Preverbs

A preverb is a type of content word that can go before the main verb of a sentence. Preverbs generally make distinctions in grammatical mood or aspect.

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In English

English uses many words as preverbs. For example:

• In "I can make it", "can" is a preverb. It means "I am able to make it".
  But in "I can it", "can" is the main verb instead. There, it means something else ("I put it in a can").
• In "I have made it", "have" is a preverb. It means the making is complete.
  But in "I have it", "have" is the main verb instead. There, it means something else ("I possess it").
• In "I will make it", "will" is a preverb. It means the making will happen in the future.
  But in "I will it", "will" is the main verb instead. There, it means something else ("I command it").

In Toki Pona

Preverbs work very similarly in Toki Pona. When used as a preverb, a word can have a different sense than it would elsewhere in the sentence. For the most part, these senses are more clearly related than in English, and they translate nicely into English.

In mi ken pali e ona, ken is a preverb. It means "I am able to make it".
But in mi ken e ona, ken is the main verb instead. There, it means something else ("I allow it").

Stacking

Preverbs can be stacked:

mi kama wile moku　

mi kama wile moku.

I come to need to eat. (I got hungry. / I'm getting hungry.)

jan li open wile lukin kama sona toki pona　

jan li open wile lukin kama sona toki pona.

People start to want to try to come to know (how) to speak well. (People started wanting to try learning Toki Pona.)

Modifiers

Preverbs can also be modified. In standard usage, there is a limited group of semiparticles that can modify preverbs.

ona li wile a sona　

ona li wile a sona.

They want to know. (emphasis on "want")

ona li wile ala sona　

ona li wile ala sona.

They don't want to know.

Outside of standard usage, some users include more semiparticles and even some content words to modify preverbs.

ona li wile kin sona　

ona li wile kin sona.

They also want to know. ("also" modifies "want", not "they")

ona li wile taso sona　

ona li wile taso sona.

They just want to know.

ona li wile lili sona　

ona li wile lili sona.

They somewhat want to know.

ona li wile mute sona　

ona li wile mute sona.

They really want to know.

Ambiguity

In standard Toki Pona, preverbs are not marked with any particle. For nonstandard styles, see Preverb marking.

Like prepositions, this makes preverbs a bit ambiguous. For example, mi kama taso can mean "I became alone" if kama is a preverb and taso ("to be alone") is the main verb. Or, it can mean "I only arrived" if kama is the main verb and taso is a modifier.

List of preverbs

Usage	Word	Preverb sense	Notes
pu	awen	to continue to… to keep …ing to stay …
	kama	to come to… to become …	Going from not (doing) something, to doing or being it.
	ken	to be able to… can …
	sona	to know (how) to…
	wile	to need / want to…
	lukin	to try to… to try …ing	Cognate with English "looking to…"
Common	alasa
Uncommon	open	to start to… to start …ing
	pini	to finish …ing
	tawa	to go (in order) to…	Going somewhere to do something. Contrast nonliteral English "going to". Compare prepositional use.
Rare	olin	to love to… to love …ing
	pakala	to fail to… to mess up (at) …ing
	pake	to stop …ing	pake is a rare word. This usage is more direct than pini.