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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D">I think Okrand simply meant that
<b>‘ar</b> cannot follow a noun with a plural suffix, which is how I’ve always understood it.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b> <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Examples of <b>‘ar</b> following a grammatically singular mass noun where it’s translated “how much”:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><br>
nIn 'ar wIghaj</b> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b> </b>How much fuel do we have left?<b>
</b> TKD/CK/PK<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b> Huch 'ar DaneH?</b> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b> </b>How much money do you want? TKD<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b> Dochvetlh DIlmeH Huch 'ar DaneH</b> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b> </b>How much do you want for that? TKD<b><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Examples of <b>‘ar</b> following a regular count noun without a plural suffix where it’s translated “how many”:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b> Haw'pu' yaS 'ar</b> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b> </b>How many officers fled?<i> </i>TKD<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b> mughoS 'avwI' 'ar <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b> </b>How many guards are coming?
<b> </b>CK <span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D">There were fewer examples than I expected – and none from the paq’balth AFAIK.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D">--Voragh<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> Felix Malmenbeck<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">In TKD §6.4, this is written of the word
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">'ar</span></strong>:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">------------<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<pre><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">Finally, <strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">'ar</span></strong> <em><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">how many? how much?</span></em> follows the noun to which it refers. It can never follow a noun with a plural suffix<o:p></o:p></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">(-<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">pu'</span></strong>, -<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">mey</span></strong>, -<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Du'</span></strong>; see section 3.3.2).</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></pre>
<p><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">------------<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">I've always taken this to mean that a noun followed by
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">'ar</span></strong> is grammatically singular, and so we must say, for example,
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">qachvam Dab nuv 'ar?</span></strong>, rather than *qachvam luDab nuv 'ar?*.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">However, it now strikes me that there is another possible interpretation, namely that while the noun followed by
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">'ar</span></strong> is never marked with a plural <em><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">suffix</span></em>, it could still be considered grammatically plural, and thus allow for sentences such
as *qachvam luDab nuv 'ar?*.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">Unfortunately, the canonical example sentences we have using <strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">'ar</span></strong> don't really shine much of a light on this. The only example
I've found that uses a number-specific verb prefix to go with the NOUN + <strong>
<span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">'ar</span></strong> construct is <strong>
<span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">nIn 'ar wIghaj.</span></strong> ("How much fuel do we have?") However, this example is of limited use, as the quantity of
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">nIn</span></strong> ("fuel") is a presumably continuous, rather than discrete; while we would normally treat
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">nIn law'</span></strong> and
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">nIn puS</span></strong> as singular, we would treat
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">nuv law'</span></strong> and
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">nuv puS</span></strong> as plural.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">Can anybody think of any examples that could help to resolve this matter? Or is there an unofficial but commonly accepted answer?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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