Re: TECH: A pragmatics sampler

[Logical Language Group <lojbab@GREBYN.COM>]

I find your examples here a bit unintelligible, partlyu becaus
e they don't
have parallel structure, oe of them has two "fo"s and both use ke'a in a way
that mean nothing to me.

So I fall back on your English (and reference to Russian) and think I
understand your qeustion:

mi cpedu fi ko'a fe le krinu be lenu leko'a xance cu desku
I asked of him the reason for the event of his hands shaking.

The Lojban is tenseless and thus totally pragmatics driven as to whether the
shaking was in the past present or future of the asking.  The Lojban SHOULD
be tenseless unless the speaker wishes to make clear that one happened before,
at the same time as, or after the other, in which case I would replace the
"cu" with the appropriate pu/ca/ba (or maybe even a ZAhO %^)

I will let others who can understand your examples better try to answer
in terms of them if this is appropriate.  I have to admit that I don't
understand what "kau" has to do with this translation problem, other
 than that
there is a question in there that might have to be made indirect:

mi cpedu cusku fi ko'a fe lesedu'u ki'umakau l
eko'a xance cu desku

and this form still has tenselessness, or an optional clarifying tense on desk
u.

lojbab