tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jun 30 20:24:45 1997
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Re: One more thing
- From: "David Trimboli" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: One more thing
- Date: Tue, 1 Jul 97 02:35:32 UT
[email protected] on behalf of peHruS wrote:
> You seem to have overlooked the appositive: mu' {DIpmey napbe'}, for
> example. I realize you have already told me you find my use of appositives
> hard to understand.
Yes, after seeing your original, I realized you were using apposition again.
> Second, {-taH} does not only mean "continuously"; it
> also means "continue to do the action of the verb."
Only in the appropriate context. Literally, its true meaning is "the action
is not a one-time event, it was happening previously, and will continue to
happen, though the exact duration is not specified in this verb."
Lacking the context (in this case, lacking understanding of your point),
there's no way to know that "continuing to do the action" is the main thrust
of the sentence. Just because a suffix *can* mean something doesn't mean that
you will automatically use it in that way. {yIjunqa'} *can* mean "evade one
more time," but upon first seeing it I'd assume its more basic meaning: "start
evading as you were before." (If the context reveals that evading is a single
maneuver, and not an ongoing process, then the {-qa'} will be shown to mean
the "one more time" idea. But that idea does not necessarily come across with
just the suffix.)
--
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97497.9