Lojban allows attaching multiple tenses to a selbri, producing quite complicated expressions.
For example,
mi puza vu ga'u ne'i ve'i klama
means "Some time ago, I was walking in a distant place, above, within, for a short distance". That could be said to me by a man who had been walking thoughtfully in his house situated high in the mountains, and which had then descended to the valley where I was standing.
Generally, the string of cmavo puza vu ga'u ne'i ve'i has a certain idea that is then applied to selbri klama and modifying its meaning.
So, is there a way to carry this idea painlessly to a sumti, in order to insert it as an abstract notion of space/time and other philosophical matters?
For example, to use as x2 in ciksi:
I explain you the idea of "in a distant place, above, within, for a short distance".
Or another one:
The boss said: "I've lost my eyeglasses. Find them!"
The subordinate answered: "I will! I will search for some time around here!"
The boss said: "I don't like "for some time, around here"! I want "instantly, the whole area!""
In this rather strained dialog the boss talks abstractly about searching characteristics which are in Lojban expressed as a complex tense. Is there a way to work it out?
Yanis Batura
Happy Learner of Lojban