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[[la]] is a [[:Category:Particles|particle]] of toki pona used to separate a sentence from its context.
== Functions of la ==
[[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,
; ma mi la kon li lete.▼
; jan mute li lon ma ni. : ma ni la jan mute li lon.▼
=== Fronting prepositional phrases ===
[[la]] can be used to put a prepositional phrase at the front of a sentence. For example,
;"ale
:"Now the rest depends on you".<ref>[[pu]]-en p. 62</ref>
:"Dorénavant la suite vous appartient".<ref>[[pu]]-fr p. 67</ref>
:;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 not.
;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:
:Lots of people are here.
:Around here there are lots of people.
=== Cause and effect ===
[[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
::My
:
::If my phone rings I'll check it.
:;suno li seli la mi pilin pona.
::[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14Mava1H8V8 "Summertime, and the livin's easy".]
== Punctuation ==
Commas are optional, and can be placed before or after the [[la]]. [[ku]] calls this a "stylistic choice". In this article, commas are omitted.
== External resources ==
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