Re: predicative

[Steven Boozer <sboozer@midway.uchicago.edu>]

Clayton Cardoso wrote:

: How can I say something in predicative?
: For example, I am a Ferengi Ha'DIbaH, or You were a captain.

You simply use the pronouns:

  verengan Ha'DIbaH jIH.
  I am a Ferengi dog.

  tlhIngan maH!
  We are Klingon(s)! [a traditional exclamation]

Note that plural suffixes are optional in Klingon and are sometimes omitted
when the context is clear or other elements in the sentence are present (such
as the objective verb prefixes).  Here, since {maH} "we" is plural, so is
{tlhIngan}.  

Used in this fashion, pronouns act like verbs and can take verb suffixes:

  tera'ngan SoHbe'.
  You're not a Terran.

  vulqanganpu' chaHlaw'.
  They appear to be Vulcans.  They are apparently Vulcan.

  romuluSngan chaHba'.
  They are clearly Romulan.  They are obviously Romulans.
 
Remember that unlike English, Klingon does not have grammatical tense (see the
ongoing discussions on "aspect" and {-ta'} on this list).  {HoD SoH} can be
translated "You were a captain", "You are a captain" or "You will be a
captain"
according to context.

A variation of this pattern is seen when there is an explicit or named subject
following a third person pronoun, i.e. equational sentences.  In those cases
the subject noun is always marked by the topic suffix {-'e'}:

  chom ghaH.
  He is a bartender.

  chom ghaH verengan'e'.
  The Ferengi is a bartender. As for the Ferengi, he is a bartender.

For more information, read section 6.3 ("To be") of The Klingon Dictionary.

-- 
Voragh                       
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons