|
|PoS=particle
}}
'''{{tp|ki}}''' is {{a category}} [[post-pu|post-{{tp|pu}}]] [[particle]] that marks a relative [[clause]]. It is highlyalmost nonstandardnever used due to its implications for [[Toki Pona]] [[grammar]], making sentences much more complex.
==Etymology==
==Function==
{{Needs work|
*Can you drop the subject of the relative clause? If so, then as an alternative, describe how {{tp|A <del>ki</del> B li C}} expresses roughly the same thing as {{tp|A <ins>li</ins> B li C}}, or at least {{tp|A li B la ona li C}}.
*What is its priority relative to other particles?
**In {{tp|A ki B li C li D li E}}, how many of the {{tp|li}} belong to the {{tp|ki}} clause? The <strong>clause</strong> {{tp|B li C}} must be, at least, because just the <strong>phrase</strong> {{tp|ki B}} would be {{tp|pi B}}, but is there any rule for the rest, such as the second or final {{tp|li}} ending the {{tp|ki}} clause? Or is this just guessed, or supposed to be marked only with prosody or punctuation? Or can {{tp|li}} not be used within {{tp|ki}} after all, forcing the subject to be dropped as above?
**Likewise with {{tp|A li B ki C e D e E}}, which {{tp|e}} ends the {{tp|ki}} clause? Or can {{tp|ki}} not be used in this position? Or is it unclear?
|section}}
{{tp|ki}} acts like a {{wp|relative pronoun}}, similar to English "which", "who", or "that".
}}
Many details about how ki works have never been decided on, since it is almost never used in practice.
Ambiguity may arise with more complex sentences, e.g. "{{tp|jan ki moku kili li tawa li pona}}" could mean either "the man who eats fruit moves and is good" or "the man who eats fruit and moves is good".{{citation needed}} This ambiguity is avoided in {{tp|sitelen pona}}, as the scope is marked with an underline connected to the glyph (see [[#sitelen pona|#{{tp|sitelen pona}}]]).
==Alternatives==
|