Spoonfed Lesson 3: Let's Eat

peso means “to eat.” Stem pes + -o verb ending. You are hungry after exploring. With the -a ending, pesa = food or meal.

onta means “time” or “moment.” A good time for a meal. With the -u ending, ontu is a preposition meaning “at” (a time): ontu monpa = at daytime. You will see that form in later lessons.

patu marks the future. It is a preverb — a -u word that goes before the verb: patu peso = future eat = will eat. Luma does not normally mark tense — context is usually enough. Use patu only when you want to emphasize what will happen, or to contrast with the past.

tisalo means “to drink.” Stem tisal + -o verb ending. Same pattern as the first sentence — musu before the verb.

nenla means “water.” Stem nenl + -a noun ending. SVO at work: sa (I) tisalo (drink) nenla (water).

tasiki means “cold.” The -i modifier follows the verb: nenla no tasiki = water is cold.

mino means “to give.” The person receiving needs a preposition — here tupu sa = toward me. Luma always marks indirect objects with a preposition: pa mino pesa tupu sa = she gives food toward me. Notice pesa — the same pes stem with -a = food. One stem, two roles: peso = to eat, pesa = food. Poma serves you and says peso anli! = “eat well!” — another imperative, like laso anli! (go well) from the previous lesson.

piko means “to take.” The opposite of mino — mino is giving, piko is taking. And pa here refers to what was just offered — the food.

mapu means “much” or “many.” It is a quantifier — a -u word that goes before its target noun: mapu pesa = much food, mapu oma = many people. Like numbers (nepu, nilu), quantifiers precede what they count.

senu means “some.” Another quantifier: senu pesa = some food. In most situations, senu is implied and you can leave it out — sa peso pesa already suggests “some food.” But here it adds emphasis: there is a lot of food, and you eat some of it, not all of it.

kipasi means “hot.” The opposite of tasiki (cold) from earlier. Same structure: subject + no + modifier.

meki means “true” or “correct.” Like panpa (hello) and kasota (thanks), meki works as a standalone expression — a way to confirm or agree. You confirm: the food is good.

solu marks the past. Same pattern as patu — a preverb before the verb: solu peso = past eat = ate. Together, solu and patu let you contrast: sa solu peso, patu peso = I ate, then will eat. But remember — most Luma sentences leave tense unmarked.

tolesa means “money.” Time to pay — you want to give money. The modal musu goes before the verb mino: want to give.

tepalu means “in exchange for.” It is a preposition — tepalu pesa = in exchange for food. To buy or pay: mino tolesa tepalu pesa = give money for food. To sell: piko tolesa tepalu pesa = take money for food.

nomu means “three.” The third number — after nepu (one) and nilu (two) from the previous lesson. Same pattern: nomu tolesa = three money. You offer to pay three.

nalaku means “ten.” The first magnitude number — much larger than the digits. The server corrects you: the price is ten, not three! All number stems start with n-, and magnitudes like nalak (ten) use longer stems than digits.