tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jan 13 04:33:48 2003
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Re: KLBC
[For simplicity and clarity, prefixes which can refer to male, female, inanimate, singular, and/or plural will be translated correctly, but usually without giving all the
options.]
Gina wrote:
>I am still having trouble understanding the verb Type 5 suffix -lu'.
What exactly do you not understand?
This is how I remember it in one sentence:
"This suffix turns around the meaning of a prefix and results in a passive voice translation"
(Okay, nobody beat me, I admit this is very rough.)
I'll try to explain with an example:
"he watches you" {Dubej}
You'd say this, when you know that one person watches, and you know who you're talking about: "HE watches YOU"
But when it's not sure, and you know that *someone* is watching, and you don't know who, use {-lu'}. That's why in TKD it's called "indefinite subject". The
subject is "indefinite", TKD says >>>>This suffix is used to indicate that the subject is unknown, indefinite, and/or general. <<<<
TKD 4.2.5
>>>>Those prefixes which normally indicate first- or second-person subject and third-person singular object ({vI-, Da-, wI-, bo-}) are used to indicate first- or
second-person object. Thus, {vI-,} which normally means "I do something to him/her," when in a verb with {-lu'} means "someone/something does something to me."
Similarly, the prefix {lu-,} which normally means "they do something to him/her," becomes "someone/something does something to them."<<<<
Confusing, maybe.
Shortly: prefixes that usually are translated "xxx-it" will become "it-xxx" when joined with the suffix -lu'.
back to our example
"you are being watched (by someone)"
"someone watches you"
Since the -lu' suffix "turns around" the meaning of the prefix, we need to approach from the other side:
The indefinite subject is always third person (that's what TKD says above),
In this example, the object is "you".
First say the opposite ("he" is object, "you" the subject)
{Dabej} "you watch him"
And when you add {-lu'}, object and subject are flipped around:
{Dabejlu'} "he watches you", better "someone indefinite watches you"
Fluent translation is passive voice: "you are being seen"
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
I don't know what else to add, except for this memorizing trick:
{Dalegh} you see him
{Daleghlu'} you are being seen by him
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Perhaps someone else can give less confusing advice, if this was not sufficient ;-)
Quvar
Beginners' Grammarian
ghojwI'pu'wI' vISaH