From Ti@fa-kuan.muc.de Fri Sep 29 12:42:19 2000 Return-Path: X-Sender: Ti@fa-kuan.muc.de X-Apparently-To: lojban@egroups.com Received: (EGP: mail-6_0_3); 29 Sep 2000 19:42:17 -0000 Received: (qmail 32233 invoked from network); 29 Sep 2000 19:42:17 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.142) by m3.onelist.org with QMQP; 29 Sep 2000 19:42:17 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO c9.egroups.com) (10.1.2.66) by mta3 with SMTP; 29 Sep 2000 19:42:17 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: Ti@fa-kuan.muc.de Received: from [10.1.10.134] by c9.egroups.com with NNFMP; 29 Sep 2000 19:42:17 -0000 Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 19:42:13 -0000 To: lojban@egroups.com Subject: symmetrie of tenses Message-ID: <8r2ral+ni2j@eGroups.com> User-Agent: eGroups-EW/0.82 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Length: 1871 X-Mailer: eGroups Message Poster X-Originating-IP: 193.149.49.79 From: "=?iso-8859-1?q?Alfred_W._Tueting_(T=FCting)?=" Events take place in space and time - most significantly in time (e.g. mi pensi) in a linear extension into two directions ba and pu (in relation to the subject /mi/ or to the event /le nu mi pensi/ respectively). I regard these two linear extensions as two more or less extended/defined time intervals (the two end 'points' being /le mi ca/ and /mi (ba/pu) co'i pensi/ or /le nu mi pensi/ and a point far far in the future (ba) or in the past (put). That far, this is obviously symmetrical. Looking at the event /mi pensi/ itself and its contour, imbedded in time, I'd like to see several subintervals divided from each other by 'points': 1) One reaching up from far far past (pu) to a 'point' (or at least tiny interval) of time called /pu'o/ *immediately adjacent* to the beginning of the event /mi co'a pensi/, 2) second (or third one, if /pu'o/ is regarded as an interval itself) represented by /ca'o/, reaching from the point /co'a/ to that of /mi co'u pensi/, 3) the next one (roughly speaking!) from the point /co'u/ to a point far far in the future (ba). Now my problem and question: If I understand the Book right, then /pu'o/ is regarded as a point or very short time interval * immediately adjacent to /co'a/, isn't it? (p. 228, 10.1) "mi pu'o damba I [inchoative] fight I'm on the verge of fighting"). I'm now pondering whether or not /ba'o/ is symmetrical to /pu'o/ in this regard, i.e. also a point or very short interval of time, adjacent to /co'u/ on the other side? Or, different from it, a somewhat undefined space of time extending into /ba/, that I really wouldn't be very fond of! I'd like to translate e.g.: mi pu pu'o damba... I was *on the verge of* fighting, (when ...) and symmetrically mi pu ba'o citka le mi sanmi... I *just* had finished my meal, (when ...), but I really doubt whether this is possible. Any comments? .aulun.