tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun May 18 15:04:11 2003
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RE: JangmeH toch De'wI' lo'
> I probably would have stated your sentence differently and
> avoided -lu' altogether.
Why do you want to avoid -lu'?
How would you say a sentence without specifying the subject?
> ... but there is definitely a past tense (-pu' or -ta') and in some
> cases a present tense (-taH).
Type 7 suffixes are NOT tense; they are aspect.
> but when we translate Klingon into English we find that Klingon
> does in fact have tense,
The english TRANSLATION might use tense, but the klingon does not.
> Aspect, in most cases, is identified to us through the word "tense."
Umm... NO. They are two different concepts.
Let's use the root sentence /vIlegh/ "I see him".
vIlegh - I saw him.
vIlegh - I see him.
vIlegh - I will see him.
vIleghpu' - I have seen him.
vIleghpu' - I saw him.
vIleghpu' - I will have seen him.
vIleghtaH - I was continuously seeing him.
vIleghtaH - I am continuously seeing him.
vIleghtaH - I will be continuously seeing him.
None of those sentences have time-stamps; so we don't know when the action
takes place.
Add time-stamps:
wejHu' vIlegh - I saw him three days ago.
DaH vIlegh - I see him now.
wejleS vIlegh - I will see him three days from now.
wejHu' vIleghpu' - Three days ago I had already seen him. I might have seen
him four days ago, I might have seen him a year ago; I don't get that
specific; I merely say that as of three days ago the act of seeing him was
over with.
DaH vIleghpu' - Now, at this point in time, I have already seen him. I
might have seen him yesterday, or it might have been a few months ago.
wejleS vIleghpu' - Three days from now I will have seen him. I might see
him later today, I might see him tomorrow; I don't specify when I see him,
only that by time three days from now gets around our paths will have
crossed.
wejHu' vIleghtaH - Three days ago I continuously saw him. It wasn't just a
glance. I was spying on him and kept an eye on him all day.
DaH vIleghtaH - I am continuously seeing him right now. He's been in my
sight for a while and I will be watching him for some time.
wejleS vIleghtaH - Three days from now I will continuously see him. It
won't be just a glance. I'll keep him in my sight all day.
DloraH