tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Aug 09 14:04:12 1999

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RE: for pagh (KLBC)

jatlh ngenDa' la':

> pagh,

> Let me see if I have this straight, then. In order to 
> speak Klingon properly, there are a few unshakable rules:

HIja'.

> 1) Sentence order is: OBJECT-VERB-SUBJECT.
maj.

> 2) Verbs acting as adjectives preceed the noun they are describing.
Verbs acting as adjectives *follow* the noun they are modifying.

> 3) Pronouns follow the nouns.
This one is a little more complicated. Pronouns can be used to stand in for
nouns, just like in English. For example <puq qIp ghaH> - "He/she hit the
child". Unlike English, though, the pronoun is almost always optional and is
usually left out, leaving <puq qIp>. When acting like nouns, pronouns can
take most noun suffixes.

Pronouns can also do something else - act like *verbs* - specifically forms
of "to be". The general form for this sort of thing is: <noun1> <pronoun>
<noun2>-'e'. This translates as "<noun2> is/are/was/will be/etc <noun1>".
This same structure can also be used without the <noun2>-'e', where it
equates <noun1> and the pronoun. When acting as "to be", pronouns can take
most *verb* suffixes. Examples:

baHwI' ghaH - He is the gunner
baHwI' ghaH matlh'e' - Maltz is the gunner
chotwI' jIH - I am a murderer
chotwI' jIHlaw' - I am apparently a murderer
chotwI' jIHchoH - I am becoming a murderer
DaSwIj bIHbej DaSvetlh'e' - Those are definitely my boots

> 4) When using multiple nouns, the conjunction follows both nouns.
maj.

> 5) Prefixes and suffixes for both nouns and verbs are 
> used in the numerical order according to the specific application.
maj. There are, of course, a few exceptions - the two "rover" verb suffixes
(-qu' and -be') that can go just about anywhere.

> 6) You can only use ONE of each prefix and suffix from a "type" 
> for each word (one type-3, then one type-5 etc.).
maj.

> Do I have it right so far?
Pretty close.

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