<p>The particle <code>la</code> in Toki Pona is used mainly for two scenarios.</p>
<p><strong>The first scenario</strong> is for the <code>If/when something, then that</code> condition. The <code>la</code> particle is placed in the second half of a sentence. Some examples:</p>
<ul>
<li>mi lape lili, la mi pilin ike (<em>If I sleep a little, then I feel bad</em>
or <em>When I sleep a little, I feel bad</em>)</li>
<li>sina moku e telo mute, la sina anpa e telo mute lon tenpo lili (<em>If
you drink much water/liquid, you are going to pee much in a short time</em>)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>The second scenario</strong> is for the context, like time, possibilities, or even non yes/no questions. The <code>la</code> particle is placed in the first half of a sentence. Some examples:</p>
<ul>
<li>tenpo pimeja ni la, mi lukin e lipu sin (<em>I am going to read the new book tonight</em>)</li>
<li>tenpo suno pini lili la, mi kute mute e kalama musi (<em>Yesterday I listened to much music</em>)</li>
<li>ken la, pilin pi meli lili li pilin ike (<em>Maybe the girl's sad</em> —literally, &quot;Maybe the heart of the girl feels bad&quot;)</li>
<li>tan seme la, kulupu pi jan lili sona li tawa ala tomo sona? (<em>Why are the scholars not going to the school?</em>)</li>
</ul>
<p>Hope this helps! </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-21T06:10:29.503Z
generally 'pee' is translated as 'pana e telo jelo'. "sina moku e telo mute, la sina pana e telo jelo pi mute lon tenpo lili"
jastako
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-19T23:42:27.820Z
2020-08-07T05:14:26.420Z
2020-08-07T05:14:26.420Z
KNTRO
<p>I was under the impression, until recently, the <code>la</code> in Toki Pona is a topic marker of sorts similar to the Japanese topic marker <code>wa</code> but used less frequently since Toki Pona is not topic-prominent.</p>
<p>In particular, I thought that <code>la</code></p>
<ol>
<li>Requires the noun phrase it marks to appear at the beginning of the clause.</li>
<li>Does not give the noun phrase it marks a particular semantic role.</li>
</ol>
<p>However, <a href="https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Toki_Pona/Grammatical_categories" rel="noreferrer">a section about it on Wikibooks</a> suggests that its usage is much more limited.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Time-Manner-Place Schema</em></p>
<p>Time comes first in a <em>la</em> fragment, manner is a modifier to the main verb, and place is always last in a <em>lon</em> prepositional phrase.</p>
<p><code>Time la S li V Manner lon Place</code></p>
</blockquote>
<p>What is <code>la</code> in Toki Pona? What are the limits on the noun phrases <code>la</code> can mark and the roles they can have in the clause?</p>

<toki-pona>
What things can `la` mark in Toki Pona?
# What things can `la` mark in Toki Pona?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-06-19)

I was under the impression, until recently, the `la` in Toki Pona is a topic marker of sorts similar to the Japanese topic marker `wa` but used less frequently since Toki Pona is not topic-prominent.

In particular, I thought that `la`

1. Requires the noun phrase it marks to appear at the beginning of the clause.
2. Does not give the noun phrase it marks a particular semantic role.

However, [a section about it on Wikibooks](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Toki_Pona/Grammatical_categories) suggests that its usage is much more limited.

> *Time-Manner-Place Schema*
>
> Time comes first in a *la* fragment, manner is a modifier to the main verb, and place is always last in a *lon* prepositional phrase.
>
> `Time la S li V Manner lon Place`

What is `la` in Toki Pona? What are the limits on the noun phrases `la` can mark and the roles they can have in the clause?

**Tags:** toki-pona

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-06-19. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

The particle `la` in Toki Pona is used mainly for two scenarios.

**The first scenario** is for the `If/when something, then that` condition. The `la` particle is placed in the second half of a sentence. Some examples:

* mi lape lili, la mi pilin ike (*If I sleep a little, then I feel bad*
  or *When I sleep a little, I feel bad*)
* sina moku e telo mute, la sina anpa e telo mute lon tenpo lili (*If
  you drink much water/liquid, you are going to pee much in a short time*)

**The second scenario** is for the context, like time, possibilities, or even non yes/no questions. The `la` particle is placed in the first half of a sentence. Some examples:

* tenpo pimeja ni la, mi lukin e lipu sin (*I am going to read the new book tonight*)
* tenpo suno pini lili la, mi kute mute e kalama musi (*Yesterday I listened to much music*)
* ken la, pilin pi meli lili li pilin ike (*Maybe the girl's sad* —literally, "Maybe the heart of the girl feels bad")
* tan seme la, kulupu pi jan lili sona li tawa ala tomo sona? (*Why are the scholars not going to the school?*)

Hope this helps!

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: generally 'pee' is translated as 'pana e telo jelo'. "sina moku e telo mute, la sina pana e telo jelo pi mute lon tenpo lili"  

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