From xod@xxxx.xxxx Thu Aug 19 21:12:04 1999 X-Digest-Num: 215 Message-ID: <44114.215.1157.959273825@eGroups.com> Date: Fri, 20 Aug 1999 00:12:04 -0400 (EDT) From: xod From: Spigot > > > Can 'zi' be used like that? I thought it was used as a suffix in tenses. > > pg 220 in the book -- > > le nanmu zu batci le gerku > a long time from or before now, the man will bite or bit the dog. > > and "'zi' by itself signals an event that happens at a time close > to the present, but without saying whether it is in the past or > the future. a rough translation might be 'about now, but not > exactly now.'" zi doesn't exclude now. Remember that "nau" means here in space and time. How else would we say "now in time, but the space is unspecified" except by zi? Note the use of zi here: ko viska le mi zi cinse je ninmu pendo noi ke'a na'e ze'e ckini mi See the of-me current girlfriend, who is not eternally mine. (She's not Miss Right, she's Miss Right Now.) ti is no good; it only refers to objects that can be pointed to. Or maybe I am all wrong? ----- When somebody says, here is this nice thing that you will enjoy using but if you share it with your neighbor we'll call you a pirate and put you in jail, they are polluting society's most important resource, which is goodwill, the willingness to cooperate with other people. -- RMS