Quenya 

alasaila ná lá carë tai mo nave mára

it is unwise not to do what one judges good

Changes

  • alasaila ná lá kare sai e {neme >>} hame ({nemilme >>} hamilme) mára → alasaila ná lá kare tai mo nave mára “it is unwise not to do what one judges good” ✧ PE22/154

Variations

  • alasaila ná lá kare tai mo nave mára ✧ PE22/154; VT42/34
  • alasaila ná lá kare sai e {neme >>} hame ({nemilme >>} hamilme) mára ✧ PE22/154 (alasaila ná lá kare sai e {neme >>} hame ({nemilme >>} hamilme) mára)
Quenya [PE22/154; VT42/34] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tai

that which, what

tai (1) pron. "that which, what", "which fact" (VT42:34, VT49:12, 20). The word occurs in the sentence alasaila ná lá carë tai mo navë mára, translated "it is unwise not to do what one judges good". So tai = "what", but it means more literally "that which" (VT49:12), ta + i (cf. ta #1 and the use of i as a relative pronoun). In one note, Tolkien emended tai to ita, reversing the elements (VT49:12) and also eliminating the ambiguity involving the homophone tai #2, see below.

ita

that which

ita 3) pron "that which" (VT49:12), emended from tai (#1, q.v.) The form ita is compounded from the relative pronoun i + the pronoun ta "that, it".