Joining Sentences

Klingon Grammar 1

Course 1 · Chapter 9 · Joining Sentences

A language that could only make single sentences would not get far. Klingon joins ideas in three ways: conjunctions that link nouns or whole sentences, group 9 suffixes that turn a verb into a clause ("if", "because", "before"), and the suffix -bogh that builds a relative clause ("the person who …"). You have already met the group 9 suffixes -meH and -wI' (Chapter 7); this chapter completes the set.

The idea in a box

A clause is a whole sentence with a group 9 suffix on its verb. It can go before or after the main sentence (except the purpose clause with -meH, which goes first), and the order of words inside it is the usual object – verb – subject.

Conjunctions

Klingon has one set of conjunctions for joining nouns and a different, mirror-image set for joining sentences. The noun conjunctions follow the nouns they connect:

Meaning	Between nouns	Between sentences
and	je	'ej
and/or	joq	qoj
either … or	ghap	pagh
but		'ach

# nouns: the conjunction follows the nouns
yaS   SuvwI'   je              the officer and the warrior

# sentences: the conjunction stands between the clauses
jISop   'ej   jItlhutlh        I eat and I drink
jISop   'ach  jItlhutlhbe'     I eat, but I do not drink

Compare Esperanto, which has the single word kaj for both jobs, and Hungarian és. Klingon's two sets make it clear at once whether a noun or a sentence is being joined.

Subordinate Clauses

A group 9 suffix on a verb makes the whole clause depend on another. You have the full set already in the table of Chapter 7; here are the ones not yet used, each with a worked example:

Suffix	Meaning	Example	Translation
-pa'	before	jItlheDpa', HIboQ	Before I depart, assist me.
-vIS	while (used with -taH)	lumtaHvIS, pagh ta'	He accomplishes nothing while he procrastinates.
-DI'	as soon as	jImej chocholDI'	As soon as you approach me, I leave.
-chugh	if	DaSamlaHchugh, DaSuqlaH	If you can find it, you can take it.
-mo'	because	bI'Ilmo', qavoq	Because you are sincere, I trust you.

Look at one example closely. DaSamlaHchugh is built from the prefix Da- (you → it), the root Sam "find", the group 5 suffix -laH "can" and the group 9 suffix -chugh "if": ranks 5 then 9, as Chapter 7 requires. Nothing can follow -chugh, and a rover such as -be' would have to come before it. The suffix -mo' exists as a noun suffix too ("because of", Chapter 3); the same letters work in both places, and the word it is attached to tells you which.

Where does the clause go? A subordinate clause may stand before or after the main clause, but a purpose clause with -meH always goes first (Chapter 7). English has the same freedom: If you can find it, take it and Take it if you can find it. Esperanto uses separate words (se "if", ĉar "because", antaŭ ol "before"), and Hungarian also uses words (ha, mert, mielőtt). Klingon packs the same information into the verb.

Relative Clauses: -bogh

A relative clause says which person or thing you mean: "the person who sells the pet". In Klingon the verb takes -bogh, the clause keeps the ordinary object – verb – subject order, and the head noun (the person or thing being described) sits where it would in that clause. Which noun is the head is shown by placing the optional noun suffix -'e' on it:

chuS   Saj   ngevbogh   ghot'e'
is noisy   pet   sells   person

# the clause is "Saj ngevbogh ghot" = the person who sells the pet
# the whole phrase is the subject of chuS:  "The person who sells the pet is noisy."

chuS   Saj'e'   ngevbogh   ghot
is noisy   pet   sells   person

# here the head is "Saj", the object of the clause:
# "The pet that the person sells is noisy."

Both sentences contain the same words. The difference is which noun carries -'e', and so which noun is being described. In English you would change the pronoun (who, that) or the order; Klingon uses a single suffix on the head noun.

Watch out: the order inside a clause is still object – verb – subject

It is tempting to put the subject first, as in English "the person sells the pet". In Klingon the clause Saj ngevbogh ghot has the object first. Relative clauses are also easy to misread when their words could belong to the main sentence, so look for the -bogh to find where the clause ends.

Hands-On Exercises

Exercise 1

Take apart these clauses, giving prefix, root, suffixes (with group numbers) and meaning: (a) jItlheDpa'; (b) DaSamlaHchugh; (c) bI'Ilmo'; (d) chocholDI'. In (d), what do the prefixes cho- tell you?

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Exercise 2

Build the Klingon clause for: (a) "if I can see it" (legh); (b) "because you see me"; (c) "as soon as we find it" (Sam); (d) "while I eat" (Sop, using -taH as well as the "while" suffix). Then join "I eat" and "I drink" (tlhutlh) with a conjunction, and join "officer" and "warrior" with a conjunction.

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Exercise 3

Translate chuS Saj ngevbogh ghot'e' and chuS Saj'e' ngevbogh ghot, and explain exactly what is different between them. (Words: chuS be noisy, Saj pet, ngev sell, ghot person.)

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Chapter 9 Quick Reference

Noun conjunctions (after the nouns): je and, joq and/or, ghap either/or
Sentence conjunctions: 'ej and, qoj and/or, pagh either/or, 'ach but
Clause suffixes (group 9): -pa' before, -vIS while (with -taH), -DI' as soon as, -chugh if, -mo' because, -meH purpose (first)
Relative clause: verb + -bogh, the head noun optionally marked -'e'; order inside the clause is still object – verb – subject
Nothing follows a group 9 suffix; a rover must come before it

Coming next

Klingon Grammar 1, Chapter 10 is the last chapter. It covers numbers and counting, expressions of time, and some idioms and proverbs, followed by a recap of the whole course and pointers to the follow-up courses.