This page describes the grammar of toki pasila. The concepts will gradually increase in difficulty.
In sentences written in present tense that only have a subject and a verb predicate, the sentence structure is this:
S li V.
Note: If the subject is either mi or si, the word li is omitted.
To change a present tense sentence into past or future, the particle li is changed into le for past and lo for future.
Note: Unlike li, le and lo are never omitted.
mi moku. — I eat/I am eating. mi le moku. — I ate. mi lo moku. — I’ll eat.
When the tense is clear from context, it may or may not be dropped.
To append a direct object to a verb, the particle e is used.
mi moku e kili. — I am eating a fruit.
Modifiers in toki pasila are the blend of adjectives, adverbs and participles. In other words, as a modifier, pana can be any of these: generous; generously; and giving.
Modifiers go after the nouns they modify, compare:
ijo wawa — powerful thing; wawa ijo — conceptual power.
Putting a content word after another content word by default assumes the second word is a modifier. To say that someone or something owns/has/possesses a certain noun, pi must be inserted. Compare:
lawa moku — edible head (perhaps a jack-o’-lantern) lawa pi moku — the head/ruler of food (perhaps Gordon Ramsay)