing noun clause:

• Lo pare ce tu es coreta. – It seems that you are correct.
• Lo es importante ce me no oblida esta. – It’s important that I don’t forget this.

On ave indicates the presence or existence of something. The opposite is on no ave:

• On ave un serpente en la rua. – There is a snake in the road.
• On no ave pexes en esta lago. – There aren’t any fish in this lake.
• On ave multe persones asi oji. – There are many people here today.

Verb chains

In LFN, the object of a verb can be an unmarked noun clause – often containing just a verb, or a verb and its object. This subordinate verb would be infinitive in many languages, but LFN verbs don’t have a special infinitive form. Instead, the sequence is known as a verb chain (un cadena de verbos). An adverb can still be included after the main verb, and the subordinate verb can be negated:

• Me espera ariva ante tu parti. – I hope to arrive before you leave.
• La sol ia pare flota sur la acua. – The sun seemed to float on the water.
• Me ia gusta multe escuta oji me musica. – I greatly enjoyed listening to my music today.
• On pote nunca spele coreta me nom. – People can never spell my name correctly.
• El comensa teme no velia en la matina. – He starts to fear not waking up in the morning.
• Me ia fini leje un libro noiante. – I’ve finished reading a tedious book.

However, va, ia, and ta are not used in mid-chain. So, me predise tu va veni is wrong, and me predise tu veni and me predise ce tu va veni are correct.

In the above examples, both verbs have the same subject, and so there is no need to repeat it – although it can still be included for clarity:

• Los no permete se reposa. – They don’t allow themselves to rest.
• Me no pote imajina me abita ala. – I can’t imagine myself living there.

But if the two verbs have different subjects, the subject of the subordinate verb cannot be omitted:

• El regarda se enfantes jua. – He watches his children play(ing).
• El senti la bebe colpa. – She feels the baby kick(ing).
• Los ia lasa denova la porta resta abrida. – They’ve let the door stay open again / They’ve left the door open again.
• Nos crede esta no es coreta. – We believe this not to be correct / We believe this isn’t correct.
• Me judi la vino es eselente. – I judge the wine to be excellent.

One can add ce to mark the noun clause explicitly:

• Me judi ce la vino es eselente. – I judge the wine to be excellent.
• Me ia trova ce la popla de la vileta ia es amin. – I found that the people of the village were friendly.

The subordinate verb can itself be the main verb of a second verb chain, and so on:

• Me vole sabe fa la mundo atenta es un loca pasos. – I want to know how to make the world try to be a peaceful place.

In addition to serving as the object of the main verb, a subordinate verb can also appear as the subject of a main verb, or after a preposition. Such a verb is equivalent to a gerund or infinitive in other languages, and requires no determiner:

• Nada es un bon eserse. – Swimming is good exercise. To swim is good exercise.
• Scrive un bon libro es multe nonfasil. – Writing a good book is very difficult / To write a good book is very difficult.
• Es o no es, esta es la demanda. – To be or not to be, that is the question.
• Me viaja per vide la mundo. – I’m travelling (in order) to see the world.
• El ia mori pos nomi se seguor. – She died after naming her successor.
• El ia abri la noza par colpa forte lo con un martel. – He opened the nut by hitting it hard with a hammer.
• On no pote pasea tra la mundo sin lasa impresas de pede. – You can’t walk through the world without leaving footprints.

Because personal pronouns can also be possessives, and verbs can be used as nouns, certain sentences may seem to be ambiguous. Does me desira es forte mean “I desire to be strong” or “my desire is strong”? The first meaning is correct: desira is primarily a verb, so it is treated as a verb here. The second meaning can be expressed by rephrasing in various ways:

• Me desira es forte. – I desire to be strong. (verb chain)
• Esta desira de me es forte. – This desire of mine is strong.
• Me ave un desira forte. – I have a strong desire.
• La me desira es forte. – My desire is strong.
• Me desira forte. – I desire strongly.

Verbs as nouns

Any verb can be reused without change as a noun. The noun denotes either an occurrence of the verb’s action, or its immediate product:

• Se condui ia es vera xocante. – His behaviour was really shocking.
• La valsa e la samba es dansas. – The waltz and the samba are dances.
• Esta va es un ajunta bela a la ragu. – This will be a fine addition to the stew.
• Me ia prepara du traduis de la testo. – I’ve prepared two translations of the text.
• “LFN” es un corti de “Lingua Franca Nova”. – “LFN” is an abbreviation of “Lingua Franca Nova”.
• La universa ia es estrema peti a la momento de se crea. – The universe was extremely small at the moment of its creation.
• La scrive de un bon libro es multe nonfasil. – The writing of a good book is very difficult. (= Scrive un bon libro es multe nonfasil)

With a verb such as ajunta, there is little difference between un ajunta and un ajuntada. But la traduida is the original text from which la tradui is produced, and un crea is an act of creating un creada.