13 · ma
Part III is about people together, and it begins with the smallest sentence-changer in the language: ma, not. It stands where the time particles stand (touching the verb, after them if both appear) and it turns any sentence you own into its shadow. A quiet morning of things not happening:
I
pheralu ma lepa.
howeli ma shua.
lo neparu ma shua.
waero welao nai.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| ma | ma | (before the verb: not) |
No rain falls, no wind comes, no clouds come, and the sky, said without ma, is good. Negation in Phi is not gloom; half the time it is how you notice a fine day.
II
melu ha ma nai.
ne sulae ha ma nai. A person's name, wearing a little word; chapter sixteen explains both.
lopia lue ponu nila.
ruela maeli nai.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| ruela | ru · e · la | path |
The friend is not here. The child looks out from the door; the path is quiet. Absence is a thing Phi can say plainly (is-here, not) without drama.
III
sulopa mua tomi ma nai.
mawha nuora mua wonepa nai.
lopia phao nila.
phao sulopa pa pilewa.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| mawha | ma · wha | no, none (before a noun) |
No soup in the pot; no food at all on the table: mawha before a noun empties it the way lo fills it. The child looks at the parent. The parent, who can read a look, begins the soup.
IV
misheko ma thalo.
misheko ma wile.
misheko ma wishe.
misheko ma meliho.
misheko nulae.
A complete portrait of the cat, in negatives: does not walk, does not play, does not swim, most certainly does not sing. The last line needs no ma at all, and never has.
Not is yours now, and notice what it did not cost: no new sentence shape, no special verbs, just one particle, standing in the place you already watch. Read the cat's portrait once more; it is the chapter's whole grammar, five times.
The machinery, when you want it: negation ma is the manual's Part IV, chapter 15.