Date: Sat, 28 Jan 1995 19:47:23 -0500 (EST)
From: jorge@PHYAST.PITT.EDU
Subject: Re: ago
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To: Veijo Vilva <veion@XIRON.PC.HELSINKI.FI>
Reply-to: jorge@PHYAST.PITT.EDU
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And:
> >         ko'a jbena pu le nunjamna za lei ci nanca
> >         He was born past of the war, magnitude (medium) three years.
> >         He was born three years before the war.
>
> What is the rule whereby the za is understood as the displacement
> of the pu?

That is how tenses pile up. {ko'a puza jbena} means "he was born in the
past (of now), magnitude of offset: a medium time. I propose that the
sumti complement specifies better each component, the origin for pu
and the more specific magnitude for za.

This is nothing new. That's how things work for the ZEhAs:

        ko'a ze'a jbena
        He was being born for some time.

        ko'a jbena ze'a lo cacra
        He was being born for one hour.

I'm only proposing to extend this to the ZIs.


> I wonder whether it might be possible to give {pu} and its ilk an
> extra argument, for the displacement: x1 is before x2 in magnitude
> x3. I suspect that that might impose too great a change upon the
> syntax.

And is not really needed, because that is exactly the function of the
ZIs: to give the magnitude of the displacement.

Jorge