"Not always"

[Alex Rozenshteyn]

They don't always obey their parents.

{ko'a roroi tinbe fi lo rirni be ko'a} or {ko'a roroi tinbe fi lo ko'a rinri} would be "They always obey their parents." and I think the first would be preferred.

{ko'a na roroi tinbe fi lo rirni be ko'a} seems to me that it doesn't carry the implication of the original English statement that "they" sometimes, and maybe even usually obey their parents, but there exist exceptional occasions.

Would using {na'e} instead of {na} carry such an implication?

Would it be malgli to try to translate the implication into lojban?

Would it be better to move the negative and translate "They sometimes [other-than]-obey their parents."?

Additionally, how would one correctly convey the plurality of {ko'a} in this case?

Thanks jbocre.  I hope I'm not bothering you guys too much.

--

          Alex R

[kandju]

la .arpis. cu preti .i mi go'ira'o

[.arpis.]

ko zgana la'e zoi .gy. the thread on the lojban beginners mailing
list .gy.

.i zoi .gy.

Unfortunately, since this list only has three subscribers, I end up
cross-posting to beginners if I want a reply.

I haven't figured out how to have the replies people send to beginners
appear here.

I also think you don't need {ra'o} in your statement, since there were
no pro-sumti in the statement referenced by {go'i}.

.gy.