Indirect questions

[Clark & Janiece Nelson <cjnelson@cybcon.com>]

Lee Daniel Crocker (none) wrote:
> So {ni} is still very useful (because {le jai sela'u broda} is both
> awkward and has no place for scale), but we must give up using {le ni}
> in places where a {le du'u} is called for.  So, my liking the amount
> of womanlyness in someone is {mi nelci le du'u ta ninmu sela'u makau},
> but Jane's womanlyness exceeding Mary's can still use {ni}: {le ni la
> djein. ninmu cu zmadu le ni la meris. ninmu}, and I can say {li rau
> ni la meris. ninmu} "Mary is sufficiently womanly", even add a
> scale/standard if I like in x2 of the {ni} selbri.

As an alternative expression for someone's amount of womanliness,
wouldn't
le ka sela'u ce'u ko'a ninmu [kei]
work at least as well as an indirect question using makau?

I suspect that there's always an alternative to using an indirect
question, and that the alternative would in most cases be "better" (at
least by my own standards) than the indirect question. I imagine,
however, that there are others who know more and/or believe differently.

--
Clark Nelson
cjnelson@cybcon.com