tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Mar 27 16:59:04 2004

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Re: <<'e'>> DIpvaD tammey je

QeS lagh ([email protected])



ghItlhpu' Voragh:

>Although {'oH} can act as a verb, it acts as linking verb or copula; it's
>not transitive.  The complement of {'e'} is the predicate; it is not an
>object - that is, it doesn't receive the action of the pronoun-as-verb

jang Dar'Qang:
>Ok, this was what I was looking for, some definite indication that it is/is 
>not grammatical. Thanks.
>One of the interesting things about this hobby for a non-linguist such 
>myself is learning about
>things like 'copula' and 'linking verbs'.

You ain't seen nothing yet. :)

I remember thinking just this when charghwI' and some others were discussing 
how one might mark irrealis clauses. And you begin learning neat things 
about aspect, number, word order... I'd wager than a lot of us here could 
now pass a university-level introductory linguistics course without much 
trouble. Except Holtej, of course, who's probably WRITTEN university-level 
introductory linguistics courses... :P

jabbI'IDDaj taHmoH voragh:

>to be sure, some natives are better at this than others.)  At the very
>least, it would be stylistically highly marked, as in English "I am he"
>(i.e. I am the person you've been talking about).

jang Dar'Qang:

>or maybe "I am him", since the 'e' carries a direct-object connotation.

I think Voragh's point is not to compare the semantics of these two 
structures, but just to give an English example of a highly marked 
construct. Strictly, "I am he" is grammatical, and some people prefer it 
because it preserves both pronouns in the nominative case; in practice, it 
would be rarely heard, along a similar vein to the {'e' 'oH X} construct. "I 
am him" is the unmarked, everyday form.

Savan.

QeS lagh

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