Message-Id: <199509292316.TAA21243@locke.ccil.org>
Date:         Fri, 29 Sep 1995 11:43:27 -0700
Reply-To: "Peter L. Schuerman" <plschuerman@UCDAVIS.EDU>
Sender: Lojban list <LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET>
From: "Peter L. Schuerman" <plschuerman@UCDAVIS.EDU>
Subject:      tense conversions
To: John Cowan <cowan@LOCKE.CCIL.ORG>
Status: OR

coi

I've put together a list of English-to-Lojban tense conversions that I'd
like to share with the list. This was trickier than you might think.

In English, many times complex verbal tenses are used to indicate things
besides the simple location of events in time.

For instance, constructs with "going" are used to imply intended actions.
For instance, "I was going to come" means "I was planning on coming."  The
closest that Lojban's tense system comes to expressing this idea is to use
the inchoative (pu'o): "I was on the verge of coming."  This makes less
sense with the future tense cmavo "ba" and perhaps it would be good to
have another member of ZAhO (perhaps dji'o, from djica, "desire" or even
pla'o, from platu, "plan") which means "intentive."

There is also an affirmative tense, using the auxilliary verb "to do."
For example, "I did go to the store" means "I in fact truly went to the
store."  I can't think of an obvious way of indicating this in Lojban;
perhaps an event contour cmavo "xu'a" (from xusra, "assert-to-be-true")
could be used.

Below is my best attempt at matching common English verbal tenses with
Lojbanic ones.  I've tried to use the most common sense for each English
tense; most of these could have different meanings, depending on context.
Parentheses surround constructions where I've used proposed cmavo (xu'a,
dji'o, pla'o).  I'd appreciate any comments or criticisms.

co'o mi'e pitr.                                  plschuerman@ucdavis.edu

        ENGLISH                  LOJBAN
        I come                   mi ta'e klama
        I came                   mi pu ba'o klama
        I am coming              mi ca klama
        I *am* coming            (mi ca xu'a klama)
        I was coming             mi pu klama
        I will/shall come        mi ba co'a klama
        I will have come         mi ba ba'o klama
        I am going to come       mi ba pu'o klama
                                 (mi ba dji'o klama / mi ba pla'o klama)
        I was going to come      mi pu pu'o klama
                                 (mi pu dji'o klama / mi pu pla'o klama)
        I do come                (mi ca ta'e xu'a klama)
        I did come               (mi pu xu'a klama)
        I have come              mi co'i klama
        I had come               mi pu pu klama