13. Pro-sumti summary

The Lojban pro-sumti are the cmavo of selma'o KOhA. They fall into several classes: personal, definable, quantificational, reflexive, back-counting, indefinite, demonstrative, metalinguistic, relative, question. More details are given in Chapter 7; this section mostly duplicates information found there, but adds material on the implicit quantifier of each pro-sumti.

The following examples illustrate each of the classes. Unless otherwise noted below, the implicit quantification for pro-sumti is ``ro'' (all). In the case of pro-sumti which refer to other sumti, the ``ro'' signifies ``all of those referred to by the other sumti'': thus it is possible to restrict, but not to extend, the quantification of the other sumti.

Personal pro-sumti (``mi'', ``do'', ``mi'o'', ``mi'a'', ``ma'a'', ``do'o'', ``ko'') refer to the speaker or the listener or both, with or without third parties:

13.1)
    mi prami do
    I love you.

Definable pro-sumti (``ko'a'', ``ko'e'', ``ko'i'', ``ko'o'', ``ko'u'', ``fo'a'', ``fo'e'', ``fo'i'', ``fo'o'', ``fo'u'') refer to whatever the speaker has explicitly made them refer to. This reference is accomplished with ``goi'' (of selma'o GOI), which means ``defined-as''.

13.2)
    le cribe goi ko'a cu xekri















 
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        .i ko'a citka le smacu
 

    The bear defined-as it-1 is-black.


        It-1 eats the mouse.

13.3)


    ro da poi prenu


        cu prami pa de poi finpe


    All somethings-1 which-are persons


        love one something-2 which-is a-fish.


    All persons love a fish (each his/her own).

Reflexive pro-sumti (``vo'a'', ``vo'e'', ``vo'i'', ``vo'o'',
``vo'u'') refer to the same referents as sumti filling other
places in the same bridi, with the effect that the same thing
is referred to twice:

13.4)


    le cribe cu batci vo'a


    The bear bites what-is-in-the-x1-place.


    The bear bites itself.

13.5)


    mi klama la frankfurt. ri


    I go to-Frankfurt from-the-referent-of-the-last-sumti


    I go from Frankfurt to Frankfurt (by some unstated route).

13.6)


    mi klama la frankfurt. zo'e zo'e zo'e


    I go to-Frankfurt from-unspecified via-unspecified


        by-means-unspecified.

Demonstrative pro-sumti (``ti'', ``ta'', ``tu'') refer to
things pointed at by the speaker, or when pointing is not
possible, to things near or far from the speaker:

13.7)


    ko muvgau ti ta tu


    you [imperative] move this-thing from-that-nearby-place


        to-that-further-away-place


    Move this from there to over there!

13.8)


    li re su'i re du li vo






 
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        .i la'e di'u jetnu
 

    The-number two plus two equals the-number four.


        The-referent-of the-previous-utterance is-true.

The relative pro-sumti (``ke'a'') is used within relative
clauses (see Chapter 8 for a
discussion of relative clauses) to refer to whatever sumti the
relative clause is attached to.

13.9)


    mi viska le mlatu ku


        poi zo'e zbasu ke'a


        loi slasi


    I see the cat(s)


        such-that something-unspecified makes it/them (the cats)


        from-a-mass-of plastic.


    I see the cat(s) made of plastic.

13.10)  do klama ma


    You go to-what-sumti?


    Where are you going?

In addition, sequences of lerfu words (of selma'o BY and
related selma'o) can also be used as definable pro-sumti.