<html><head></head><body><div style="font-family: Verdana;font-size: 12.0px;"><div>Hi,</div>
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<div>I'm not a native speaker, so I hope you can understand me properly. I also hope I'm posting my questions to the right list. If not, please tell me where I should send my emails.</div>
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<div>I'm learning Klingon for a while now, but I consider myself a complete beginner. I was trying to understand the SAO construction better and I came across some informations in this list that confused me. I try to put my thoughts in order.</div>
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<div>1. I have always thought that SAOs work as a "two-sentence-construction" (TKD 6.2.5). But then, is there any difference between these two sentences? Does the punctuation make a difference in Klingon?</div>
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<div>paq Daje'pu' 'e' vISov.</div>
<div>paq Daje'pu'. 'e' vISov.</div>
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<div>2. In this list I've also seen that when we use a period it's possible not to use "'e'":</div>
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<div>paq Daje'pu'. vISov.</div>
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<div>Without "'e'" it's actually ambiguous: "vISov" can refer to "paq" or to the whole sentence. So we can make it clear if we use pronouns, right?:</div>
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<div>paq Daje'pu'. 'oH vISov. (I know the book).</div>
<div>paq Daje'pu'. 'e' vISov. (I know that you have bought the book).</div>
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<div>Pronouns help us to make it clear. But what if the sentence is not ambiguous? What would be the difference between the following three possibilities?</div>
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<div>bIlaDtaH 'e' vISov.</div>
<div>bIlaDtaH. 'e' vISov.</div>
<div>bIlaDtaH. vISov.</div>
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<div>In TKD 5.1 we can read pronouns can be used for emphasis or added clarity. Maybe the difference between the last two sentences is only that "'e' vISov" is emphatic ("I know THAT")? Anyway: What is the difference between using a pronoun for emphasis and using the topic marker "-'e'"? </div>
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<div>3. And what if the first sentence is intended to be the subject of the second one?</div>
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<div>paq Daje'pu'. QaQ.</div>
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<div>Since "'e'" only works as object, we can only use "'oH" to make this sentence clear ("QaQ 'oH"). Without "'oH" would it always be ambiguous (the book is good or it's good that you have bought a book)? Or do you directly understand it refers to the whole sentence, because of the lack of a pronoun like "'e'" in this case?</div>
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<div>4. And if a sentece is not ambiguous, and my assumption that pronouns can be used for emphasis is right, how can we get the meaning "THAT is good" (emphasis) if we have no pronoun that refers to a sentence and can be used as subject?:</div>
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<div>bIlaDtaH. QaQ.</div>
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<div>So maybe we need a noun with "-'e'"?:</div>
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<div>bIlaDtaH. QaQ ngoDvam'e'.</div>
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<div>5. Anyway, is this possibility right?:</div>
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<div>QaQ. paq Daje'pu'. (That's good. You have bought the book).</div>
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<div>And if it's right, wouldn't it mean that punctuation makes a difference? Since "QaQ paq Daje'pu'" seems to be a SAS, which is not allowed, right?</div>
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<div>I hope I haven't make a mess here and you can understand what I mean.</div>
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<div>Thank you!</div></div></body></html>