jIjatlh
'a pa'logh qeltaHvIS, qaSbe'bogh wanI' qelbe'. qellaHbe'law'.
jang qunnoq, jatlh
If I understand the klingon sentence correctly (and if I don't, then please correct me) it says: "however, the past while it is considering, it doesn't consider events which didn't happen. seemingly it isn't able to consider them".
I think, it is perfectly able to consider events which didn't happen in the past. Check this out:
"If I hadn't closed the door yesterday, the cat would have been able to enter the house"
the above in klingon:
{wa'Hu' lojmIt vISoQmoHta'; vISoQbe'moHta' net jalchugh vaj juH 'ellaH vIghro'}. "yesterday I closed the door; if one imagines I hadn't closed it,then the cat would have been able to enter the house".
anyway, if you disagree at anything of the above, I would love to hear your thoughts.
I was talking about plural Klingons as I recall, so I should have said pa'logh luqeltaHvIS. I'm pretty sure {tuch} <future> and {pa'logh} <past> are not merely time stamps, so it's perfectly possible to say "They consider the future" or "the past." (For that matter, I think even a time stamp like {wa'leS} might be used in such a way, as in DaHjaj bIHIj 'e' Dalay'! yapbe' wa'leS!) In fact, {pIq} and {ret} are the time stamps you'd use, maybe with {'op} or {Hoch}, to say "in the future" or "in the past." I haven't seen much usage of these new words, {tuch} and {pa'logh}, as in, let me suggest, {pa'loghmo' ghojbe'chugh vay', pa'logh qaSqa'moH 'e' botlaHbe'}. But Klingon does have what might be considered a deficiency by Terrans who are used to using the subjunctive mood, particularly the contrary-to-fact subjunctive. Klingon handles the other subjunctive (I'm not sure what it's called in English, but it's called Konjunktiv I in German), as in "Long live the Queen!" or "Be he live or be he dead," quite well with {-jaj} and {-chugh}. Your example using the wording De'vID suggested does a good job of discussing a formerly possible event which did not occur. Stating that something could happen but didn't might also cover some situations, as in {poStaH lojmIt 'e' bong vIchaw', vaj juH 'ellaHpu' vIghro' 'a not 'el}. But my point is that for Klingons, it's not a deficiency that Klingon doesn't have the sort of grammatical apparatus seen in "If I were rich." Not just because there are workarounds, but also because it's not something they feel the need to say. Based on my knowledge of Star Trek, I have the very strong impression that, unlike humans, Klingons don't give a damn about stuff that doesn't happen. Martok said it as one who discovered this difference between the two species from the other side. ~mIp'av