Klingon has no verb that directly corresponds to the English verb to be. Instead, Klingon uses pronouns as verbs to express statements like “I am,” “you are,” or “they are.” When used this way, the pronoun acts as the verb and always follows the noun it refers to.

• yaS SoH – You are an officer.
• puqpu' chaH – They are children.

The same system is used to express location. While Klingon does not have a verb meaning "to be at," a pronoun is used to indicate presence at a location. In many cases, the verb suffix -taH ("ongoing") is added to emphasize continued presence.

• pa'wIjDaq jIHtaH – I am in my quarters.

When the subject is a noun instead of a pronoun, the noun follows the third-person pronoun and takes the topic marker -'e'.

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

These sentences can also be translated as “As for the prisoners, they are children” or “As for the commander, he is in his quarters.” This structure allows Klingon to express focus or emphasis through word order and the -'e' suffix.

When identifying the location of something, Klingon often uses -taH if the subject is mobile (like a person), but it is optional. It may be omitted when referring to stationary things.

• DujDaq 'oH meH'e' – The bridge is on the ship.
• meHDaq ghaHtaH HoD'e' – The captain is on the bridge.

In both sentences, the pronoun is used as the verb, and -'e' marks the topic of the sentence. The use of -taH helps indicate whether the presence is continuous, but its inclusion is always optional and never grammatically required.