Part 8
Common errors
Each of these is an English reflex meeting a Phi rule. The rule wins, and every repair is short.
Error 1the fronted possessor
Wrong for the meaning: mia lohau nai. intended as "my dog."
A bare pronoun opening a predicate clause is the subject, so that sentence means "I am a dog." Ownership as its own claim takes phelu: mia lohau phelu. A possessor inside a larger phrase reads cleanly: mia lohau welao nai., my dog is good. Give the possessive reading structure, and it is unmistakable.
Error 2the lonely reciprocal
Wrong: *mia wiso nila.
A relation needs at least two, and wiso brings no plurality of its own. Build the plural subject first: lo mia wiso nila., we see each other, or coordinate: mia nela thia wiso lothea.
Error 3the mirror where the meeting belongs
Wrong for the meaning: lo mia miso nila. intended as "we see each other."
Grammatical, and it means we see ourselves, each gaze returning to its own face. The meeting of eyes is wiso: lo mia wiso nila. Ask whether each actor receives their own action or the actions cross.
Error 4the cold-open drop
Wrong as an opening: shelomu. beginning a conversation.
Topic-drop spends credit, and an opening line has none: no subject is established, so none is recoverable. Establish first, then lighten: mia shelu theo. shelomu. The first sentence pays; the second rides.
Error 5the drop over rivals
Wrong for the listener: melu to shua. lopia to shua. to meliho. intended to say the child sang.
Two referents stand live, and the bare verb leaves the singer to chance. Say the name: lopia to meliho. Explicitness here is not heaviness; it is the same care for the listener that allowed the drop while only one candidate stood.
Error 6whu dropped as if it were a subject
Wrong: *mia to nila peloru mioru nai. intended as "the flower that I saw is beautiful."
Dropping an established subject is topic-drop; dropping the relativizer is a different operation, and the grammar does not offer it. Without whu, the listener receives content words with no signal that a whole clause is standing in a noun's position. Keep the marker: whu mia to nila peloru mioru nai.
Error 7the pointing order reversed
Wrong: *lo ha melu intended as "these friends."
Before a noun, the deictic leads the phrase: ha lo melu. The lo-first order belongs to the deictic standing alone: lo ha, these, with no noun after it. Each order has its one job, and the presence or absence of the noun tells you which you are in.