tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Dec 28 10:14:32 1996
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RE: First steps
- From: "David Trimboli" <[email protected]>
- Subject: RE: First steps
- Date: Sat, 28 Dec 96 18:03:55 UT
December 27, 1996 6:42 PM EST, jatlh Edy Fonseca:
> I'm feeling like a baby with my first steps, so I would like you help.
> can I say "I'm learning the klingon grammar" as "yIghoj tlhingan Hol" ?
Klingon sentence structure is OBJ-VERB-SUBJ. The object of your English
sentence is "Klingon grammar." {tlhIngan Hol pab}. This must come first.
Next is the verb. You have the correct verb, {ghoj}. Now we need a prefix.
Look on the chart on TKD page 33. You must choose the correct prefix,
matching subject and object. The subject is "I." The object, "Klingon
grammar," is "it." This prefix is {vI-}. Put that on the verb. {vIghoj}.
Since this is a continuous action, not a one-time happening, you may want to
consider using one of the two verb suffixes {-taH} or {lI'} (go ahead, look
them up). These indicate that the action is continuous, and {-lI'} has the
added meaning that there is a known stopping point to the action. Since I
doubt you have a specific point in which you will consider your learning of
Klingon to be complete (I'm still learning things . . .), you must use {-taH}.
{vIghojtaH}.
Finally, the subject is "I" {jIH}. Note that it is optional in Klingon to add
a pronoun subject or object if it is clear from other things (like the verb
prefix) what they are. If you add it anyway, you will probably be emphasizing
the pronoun a lot. You don't need to do that here, so we'll just omit the
pronoun {jIH}.
The final sentence is
tlhIngan Hol pab vIghojtaH.
I'm learning Klingon grammar.
> Qatlho'
{tlho'} is the verb meaning "thank." If you're saying "I thank you
(singular)," the correct verb prefix (again, from the table on page 33) is
{qa-}. Note that it is a *lower case* {q}, not a capital {Q}. These are
different sounds in Klingon, and there is no verb suffix {Qa-}.
--
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 96993.2