Spoonfed Lesson 4: A Place to Stay

petu means “from.” A preposition — petu ponta minsi = from another place. The traveler has been on the road and arrives somewhere new.

pusaka means “city” or “town.” This is the biggest place the traveler has seen so far.

lamopu means “through” or “along.” A preposition — lamopu pisoma = through the streets. You explore the city on foot. lamopu also marks duration: lamopu nepu maseta = for two days (through two days). With the -i ending, lamopi means “long”: pisoma lamopi = a long road.

lanso means “to live” or “to reside.” Many people call this city home. Notice pontu — you already know pont (place); the -u form pontu means “at” (a location): pontu linpa = at this place. A ketuma-lansa is a residence — literally a live-building.

maseta means “day.” You arrived during a hot day.

pomula means “night.” A nice contrast with maseta — hot days and cold nights. You need a place to sleep.

munoso means “to sleep.” You are tired from traveling and want to find a place to rest. Notice the difference: munoso is for sleeping (temporary rest), while lanso is for living (making your home). A ketuma-munosa is a hotel — a sleep-building.

ketuma means “building” or “structure.” Stem ketum + -a noun ending. You spot two large buildings side by side.

simeli means “new” or “fresh.” One of the two buildings looks new — maybe a hotel?

kinti means “bad” or “poor.” The opposite of moni (good). The other building does not look good.

kosuni means “old” or “aged.” The opposite of simeli (new). This sentence also introduces minsu — “but.” You already know the stem mins (other/different); the -u form means “but” and connects two contrasting clauses. Notice the comma before minsu — required when a -u word introduces a new clause with its own subject and verb.

konanu is the plural marker. It goes before a noun or pronoun to indicate more than one: konanu puna = people (multiple persons), konanu sa = we, konanu musa = you all. Without konanu, nouns can be singular or plural from context.

kanosi means “full” or “filled.” The residence (ketuma-lansa = live-building) is full because people live there. Notice petu here — it means “from” or “because of.” You will see more of this preposition soon.

lokita is the noun form of lokit — vacancy, emptiness. Here kipo = “to have” — the verb form of kip, which you know as kipu (owned by). pa kipo lokita = it has a vacancy. ketuma-munosa is a compound: ketuma (building) + munosa (sleep) = sleep-building = hotel. Compound parts always use the -a ending.

nusitu means “can” or “is able to.” A modal preverb — like latu (want), it goes before the verb: nusitu munoso = can sleep. The hotel owner points to the new building — you can sleep there.

notu means “four.” The numbers continue: namu (1), nepu (2), nisu (3), notu (4). Same pattern — a quantifier before its target noun: notu pomula = four nights. Notice lamopu again — earlier it meant “through” (space), and here it means “for” (duration).

nulu means “five.” You are not alone in the hotel — five other guests are sleeping here too.