tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Nov 25 13:39:23 2002
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Re: jIqeq (I practice)
Gina wrote:
Since you didn't flag this with "KLBC", I'll respond.
>qeqvaD(unsure if this can be done since practice is a verb) neH mu'
>vIyu'laH qeqlu'?
>qeq was the only word i could find for practice, so I used it.
I don't understand exactly what you're trying to say, but it seems to be
something like "Can I use this word just for practice?"
Unlike English, you can't make nouns out of verbs by just adding the noun
suffixes to a verb. If you don't have the noun you need, you have to
rethink the sentence a bit and phrase it using the verb, which we call
"re-casting" here on the List. So instead of saying "for practice" using
the noun, use the verb and try to say the same thing: {jIqeqmeH} "[in
order] for [me to] practice, in order that I practice". Thus:
jIqeqmeH neH, mu'vam vIlo'laH'a'?
Can I use this word just for practice?
("In order that I merely practice, am I able to use this word?")
>lugh (is this)?
>Is this right?
When asking a yes-or-no question, don't forget to tag the verb with {-'a'}:
lugh.
It is right.
lugh'a'?
Is it right?
And to make the subject more explicit:
lugh'a' mu'tlheghvam?
Is this sentence right?
("Is it right, this sentence?")
Think of it as an added clue to the listener - aside from intonation - that
you're asking a question and not making a statement. In English, we give
this clue by changing the order of the words but, since Klingon word order
is quite rigid, {-'a'} acts as a sort of a spoken question mark.
--
Voragh "All the meaning is in the context."
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons (Ilya Kabakov, Russian artist)