[Tlhingan-hol] tlhoS

[Lieven]

Am 18.03.2016 um 08:48 schrieb mayql qunenoS:
> adverb must precede the OVS. But if I write the {tlhoS} before the
> OVS, couldn't someone be confused as to whether it is referring to the
> object instead of the subject ?

No, the adverb (like any adverb) is referring to the sentence, and 
describes the quality of the verb. It does not work in the sense of "I 
see almost a hundred birds." it's more like "I almost see them, but not 
very well."

{vIHoH} I killed him
{tlhoS vIHoH} "I almost killed him" (but he's still alive)

even with longer sentences:

{targh qIp HoD} "the captain hits the targ"
{tlhoS targh qIp HoD} "The captain nearly hit the targ" (but he didn't)

This example may sound ambigous, but I think it is clear:
{tlhoS vagh SuvwI' HoH HoD}
"The captain almost killed five warriors"

I read it as they are all still alive, he "almost" killed them, but "not 
quite". It's not that he killed only three or four, so close to five 
maybe. Klingons are never approximate. They would say "he killed them all".

Hope this helps.

-- 
Lieven L. Litaer
aka Quvar valer 'utlh
Grammarian of the KLI
http://www.facebook.com/Klingonteacher
http://www.klingonwiki.net