la - separates adverb of context from sentence
mun - moon, lunar                                
open - to open, to begin, to turn on
pini - end; to end, to stop, to turn off
tenpo - time

The use of la

la Preceded by a Single Word

   ken la jan Lisa li jo e ona. -- Maybe Lisa has it.
   ken la ona li lape. -- Maybe he's alseep.
   ken la mi ken tawa ma Elopa. -- Maybe I can go to Europe.

Time and la

Tenpo acts just like any other noun. 

   tenpo suno -- sun time; day
   tenpo pimeja -- dark time; night
   tenpo ni -- this time; the current time, the present
   tenpo suno ni -- this sun time; today
   tenpo pimeja ni -- this dark time; tonight
   tenpo kama -- coming time; the future
   tenpo kama lili -- little coming time; soon
   tenpo pini -- past time; the past
   tenpo suno pini -- past sun time; yesterday
   tenpo pimeja pini -- past dark time; last night
   tenpo suno kama -- coming sun time; tomorrow
   tenpo mute -- many times; often

Phrases before la to tell when something happened:
   tenpo pini la mi weka. -- In the past, I was away.
   tenpo ni la mi lon. -- At this time, I am here.
   tenpo kama la mi lape. -- In the future, I'll sleep.
   tenpo pimeja pini la mi kama nasa. -- Last night, I became drunk.

Here's how to ask How old are you?:
   tenpo pi mute seme la sina sike e suno? -- Times of what amount (la) you circled the sun?

To answer and tell someone how old you are, just replace the pi mute seme with your age:
   tenpo tu tu la mi sike e suno. -- Four times (la) I circled the sun.

Expressing if/when with la

If my parents were to die, I'd be sad.  

mama mi li moli la mi pilin ike. -- My parents die, I feel bad.

All la phrases follow the same order as the example. above

If I learn, then I am smart -->    I learn (la) I am smart.

Comparative and superlative.

mi moku mute. sina moku lili. -- I eat more than you.