tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Oct 23 13:35:31 2003

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Re: (KLBC) Is this right?

Lieven L. Litaer (Quvar) ([email protected]) [KLI Member] [Hol ghojwI']

> {rut tuvtaHghach 'oH nuH'e' vaQ law' yan vaQ puS.}
> Sometimes patience is a more effective weapon than the
> sword.

Note the difference:
 {tuvtaHghach 'oH nuH'e'}
   "the weapon is patience"

 {nuH 'oH tuvtaHghach'e'}
   "patience is the weapon"

This sentences doesn't work, because you have actually two sentences:
   {tuvtaHghach 'oH nuH'e'}
   "the weapon is patience"
and
   {nuH vaQ law' yan vaQ puS}
   "the weapon is more effective than the sword"

In the above sentence, you can replace any noun with a phrase that can stand for a noun by itself, but {tuvtaHghach 'oH nuH'e'} 
cannot. The easiest is to use a pronoun:

  {nuH 'oH tuvtaHghach'e'. rut 'oH vaQ law' yan vaQ puS}
  "Patience is a weapon. Sometimes it is more effective than the sword."

>Am 20.10.2003 22:27:59, ghItlh ngabwI':
>{tuvtaHghach} I like it... }}: )

I do not like it, because it's too easy to make new words by just adding -taH and -ghach. We know that {-ghach} cannot be attached to 
the bare verbstem, but using {-taH} every time seems a lazy way to avoid this problem.

>The sentence seems a little clunky... you could try a -meH clause with the
>law'/puS, and piggyback {QamvIS Hegh qaq law', torvIS yIn qaq puS} 

Good idea, I was going to tell you the same thing.
But I would try to avoid using {tuvtaHghach}:

   {Qapchu'meH rut tuvwI' vaQ law' yanwI' vaQ puS}
   "to really succeed, sometimes a patient one is more effective than a sword-user"

  {rut tuvbogh SuvwI' vaQ law', yanbogh SuvwI' vaQ puS}
  "sometimes a patient warrior is more effective than a sword-using warrior"

rIn.

Quvar
Beginners' Grammarian
www.qepHom.de

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