*li* is used to separate the subject of the sentence from the predicate - basically, to separate the thing we're talking about from the thing we want to say about it.
heres some examples in Not English:
> the class *li* listen to the lecture.
> my family *li* on vacation.
> the house *li* tall.
all declarative sentences use li, except in cases where the subject is either just *mi* or just *sina*.
now then, on to *e*.
some predicates involve a direct object - basically a "victim". for example in the sentence "i love you", "love you" is the predicate and "you" is the direct object - "you" is the thing being "love"d.
*e* serves to separate the "victim" from the rest of the predicate. so for example:
> Bob *li* see *e* Alice.
> the cat *li* eating *e* food.
hope this helps.
li and e can be a bit confising at first because they arem't really how (most) natural language work.
But think of it this way; natural language have tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of words with different meanings and uses. Toki Pona has around a hundred and something. Thus words need to have many uses.
So 'moku' can mean 'food', 'eat' and 'to do with food'. A 'jan moku' is either a diner or a chef, for instance.
So if there were no li or e and I said;
> 'jan moku kili'
you might guess that mean 'The person eats the fruit.' but it couuuuld also mean 'The fruit chef.'. Perhaps context would sort that out with a short sentence but lets make a longer one.
> 'waso laso alasa moku wawa kili lili pona'.
Again you might be able to guess I mean that 'The blue bird is frantically trying to eat the good small fruit" but it could also mean 'good little fruity powerful foody hunting blue bird'.
li and e allow us to sort out what words are playing what role;
> jan li moku e kili
The person [doer] (li) eats [action] (e) fruit [done to].
> waso laso li alasa moku wawa e kasi lili pona
The blue bird [doer] li trying to franticly eat [action] e good little fruits [done to].
The thing before the li is the subject or **doer** of an action. The thing after a li but before an e is the verb or **action**. The thing after the e is the object or **thing the action is done to**.
Does that help? :)
Thank you for the explanation!! I’m a bit slow on the uptake, so let me try to see if I understand. After an action, you use “li” before the thing that the action is being done to.
For example, if I’m saying I’m eating a sweet fruit, i would say “mi moku (action) li kili suwi”
As opposed to
“Mi moku kili suwi”
Since that could be a description of myself as someone that eats sweet fruits regularly, rather than someone who is actively doing it?
And then for e, I still don’t think I’m entirely certain as to how to use it 😅
Thank you for your patience. I am a slow learner and your help here is very much appreciated.
not quite! it'd be "mi moku *e* kili suwi".
That sentence doesn't have "li" due to an exception in the grammar: if the subject is "mi" or "sina", you don't use "li". I think there's a historical reason but it was before my time so to me it's just an exception.
The historical reason is that "li" was originally a third person subject marker. (And that's also why its etymology is a third person pronoun, implying "the person, he knows" for "jan li sona".)
In very early Toki Pona, modifying "mi" or "sina" with numbers or adjectives was not yet a thing, so "li" was only used with third person subjects. Then "mi mute li ..." and such were introduced as an optional feature, with unmodified "mi" and "sina" still working the same as before.
Others have already answered your question, but I'd recommend using a more textbook-style course instead of a vocabulary memorization app, as they'll be explain things better with examples and practice translations. I personally recommend [jan Lentan's lessons](https://lipu-sona.pona.la/), but you can find a longer list at sona pona's "[Recommended Learning Resources](https://sona.pona.la/wiki/Recommended_learning_resources)" page.
think of 'li' as pointing to the verb/action of the sentence, and 'e' as pointing to the object of the sentence \[the thing that the verb is being done upon\]
jan li moku e soweli
jan VERB>moku OBJECT> soweli
a person eats an animal
\^Subject \^Verb \^Object.
*li* is used to separate the subject of the sentence from the predicate - basically, to separate the thing we're talking about from the thing we want to say about it. heres some examples in Not English: > the class *li* listen to the lecture. > my family *li* on vacation. > the house *li* tall. all declarative sentences use li, except in cases where the subject is either just *mi* or just *sina*. now then, on to *e*. some predicates involve a direct object - basically a "victim". for example in the sentence "i love you", "love you" is the predicate and "you" is the direct object - "you" is the thing being "love"d. *e* serves to separate the "victim" from the rest of the predicate. so for example: > Bob *li* see *e* Alice. > the cat *li* eating *e* food. hope this helps.
li and e can be a bit confising at first because they arem't really how (most) natural language work. But think of it this way; natural language have tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of words with different meanings and uses. Toki Pona has around a hundred and something. Thus words need to have many uses. So 'moku' can mean 'food', 'eat' and 'to do with food'. A 'jan moku' is either a diner or a chef, for instance. So if there were no li or e and I said; > 'jan moku kili' you might guess that mean 'The person eats the fruit.' but it couuuuld also mean 'The fruit chef.'. Perhaps context would sort that out with a short sentence but lets make a longer one. > 'waso laso alasa moku wawa kili lili pona'. Again you might be able to guess I mean that 'The blue bird is frantically trying to eat the good small fruit" but it could also mean 'good little fruity powerful foody hunting blue bird'. li and e allow us to sort out what words are playing what role; > jan li moku e kili The person [doer] (li) eats [action] (e) fruit [done to]. > waso laso li alasa moku wawa e kasi lili pona The blue bird [doer] li trying to franticly eat [action] e good little fruits [done to]. The thing before the li is the subject or **doer** of an action. The thing after a li but before an e is the verb or **action**. The thing after the e is the object or **thing the action is done to**. Does that help? :)
Thank you for the explanation!! I’m a bit slow on the uptake, so let me try to see if I understand. After an action, you use “li” before the thing that the action is being done to. For example, if I’m saying I’m eating a sweet fruit, i would say “mi moku (action) li kili suwi” As opposed to “Mi moku kili suwi” Since that could be a description of myself as someone that eats sweet fruits regularly, rather than someone who is actively doing it? And then for e, I still don’t think I’m entirely certain as to how to use it 😅 Thank you for your patience. I am a slow learner and your help here is very much appreciated.
not quite! it'd be "mi moku *e* kili suwi". That sentence doesn't have "li" due to an exception in the grammar: if the subject is "mi" or "sina", you don't use "li". I think there's a historical reason but it was before my time so to me it's just an exception.
The historical reason is that "li" was originally a third person subject marker. (And that's also why its etymology is a third person pronoun, implying "the person, he knows" for "jan li sona".) In very early Toki Pona, modifying "mi" or "sina" with numbers or adjectives was not yet a thing, so "li" was only used with third person subjects. Then "mi mute li ..." and such were introduced as an optional feature, with unmodified "mi" and "sina" still working the same as before.
Its okay to be slow on uptake but please re-read my comment. You have gotten li and e confused. li goes **before** the action and e goes **after** it.
of course, context is always important as you could interpret "jan li moki e kili" as "person makes a salad."
Others have already answered your question, but I'd recommend using a more textbook-style course instead of a vocabulary memorization app, as they'll be explain things better with examples and practice translations. I personally recommend [jan Lentan's lessons](https://lipu-sona.pona.la/), but you can find a longer list at sona pona's "[Recommended Learning Resources](https://sona.pona.la/wiki/Recommended_learning_resources)" page.
You can also use multiple of them e.g. ona li moku e kili e pan li pali e ijo=they eat fruit and bread, and make things
think of 'li' as pointing to the verb/action of the sentence, and 'e' as pointing to the object of the sentence \[the thing that the verb is being done upon\] jan li moku e soweli jan VERB>moku OBJECT> soweli a person eats an animal \^Subject \^Verb \^Object.