abu ‘all right’, ‘let's’ / marks polite order: ‘please’ / [...]

Part of Speech modal
Phonetic Form aᵐbu
Tanema Equivalent abu
Lovono Equivalent abu
    • ‘all right’, ‘let's’
      • Gram
    • Syntactic Restriction before hortative
      • Example 24:
        Abu ne-kila Puma!
        Let me try and ring the guys in Puma.
        Example Comment
        teleradio
      • Example 25:
        Abu le-romo kape i-ka we tae?
        Let's see if she'll come or not.
    • marks polite order: ‘please’
      • Disc
    • Syntactic Restriction before imperative verb
      Encyclopedic Info Cognate with the conative prefix bu-.
      • Example 26:
        Abu bai-aiu ba-vio me ne-rom!
        Could you please stand up and let me have a look there?
      • Example 27:
        Ab' u-leng' i-ka.
        Listen to me for a second.
    • encouragement towards action: ‘come on’, ‘please’
    • Syntactic Restriction used alone
      • Example 28:
        O, abu, kaipa! Pe-ka p-atui botu 'none!
        Come on, you all! Come and check out my boat!

Related entries

  • See also:
    • ka2 marker of Perfect aspect: describes a current situation by reference to a previous event / prospective aspect, marking an action as imminent / polite imperative
    • ko first, as a first action / (do) for a second: forms a polite order; hence please / exclamatory particle pointing to the immediate context, typic. to the addressee's speech or action
    • takoli yo-heave-ho! Exclamation used when making a group effort