Glossary

This is a glossary of grammatical terms used on sona pona.

A

adjective

A word that modifies or describes a noun. In English, "big" and "tall" are adjectives. In Toki Pona, modifiers that follow words in a noun-like position may be called adjectives.

adverb

A word that modifies or describes a verb. In English, they often end in "-ly"; "quickly" and "slowly" are adverbs. In Toki Pona, modifiers that follow words in a verb-like position may be called adjectives.

ambiguous

Main article: Vagueness vs. ambiguity

Of a sentence, having syntax that can be interpreted multiple different ways. In English, the sentence "I saw my friend with a telescope." is ambiguous, as "with a telescope" could describe the friend or the action of seeing; either person could have the telescope. Toki Pona's prepositions often introduce ambiguity.

C

clause

Main article: Phrases and clauses

A part of a sentence consisting of a subject and predicate. In Toki Pona, the particle la can join two clauses.

content word

Main article: Content words

The main type of word in Toki Pona, which can be used as a head or modifier (and thus like a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb, although its primary definition's part of speech can affect its meaning in other parts of speech). In Toki Pona, pona, suwi, and moku are examples of content words. Contrast particle.

H

head

Main article: Phrases and clauses

A word affected by modifiers. In Toki Pona, the first word of a phrase is the head.

I

imperative

A grammatical mood that expresses a command or instruction. In English, "Do as I say, not as I do." and "Go!" are imperative sentences. Toki Pona marks the imperative with o. Contrast indicative, optative, vocative.

indicative

A grammatical mood that describes a real or actual thing. In English, "The cat is cute." is an indicative sentence. Contrast imperative, optative, vocative.

intransitive verb

A verb that cannot take a direct object. In English, the verb "smile" is almost always intransitive, as in "the baby smiles"; the alternative, "the baby smiles a ball", doesn't make sense. Contrast transitive verb. See also the article Transitivity.

M

modifier

Main article: Modifiers

In Toki Pona grammar, an adjective or adverb. Unlike English, Toki Pona never distinguishes these parts of speech; any word that can modify a noun can also modify a verb, and vice versa.

N

noun

A word that names a person, place, or thing. "Fish" and "tree" are common nouns; "Oklahoma" is a proper noun. In Toki Pona, content words in many head positions may be called nouns.

O

object

This entry needs work:

indirect object, comparison of direct vs. indirect objects

If you know about this topic, you can help us by editing it. (See all)

The thing(s) to which the action of the sentence is done. In English, in the sentence "You pet the dog.", "the dog" is the direct object. In Toki Pona, the direct object is marked with the particle e.

optative

A grammatical mood that expresses a wish, hope, or desire. In English, "The children should do their homework." is an optative sentence. Contrast imperative, indicative, vocative.

P

particle

Main article: Particles

A word that marks the grammatical structure of a sentence, having no semantic meaning in itself. In Toki Pona, li, e, and pi are examples of particles. Contrast content word.

phrase

Main article: Phrases and clauses

A group of consecutive words consisting of a head and modifiers.

predicate

The part of a sentence that includes a verb and sometimes objects. In the sentence "The human looks at the tree", "looks at the tree" is the predicate. In Toki Pona, the predicate is marked with the particle li or sometimes o. Contrast subject.

preposition

Main article: Prepositions

A word that describes a noun's relationship to the rest of the sentence in time or space. In English, "after" and "beside" are prepositions. Often the preposition and the noun it introduces are referred to as a "prepositional phrase". In the sentence "Don't give coffee to infants.", "to infants" is a prepositional phrase.

preverb

Main article: Preverbs

A verb that accompanies the main verb to make distinctions in grammatical mood or aspect; an auxiliary (helping) verb.

proper adjective

Main article: Names

In Toki Pona grammar, an adjective that names a specific or definite thing, equivalent to a proper noun but requiring a headnoun. Proper adjectives are the only standard words that are capitalized in sitelen Lasina.

proper noun

A noun that names a specific or definite thing. Personal names and names of places are usually proper nouns. In English, "Preston", "Europe", and "Mount Everest" are proper nouns. In standard Toki Pona, proper names are not nouns; see proper adjective.

S

semantics

Main article: Semantic space

The "meaning" of a word. Semantics is concerned with the possible alternative words that could occupy a single position in a sentence. Contrast syntax.

semiparticle

In Toki Pona grammar, a word that can be used as a particle to modify the syntax of a sentence, but which also has a semantic space and can be used as a content word.

sentence

A group of words that contain a subject and a predicate. In English, "Dogs chase cats." is a sentence. "Apple pie" is not; it is a sentence fragment, and more specifically a phrase.

subject

The main actor or actors in a sentence. In the sentence "I read the book," the word "I" is the subject. In Toki Pona, subjects are often unmarked, but multiple subjects are joined with the particle en. Contrast predicate.

syntax

The position of words in a sentence or phrase. Often words are categorized by the kinds of positions they can occupy in a sentence, or what words they can appear next to. Contrast semantic (value).

T

transitive verb

Main article: Transitivity

A verb that takes a direct object. In English, the verb "eat" can be transitive: in "I eat the cookie.", it takes the direct object "the cookie". In Toki Pona, transitive verbs are followed by the particle e and the direct object. Contrast intransitive verb.

V

vague

Main article: Vagueness vs. ambiguity

Broad and unclear; not specific or precise. Most Toki Pona words cover a wide semantic space, so their individual meanings are often vaguer than words in other languages.

verb

A word that names an action. In English, "run", "sit", and "be" are verbs. In Toki Pona, content words that are preverbs or the head of a predicate may be called verbs.

vocative

A form of a noun used to call to or address something or someone. In English, in "Hey you!", the word "you" is vocative. English does not usually distinguish vocative from non-vocative nouns, aside from the archaic particle "O" as in "O Canada". Toki Pona marks the vocative with o. Contrast imperative, indicative, optative.

See also

• Appendix:Glossary on Wiktionary
• List of English words from Toki Pona