I’m not sure if qunnoq got an answer to this question.  no' is inherently plural in meaning, but grammatically singular. E.g.

  reH no' yIquvmoH

Always honor your ancestors.

(KGT 178):  yIquvmoH, Honor them! (actually, this is Honor him/her!; the inherently plural noun no', ancestors, takes a singular pronoun)

Other examples of no’:

  targhlIj yab tIn law' no'lI' Hoch yabDu' tIn puS

Your targ has a bigger brain than all your ancestors put together! PK

  Hochlogh no' yIquvmoH

All times honor your ancestors. (sic) KGT

no' DIr  ancestor hanging (“ancestors’ skin”) is a ceremonial ornament displayed on the wall.

no' Hol  ancient language (“ancestors’ language”) is discussed in KGT.

A single ancestor is a qempa'.  It works just like mang and negh:

(KGT 49f):  mang is used when the warrior under discussion is described in terms of his membership in a fighting unit (for example, as a crew member on an attack cruiser). Perhaps for this reason it is sometimes translated soldier. The usual plural form of mang is a different word altogether: negh (warriors, soldiers). The word mangpu' is seldom used, but it is not ungrammatical. It carries with it the notion that there are individuals (more than one mang) making up the group; negh focuses on the group as a unit.

--Voragh

From: tlhIngan-Hol [mailto:tlhingan-hol-bounces@lists.kli.org] On Behalf Of nIqolay Q

Is {no'} singular or plural?

qunnoq