Re: EXERCISE: Meanings of to be

Jake X sekalge:
>1. forming predicate nominative: He IS happy
>2. equivalence: Today is Wednesday.
>3. existance: To be, or not to be.
>4. English use, for creating verb forms: He is walking.
>5. Numerical equivalence: One plus one is two.
>Do you differenciate?
Yes. (Sturnan) The first two use esei, "to be". The third uses aresei "to
exist", which is a modern version of the old intransitive form of esei.
For the fourth, I have a continuative particle er. For the fifth, I'd use
the inchoative copula pedasei ("to become")*. This use of the verb is, I
think, both accurate and innovative (or at least, I haven't heard of it
being done, though that may mean that a thousand languages do it).

Christian, you seem to be oddly similar to me. At least, Obrenje does
many things as Sturnan does. Why is that? Perhaps I should kill you in
the interests of being original. :)) *winces at Jake's "Obranje"*

*I had a really wonderful and neat idea one day. I'd have the inchoative
in Sturnan, but it wouldn't be a normal aspect. Instead, it would be a
verb. I realized later that it was a feature of my L1, English. Argh.

Laimes,
Wright.

-----
I don't speak. I operate a machine called language. It creaks and groans,
but it is indeed mine.
Nai vekwen. Thiruven taktes omelge kerov. Vot batanan ak ankolan, bid
asag ren ike.

-Bijaz, in "Dune Messiah" by Frank Herbert.