And, or, but, because
Three words join things, and they work at any size — between two words, two phrases, or two whole sentences. None of them changes the grammar of what it joins.
| Word | Sense |
|---|---|
| kum | and |
| sive | or |
| sets | but |
| Pikotika | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Rikus sive wo, ker? | Cold or warm? |
| Nino kum eko ri komivori. | The child and I are hungry. |
| Si, sets kampaire ri mas veros. | Yes, but walking is faster. |
| Yantar, eko vemapari ri veni, sets eko viropari ri non veni. | Tomorrow my mother is coming, but my father isn't. |
sets may open a sentence, picking up from the one before, exactly as English But… does.
But come at seven, and we can eat first.
Sets pam veni in 7 ora, kum ekomen ri kan yer komi.kum is also the preposition ‘with’ — see Prepositional phrases.
Giving a reason
rason is the noun ‘reason’, and it also opens a clause to mean ‘because’. tisrason (this-reason) is ‘therefore’.
| Word | Heads | So the sentence runs |
|---|---|---|
| rason | the cause | result, rason cause |
| tisrason | the consequence | cause, tisrason result |
An explanation can therefore run in either direction, and the word you pick tells the listener which half is coming.
Good, because last time my ears hurt for two days.
Pona, rason in yer tempo eko otiparte ri marasenti in 2 yan turan.tisrason is also what closes a condition — see Conditions and counterfactuals. And kerrason (what-reason) is ‘why’.
Why do I have to tell them?
Eko ri neses tika ver nontisomo, kerrason?Try it yourself
- 20 moni por wun, sive 100 moni por 6.
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‘Twenty each, or a hundred for six.’
- Tis ri rason.
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‘That explains it’ — literally, ‘This is the reason.’
- Translate ‘I'm tired, therefore I'm going home’ as a because
sentence.
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Eko ri ire ver kase, rason eko ri kansa.