tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Nov 03 17:21:22 1998

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RE: KLBC verb question

lab SIHwI':
> 
> In the KLI FAQ there is a section dealing with 
> transitive/intransitive verbs. One paragraph mentions 
> sentences in English like "The stick broke", and
> "The stick broke the cup".  Here is my Klingon 
> versions of these two:

One general comment - you look like you are using <-pu'> as tense instead of
aspect. To say "the stick broke", all you need to say is <naQHom ghorlu'>.
This also means "the stick breaks" and "the stick will break". If you want
to say something like "At the present moment, the stick has completed the
act of being broken." (laboriously drawn out for effect), then <naQHom
ghorlu'pu'> is fine.

> ghanjaq ghorlu'pu' 
> 
> tu'lum ghorpu' ghanjaq

maj. 

Of couse, <ghanjaq> means "club, bludgeon", and my suggetion of <naQHom> may
only apply to sticks used to play percussion instruments. We don't have a
general word equivalent to the English "stick", so you have to pick the
appropriate word based on context. Also, we have <HIvje'> for "cup", which
can represent any kind of drinking vessel. <tu'lum> can only refer to a
teacup, and is an older or upper class usage.

Your vocabulary choices are fine; I'm just pointing out alternatives.

> My question is, how would I say "the boy broke the cup with 
> the stick"?
>  
> These best I could comeup with is:
>  
> tu'lum ghormeH ghanjaq lo'ta' loDHom
> 
> Is there a better way to say this?

This is grammatically correct, but a bit confusing. It is generally best to
put the subject after the *first* verb, and repeat or omit it after the
second verb as you like:

<tu'lum ghormeH loDHom, ghanjaq lo'>.


pagh
Beginners' Grammarian

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