The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Learning Quenya

dancing spawn of ungoliant · 08-05-2005, 11:42 AM

This is for those who have reached lesson 4, well, and everyone who intend to reach lesson 4.

The grammar instructions aren't absolute concerning the use of is/are and if I understood correctly, we can choose wether to use the English word order or to place the verb is/are to the end of a sentence. For example, we can say "the book is red" in two different ways and both of them are equally fine.

1) I parma ná carnë = The book is red
2) I parma carnë ná = The book red is

Ardalambion says that it's just a matter of taste where to place the verb. So, which word order do you prefer?

There's also a possibility to leave the copula (is/are) right out and just say "I parma carnë" meaning "The book [is] red". Again, which way do you use?

I for one think that it's easier to understand Quenya when you use the copula so you don't have to bother your brain too much thinking wether an adjective is being an attribute or a predicative. The English word order is undoubtedly quite natural for many of us. However, I think "I parma carnë ná" sounds more poetic than "I parma ná carnë". What do you think?

08-05-2005, 11:42 AM	#53
dancing spawn of ungoliant Mischievous Candle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: So near to Russia, so far from Japan, quite a long way from Cairo, lots of miles from Vietnam. Posts: 1,234	This is for those who have reached lesson 4, well, and everyone who intend to reach lesson 4. The grammar instructions aren't absolute concerning the use of is/are and if I understood correctly, we can choose wether to use the English word order or to place the verb is/are to the end of a sentence. For example, we can say "the book is red" in two different ways and both of them are equally fine. 1) I parma ná carnë = The book is red 2) I parma carnë ná = The book red is Ardalambion says that it's just a matter of taste where to place the verb. So, which word order do you prefer? There's also a possibility to leave the copula (is/are) right out and just say "I parma carnë" meaning "The book [is] red". Again, which way do you use? I for one think that it's easier to understand Quenya when you use the copula so you don't have to bother your brain too much thinking wether an adjective is being an attribute or a predicative. The English word order is undoubtedly quite natural for many of us. However, I think "I parma carnë ná" sounds more poetic than "I parma ná carnë". What do you think? __________________ Fenris Wolf