tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Nov 19 19:23:11 2000
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Re: Grammar Highlight Each Day (bo-)
ja'pu' Holtej:
> BTW, out of curiosity, why are you conjugating the verbs, as in (Sov =
> knows)? Why not present them in a way that's consistent with how TKD
> presents them, for consistency and clarity?
ja' HomDoq:
> I actually like this. It helps prevent people from thinking they
> can use un-prefixed verb forms like they can use infinitives in English.
How does it do that? I don't understand what you mean.
The biggest problem I have with such a presentation is that it completely
ignores any distinction between an unprefixed verb and a verb with a null
prefix. That distinction does occasionally become important, such as when
appending a type 9 suffix like {-wI'} or {-ghach} or even {-meH}. It also
puts extreme focus on the *least* common form of the verb when translated
into English. Even limiting the discussion to present tense, "knows"
occurs only with a singular third person subject. The TKD-compliant "know"
is found when translating every other combination of number and person.