6. Grammar Particles
In this chapter, we introduce the rest of Kokanu’s grammar particles — starting from the simplest and most common, and working our way up to the more complex and uncommon ones.
6.1 peko and la
peko
peko is a humble particle. Depending on context it can mean “please”, “hello”, “thank you”, or “sorry”. It can stand alone or appear at the end of a sentence.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| o tene in pata ki mi, peko | Could you give me the document please? |
New Words
- peko = please / hello / thank you / sorry
- tene = to give
- pata = document, book, paper
la
la is an emphasizing particle. Like peko, it doesn’t change literal meaning, but adds emphasis. It can appear in different positions in the sentence.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning (emphasis shifts) |
|---|---|
| pawo le makan in kuwosi pi insu | the dog ate the fruit at the building |
| pawo la le makan in kuwosi pi insu | same meaning, emphasized subject |
| pawo le makan la in kuwosi pi insu | emphasis on verb |
| pawo le makan in kuwosi la pi insu | emphasis on object |
| pawo le makan in kuwosi pi insu la | emphasis at sentence end |
It also works inside ka-questions:
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ka tu le makan in kuwosi mi hon ta mi le lipan? | Did you eat my fruit when I was away? |
| ka tu la le makan in kuwosi mi hon ta mi le lipan? | same, with emphasis |
| ka tu le makan la in kuwosi mi hon ta mi le lipan? | same, emphasis on verb |
| ka tu le makan in kuwosi la mi hon ta mi le lipan? | same, emphasis on object |
| ka tu le makan in kuwosi mi ka hon ta mi le lipan? | same, emphasis around clause boundary |
| ka tu le makan in kuwosi mi hon ta mi la le lipan? | same, emphasis on subordinate clause |
| ka tu le makan in kuwosi mi hon ta mi le lipan la? | same, emphasis at sentence end |
New Words
- insu = building
- lipan = absent, away
- kuwosi = fruit
6.2 no
no negates the particle before it.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| men mi le no makan in kuwosi tu | I did not eat your fruit |
Like la, no can be placed in different spots, with nuanced changes in meaning:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| men no mi le makan in kuwosi tu | I did not eat your fruit (but maybe someone else did) |
| mi le no makan in kuwosi tu | I did not eat your fruit (but maybe I did something else with it) |
no can also negate a te-clause:
- mi le suki te no makan → “I like not to eat.”
New Words
- no = negation
6.3 je
je marks the genitive (“of”) and is also used for regrouping.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| makan je pawo | the dog’s food |
| sapole je makan | the taste of the food |
| makan je pawo cenpo | the big dog’s food |
| makan pawo cenpo | big dog food |
New Words
- sapole = taste
- cenpo = big
6.4 lun
lun only comes before intransitive verbs.
Formula:
lun [intransitive verb] in [x] → “to make [x] [verb]” / “to cause [x] to [verb]”
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| tu le lun lo in mi | you move me / you cause me to move |
| nin le lun pansin in kumi | a person makes the plastic rectangular |
New Words
- lo = moving
- nin = person
- pansin = rectangle / rectangular
- kumi = plastic
Warning
All base verbs in Kokanu are transitive. Therefore, lun cannot be applied directly to base verbs, only to verbs derived from other word types.
To express causation with transitive verbs, use:
le pon ta ja le [verb] → “to cause that they do [verb].”
6.5 mu and pan
Both mu and pan turn verbs into nouns referring to agents:
- mu = “one who does [verb]”
- pan = “one who causes [verb]”
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mu kosan | builder (one who builds) |
| mu makan | someone who eats |
| pan pasan | causer of happiness |
| pan osole | something scary (causer of fear) |
New Words
- kosan = to build
- pasan = happy
- osole = afraid
6.6 mese, menu, and so
so
so is used for comparisons. It puts two things in contrast or similarity.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mi le kanisa sone so tu | I think differently than you |
| mi le teka in sin saman so tu | I see the same thing as you |
New Words
- sone = different
- kanisa = to think
- teka = to see
- sin saman = same thing
6.6 mese, menu, and so
so
so is used for comparisons. It puts two things in contrast or shows similarity.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mi le kanisa sone so tu | I think differently than you |
| mi le teka in sin saman so tu | I see the same thing as you |
::: tip New Words
- sone = different
- kanisa = to think
- teka = to see
- sin saman = same thing :::
mese and menu
mese generally means "more", menu means "less".
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mi le moku mese | I eat more |
| tu le teka menu | You see less |
Without context, however, those sentences are quite ambiguous. You could see less than someone else, less than before, or simply less than you want to. To specify this, you use so.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| tu le teka menu so mi | You see less than me |
| tu le teka menu so matin | You see less than before |
| tu le teka menu so ta tu le ju te teka | You see less than you want to |
To directly compare two things, the second one goes between mese/menu and so.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mi le makan in menu niku so kuwosi | I eat less meat than fruit |
| ja ne ju mese te kela so te antomi | He wants to play rather than sleep |
6.7 wi
We have already learned how word derivations work and how, for example, to use nouns as verbs. But we do not yet have full control over derivations. We cannot say "I'm visible" directly. mi le teka would mean "I see". To express "I am visible", we need to first force teka to be a modifier and then use that modifier as a verb. This is done with wi. wi takes the next word or phrase and converts it into a modifier. It is then interpreted just like a base modifier.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mi le wi teka | I am visible |
| ne nin le wi konpute la | That person is computer-like! / That person is like a computer! |
::: tip New Words
- konpute = computer :::
With a modifier, wi is generally redundant. However, as a particle, it can be negated with no.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mi le makan in makan wi no pikante | I ate non-spicy food |
The same applies to words that are modifiers by position:
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mi le makan in kuwosi wi no makan | I ate an inedible fruit |
6.8 wen
wen has two functions:
- Like wi, it can convert the word after it into a noun.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ne le wen makan | This is food |
- When it comes after a noun, it means "that is...".
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mi le suki in nin wen nin suki mi | I like the people that are my likable people / I like my friends |
| lipu wen kisa je canwa le cenpo | The book that is the animal’s story is long |
6.9 wa
wa is used to reorganize modifiers. It collapses the noun phrase before it, forces the word after it to be a modifier, and makes it apply to the entire preceding noun phrase.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| canwa je picijo cenpo | animals with big feet |
| canwa je picijo wa cenpo | big animals with feet / big animals that have feet |
ta/te phrases can also come after wa.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| canwa je picijo te lo | animals with moving feet |
| canwa je picijo wa te lo | animals with feet that move |
6.10 se
se is a base modifier meaning "existent". However, its verb form can act as an auxiliary verb, just like "to be" in English.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mi le se pi niwa mi | I am at home |
| ne le se po tu | This is for you |
In these cases, se doesn’t really carry meaning—it simply completes the sentence by providing the necessary main verb. For this reason, it can be dropped.
Examples:
| Kokanu phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pawo le ki mi | The dog moves towards me |
| le nenka neje | It’s because of the horse |
::: warning A dropped se does not change the meaning of a sentence. Theoretically, se is always there; it is simply not pronounced. This is called an implicit se. :::