tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon May 27 20:55:18 1996
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Re: 'a'
In a message dated 96-05-26 16:29:09 EDT, you write:
>I am new at this, and I was wondering if 'a' is used simply as an
>augmenative suffix. For instance: if chop means to bite, shouldn't
>chop'a' be to bite hard? But according to the useful expressions part of
the
>klingon dictionary,
>it means "Does it bite?" What gives?
>
>Scott
Be aware there are two completely different kinds of suffixes: Noun suffixes
and Verb suffixes. {chop} is a Verb. When we say {chop'a'}, we are asking a
question. The Verb suffix {-'a'} asks a question. Thus we get Does it bite?
Only when we add {-'a'} to a Noun is it augmentive. Thus {yuQ'a'} means a
major planet. On the other hand, {yuQ tIn} is the proper way to say 'big
planet.' {yuQHom} means asteroid, while {yuQ mach} means small planet.
Therefore, the augmentive Noun suffixes are not Adjectives.
The main point as an answer to your post, though, is that the Verb suffix
{-'a'} is not the same as the Noun Suffix {-'a'} at all.
peHruS