Glossary: Difference between revisions

:A word that [[#modifier|modifies]] or describes a [[#noun|noun]]. "Big" and "tall" are examples of adjectives.

:A word that [[#modifier|modifies]] or describes a [[#verb|verb]]. In English, they often end in "-ly". "Quickly" and "slowly" are examples of adverbs.

:A sentence whose [[#syntax|syntax]] can be interpreted multiple different ways. Toki Pona's [[Prepositions|prepositions]] often introduce ambiguity.

:The main type of word in [[Toki Pona]], which can be used as a [[#noun|noun]], [[#verb|verb]], or [[#modifier|modifier]] (although its primary definition's part of speech can affect its meaning in other parts of speech). ''pona'', ''suwi'', and ''moku'' are examples of content words in toki pona. Contrast [[#particle|particle]].

:A grammatical mood that expresses a command or instruction. "Do as I say, not as I do" is an imperative sentence, as is "go!". [[Toki Pona]] marks the imperative with ''[[o]]''. Contrast [[#indicative|indicative]], [[#optative|optative]], [[#vocative|vocative]].

:A grammatical mood that describes a real or actual thing. "The cat is cute" is an example of an indicative sentence. Contrast [[#imperative|imperative]], [[#optative|optative]], [[#vocative|vocative]].

:A [[#verb|verb]] that cannot take a direct [[#object|object]]. "Smile" is an intransitive verb: "the baby smiles." Contrast [[#transitive verb|transitive verb]]. See also the article [[Transitivity]].

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

:A word that names a person, place, or thing. "Fish" and "tree" are common nouns; "Oklahoma" is a [[#proper noun|proper noun]].

:The thing(s) to which the action of the sentence is done. In the sentence "you pet the dog," "the dog" is the direct object.

:A grammatical mood that expresses a wish, hope, or desire. "The children should do their homework" is an example of an optative sentence. Contrast [[#imperative|imperative]], [[#indicative|indicative]], [[#vocative|vocative]].

:A word with no [[#semantic (value)|semantic]] meaning that marks the grammatical structure of a [[#sentence|sentence]]. ''[[li]]'', ''[[e]]'', and ''[[pi]]'' are examples of [[:Category:Particles|particles]] in toki pona. Contrast [[#content word|content word]].

:The part of a [[#sentence|sentence]] that includes a [[#verb|verb]] and sometimes [[#object|objects]]. In the sentence "The human looks at the tree", "looks at the tree" is the predicate. Contrast [[#subject|subject]].

:A word that describes a [[#noun|noun]]'s relationship to the rest of the [[#sentence|sentence]] in time or space. "After" and "beside" are examples of prepositions. Often the preposition and the noun it introduces are referred to as the "prepositional phrase." In the sentence "don't give coffee to infants," "to infants" is a prepositional phrase.

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

:In [[Toki Pona]] grammar, an [[#adjective|adjective]] that [[name]]s a specific or definite thing, equivalent to a [[#proper noun|proper noun]] but requiring a [[Headnouns|headnoun]]. Proper adjectives are the only standard words that are capitalized in ''[[sitelen Lasina]]''.

:A [[#noun|noun]] that names a specific or definite thing. Personal names and names of places are usually proper nouns. "Preston", "Europe", and "Mount Everest" are examples of proper nouns.

;semantics<span id="Semantic (Value)" /><span id="Semantic (value)" /><span id="semantic (value)" /><span id="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|syntax]].

: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|content word]].

;sentence

:A group of words that contain a [[#subject|subject]] and a [[#predicate|predicate]]. "Dogs chase cats" is a sentence. "Apple pie" is not; it is a sentence fragment.

:The main actor or actors in a sentence. In the sentence "I read the book," the word "I" is the subject. Contrast [[#predicate|predicate]].

: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)|semantic (value)]].

:A [[#verb|verb]] that takes a direct [[#object|object]]. "Eat" can be a transitive verb: in "I eat the cookie", it takes the direct object "the cookie". Contrast [[#intransitive verb|intransitive verb]]. See also the article [[Transitivity]].

:Individual Toki Pona words cover a wide [[semantic space]], so their meanings are often less precise than words in other languages.

:A word that names an action. "Run" and "sit" are examples of verbs.

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