tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Nov 18 11:51:07 1999

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RE: {X 'e' Y-lu'}



jatlh qa'ral:

> Is it the rule then that adverbials in sentence-as-object 
> constructions can modify only the final (main) verb?

ghobe'. charghwI' was merely commenting on your word order.

jatlh qa'ral:
> > {X net Y-lu'} qelbogh nger wejDIch vIchup:
> > 
> > Inasmuch as both {net} and {-lu'} identify verb Y as having 
> > an impersonal subject, perhaps the combination is heard as 
> > redundant, thus rendering the more common {'e'} at least 
> > optional.
> > 
> > vaj tlhoS nIblaw' tlha'bogh wej mu'tlheghmey:
> > 
> > yay'lu'taH 'e' not mevlu'!
> > yay'lu'taH net not mev!
> > yay'lu'taH 'e' not mev vay'!

jang charghwI':
> Look more closely at your word order. Adverbials preceed direct 
> objects, unless the direct object is emphasized with the Type 5 
> noun suffix {-'e'}, and there is no evidence that this is legal 
> for the pronouns {'e'} or {net}, so your {not} is consistently 
> misplaced.

charghwI''s point is that the object of <mev> in all three sentences is
either <'e'> or <net>. Adverbials precede objects, so you would have to say:
<yay'lu'taH not net mev!>. The trick here is to remember that <'e'> (or
<net>) is not some sort of weird conjunction; it is the object of the second
sentence. After a while, this kind of placement will seem automatic, and the
other way will sound a little weird.

That said, Okrand has placed the adverbial after the <'e'> on a skybox card:

DuraS tuq tlhIngan yejquv patlh luDub 'e' reH lunIDtaH DuraS be'nI'pu'
lurSa' be'etor je. ... (Season 5, card 26).

I believe he has done this in at least one other instance, but I don't feel
like looking for it.


pagh
Beginners' Grammarian

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