-'e', 'e' and net And Their Usage, Part 1: -'e'

-'e', 'e' and net

The Suffix -'e'

This Type 5 noun suffix is a syntactic marker, modifying the meaning of the noun it is attached to. In this case, the suffix is translated as topic.

From The Klingon Dictionary:-

This suffix emphasizes that the noun to which it is attached is the topic of the sentence. In English, this is frequently accomplished by stressing the noun (saying it emphatically) or by special syntactic constructions.

SuvwI''e' HoHta' tera'ngan

The Terran killed the WARRIOR

(the Terran had intended to kill the warrior, and not the man standing next to him)

SuvwI' HoHta' tera'ngan'e'

The TERRAN killed the warrior

(It was the Terran that had killed the warrior, and not some other suspect)

SuvwI' HoHba'pu' Dol'e'

An ENTITY obviously killed the warrior

(It was obvious that an entity had killed the warrior, and not a Terran)

paqvetlh chIS nIH romuluSngan'e'

The ROMULAN is stealing the white book

(It is the Romulan who is stealing the White Book, rather than the Ferengi)

HaqwI''e' DaH yISam

Find the SURGEON, now!

(Thank you for bringing along the Chief Engineer; now can you get us a surgeon to treat this injured Klingon?)

qatlh puq Soj'e' SoptaH loD

Why is the man eating the CHILD's food?

(What's wrong with the adult food on his own plate?)

Without -'e', there would be no emphasis:-

SuvwI' HoHta' tera'ngan

The Terran killed the warrior

SuvwI' HoHba'ta' Dol

An entity obviously killed the warrior

paqvetlh chIS nIH romuluSngan'e'

The Romulan is stealing the white book

qatlh puq Soj'e' SoptaH loD

Why is the man eating the child's food?

The "A is B" Construction

You've already encountered -'e' many times before, in the constructions

B ghaH A'e' A is a B

B 'oH A'e' A is a B

B chaH A'e' The As are Bs

B bIH A'e' The As are Bs

From The Klingon Dictionary:-

The pronoun always follows the noun.

Similarly, there is no verb corresponding to to be in the sense of "to be at a place." Again, the pronouns are used, followed, where appropriate, by verbal suffixes.

Some examples:-

yuQDaq ghaHtaH	He is on the planet
puchpa'Daq ghaHtaH	She is in the bathroom
jolpa'Daq ghaHtaHbe'	She is not in the transporter room

The book continues:-

In the above examples, the subjects are pronouns. If the subject is a noun, it follows the third-person pronoun (ghaH he/she, 'oH it, chaH they, bIH they) and takes the -'e' topic suffix ...

The examples given are:-

puqpu' chaH qama'pu''e'	The prisoners are children
pa'DajDaq ghaHtaH la''e'	The commander is in his quarters

The Klingon Dictionary then continues:-

These sentences might also be translated As for the prisoners, they are children; As for the commander, he is in his quarters.

Here are some fresh examples:-

verengan Ha'DIbaH ghaH qama''e'	The prisoner is a Ferengi dog
DujDajDaq ghaHtaH la''e'	The commander is on board his ship
'oSwI'ma' ghaH qama'lI''e'	Your prisoner is our Emissary!

Next: The difference between the suffix -'e' and the pronoun 'e'.