Aspect suffixes: Revision and extension

This lesson gives some more practice and revision on the type 7 verbal aspect suffixes that you have met before (-taH and -lI') and introduces two more: -pu' and -ta'.

You will then know all four of Klingon's type 7 verbal aspect suffixes.

Of these four, -taH and -pu' are more general and so are more commonly used. -lI' and -ta' have more specific meanings and are only used when you want to emphasize those meanings.

-taH and -lI'

As you have seen before, these show continuous aspect—marking a given action as ongoing or continuous.

-lI' specifically implies that action is headed towards some defined goal or end, while -taH is neutral in this respect. (It neither implies nor denies an endpoint, it just notes that the action is currently ongoing.)

Sometimes, is in the process of (doing something) may be an equivalent for -lI'. Sometimes, a different verb might convey the goal-oriented action, e.g. tlha'taH he is following him versus tlha'lI' he is pursuing him.

-pu' and -ta'

These verb suffixes mark perfective aspect: that a given action is completed. They are commonly translated into the English perfect tenses: has done, had done, will have done.

-pu' is the more general and neutral suffix, and does not specify or deny any intent to have done the action. The action may have been intentional, it may have been accidental, or it may have been beyond our control.

(Don't confuse this one with the identical noun suffix -pu' that indicates the plural of beings capable of using language.)

On the other hand, the verb suffix -ta', implies that the action was undertaken intentionally and was accomplished—that one set out to do the action and was successful in the action.

Sometimes the simplest way to represent -ta' in English is to add, has accomplished (doing something) or, has successfully (done something). There are also some verbs which include a notion of intent in the verb and naturally lend themselves to using the -ta' suffix, like has defected, has won, or has executed. These verbs are not usually used when the action was not deliberately taken.

Note that with -taH/-lI', the difference was one of progressing towards an end point, but with -pu'/-ta' the end point has already been reached and the difference is instead a question of intent.

Adverbs bong and chIch

This unit introduces the adverbs bong accidentally and chIch intentionally.

Adverbs and adverbial expressions (such as expressions of time—yesterday, next month, on Tuesday etc.) always come at the beginning in Klingon.

Note that putting chIch at the beginning of the sentence or -ta' on the verb of the sentence creates a very similar meaning, but perhaps with a slightly different focus on intentionality vs. completion:

chIch qoq vItI'pu'. I have intentionally fixed the robot.
qoq vItI'ta'. I have accomplished fixing the robot.

Klingon grammarians do not consider it incorrect to include both the adverb chIch and the suffix -ta' and do not consider it to be overly repetitive. Such sentences are rare, but it is perfectly fine to say, chIch qoq vItI'ta' I have intentionally accomplished fixing the robot.

A later "Evaluate Situations" will provide more adverbs for you to practice; this is a kind of preview.