li: Difference between revisions

{{Example|sina pona lukin.|You're pretty!.}}

The book {{lipu pu|en}} saysadvise that, when multiple predicates are applied to {{tp|mi}} or {{tp|sina}}, they should each be their own sentence, instead of repeating {{tp|[[li]]}}.<ref>{{cite pu|56}}</ref>

Some speakers useprefer to repeat a second {{tp|li}} in this case. This is referred to as "extended {{tp|li}} style" in the {{ku|en}}.<ref>{{cite ku|10}}</ref>

This style can lead to ambiguities, as in this sentence. {{tp|toki}} could be meant to be an independent predicate, or a modifier of {{tp|mi}}. For example, the sentence above may be interpreted as "the language-related me is eating".

There are some edge cases where the style of the speaker may lead to differences in how {{tp|li}} is used. The particle {{tp|[[a]]}} in the sentence below is acting and modifying {{tp|mi}}, but this may considered a special case and may not be counted. However, because it is still acting similar or even the same as a modifier, speakers might also use {{tp|li}} similarly to with any modifier. A similar effect might happenoccurs with {{tp|[[kin]]}}.

ManyBeginners learnersoften have the misconception that {{tp|li}} translates to "is", "are", or "to be". Notably, {{tok|[[janthe Misali]]}}'sseries ''[[12 Days of sona pi toki pona|12 Days of {{tok|sona pi toki pona}}]]'' by {{tok|[[jan Misali]]}} makes this claim<ref>{{cite YouTube|id=KTbnGX6G_P4|title=12 Days of {{tok|sona pi toki pona}} Day Two: Sentence Structure|name={{tok|jan Misali}}|date=14 December 2015|channel=jan Misali|handle=HBMmaster}}</ref>, (which iswas later corrected in his newer series ''[[toki pona lessons (jan Misali)|toki pona lessons]]''). The word "is" is a verb, whereas {{tp|li}} is not. It is a particle that introduces a verb, regardless of whether the sentence would be translated with "is". For example:

This is also why {{tp|li}} cannot be used in a [[pi phrase|{{tp|pi}} phrase]]. {{tp|li}} is a particle that has higher priority than {{tp|pi}},<ref>{{cite web|title=more info on sentence structure|maintitle=nasin toki pona|author={{tptok|jan Juli}}|url=https://github.com/kilipan/nasin-toki#more-info-on-sentence-structure|websitetitle=https://github.com/kilipan/{{tp|nasin- toki pona}}|website=GitHub|date=2022-09-23|access-date=2023-11-10}}</ref> not a content word that could be used within a {{tp|pi}} phrase.