tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Jul 07 00:35:21 2001

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Re: pa'mey



I didn't see a response to this, but it demands attention.

ja' Quvar:
>So is this the way to say it?

The usage you're trying out, with the appropriate pluralization of 
{mebpa'}, is fine.  However, both of these sentences have problems 
with the verb prefix.

>- naDev mebpa'mey law' tu'lu''a'?
>"Are there many hotels here?"
>lit: does one observe many guestrooms here?

Strictly speaking, since the object is plural and you're using the 
verb suffix {-lu'}, you should also use the verb prefix {lu-}.  This 
is a common error, and one which is often ignored as trivial. 
However, this is a learning/teaching situation, and I believe it 
should be made as correct as possible.

>- ghobe'. cha' mebpa' qachmey neH wIghaj.
>"No, we only have two hotels."
>lit: no. we have only two guestroom buildings.

This one, though, is definitely wrong.  Since the object is plural, 
the verb prefix should be {DI-), not {wI-}.

-- ghunchu'wI' 'utlh



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