This section is dedicated to the word lu. It plays a very important role in TT grammar as a 'connector' word, acting either like a preposition or a conjunction in English.
Most commonly, the word lu means something like 'at, in, on, by…' There are many possible translations; all of them have the value of prepositions. There are no other words that act quite like lu, grammatically speaking: it can’t really modify or be modified by another word, but always needs such words to follow it. This grouping of lu with the word(s) that follow(s) can be called a lu phrase. Typically, lu indicates a spatial relation: the thing before lu is happening in/on/at the thing after lu.
The meaning of lu is also moulded by neighbouring words. In the above sentences, the words following lu were: kiku, meaning 'hard stuff, rock, land, place'; and lupa meaning 'hole, room, interior, mouth'. Before more concrete, physical words like these, lu expresses a spatial relation more often than before more abstract words. Take ilu: a usage, tool, method or manner for doing something. When that something is muku, an ilu is most easily understood as a means of eating, like a fork. However, while ilu can designate the object used, it more generally stands for the idea of use itself (spanning TP kepeken, ilo, as well as nasin).
new words: