More prefixes

This lesson teaches and practises some more verb prefixes which combine subject and object:

• mu-: indicates that the subject is he, she, it, they and the object is me
• Du-: indicates that the subject is he, she, it and the object is you (one person)
• nI-: indicates that the subject is they and the object is you (one person)
• nu-: indicates that the subject is he, she, it, they and the object is us
• lI-: indicates that the subject is he, she, it, they and the object is you (several people)

For example,

• mulegh tlhInganpu' "the Klingons see me" (legh "see")
• mughov mara "Mara recognizes me" (ghov "recognize")
• DuQoy torgh "Torg hears you" (Qoy "hear")
• nISaH tera'nganpu' "Terrans care about you" (SaH "care about")
• lISuj vay' "someone disturbs you all" (Suj "disturb", vay' "someone, something")
• lIvoq be'pu' "the women trust you all" (voq "trust")

Pay special attention to the fact that when the object is "you (singular)", there are separate prefixes Du- and nI- depending on whether the third-person subject is singular (he, she, it) or plural (they) — unlike when the object is "me" (always mu-) or "us" (always nu-) or "you (plural)" (always lI-). Though this is a constructed language, there are some irregularities like this that appear to make it resemble a natural language.

Prefix Types

The prefixes that you have learned so far might be called pronominal prefixes. These prefixes indicate what the subject and object are in the same way that pronouns might do.  Separate subject and object pronouns are not required because the pronominal prefixes already give that information.  The basic pronominal prefixes are used for general information and are used for most basic conversation.  

We might describe Klingon as having two other types of prefixes. The other types of prefixes are the imperative prefixes and the indefinite subject prefixes. The imperative prefixes are used to give commands, instructions, or requests. You will learn the imperative prefixes in an upcoming unit. The indefinite subject prefixes are very similar to some of the regular pronominal prefixes, but use them in a different way.  The indefinite subject prefixes are used along with the Type 5 verb suffix -lu'.  You will learn more about how to use some of the pronominal prefixes for indefinite subjects when you learn the suffix -lu'.

With the addition of the prefixes that you are learning in this unit, you have learned all of the basic pronominal prefixes.

Prefix Chart

Many Klingon learners like to arrange the prefixes into a chart where they can reference the subject and the object to find the appropriate prefix.  There are many ways to arrange the chart and if you search online for Klingon prefix charts, you may see a few different versions.  The chart below has the subjects listed on the right (where the subject would appear in a written Klingon sentence) and the objects across the top.  If you feel that a different arrangement would be helpful for you, please feel free to create your own chart or use one that you find elsewhere.

In the chart, you will see a Ø in the places where you would use the null prefix.  Obviously, you do not write this symbol at those times, it is just being used to indicate that the specific combination represented by that box is represented by the absence of any written or spoken prefix.

You will notice that there are not actually prefixes for all possible combinations — some of the combinations have an X, instead of a prefix.  These represent combinations that cannot be given by a prefix or require one of the other prefixes to be used in a special way.   For example, if you wish to express that "I" do something to "me", you would do that by using the jI- prefix and the -'egh suffix, so there is no separate prefix for that combination.

mu- – he/she/it/they subject, me object (pre)

Du- -he/she/it subject, you (singular) object (pre)

pagh – nobody (n)

SaH – be present (not absent) (v)

ghov – recognize (v)

nI- – they subject, you (singular) (pre)

Qoy – hear (v)

nu- – he/she/it/they subject, us object (pre)

lI- – he/she/it/they subject, you (plural) object (pre)

Suj – disturb (v)

boQ – assist (v)

chuS – be noisy (v)