tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Apr 05 12:13:06 2002
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Re: of a certain age
ja'pu' Sean M. Burke:
> {'ar poH taHpu' targhHomlij?} {loS Hogh taHpu'!}
> ("How long has your targlet survived/lived?" "She has survived four
> weeks.")
ja' Voragh:
>I'll let the BG explain the proper use of {'ar} and {poH}, but the use of
>the perfect implies - to me at least - that the act of surviving/living has
>been completed; i.e. the targ is no longer alive. In other words: "How
>long did your targ survive?" If the targ is still alive, the action of the
>verb {taH} or {yIn} has not yet been completed and you cannot use the perfect.
I've mentioned this before, but it's been a while and I feel the need to
say it again. *I* don't see {-pu'} as implying that an action or state is
no longer present. {tujpu' bIQ} doesn't say to me that the water is cool.
Getting clarification on this is probably something I should remember for
the next wish list.
-- ghunchu'wI'