e

Core Toki Pona particle
Revision as of 13:09, 5 November 2023 by SnpoSuwan (talk | contribs)

e is a particle used to introduce the direct object of the sentence, that is, the target of the action in the sentence.

e in sitelen pona
e in sitelen sitelen
Pronunciation /e/
Usage 2023: Core (100% → )2022: Core (100%)
Book and era nimi pu
Part of speech Particle
Codepoint 󱤉 U+F1909

Function

e marks the direct object of the verb.

mi moku e telo 

mi moku e telo.

I drink water.

Misconceptions

The biggest confusion around e comes from not knowing what the direct object is. For example, in the sentence below, the direct object is sina, meaning that the subject is talking about someone, instead of to someone. The correct sentence would be mi toki tawa sina.

mi toki e sina 

mi toki e sina.

I talk to you.
I talk about you, I mention you.

Remembering what is what isn't as hard as it seems; in English, the direct object never has a preposition. So if in the sentence you're translating, the "object" has a preposition before it (such as to, for, from, etc), it's not the direct object.

External links

Resources