Lesson 3 – introducing verb suffix -be'

The man does not climb the mountain”

Beginners, welcome!

In today's lesson we are going to see how to make a negative statement in Klingon.

First, let's take a look at an affirmative sentence:

HuD toS loD = the man climbs the mountain

HuD = mountain
toS = climb
loD = man

Now, let's turn it into a negative statement:

HuD toSbe' loD = the man does not climb the mountain

As you can see, all I did was add the suffix -be'">-be' after the verb, and this is enough to negate the sentence.

In Klingon, verbs can take a number of suffixes.
Each suffix modifies the meaning of the verb and/or sentence in a different way.

With the negative verb suffix -be', we have the basic negative structure:

Y (prefix-)(verb)-be' X => X do/does not (verb) Y

For instance:

tlhIngan Hol jatlhbe' yaS = the officer does not speak Klingon

HuD vItoSbe' (jIH) = I do not climb the mountain (*)

*Note: remember that the verb prefix vI- must be used when the subject is “I” and the object is “it/him/her”, as we saw in lesson 2 on vI-. Use of the pronoun jIH is also optional.

Now it is time for you to practice making your own negative statements and post your sentences on the Learn Klingon group:

Here are a few additional words for inspiration:

Qapla'!

Prepared by Aurélie Demonchaux (ghItlhjaj)