tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Nov 19 18:11:16 2007

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

Re: nuqDaq 'oH puchpa''e'?

Alan Anderson ([email protected]) [KLI Member] [Hol po'wI']

ja' Voragh:

> The pronoun+{-taH} = "to be (located) somewhere" rule is not  
> explicitly
> stated by Okrand, but it is a pattern we've noticed by examining his
> example sentences.

The pattern I saw at first was this:  {-taH} accompanies the pronoun- 
as-to-be when the sentence is describing a situation that could  
change without notice: {pa'DajDaq ghaHtaH la''e'} "The commander is  
in his quarters."  It's an ongoing but mutable state.  The suffix is  
absent when the situation is more permanent: {puqpu' chaH  
qama'pu''e'} "The prisoners are children."

Following this apparent pattern, {nuqDaq 'oH} is right for asking the  
location of a restroom in a building or the location of a good  
restaurant.  {nuqDaq 'oHtaH} would be perfectly appropriate when  
referring to an already-known but mobile restroom or restaurant.

However, the {jengva'} and {vaS'a'} examples seem to go against this  
interpretation.

-- ghunchu'wI'

Back to archive top level