PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS AN OLD VERSION. The current version is linked from The Complete Lojban Language.
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Abstraction focus pro-sumti: ``ce'u''

10. Relativized pro-sumti: ``ke'a''

The following cmavo are discussed in this section:

   ke'a    KOhA            relativized sumti
This pro-sumti is used in relative clauses (explained in Chapter 8) to indicate how the sumti being relativized fits within the clause. For example: 

10.1)    mi catlu lo mlatu
        poi [zo'e] zbasu
            ke'a
            lei slasi
    I see a cat such-that
        something-unspecified makes
            the-thing-being-relativized [the cat]
            from-some-mass-of plastic.
    I see a cat made of plastic.
If ``ke'a'' were omitted from Example 10.1, it might be confused with: 
10.2)    mi catlu lo mlatu poi [ke'a]
        zbasu lei slasi
    I see a cat such-that the-thing-being-relativized
        [the cat] makes a-mass-of plastic
    I see a cat that makes plastic.
The anaphora cmavo ``ri'' cannot be used in place of ``ke'a'' in Example 10.1 and Example 10.2, because the relativized sumti is not yet complete when the ``ke'a'' appears.

Note that ``ke'a'' is used only with relative clauses, and not with other embedded bridi such as abstract descriptions. In the case of relative clauses within relative clauses, ``ke'a'' may be subscripted to make the difference clear (see Chapter 8).

Previous
sumti and bridi questions: ``ma'' and ``mo'' 		Brevity Is The Soul Of Language: Pro-sumti And Pro-bridi
The Lojban Reference Grammar 		Next
Abstraction focus pro-sumti: ``ce'u''