la
la is a particle of toki pona used to separate a sentence from its context.
Functions of la[edit | edit source]
la indicates that what comes after it follows from or depends on what came before. It is extremely general and can indicate all sorts of antecedant/consequent relationships. For example,
Fronting prepositional phrases[edit | edit source]
la can be used to put a prepositional phrase at the front of a sentence. For example,
- "ale ante li kama tan sina".
- "Now the rest depends on you".[1]
- "Dorénavant la suite vous appartient".[2]
- kepeken toki ni la jan Sonja li pana e toki pona tawa kulupu.
- With these words Sonja gave toki pona to the community.
- jan Sonja li pana e toki pona tawa kulupu kepeken toki ni.
- Sonja gave toki pona to the community with these words.
When fronted, lon is dropped,
- mi moku e kili lon tenpo ni.
- I'm eating a fruit now.
- tenpo ni la mi moku e kili.
- This time I'm eating fruit.
Sometimes, lon is also used as a content word. In this case, it is retained:
- jan mute li lon ma ni.
- Lots of people are here.
- ma ni la jan mute li lon.
- Around here there are lots of people.
Cause and effect[edit | edit source]
la can show cause and effect. The part before the la is taken to bring about or be the condition for what comes after the particle.
- ilo li mu la mi lukin e ona.
- My phone rang so I checked it.
- When my phone rings I check it.
- If my phone rings I'll check it.
- tenpo seli la mi pilin pona.
- "Summertime and the livin' is easy".[3]
Punctuation[edit | edit source]
Commas are optional, and can be placed before or after the la. ku calls this a "stylistic choice". In this article, commas are omitted.