tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Nov 04 08:02:55 1998
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RE: KLBC verb question
: lab SIHwI':
: > My question is, how would I say "the boy broke the cup with
: > the stick"? The 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'>.
"In order for the boy to break the teacup, he used a club."
While grammatically correct, this still feels a bit odd to me. In a short
sentence like this, I would have put the subject at the end:
tu'lum ghormeH, ghanjaq lo' loDHom.
"In order to break the teacup, the boy used a club."
Note that punctuation helps the reader, though it's not required. With a
longer sentence, though, I would certainly put the subject after the first
verb
as pagh suggests, lest the reader lose track of it. Another very common
variation - at least here on the mailing list - is the {X lo'taHvIS} trick:
ghanjaq lo'taHvIS, tu'lum ghor loDHom.
"While using a club, the boy broke the teacup."
Chacun a son gout.
: pagh
: Beginners' Grammarian
_________________________________________________________________________
Voragh "Grammatici certant et adhuc sub judice
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons lis est." Horace (Ars Poetica)