mai (2) conj. "if" (PE14:59 cf. VT49:20; possibly obsoleted by #1 above; for "if", Tolkien later used qui)
Quenya
qui
if
qui
conjunction. if, when
qui
conjunction. if
Cognates
- ᴺS. pi “if”
Derivations
- √KWI “suppose” ✧ PE22/158; VT49/19
Element in
- Q. carë mára quí tyarë naxa “doing good may cause evil” ✧ PE22/154
- Q. laqui “unless” ✧ PE22/158
- Q. quīlas tūleste san inye tūle “*suppose he came (he did not), then I came” ✧ PE22/140
- ᴺQ. quima “whether”
- Q. quíta céla tuldes, quíta ✧ PE22/158; PE22/158
- Q. quí(ta) la tuldes, nánë márië (nin) “[if he had not come], it was well to me (I was glad)” ✧ PE22/158
- ᴺQ. quitulma “scenario”
- ᴺQ. vequi “as if, as though”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √kwi- > qui [kwi] ✧ VT49/19 Variations
- quī ✧ PE22/140; PE22/158 (quī)
- kwí ✧ PE22/154; VT42/34
- kwíta ✧ PE22/154; VT42/34
- quīta ✧ PE22/158 (quīta)
- quī(ta) ✧ PE22/158 (quī(ta))
- quíta ✧ PE22/158 (quíta)
- kwi ✧ PE22/158
- iqui ✧ PE22/158
iqui
conjunction. if
iqui
conjunction. if
que
conjunction. if
quí(ta)
conjunction. if
cé
conjunction. if
Derivations
- √KE/EKE “may (be); have chance, opportunity or permission; it is open” ✧ VT49/19
Element in
- Q. ar cé mo formenna tentanes Amanna “and if northwards, it pointed towards Aman” ✧ VT49/26
- Q. cé mo quetë ulca “*if one speaks evil” ✧ VT49/19
- Q. cenai “if it be that” ✧ VT49/19
- Q. cenasta “if it be so, may be, perhaps” ✧ VT49/19
- Q. cé tulis, ní nauva tanomë “*if he/she comes, I will be there” ✧ VT49/19
- Q. cé tulis, tanomë nauvan “*if he/she comes, I will be there” ✧ VT49/19
- Q. úsië, an cé mo quernë cendelë númenna, ve senya “on the contrary, for if one turned the face westward, as was usual” ✧ VT49/19; VT49/19
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √ke > ke [ke] ✧ VT49/19 Variations
- ké ✧ VT49/19; VT49/26
- ke ✧ VT49/19; VT49/19; VTE/42
- kē̆ ✧ VT49/19
mai
if
cenai
if it be that
cenai ("k") conj. "if it be that" (VT49:19). This word presupposes ce = "if"; other sources rather make qui the word for "if", whereas ce or cé is used = "maybe".
cenai
conjunction. if it be that
Variations
- kenai ✧ VT49/19
cé
may be
cé ("k"), also ce ("k") "may be" (VT49:19, 27), particle indicating uncertainty (VT42:34; ce in Bill Welden's note is a misspelling, VT44:38, but the short form ce does occur in other texts, cf. VT49:18-19). In VT42, Welden wrote that Tolkien altered ké to kwí (or kwíta, q.v.), but Welden later noted that "it does not follow that because the form was changed in another sentence it would necessarily have been corrected in the examples cited" (VT44:38). So cé/ké may still be a conceptually valid form. (The forms in kw- rather than qu- seem abnormal for Quenya, at least as far as spelling is concerned.) In another conceptual phase, cé was also used = "if" (VT49:19), but this conjunction appears as qui elsewhere. Examples of cé, ce meaning "if" (said to be "usually [used] with aorist") include cé mo quetë ulca ("k", "q") "if one speaks evil", cé tulis, nauvan tanomë ("k") "if (s)he comes, I will be there" (VT49:19), cé mo… "if one…", ce formenna "if northwards" (VT49:26)
it(ë) Speculative
adverb. if
Element in
- Q. [[q|[?it/itē] kestallen, tuluvanye]] “if you ask me, I shall come” ✧ PE22/138
- Q. [[q|aite[?] kestallen]] “now, suppose, you ask me” ✧ PE22/138
- Q. [[q|aite[?] kestuvallen, tuluvanye]] “now supposing you asked me, a thing unlikely {or ridiculous} to suppose...” ✧ PE22/138
Variations
- it ✧ PE22/138 (it)
- itē ✧ PE22/138
- [i]te ✧ PE22/138 ([i]te)
qui conj. "if" (VT49:19)