The International Auxiliary Language Esperanto Part 34

N.B.--Do not use _devi_ for "were to," when no obligation is implied.

Note the difference in meaning in the following sentences:--_Se ili venus, mi vidus ilin_ = If (supposing) they were to come (if they came), I would see them. _Ili devis veni la lastan semajnon, sed io malhelpis ilin_ = They were to (have) come last week, but something prevented them.

Also do not use _devi_ for "am to," "was to," etc., when these words express not "obligation," but "_purpose_" or "_intention_." For instance, "Are you to speak at the meeting?" may mean either (1) "Do you intend to (Shall you) speak?" or, (2) "Have you to (Must you) speak?" So we translate (1) _Cu vi intencas paroli (Cu vi parolos) ce la kunveno?_ or, (2) _Cu vi devos paroli ce la kunveno?_ In such a phrase as "You are to do that" the obligation is clear, so we say _Vi devas tion fari._

Further, do not use devi in translating such a sentence as "The man must be a fool," which is _La viro sendube estas malsagulo,_ not, _devas esti ..._

Kusi.

237 (_b_). Kusi = _to lie, to be situated_, is sometimes used to denote anything in a state of rest, or in a rec.u.mbent position. It has, therefore, also the meaning of "to be."

Examples.--_La krajono kusas sur la libro_ = The pencil lies (is) on the book. _La libroj kusas sur la breto_ = The books are (lie) on the shelf.

Koni and Scii.

237 (_c_). Koni and scii are used in the same sense as the French verbs _connaitre_ and _savoir_.

Koni means _to know_, _to be acquainted with_, _to know a person_, or, _thing_.

Examples.--_Mi konas vian fraton_ = I know your brother. _Li konas la hundon, sed li ne konas gian posedanton_ = He knows the dog, but he does not know its owner.

N.B.--It is never followed by the conjunction _KE_; _Mi konas, ke_, is wrong. _Mi scias, ke vi_ ... = I know that you ...

Scii means _to know_, _to be aware of_, _to know something is_ or _was happening_, etc.

N.B.--It is never used of persons.

Examples.--_Mi scias, ke li estas prava_ = I know that he is right.

_Mi sciis, ke li estis tie hierau_ = I knew he was there yesterday.

_Mi ne sciis, ke vi konas lin_ = I did not know that you knew him.

_Mi konas la francan lingvon, sed mi ne scias gin_ = I know (recognize) the French language (when I see it), but I do not know it.

Lasi.

237 (_d_). Lasi, like the English verb "to leave," has various meanings.

(1). To let remain, as:--_Li lasis la libron sur la tablo_ = He left the book on the table.

(2). To leave in a place, not to take with one, as:--_Li lasis sian edzinon en la domo_ = He left his wife in the house. _Lasu vian bastonon tie ci_ = Leave your stick here.

(3). To lose restraint upon something, as:--_Li lasis fali la libron_ = He let the book fall.

(4). To leave in a certain state, as:--_Li lasis min en la plej granda embaraso_ = He left me in the greatest embarra.s.sment. _Li lasis la domon tre malpura_ = He left the house very dirty.

(5). To leave to the care of someone, as:--_La jugisto lasis la infanojn al la patro_ = The judge left the children to the father.

(6). To have remaining at death, to leave behind one, as:--_Kiam li mortis, li lasis_ (or, _postlasis_) _grandan ricajon, kiun li testamentis al diversaj bonfaraj inst.i.tucioj_ = When he died, he left great wealth, which he left to various charitable inst.i.tutions (note that to "leave," "bequeath," is _testamenti_).

(7). _Lasi_, followed by the preposition _en_, means to "leave in,"

or to "let into," according as the complement is in the nominative or accusative, e.g.:--_Mi lasis la hundon en la domo_ = I left the dog in the house. _Mi lasis la hundon en la domon_ = I let the dog into the house.

(8). In the "Krestomatio," page 25, it is used in the sense to "leave off," "cease," as:--_Aleksandro lasis sian paroladon pri batalo kaj petis de ili panon_ = Alexander left off talking of battle, and asked them for bread.

(9). _Lasi_, followed by an infinitive, means to "let," or, "allow,"

as:--_Lasu al mi gin fari_ = Let me do it, _or_, Leave it to me to do. Sometimes we find it used in the sense "allow to be," as:--_Neniu volis lasi rimarki, ke li nenion vidas_ = No one wished to let it be noticed that he saw (sees) nothing. This imitates the idiom of some national languages. It can be explained as an omission of _onin_ or some other p.r.o.noun, thus:--_Neniu volis lasi onin_ (_nin_) _rimarki, ke_ ... = No one wished to let people (us) notice that ...

(10). _Allasi_ = to admit (own the truth), as:--_Li allasis, ke li estas malprava_ = He admitted he was (is) wrong.

(11). _Delasi_ = to allow to leave, as:--_Li delasis lin de la domo_ = He let him leave the house.

(12). _Enlasi_ (like _lasi en_) = to let go in, as:--_Enlasu min!_ = Let me in!

(13). _Forlasi_ = to abandon, as:--_Li forlasis sian postenon_ = He abandoned his post.

(14). _Preterlasi_ = to let pa.s.s, as:--_Li preterlasis la okazon_ = He let the opportunity pa.s.s, _or_, He missed the opportunity. _Li ne povis uzi sian bileton, car gia limtempo preterlasigis_ = He could not use his ticket because its time limit had expired.

(15). _Tralasi_ = to allow to pa.s.s through, as:--_Li tralasis la h.o.m.on tra la pordo_ = He let the man pa.s.s through the door. _Kiam si atingis la pordegon, ili sin tralasis_ = When she reached the gate, they let her through.

Pesi and Pezi.

237 (_e_). Pesi = _to weigh_, _to examine by balance_ (transitive).

Pezi = _to weigh_, _to have weight_ (intransitive).

Peso = _the weighing_, _the act of weighing_.

Pezo = _the weight_, or, _heaviness of a thing_.

Pesilo = _the scales_, or, _the weighing machine_.

Pezilo = _a_ (_metal_) _weight_.

From the above words we see that the roots pes- and pez- both signify "weight," and care must be taken to use the words in their transitive or intransitive sense.

Examples. _Tiuj ci tabloj estas de granda pezo: mi kredas, ke ilia pezo estas pli ol cent okdek funtoj_ = These tables are a great weight; I believe that their weight is more than a hundred and eighty pounds. _Tiu kesto estas tre peza; mi estas certa ke gi pezas almenau naudek funtojn; metu gin sur la pesilon, alportu la pezilojn, pesu gin, kaj diru al mi la gustan pezon_ = That chest is very weighty (heavy); I am certain that it weighs at least ninety pounds; put it on the scales (weighing machine), bring the weights, weigh it, and tell me the exact weight.

Povi.

237 (_f_). Povi = _to be able_. Beginners sometimes find a difficulty in dealing with this verb, owing to the irregularity of the English equivalents. For instance, the beginner may say, "How can 'can' be both present and future, or 'could' both past and conditional?" The following examples giving translations of povi in its various tenses should be helpful in removing the difficulty.

Present, Mi povas = _I am able to_, _I can_.

Past, Mi povis = _I have been_ (or, _was_) _able to_, _I could_.

Future, Mi povos = _I shall be able to_, _I can_.

Future, Ni estos povintaj = _We shall have been able to_.

Conditional, Mi povus = _I should_ (or, _would_) _be able to_, or, _I could_, or, _I might_.