mi li and sina li: Difference between revisions
→Why no {{tp|li}}?
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Learners sometimes wonder why {{tp|li}} gets added for everything else, but not for {{tp|mi}} and {{tp|sina}}. Because the underlying confusion, or curiosity, can have different causes, there are many possible answers.
* Because this is how the language works, and how it has worked from the very beginning. After decades, only a minority of speakers use {{tp|li}} differently, if any.
* The particle {{tp|li}} introduces a verb to a subject more complicated than only {{tp|mi}} or only {{tp|sina}}. It's commonly said that {{tp|li}} is "omitted" after {{tp|mi}} or {{tp|sina}}, or that there is a "hidden" {{tp|li}}. This could mean that Toki Pona likes to concentrate on {{tp|mi}} and {{tp|sina}} being more ''immediate'' subjects. They hold such importance in the language that anything else is more complex or more external to an immediate experience so that it needs an extra separation by a particle.
* Etymologically, {{tp|li}} is a ''third-person marker''. It is derived from the {{w|Esperanto}} third-person singular pronoun "li"<ref>[//archive.ph/i4Psx Word Origins]. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. ''Toki Pona''.</ref> and works similar to {{w|Tok Pisin}}'s particle {{lang|tpi|i}}, which introduces the verb except when the subject is the singular first or second person pronoun{{#tag:ref|{{lang|tpi|i}} does get used for any noun, for plural (and dual and trial) pronouns, and for the singular third person pronoun. There is variety in how {{lang|tpi|i}} gets used in Tok Pisin in actual speech, with some often dropping it completely and others often using it even with singular first and second pronouns. Some verb classes, use of the particle {{lang|tpi|na}}, introduction of a second predicate, some suffixes, and more can be additional factors.<ref>[https://c-cluster-110.uploads.documents.cimpress.io/v1/uploads/6287ad77-7996-4cbc-8514-3a4fcabfbd29~110/original?tenant=vbu-digital The particles i & na in Tok Pisin – K.J. Franklin], [https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/lingua/article/download/5419/5049/ Grammaticalization in Tok Pisin - Cindy Tung], [https://benjamins.com/catalog/jpcl.6.2.04ver The Function of I in Tok Pisin - John W.M. Verhaar]</ref>|group="note"}}
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==When to add {{tp|li}} anyway==
The relationship {{tp|li}} has to {{tp|mi}} and {{tp|sina}} often gets shortened to "no {{tp|li}} after {{tp|mi}} or {{tp|sina}}" - but taking this abbreviated explanation at face-value can lead to confusion in some cases where the word {{tp|li}} followls {{tp|mi}} and {{tp|sina}}:
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