More verb prefixes

You've already come across what are probably the most common verb prefixes: jI-, vI-, bI-, Da-, ma-, Su-, and no prefix at all (usually called the "null" prefix).

This unit introduces many new verb prefixes for combinations of subjects and objects.  There are still more that you will learn in a future unit.

When you learned the prefixes vI- and Da-, you learned that the object for both of those prefixes is always third-person (i.e. neither me nor you) and can be singular ("him/her/it") or plural ("them").  The prefix bo- (subject "you (plural)") is also used for both singular and plural third-person objects. However, for some subjects, there are separate prefixes for singular objects or plural objects.

Pay special attention to the fact that when the subject is "we", there are separate prefixes wI- and DI- depending on whether the third-person object is singular ("him/her/it") or plural ("them"). Though this is a constructed language, there are some irregularities like this that appear to make it resemble a natural language.

Some of these prefixes are more frequent then others, especially the ones with an object of "him, her, it" and/or "them", so you'll see a fair bit of bo- in this course and some wI- and DI-, and it pays to get those three down.

cho- and qa- (you do something to me and I do something to you) are also fairly common, but some of the others are rare in conversation and similarly rare in this course.

Verb suffix -laH "can"

The "Type 5" verb suffix -laH indicates "can" or "able to".

For example, it makes the difference between tlhIngan Hol vIjatlh "I speak Klingon" and tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhlaH "I can speak Klingon".  It would also make the difference between tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhbe' "I do not speak Klingon" and tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhlaHbe' "I cannot speak Klingon".  The differences in meaning are small and either sentence of each pair could probably be used in the same situation, but in an educational environment like this, it is important to be specific about the difference.

Verb suffix -be' "not"

In an earlier unit we introduced the very useful verb suffix -be', which means "not". You may remember that this suffix is classified as a rover. Unlike suffix types 1-9, some of the rovers can actually be placed in different orders and change the meaning of the sentence slightly based on where they occur.

The rover suffix -be' comes after the verb portion which it negates.

So tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhlaHbe' means "I cannot speak Klingon" (the -be' negates the -laH), while tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhbe'laH would mean "I am able to not speak Klingon" (the -be' negates the vIjatlh to make "I do not speak", and then -laH turns that into "I can not-speak" or "I am able to not speak").

The other feature of some of the rovers, that is different than types 1-9, is that they can appear multiple times, thus negating multiple parts of the verb construction. jIjatlhbe'laHbe' would mean, "I cannot not speak," or, "I am not able to not speak." (You may know humans like that, but Klingons like that are much more rare.)

Most verbs have only one or two suffixes at a time, and the correct order of suffixes will soon become second nature from seeing and practicing the most frequent combinations.

Verb suffix -taH

The type 7 verb suffix -taH is used for continuous or ongoing actions. Its meaning is very similar to that of the English -ing in I am running.

Since Klingon doesn't have tense, jIqettaH can mean I am running or can mean I was running or I will be running—the -taH only shows that it is, was, or will be an ongoing action.

Not all instance of -ing in English should necessarily be translated with -taH in Klingon, and a Klingon verb without -taH, may sometimes be translated into English with -ing.  However, in this course you will be expected to consistently translate this continuous aspect with the English progressive tenses and vice versa.

This and that

In English, the demonstrative adjectives "this" and "that" are combined with a noun to show generally where that noun is in space, time, or thought.  The adjective "this" is used to identify a specific person or thing close in space, time, or reference or currently being indicated or experienced.  The adjective "that" is used to identify a person or thing further in space, time, or reference or previously indicated or experienced. Instead of using a demonstrative adjective as a separate word, Klingon translates these concepts by using special Type 4 noun suffixes.

"This" is expressed with -vam: 
Ha'DIbaHvam "this animal".

"That" is expressed with -vetlh: 
Ha'DIbaHvetlh "that animal".

If the noun is plural, English uses slightly different demonstrative adjectives: "these" and "those".  However, Klingon does not change the suffixes and uses the exact same suffixes on plural nouns.  This means that sometime you will translate -vam as "these" and -vetlh as "those".

Ha'DIbaHmeyvam "these animals"
Ha'DIbaHmeyvetlh "those animals".

This unit will give you more practice with the "Type 2" noun suffix -mey, which forms the plural of many nouns (the ones that are neither beings capable of language nor body parts).

Remember that in Klingon, plural suffixes are optional — both qach and qachmey can be used for "buildings".

Since it is clearer to use a plural suffix when there is more than one of something, these early units in the course usually use them even though they are optional. However, Klingon speakers are more likely to leave them off unless the plurality of the noun is important and not obvious from the context. As you advance, sometimes we will show you sentences where only the verb prefix or other context indicates that a noun is plural.

Vocabulary