Prepositions
A preposition is a type of content word used to express spatial or temporal relations or to mark various semantic roles.[1] The phrase formed by a preposition together and the complement that follows it is called a prepositional phrase.
Function
A prepositional phrase gives context to the predicate or subject of the sentence. They describe the location, cause, purpose, quality, or means of the action, actor, or acted-upon. Toki Pona's prepositions are kepeken, lon, sama, tan, and tawa. A prepositional phrase need not follow another verb: it can be a predicate on its own.
mi sitelen e ni kepeken toki lili .mi sitelen e ni kepeken toki lili.[2]
I wrote this by means of few words.
kala li weka tan poka ma li lon noka telo .kala li weka tan poka ma li lon noka telo.[3]
The fish went away from the shore and is in the bottom of the water.
Like preverbs, prepositions are most often modified by a limited group of semiparticles.
jan nasin li wile pona e lawa ona lon ala poka jan.jan nasin li wile pona e lawa ona lon ala poka jan.[4]
A sage wanted to repair their head away from (literally: not next to) people.
mu sina li ike li sama ala mu pi mi ale.mu sina li ike li sama ala mu pi mi ale.[5]
Your moo is bad and unlike our moo.
All of Toki Pona's prepositions are also content words. This can lead to ambiguities, where a sentence means two different things depending on whether the word is interpreted as a preposition or a content word.
mi pana e tomo tawa sina.mi pana e tomo tawa sina.[6]
I give you a house. (tawa is a preposition.)
I brought your car. (tawa is a content word.)
Prepositions vs. transitive verbs
![](http://static.miraheze.org/sonaponawiki/thumb/6/65/tawae.png/300px-tawae.png)
In the sentence A li B e C, the subject A causes the direct object C to become C B.
So, in the sentence ona li tawa e telo, the subject ona causes the telo ("water") to become telo tawa ("going water"); the sentence translates as "They move the water".
In ona li tawa telo, the word tawa instead acts as a preposition. Given that tawa telo is a prepositional phrase meaning "toward water", this sentence translates as "They go to the water".
For another example:
kasi li lon ma alekasi li lon ma ale.
Plants exist at all of the land.
Plants are everywhere.
kasi li lon e ma alekasi li lon e ma ale.
Plants cause all the land to exist.
Plants created the Earth.
tan ma tomo [palisa anpa pakala esun] la jan sewi [jo ale wile e] li tawa e jan tawa ma mute.tan ma tomo Pape la jan sewi Jawe li tawa e jan tawa ma mute.
from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.[7]
Expanded syntax
Generally, prepositional phrases can come after the direct object, stand directly after the verb if there is no direct object, or be a predicate all their own.[8] Occasionally they appear before a direct object,
jan [P U T A] li pana tawa mi e mi · ona li pana tawa mi e jan [S I T A T A]jan Puta li pana tawa mi e mi. ona li pana tawa mi e jan Sitata.[10]
He has given me Siddhartha, myself.[9]
as a modifier,
waso lon telo li pilin musiwaso lon telo li pilin musi.
The ducklings in the pond are having fun.
or in a pi phrase.
mi toki tawa ilo pi(lon poka mi)mi toki tawa ilo pi lon poka mi.[11]
I spoke to the tool that was next to me.
Transitive prepositional phrases
Some speakers allow an entire prepositional phrase to be used as a transitively on a direct object introduced by e. The prepositional phrase is then predicated of the direct object. See kepeken e for more information.
mi tawa tomo pali nanpa luka tu tu pi kulupu [N O K A S I] e sina.mi tawa tomo pali nanpa luka tu tu pi kulupu Nokasi e sina.[12]
I will take you to Nokasi Corp. office number nine.
kasi li lon ma ale e kon ponakasi li lon ma ale e kon pona.
Plants cause good air to exist at all of the land.
Table of prepositions
Word | Sense | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Preposition prep ijo |
Intransitive preposition li prep ijo |
Transitive verb li prep e ijo |
Transitive preposition li prep A e B | |
kepeken | using | to use | (controversial) see kepeken e | to make B use A |
lon | at/in/on | to exist at/in/on | to create | to make B be at/in/on A |
sama | like | to be like | to make alike | to liken B to A |
tan | from | to be/come from | (rare) to blame | to make B be/come from A |
tawa | toward | to go to | to move | to move B to A |
References
- ↑ jan Juli. (23 September 2022). "nasin toki pona: how to use prepositions". GitHub. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ↑ jan pali pi lipu kule. (24 January 2021). "tan suli lipu li seme?". lipu kule.
- ↑ Joshua Edward. (4 April 2021). "waso suli". lipu sitelen mi.
- ↑ Joshua Edward. "pilin utala". lipu sitelen mi pi toki pona.
- ↑ ijo tan anpa nanpa. (8 July 2023). "mu namako". utala pona.
- ↑ Nikita Ayzikovsky. (28 May 2002). "every day words". Toki Pona Forums.
- ↑ [1]Religious Texts translated by Sonja Lang
- ↑ jan Kekan San. "Prepositions and Context". mun.la.
- ↑ Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha (1922) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2499
- ↑ Hermann Hesse (tr. jan Kala), jan Sitata (2022), https://wikisource.org/wiki/Jan_Sitata/lipu_nanpa_wan/jan_Kotama
- ↑ jan Kepe. (8 July 2023). "Nasi". utala pona.
- ↑ jan Kepe, Nasi (utala pona: 2023) http://utala.pona.la/toki-en-lipu/lipu-suli/nasi.html.