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- Topic: Klingon >
- "You sit on a chair."
"You sit on a chair."
Translation:quSDaq bIba'.
7 Comments
If you're going to use this phrase, you should really note its idiomatic meaning in the notes.
To tell someone quSDaq bIba' is to condescendingly tell them "that's obvious." It's the Klingon equivalent of "Well, duhhh!"
I was going to say, ... You sit (action). Chair receives the action (you sitting). So shouldn't it be, "quSDaq Daba'?"
No. The verb ba' (and the English word sit) doesn't take an object. You don't sit something; you sit ON something. The chair is not the receiver of the action; most uses of the verb sit or ba' don't have any object at all.
The quSDaq is the LOCATION of the action, not the receiver. Locations usually get marked with -Daq and go before the OVS structure.
Wow, that was fast.
I surf ... at the beach. I don't surf the beach. Thanks!
Sorry for all the -taH-related questions. I have to ask! Why not "bIba'taH"?
Because that would mean You remain sitting on the chair or You continue to sit on a chair. The given sentence simply says that you're engaged in an act of sitting and doesn't describe the ongoingness of it.
