[tlhIngan Hol] thoughts on the verb {nI'}

[SuStel]

On 7/1/2021 8:16 AM, mayqel qunen'oS wrote:
> There's the verb {nI'} "be long, lengthy (duration)"; so the question 
> is "what does it take as a subject"?
>
> A little bird told me, that there's the paq'batlh example of {Qobbogh 
> may' nI' jun}, which shows that the {nI'} *can* take an event as a 
> subject.
>
> So, so far so good.. But this led me to wonder.. Could the verb {nI'} 
> take as a subject the noun {poH}?

Yes, it absolutely can, because it has been used adjectivally: *poH 
nI'*/long time/ (KGT).

It has been used other times:
**

*yIn nI' yISIQ 'ej yIchep*/Live long and prosper/ (Radio Times)
A *yIn* is neither an event nor a time period.

*nI' jajvam*/This day is long./ 
(klingonska.org/canon/1997-06-29d-news.txt 
<http://klingonska.org/canon/1997-06-29d-news.txt>)
*nI' ram*/The night is long./ (KGT)
A day or a night might be an event or a time period, depending on how 
you look at it.

It seems clear to me that anything that might exist over a long 
duration, including time itself, can be described as *nI'.*


> And if yes, then what would be the difference between {poH nI'} and 
> {poH vItlh}?

*vItlh* is a very general verb that could be talking about the quantity 
or intensity of anything measurable; *nI'* is specifically about 
duration only. Your question is like asking what the difference is 
between a /long time/ and a /great amount of time./ The latter only gets 
at its point indirectly.

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name

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