Cleachtadh leis an forainm coibhneasta
le "is" (practice with the relative
pronoun for "is")
After a review
of Ceacht 127, you should be able to put the relative clause to work
in expressing thoughts involving the verb "is" in Irish.
Cuir Gaeilge ar
na habairtíseo leanas, ar dtús an tuiseal ainmneach:
The chair that
I like. The chair you don't like.
A room you would
like. The seat you would prefer. The one you wouldn't wish.
Next, an tuiseal
tabharthach, or dative case; "to whom" or "with whom"
would be a part of the literal translation:
The girls whose
house it is (literally: "with whom it is"). The visitors
who like the trip (:isáil liom; I like). The cat doesn't like
the cold (use "is maith liom" form).
The girls whose
house it was. The doctor who would like to be here (use "isáil
liom" form). The girls whose house it wouldn't be. The doctor
who wouldn't like to be here.
Finally, the tuiseal
ginideach or genitive case; "whose" would be a part of the
English form:
The inspector
whose daughter is a student. A man whose food is bread. The teacher
whose son isn't a painter.
The man whose
mill was a home. The teacher whose room was an office. The lad whose
brother was not a manager. The woman whose husband was not a fisherman.
The key to
these phrases:
For the nominative:
An chathaoir is
maith liom. An chathaoir nach maith leat.
Seomra ba mhaith
leat. An suíochán ab fhearr leat. An ceann nár
mhian leat.
For the dative:
Na cailíníar
leo an teach. Na cuairteoiríarbáil leo an turas. An
cat nach maith leis an fuacht.
Na cailíníar
leo an teach. An dochtúir arbháil leis bheith anseo.
Na cailínínár
leo an teach. An dochtúir nárbháil leis bheith
anseo.
For the genitive:
An cigire ar scólaire
a iníon. Fear arb arán a bhia. An múinteoir nar
péintéir a mhac.
An fear ar theach
a muileann. An múinteoir arbh oifig a sheomra. An buachaill
nár bhainisteoir a dheartháir. An bhean nárbh
iascaire a fhear céile.
Réamhfhocail;
prepositions
The preposition
"do" usually means "to" or "for". Sometimes
it means movement toward, but usually the meaning is the equivalent
of the English "I gave that to him", which is a usage in
the dative case.
Expressions indicating
a form of possession occur:
Cad is ainm duit?
What is your name?
Cad is aois duit?
What is your age?
Refusing someone
can be: Díultóidh séduit; he will refuse you.
Forgiving someone
is: Mhaith sédom; he forgave me.
This réamhfhocail
can also carry the meaning of the possessive or genitive. For example,
with an t-ainm briathartha or verbal noun, you may say: Ar teacht
isteach dom; while I was coming in, or upon my entrance. Ag dul abhaile
dom; as I was going home, is another example.
The expression
"He is a friend of John" can be "Is cara do Sheáné".
Or "He is a son of my uncle" can be "Is mac do m'uncailé."
The first word for a person must be indefinite and the second must
be definite, such as a person's name or with "the" before
it.
Another way of
saying this is: Is cara le Séamasé; he is a friend of
James.
Two other expressions
with "do" are:
Feictear dom;
it seems to me. Tuigtear dom; it is my understanding.
The réamhfhocail
"le" generally means "with", but can also indicate
extent or purpose.
Le déanaí;
recently. Le fada; for a long time. Le tamall; for a while.
Beidh séanseo
le ceann eile a fháil; he will be here to get another one.
If some activity
is to be done in the near or distant future, then:
Táobair
le déanamh; there is work to be done. Táceacht le cleachtadh
agam; I have a lesson to practice.
Idioms with several
verbs need "le":
Aontáim
leat; I agree with you. Chuir ségeall liom; he promised me.
Fanfaidh séliom; he will wait for me. Thaitin an dráma
liom; I liked the play. Díolann sébróga linn;
he sells shoes to us.
The réamhfhocail
"ó" means "from" in the general sense.
It is part of several important expressions, such as: Cad táuait?
What do you want? Cad a bhíóSheán? What did Seán
want? Creid uaimé; believe me.
An ceacht deireanach;
the last lesson
This is the last
lesson in the series designed to give you a basic grasp of the Irish
language. By now you should have an effective command of the language
adequate to carry on some conversation and understand spoken and written
Irish.
The essential
verb forms, word order, formation of noun plurals, the combination
of prepositions and pronouns, and the elementary vocabulary of words
and idioms are part of this. Further studies of Irish will depend
on your opportunities, which are of two principal types: talking with
other speakers, of any degree of proficiency; and reading and listening
to tapes and records.
The degree to
which your work is structured will depend on your natural inclination.
Some persons will benefit most from constant conversation with others,
while other learners consider that they must progress in an orderly
manner through grammar books, such as "Réchúrsa
Gramadaí", and through books of graded difficulty, with
the assistance of dictionaries along the way.
A persistent effort
to write Irish is a good way to improve your style and vocabulary.
Irish-speaking friends in Ireland, or in the United States, can help
with this. A regular correspondence will let you improve painlessly.
The lessons in
this series will begin anew in a few weeks, and if you have friends
who have evinced interest in Irish, perhaps they can begin with the
repeating of the series.
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