tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Nov 21 08:39:19 1997
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Re: understanding {-lu'} (was Re: peDtaH 'ej jIQuch)
- From: "Anthony.Appleyard" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: understanding {-lu'} (was Re: peDtaH 'ej jIQuch)
- Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 15:59:00 GMT
- Organization: Materials Science Centre
- Priority: normal
[email protected] (Alan Anderson) wrote:-
> The transitive/intransitive distinction is important only for the English
> translation. Intransitive and passive voice don't work well together unless
> there are extra words in the sentence that can be used "creatively" to
> smooth it out.
> But in Klingon, whether or not there's an object doesn't affect the ability
> to have an indefinite subject.
Ditto in Latin, where the usual way to give an impersonal subject to a verb
which can have a personal subject is to make the verb passive, even if it is
intransitive, e.g. {itur} = "a journey is made".