To be or not to be

Klingon does not have a verb "to be". Instead, pronouns help to fill the role of connecting nouns in sentences like, "I am a Klingon".

jIH means "I" or "me", but it also means "I am" in sentences such as tlhIngan jIH "I am a Klingon".

ghaH means "he", "she", "him", or "her" and also means "he is" or "she is" in sentences such as tlhIngan ghaH "He is a Klingon" or "She is a Klingon".

Pronoun Review

Using "to be" with an explicit subject noun

These sentences could be translated with, "As for Torg, he is a Klingon," and, "As for the men, they are Klingons."  But in Klingon this structure is the basic form of equating two nouns, so it's simpler to translate them as above.

The "Type 5" noun suffix -'e' will be covered in more detail later. For now, please only use it where it is grammatically required — this means only in sentences where a pronoun is used for "to be".

"Is it?"

Pronouns can also be used to ask questions about whether two nouns are equivalent.  Normally, to turn a statement into a yes/no question, you add the type 9 verb suffix -'a', but there is no verb in a Klingon "to be" sentence. For purposes of applying verb suffixes, the pronoun is treated as if it were a verb.  In this special construction, verb suffixes can be applied to the pronoun. Thus the -'a' interrogative verb suffix is attached to the pronoun. 

"Is Torg a Klingon?" tlhIngan ghaH'a' torgh'e'?
"Are the men Klingons?" is tlhInganpu' chaH'a' loDpu"e'?

Notice that the verb and subject switch places in the English sentences to make it a question, but in Klingon, the only change is the addition of the -'a' suffix.

Using verbs adjectivally and "to be"

Using a verb that can be used adjectivally for a statement, the verb includes "to be" in the verb – you do not use a pronoun as "to be" for this: val jagh ("The enemy is smart"). A pronoun may still be used to represent the subject – val ghaH "she is smart", but we consider "is" to be part of the verb val rather than part of the pronoun ghaH.

With a verb as an adjective following the noun it describes there is no "to be" in the English translation. If you want to use such a noun phrase as the subject in a "pronoun as to be" sentence, the -'e' suffix goes on the end of the whole noun phrase (appearing to attach to the verb).

Compare:

• val'a' tlhIngan SuvwI' "Is the Klingon warrior smart."
• val ghaH "She is smart."
• SuvwI' val "the smart warrior"
• tlhIngan ghaH SuvwI' val'e' "The smart warrior is a Klingon."
• SuvwI' val ghaH'a' tlhIngan SuvwI"e'? "Is the Klingon warrior a smart warrior?"

This, that, these, those

In the previous unit you learned the "Type 4" noun suffixes: -vam ("this") and -vetlh ("that"): Ha'DIbaHvam "this animal", Ha'DIbaHmeyvetlh "those animals".

These type 4 suffixes come after any type 2 plural suffix.  Then -'e', as a type 5 suffix, would come last.

Chasing forest sarks

A Sargh "sark" is a Klingon riding animal, somewhat resembling a horse. Sarks are fast and nimble and very good at getting around obstacles.  The phrase, "chasing forest sarks" is an idiom for "doing something complex and difficult".

Vocabulary

tera'ngan – Earthling (person) (n)

nagh – rock (n)

-'e' – topic/focus (type 5 noun suffix)

Ha'DIbaH – animal (n)

HoS – be strong (v)

Dun – be wonderful (v)

Sargh – Sark (a Klingon animal) (n)