Re: [lojban-beginners] "Should" and "would"

[selpa'i <m3o@plasmatix.com>]

Am 28.10.2012 20:27, schrieb mudri:
> Is there any way in Lojban to talk about what one should do, should have
> done or would do in a given event? I've been looking for a while, but
> can't find anything.

For "should", the word {.ei} is usually used:

.ei do xendo lo cnino
You should be kind to strangers.

.ei do ta pu na lebna
You should not have taken that.

.ei mi ma zukte
What should I do?


For "would", it's slightly more difficult. "Would" usually marks a 
phrase as non-factual, which is done by {da'i}:

ju'o da'i do se pluka
You would surely enjoy it.

da'i do se xamgu
It would be good for you.


Sometimes, the "would" appears together with an if-clause, in which case 
a {da'i} isn't always needed:

mi va'o lo nu [da'i] mi jipci cu na kuckla lo dargu
If I was a chicken, I wouldn't cross the road.

Here the {da'i} is not strictly needed, because the event tagged by va'o 
is not claimed by the speaker. The {da'i} can be used to add emphasis on 
the non-factualness of the sentence, however.


There is also a less common way for "would" that uses {mu'ei}:

lo nu sidju lo drata kei mi ro mu'ei pluka
I would always enjoy helping others.

mi no mu'ei lo du'u do mi slabu cu na djica lo nu mi do speni
In no world in which I know you would I not want to marry you.


Hope this helps.

mu'o mi'e la selpa'i

--
doị mèlbi mlenì'u
   .i do càtlu ki'u
ma fe la xàmpre ŭu
   .i do tìnsa càrmi
gi'e sìrji se tàrmi
   .i taị bo pu cìtka lo gràna ku


.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Lojban Beginners" group.
To post to this group, send email to lojban-beginners@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to lojban-beginners+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/lojban-beginners?hl=en.