en
en is a particle of toki pona used to introduce multiple subjects to a single sentence.
Function of en[edit | edit source]
en is a subject particle, just like li and e are verb and object particles respectively. However, with en, the first subject is always unmarked.
- mi en sina li pali e pan
- We (I and you) bake bread.
- jan en soweli li tawa lon ma kasi
- Someone is walking their dog in the woods.
en is not and.[edit | edit source]
In Toki Pona, and is implied any time there is repetition. To say and in the subject, verb, or object, you repeat the corresponding particle.
- ona li kama li tawa
- He arrives and leaves.
- ona li lukin e ma e sewi
- She sees the land and the sky.
- mi en sina li pali e pan
- We (I and you) bake bread.
en is only used to introduce repeated subjects. Multiple predicates, objects, and prepositions are formed by repeating li, o, e, or the preposition, as the case may be.
History[edit | edit source]
The particle en has not always played the role it does today. As Sonja Lang described in a forum post[1] from 2002-10-27, in early toki pona
"en" divided between modifiers = and
- jan pona en suli
- good and tall person
There was no clear way to divide between head nouns. "en" needed to be repeated to divide between multiple main nouns, which was clumsy at times
- en kon lete en suno
- the north wind and the sun
(because "kon lete en suno" would have meant "cold and sunny air")
This system was documented in the original toki pona lessons.[2] In the original documentation, en is used both to separate modifiers and to seperate the nouns of a subject. In 2002, Sonja proposed the following reforms, restricing en to the subject of the sentence:
"en" is now used to divide between head nouns.
- kon lete en suno
- the north wind and the sun
There is no longer a way to divide between modifiers. This is no longer necessary. A "tall and good" person is simply a tall "good person" or a good "tall person", as you will.
This is the way en is used today.
- mi en mije li toki.
- I talk with the man.
- Me and the man are discussing.
This reform was accepted unanimously by the online community on or before 2002-11-01.[3]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ The words "en", "kin", and "kan"
- ↑ [1]original lesson 5
- ↑ Poll results for tokipona
External resources[edit | edit source]
- pu Lesson 16
- jan Lentan Lesson 5
- soweli Tesa Lesson 19