tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Nov 29 22:58:32 2000
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Grammar Highlight Each Day: About Adjectives
- From: [email protected]
- Subject: Grammar Highlight Each Day: About Adjectives
- Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 01:58:16 EST
Disclaimer: This is only a highlight of a point or two of Klingon grammar.
It is not an exhaustive teaching tool.
Today I will use material beyond that which you will find in TKD.
The adjective comes right after the noun it modifies. Examples: loD jen =
tall man (loD = man; jen = be tall)
puq run = short child (puq = child; run = be short in stature)
betleH jej = sharp blade of honor (betleH = blade of honor; jej = be sharp)
chatlh jeD = thick soup (chatlh = soup Klingon style; jeD = be thick)
The actual highlight of the day is: You can have only one adjective after a
noun. The only affix to the adjective you are allowed is the suffix {-qu'} =
very. Examples: loD jenqu' = very tall man; puq runqu' = very short child;
betleH jejqu' = very sharp blade of honor; chatlh jeDqu' = very thick
Klingon-style soup.
Now I go outside of TKD. You can have two other suffixes besides {-qu'}.
You may use either {-be'} or {-Ha'}, too. While the use of the suffix {-be'}
is unrestricted, there is some restriction coming from Marc Okrand while I
was chatting with him upon using {-Ha'}. Thus, it is safe to use adjectives
which Marc Okrand has listed in the dictionary and additions to the
dictionary that already have {Ha'}.
Examples: Soj tlhorghHa' = bland food (Soj = food; tlhorgh = be pungent,
tlhorghHa' = be bland)
'etlh jejHa' = dull blade ('etlh = blade; jejHa' = dull, i.e., unsharp)
tIqa' vIghro' jotHa' = uneasy Tika cat (tIqa' = Klingon fraidy cat-like
animal; vIghro' = Klingon cat-like animal; jot = be calm, jotHa' = be uneasy)
Finally, you may not use any other verb suffixes on adjectives modifying
nouns. Thus, you may not say be' jenlaw' = apparently tall woman; be' jenrup
= ready-to-be-tall woman. That's not Klingon.
peHruS