The Pronoun 'e'

The Pronoun 'e' that

The previous post revealed how the Type 5 suffix -'e' topic was used to emphasise that the modified noun of a sentence was, in fact, the topic of the sentence. This article looks at the deceptively similar pronoun 'e'.

The Pronouns

Pronouns have been introduced before in tlhIngan Hol, both as verb suffixes and as standalone words. Below is the full list of pronominal pronouns.

jIH	I, me	maH	we, us
SoH	you	tlhIH	you (plural)
ghaH	he/she, him/her	chaH	they, them (able to use language)
'oH	it	bIH	they, them (things)
'e'	that	net	that

This article will look at the pronoun 'e' and how it is used.

The Klingon Dictionary - 6.2.5. Sentences As Objects

This is what The Klingon Dictionary has to say about the use of 'e':-

Klingon has two special pronouns, 'e' and net, which refer to the previous sentence as a whole. They are used primarily, not exclusively, with verbs of thinking or observation (such as know, see). They are always treated as the object verb, and the verb always takes a prefix indicating a third-person singular object. What is a single sentence in English is often two sentences in Klingon. The two examples given are:-

qama'pu' DIHoH 'e' luSov	They know we kill prisoners
yaS qIppu' 'e' vIlegh	I saw him/her hit the officers

The first is:-

qama'pu' DIHoH 'e' luSov

They know we kill prisoners

which is split into two sentences:-

qama'pu' DIHoH

We kill prisoners

'e' luSov

They know that

The "that" is glossed over in English, but it cannot be glossed over in Klingon.

The next example is:-

yaS qIppu' 'e' vIlegh

I saw him/her hit the officers

which is split into two sentences:-

yaS qIppu'

He/she hit the officers

'e' vIlegh

I saw that

The Klingon Dictionary adds:-

In complex sentences of this type, the second verb never takes an aspect suffix (section 4.2.7).

The aspect suffix -pu' here affects both parts of the sentence: I see (that) he/she hit the officers is ungrammatical.

Here are some new examples:-

nuH lunIHta' romuluSngan 'e' vIlegh	I saw the Romulan steal the weapon
Duj lunIHta' romuluSnganpu' 'e' vIHar	I believe that the Romulans stole the ship
tep luptaH vulqangan Duj 'e' vISov	I know that the Vulcan ship is carrying the cargo
qoH vuvbe' SuS 'e' Dayaj'a'	Do you understand that the wind does not respect a fool?
SutlhmeH pa'vetlhDaq 'el 'e' Har	He believes that he is entering that room in order to negotiate.
jolpa'Daq ghaHtaH HoD'e' 'e' vISov	I know that the Captain is in the transporter room

Note the use of both the pronoun 'e' and the suffix -'e' in the last sentence.

Next: The pronoun net that.