9 · luphore
Tense says when; this chapter begins aspect, which says how the doing sits in its time. si marks a doing as ongoing: still unfolding as you speak. It stands where to and so stand, touching the verb. One afternoon, held open in the middle:
I
phao si selomi.
wheo mua thepalu si thalo.
lopia mua luphore si wile.
lohau mua luphore si wishe.
misheko si nulae.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| si | si | (before the verb: still happening) |
| selomi | se · lo · mi | weave |
| luphore | lu · pho · re | river |
| wile | wi · le | play |
| wishe | wi · she | swim |
The parent is weaving, the elder is walking, the child is playing, the dog is swimming: five lives mid-motion at once, which is what si is for. The fifth line you could have written yourself.
II
lo shalu mua luphore si wishe.
lohau lo shalu si nila.
lo shalu lohau si nila.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| shalu | sha · lu | fish |
The fish are swimming; the dog is watching the fish; the fish are watching the dog. Chapter two's mirrored pair, grown up and set mid-stream: order still tells you who is looking, and si holds everyone exactly where they are, regarding one another across the water.
III
lopia: wa thia si selomi.
phao: lia. mia si selomi.
lopia: lohau si wishe.
phao: wa misheko si wile.
lopia: tua. misheko si nulae.
Are you weaving? Still weaving. The parent asks after the cat with what can only be called hope. The child reports the facts.
IV
sorae lepa.
lo pelori shua.
lopia lue luphore shua.
lohau lue luphore shua.
The chapter's one metaphor, and it is an old and honest one: the sun falls. Evening; the birds come home, and so does everyone else (wet, in one case, and entirely satisfied about it).
Say si and hold the sentence open a moment before the verb: the particle sounds like what it does. Meanwhile is yours.
The machinery, when you want it: aspect begins in the manual's Part IV, chapter 14, section 4.