Spoonfed Lesson 3: Let's Eat

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

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

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

somuko means “to drink.” Stem somuk + -o verb ending. Same pattern as the first sentence — latu before the verb.

lesona means “water.” Stem leson + -a noun ending. SVO at work: sa (I) somuko (drink) lesona (water).

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

memo means “to give.” The person receiving needs a preposition — here sutu sa = toward me. Luma always marks indirect objects with a preposition: pa memo munla sutu sa = she gives food toward me. Notice munla — the same munl stem with -a = food. One stem, two roles: munlo = to eat, munla = food. Poma serves you and says munlo moni! = “eat well!” — another imperative, like seso moni! (go well) from the previous lesson.

kanlo means “to take.” The opposite of memo — memo is giving, kanlo 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 munla = much food, mapu puna = many people. Like numbers (namu, nepu), quantifiers precede what they count.

pimu means “some.” Another quantifier: pimu munla = some food. In most situations, pimu is implied and you can leave it out — sa munlo munla 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.

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

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

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

kalina means “money.” Time to pay — you want to give money. The modal latu goes before the verb memo: want to give.

sotanpu means “in exchange for.” It is a preposition — sotanpu munla = in exchange for food. To buy or pay: memo kalina sotanpu munla = give money for food. To sell: kanlo kalina sotanpu munla = take money for food.

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

nasasu 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 nasas (ten) use longer stems than digits.