Ok, I can see that I am still awful at translating - I am sure a year from now I will
laugh at my mistakes that I made.

Here is the first two blocks of text in English, no reason why to have the board translate
the entire thing when there will be plenty of learning chances in the first two blocks.

There was a prince, a hero to all
Who could kill dragons with an awl
He needed a princess, to be his queen
So someone else would houseclean

They called out to all the land
With news that was so grand
Each village heard the news
And each had there very own views

johmue:"foje" is "sometimes". So it would mean we talk about several events.

I think you are projecting English onto Esperanto. It is English "sometimes" that can mean several times (perhaps), but not foje, which means "once", "once upon a time" and so on.

hebda999:

johmue:"foje" is "sometimes". So it would mean we talk about several events.

I think you are projecting English onto Esperanto. It is English "sometimes" that can mean several times (perhaps), but not foje, which means "once", "once upon a time" and so on.

"foje" does not necessarily mean "once", depending on the context.

Look at the following sentences: "Foje mi trinkas kafon, foje mi trinkas teon.", "Vinon mi trinkas foje, sed ne ĉiutage."

johmue:Look at the following sentences: "Foje mi trinkas kafon, foje mi trinkas teon.", "Vinon mi trinkas foje, sed ne ĉiutage."

And you look at its definition in PIV:

foje. En ia nedifinita tempo: foje la Faraono volis viziti […]B; foje en la arbaro li renkontis Artemis-pastrinojn

So, it means "in some not definite time", and not "some many times" as you suggest. To express the latter we use "kelkfoje".

hebda999:

johmue:Look at the following sentences: "Foje mi trinkas kafon, foje mi trinkas teon.", "Vinon mi trinkas foje, sed ne ĉiutage."

And you look at its definition in PIV:

foje. En ia nedifinita tempo: foje la Faraono volis viziti […]B; foje en la arbaro li renkontis Artemis-pastrinojn

So, it means "in some not definite time", and not "some many times" as you suggest.

PIV does not define and is not always right.

The Fundamento defines the root "foj-" with the english equivalent "time (e.g. three times etc.)", the german equivalent is "Mal, einmal" which is somewhat ambigous. For the use of "foje" it does not give an example.

Zamenhof in the lingvaj respondoj is often using "iafoje". He is definetly talking about several times in this context. Same bertilo.

"fojo" is singular, "fojoj" is plural. So the root "foj-" can be used for both. "foje" can be either because adverbs do not distinguish between singular and plural. If you need to distinguish, use "unufoje", "dufoje", "kelkfoje", "multfoje" ...

I think my example sentences clearly show that "foje" can be used as "more than once". Or how would you translate them?

johmue:...PIV does not define and is not always right.

I don't understand your explanation. Sorry. Use it as you like, but you are wrong. "Foje/iafoje" does not mean several times. It means only that the time of action/actions is indefinite, unknown or unimportant.

Fundamento:

foj' fois | time (e. g. three times etc.) | Mal, einmal | разъ | raz.

Compare:

foje - unknown when, once, maybe more, but we don't know

with

multfoje - surely more than once
centfoje - 100 times, now we know how many
ĉi-foje - this time (not these times!)
ĉiufoje - every single time
unuafoje - for the first time (not times!)
duafoje - for the second time (not times again!!!)

And as for Zamenhof: the repetition was not in "foje" but in the verb itself:

foje mi skribadis al li... - means that he did it several times (skribadis) some time in the past (foje)

So are the other examples.

Tie estis princo, heroo al ĉiuj
Kiu povus mortigi drakoj kun punzón
Li bezonis princino, por esti lia reĝino
Do iu alia estus domo purigi

Ili vokis al la tuta lando
Kun novaĵoj kiuj estis tiom grandioza
Ĉiu vilaĝo aŭdis la novaĵojn
Kaj ĉiu havis tie tre proprajn opiniojn

Iam estis princo, heroo al ĉiuj,
kiu povis mortigi drakojn per aleno.
Li bezonis princinon, por esti lia reĝino
ne por taski ŝin la domon purigadi.

La voko iris tra la lando,
per vortoj grandiozaj,
sed diversaj estis la reagoj,
kaj ĉiu havis sian opinion.

hebda999:

johmue:...PIV does not define and is not always right.

I don't understand your explanation. Sorry. Use it as you like, but you are wrong. "Foje/iafoje" does not mean several times. It means only that the time of action/actions is indefinite, unknown or unimportant.

Fundamento:

foj' fois | time (e. g. three times etc.) | Mal, einmal | разъ | raz.

Compare:

foje - unknown when, once, maybe more, but we don't know

with

multfoje - surely more than once
centfoje - 100 times, now we know how many
ĉi-foje - this time (not these times!)
ĉiufoje - every single time
unuafoje - for the first time (not times!)
duafoje - for the second time (not times again!!!)

And as for Zamenhof: the repetition was not in "foje" but in the verb itself:

foje mi skribadis al li... - means that he did it several times (skribadis) some time in the past (foje)

So are the other examples.

I don't understand your problem with that. "plurfoje", "multfoje", "unufoje" (not unuafoje) with and "foje" without quantitative indication.

Check what PIV is saying about "iafoje" if you like.

No further need to discuss that. I will keep using "foje" the I am used to it from every day language in the Eo-community.

For "once upon a time" I would simply use "iam". For example, the Esperanto translation of Le Petit Prince (La Eta Princo) starts off with "Iam, kiam ..." (Once upon a time, when ...)

pdenisowski:For "once upon a time" I would simply use "iam". For example, the Esperanto translation of Le Petit Prince (La Eta Princo) starts off with "Iam, kiam ..." (Once upon a time, when ...)

That's not exactly 'once upon a time' though. It's just 'Once, when (I was six years old..)'.