tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Jun 19 07:23:47 1997
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Re: mughmeH qeq
- From: "William H. Martin" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: mughmeH qeq
- Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 10:23:44 -0400 (EDT)
- In-Reply-To: <[email protected]> from "Marc Ruehlaender" at Jun 18, 97 06:57:18 pm
According to Marc Ruehlaender:
>
> peHruS typed:
> > Let's see how you all translate this:
> > SIS rIntaHDI' pumpa' nagh'a' qaSpu'
> > loS jaj
> >
> I read it as
> "When the last drop of rain has fallen,
> it will be four days until the great rock falls."
>
> HomDoq
But what about qaSpu'? The perfective indicates that four days
had happened, have happened, or will have happened. You are
using simple future tense in "it will be four days".
The sentence has a time setting. That time stamp is {SIS
rIntaHDI'}. When the action of raining had become complete. So
the tense of this sentence is pegged to the moment that it
stopped raining (or if it is still raining, the moment it stops
raining).
We are given additional time-related context for this moment.
{pumpa' nagh'a'}. Before significant rock or rocks fell.
The main action of this sentence is {qaSpu' loS jaj}. Four days
had happened/have happened/will have happened. If the rain has
already stopped, then four days had happened at the moment the
rain stopped and we are not sure about the big rock falling.
Maybe it has fallen, or maybe it has not fallen yet, but it
will fall, and it didn't fall before the rain stopped.
If the rain is now stopping, then four days have happened and
the rock has not fallen yet.
If it is still raining, then the four days will have happened
when the rain stops and the rock won't fall until the moment
the rain stops or some time later. At the moment the rain
stops, four days will have happened.
If some other time relationship is intended here, then it
probably should be expressed some other way.
charghwI'