Re: Comparison of sentences

Perhaps it would help if you made it explicit in your conlang what is
being compared -- in the sentence "I sat at my desk longer than the
day has hours", therefore, you might consider including the
explicating phrase "for a time" to make "I sat at my desk for a time
longer than the day has hours". Which might in turn be interpreted as
"a time longer than the hours of the day". Compare the Japanese

一日の時間より長くデスクで座っていた
Ichinichi no jikan yori nagaku desuku de suwatte ita
one-day GEN hours than long.Adv desk LOC sit.Imperfective-past

Hope it helps.

Eugene

2006/10/16, caeruleancentaur <caeruleancentaur@...>:
> I am having a problem translating some of the sentences in the current
> translation exercise (1.1.7).  I am able to translate the comparison
> of one item with another as, for example:
>
> I am heavier than he.
> m-us n-úsïo sóma ólvu güêr-us ês-a.
> I-NOM.sg that-GEN.sg in.comparison.to more heavy-GEN.sg be-IND
>
> But a number of the current sentences involve the comparison of two
> sentences, e.g., I sat at my desk longer than the day has hours, or, I
> did worse on my midterm for this class than I've ever done before.
>
> I don't know how to grammaticalize this type of comparison.  The
> textbooks of Ancient Greek that I own are of no help.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Charlie
> http://wiki.frath.net/Senjecas
>