The International Auxiliary Language Esperanto Part 21

_Oni diras, "Per mono oni povas aceti cion"_ = They (people) say (it is said), "With money one (_or_, we) can buy everything. _Mi vidis la domon, sed gi estis tro malgranda_ = I saw the house, but it was too small. _Se oni estus rica_, or _ricaj_ = If one were rich.

(_a_).--In words like infano = _child_, persono = _person_, individuo = _individual_, etc., the s.e.x is not revealed; neither is it in the general name of an animal, as:--leono = _a lion_, hundo = _a dog_, birdo = _a bird_, etc., unless we add the feminine suffix -ino. In all such cases, when we do not know the s.e.x, we use the p.r.o.noun gi. If, however, the s.e.x is known, and we wish to demonstrate it, we can use the p.r.o.nouns li or si respectively.

Zamenhof advises the use of li and si for human beings only, and of gi for all other animals, even when the s.e.x of the animal is known and indicated; the use of li or si in such cases is nevertheless legitimate if desired.

Examples.--_La infano forkuris, kiam mi parolis al gi_ (or _li_ if we know the s.e.x) = The child ran away when I spoke to it. _Tio estas bela cevalino, gi_ (or, _si_) _trotas bone_ = That is a fine mare, she trots well. _Se iu vizitos min dum mi forestas, diru al gi, ke gi revenu morgau_ = If anyone (someone) should call upon (visit) me whilst I am away, tell him or her (it) to come again to-morrow.[15]

Footnote:

[15] This use of _gi_ for a person is not recommended, and _li_ (or _tiu_) would be better in a case where there is doubt as to the s.e.x.

127. The word mem = _self_ or _selves_ is sometimes used with a personal p.r.o.noun or noun to give emphasis.

Examples.--_Mi mem gin vidis_ = I myself saw it. _Ni mem gin trovis_, or, _Ni gin trovis mem_ = We found it ourselves. _Vi venu mem_ = Come yourself. _Si mem parolos_ = She herself will speak. _Li mem respondu_ = Let him answer (for) himself. _La virinoj venu mem_ = Let the women come themselves.

128. Si is a reflexive p.r.o.noun of the 3rd person, and therefore cannot refer to the p.r.o.nouns of the 1st and 2nd persons.[16] We cannot say _Mi lavas sin_, or _Ni_, or _Vi lavas sin_, for "I wash myself," "We wash ourselves," "You wash yourself." We must, in each of these cases, use the p.r.o.noun which is the subject of the verb, as:--Mi lavas min--Ni lavas nin--_Vi lavas vin_ = _I wash myself_--_We wash ourselves_--_You wash yourself_ (or if vi = _you_ is plural), _You wash yourselves_. Si, therefore, is used for the 3rd person, singular or plural, when it refers to the _subject_ of the verb. It takes the accusative termination _N_ when necessary, and then represents "_himself_, _herself_, _itself_, _oneself_, _themselves_."

Examples.--_Li razis sin_ = He shaved himself. _Petro razis sin_ = Peter shaved himself (_Petro razis lin_ would mean Peter shaved _him_, viz., some other man referred to in the sentence). _Si diris al si_ = She said to herself (_Si diris al si_ would mean "She said to her," viz., some other woman). _Gi vundis sin_ = It wounded itself (_Gi vundis gin_ would mean "It wounded it," viz., some other animal). _Ili mortigis sin_ = They killed themselves. _Li pensis en si mem, ke ..._ = He thought to (in) himself that ... _La du fratoj renkontas la rabistojn: la fratoj atakas kaj vundas ilin, sed, tiel farante, ili vundas sin_ (or, _sin mem_) = The two brothers meet the robbers: the brothers attack and wound them, but, in so doing, they wound themselves. _Mia fratino havas amikinon, kiu faras cion por si, kaj nenion por si_ = My sister has a friend, who does everything for herself, and nothing for her. _Oni kelkfoje tro laudas sin_ = One (_or_ people) sometimes praises oneself (_or_ praise themselves) too much (see conjugation of a reflexive verb, par. 170).

Footnote:

[16] The reason for the use of si is the avoidance of ambiguity.

Si is not used with the 1st and 2nd persons, because there is no possibility of ambiguity in these cases.

129. The p.r.o.noun "it" is not expressed with impersonal verbs (see par. 164).

Examples.--_Kiu estas tie? Estas mi_ = Who is there? It is I.

_Negas_ = It snows. _Pluvis_ = It rained. _Necesas, ke oni mangu_ = It is necessary to eat.

Possessive p.r.o.nouns (_p.r.o.nomoj posedaj_).

130. Possessive p.r.o.nouns are formed by adding the adjectival _A_ to the personal p.r.o.nouns. They are essentially adjectives, and follow the adjectival rules as to the formation of the plural and the accusative.

131. They are mia = _my_, _mine_, via = _your_, _yours_, _thy_, _thine_ (cia = _thy_, _thine_, like its personal p.r.o.noun, ci, is rarely used), lia = _his_, sia = _her_, _hers_, gia = _its_, nia = _our_, _ours_, ilia = _their_, _theirs_, sia = _his_ (_own_), _her_ (_own_), _hers_, _its_ (_own_), _their_ (_own_), _theirs_, _one's_ (_own_).

Examples.--_Mia patro, via frato, lia fratino, sia onklo, kaj iliaj onklinoj, estas en la domo_ = My father, your brother, his sister, her uncle, and their aunts are in the house. _Mi vidis vian libron, lian bastonon, sian ombrelon, kaj ilian keston en la stacidomo_ = I saw your book, his stick, her umbrella, and their box in the station.

_Mi havas viajn librojn_ = I have your books. _Gia koloro estas ruga_ = Its colour is red. _Mia fratino renkontis vian fraton kaj viajn amikojn_ = My sister met your brother and your friends.

132. When a possessive p.r.o.noun stands alone, as in sentences like the following, it may or may not be preceded by the article la, at the writer's option, but many authors prefer to omit the article on the ground that it is superfluous.

Examples.--_Car ni ciuj havas_ (or, _car ciu el ni havas_) _unu vortaron, prenu (la) vian kaj lasu (la) mian_ = Since we have each a dictionary, take yours and leave mine. _Siaj infanoj estas pli grandaj, ol (la) viaj_ = Her children are bigger than yours.

Note in the first example that _ciuj_ is in the plural because it is in apposition to _ni_ (see par. 69 (_c_)).

133. Mia is sometimes placed after a noun to denote affection.

Examples.--_Patrino mia_ = Mother mine, or Mother dear. _Fratino mia_ = Sister dear.

134. When a possessive p.r.o.noun refers to two or more nouns, it may, as in English, be repeated or not, but if it is not repeated the possessive p.r.o.noun is usually put in the plural.

Example.--_Lia patro, lia patrino, kaj lia fratino_, or, _liaj patro, patrino, kaj fratino, estis en la domo_ = His father, his mother, and his sister were in the house.

134 (_a_). Personal p.r.o.nouns, preceded by the preposition al, are sometimes used in a possessive sense.

Examples.--_Mi kovris al mi la orelojn_ = I covered my (to myself the) ears. _Li fermis al si la okulojn_ = He closed his (to himself the) eyes (see also par. 100).

135. Sia, Lia, etc.--Great care must be taken not to use sia, when the sense requires one of the other possessives of the 3rd person, or _vice versa_. Sia can _only_ refer to the _subject_ of the sentence or proposition in which it occurs, and _being reflexive_, it can never form _part_ of the _subject_ of a sentence, as:--_Li diris al ni, ke_ lia (not, sia) _hundo jus mortis_ = He told us that his dog had just died. Like its root si, it is used for the 3rd person, singular or plural, and may represent "his (own), her (own), hers, its (own), their (own), theirs, or one's (own)."

Since sia, being reflexive, can never form _part_ of the _subject_ of a sentence, we cannot say _Li_ kaj sia _edzino iris Parizon_, because _li_ and _edzino_ are equally subjects of the _same_ clause.

But if we subst.i.tute kun for kaj, then li becomes the _sole_ subject, and we can correctly say, _Li_ kun sia _edzino iris Parizon_, or, _Li iris Parizon_ kun sia _edzino_ = He went to Paris _with_ his wife. If we use kaj we must say, _Li_ kaj lia _edzino iris Parizon_ = He _and_ his wife went to Paris.

136. In the four following examples sia _refers to the subject_ of the sentence:--

_Mia patrino forgesis sian libron_ = My mother forgot (_or_, has forgotten) her book. _Tiuj infanoj perdis siajn gepatrojn_ = Those children have lost their parents. _La hundo amas sian mastron_ = The dog loves its master. _Oni devas ami sian najbaron, kiel sin mem_ = One must love one's neighbour as oneself. N.B.--_Sin_ is here in the accusative owing to ellipsis, the words _oni amas_ after _kiel_ being understood (see par. 105).

137. In the following three sentences the possessive p.r.o.noun _does not refer to the subject_ of the sentence, and therefore we use lia, sia, gia, or ilia, as the case may be:--

_Li vidis mian amikon kaj lian edzinon_ = He saw my friend and his (his friend's) wife. _Si venis al mi hierau, por ke mi redonu siajn leterojn al si_ = She came to me yesterday in order that I might return her letters to her. _La rego amas Johanon kaj lian filon_ = The king loves John and his son.

N.B.--Here the English does not show whether it is John's son or his own son whom the king loves, but in Esperanto it is clear it is John's son, otherwise it would be _sian filon_; _lian filon_ is in the accusative here, because the conjunction _kaj_ connects like cases (see par. 266).

(_a_). Note in the following examples how the possessive varies in accordance with the construction of the sentence.

_El ciuj siaj amikinoj, si plej amas Marion_ = Of all her friends (female), she loves Mary best. (Here _siaj_ refers to _si_).

_El ciuj siaj amikinoj, Mario estas le plej amata_ = Of all her friends, Mary is the most loved. (Here _siaj_ refers to some woman not mentioned.)

_Leginte sian libron, li ekdormis_ = After reading (having read) his book, he fell asleep. (Here _sian_ refers to _li_, understood in _leginte_ = When _he_ had read his book, _he_ ...). _Leginte lian libron, li ekdormis_ = After reading his book, he fell asleep. (Here _lian_ refers to some man not mentioned, who might have lent him the book.)

_Johano, legante sian libron, venkigis de dormo_ = John, while reading his book, was (became) overcome by sleep.

138. The following are sentences more complicated, showing the advantage of Esperanto over English, or indeed over most national languages, in respect of its great clearness of expression:--

_Petro skribis al Paulo, ke li konduku al li sian hundon_ = Peter wrote to Paul to bring him his dog (_sian_ refers to Paul because _li_ = he (Paul) becomes the subject, and _sia_ always, as we have said, refers to the subject of its own particular clause; if, therefore, _lian_ had been the possessive, it would have been Peter's dog.)

_Post kiam la rego mortis, lia filo edzigis kun sia/lia kuzino_ = After the king died, his son married his cousin. Here _sia_ would refer to _filo_, the son's cousin, but _lia_ to _rego_, the king's cousin.

_Mia patrino petis sian filinon, ke si donu al sia/sia fratino sian/sian libron._ This sentence in English, whichever of the possessives be used, would be "My mother requested her daughter to give (that she give) to her sister her book." Now the mother is the first subject in this sentence, therefore _sian filinon_ is the mother's daughter (_sian_ would mean someone else's daughter). But afterwards _si_ (the daughter) becomes the subject, therefore _sia fratino_ would be the daughter's sister, and _sia fratino_ the mother's. For the remainder of the sentence _si_ (the daughter) still remains the subject, therefore _sian libron_ would be the daughter's book, and _sian libron_ the sister's or the mother's book. _Ties libron_ would definitely specify it as the sister's book.

138 (_a_). From the examples given in paragraphs 128, 135, 136, and 138, we see that the reflexive p.r.o.noun si and the possessive sia always refer to the _subject_ (noun or p.r.o.noun) of _their own_ clause.

(_b_). Si and sia are likewise used when the noun or p.r.o.noun to which they refer is not expressed, but only understood.

Example.--_Tio estas nova metodo brosi sian_ (or, _la_) _capelon!_ = That is a new method of brushing one's hat!

(_c_). Phrases introduced by an infinitive or a participle may be regarded as new sentences, the subject of which is mentally supplied: i.e., the infinitive or the participle may be expanded to make the full sentence implied.