tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jul 10 14:52:24 1998
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RE: KLBC - jIqeqtaH
lab tuv'el:
> > > tera' vIttlhegh ngo':
> > > "naDev Soj QoQ je tu'lu'" jatlh vIghro' DIron SoptaHvIS.
> > > ["There's meat and music here," said the fox as he ate the
> > > bagpipes.]
> > "meat" is literally <Ha'DIbaH>, but your selection of <Soj>
> > works much better. To be strictly correct, the <tu'lu'> should
> > probably be <lutu'lu'>, but the <lu-> prefix is often left off,
> > especially on <tu'lu'>.
> >
>
> toH. I thought that since <Soj> and <QoQ> were both
> singular, that <tu'lu'> would be used instead of <lutu'lu'>.
> Am I right in my thought that a word with a plural concept
> (like <cha> "torpedoes") would be considered "singular" for
> matching up the verb prefix? naDev cha tu'lu'.
You are correct: inherently plural nouns like <cha> or <ngop> are treated as
grammatically singular. There is an interesting discussion of inherently
plural nouns and puq Hol on KGT p. 31-34. Quantitative nouns like <nIn> or
<Soj> are also treated as singular.
However, when you put two singular nouns together with <je>, as you did
above, you get a plural. Adjust prefixes accordingly.
pagh
Temporary Beginners' Grammarian