Graiméar na Gaedhilge/Part II Chapter III

by Christian Brothers

CHAPTER III.

The Adjective.

I. DECLENSION OF ADJECTIVES.

133. In Irish the adjective agrees with the noun which it qualifies in gender, number, and case.

There are four declensions of adjectives. Adjectives are declined very much like nouns; the great difference is that they never^[1] take the termination iḃ in the dative plural (though formerly they did). The dative plural is invariably like the nominative plural.

Adjectives, in forming their genitive singular, undergo the same vowel-changes as nouns, as—

gorm, blue,	gen. masc.	guirm
geal, bright	„	gil, &c.

FIRST DECLENSION.

134. All adjectives ending in a broad consonant, as mór, bán, fionn, &c., belong to the 1st declension.

135. When an adjective of the 1st declension agrees with a masculine noun, it is declined like a noun of the 1st declension (see maor, &c,. pars. 55, 57), except that the nom., acc., dat., and voc. plural are always alike, and are formed by adding a to the nominative singular.

136. When an adjective of the 1st declension agrees with a feminine noun, it is declined like a noun of the 2nd declension (see cos, par. 67, &c.), but it never takes iḃ in the dative plural.

Adjectives ending in aċ form their plural by adding a, both for masculine and feminine.

Examples.
137.	mór, big
	SINGULAR.		PLURAL.
	Masc.	Fem.	Masc. & Fem.
Nom. & Acc.	mór	mór	móra
Gen.	móir	móire	mór
Dat.	mór	móir	móra
Voc.	móir	mór	móra

138.	geal, bright
Nom. & Acc.	geal	geal	geala
Gen.	gil	gile	geal
Dat.	geal	gil	geala
Voc.	gil	geal	geala

139.	díreaċ, straight, direct.
Nom. & Acc.	díreaċ	díreaċ	díreaċa
Gen.	díriġ	díriġe	díreaċ
Dat.	díreaċ	díriġ	díreaċa
Voc.	díriġ	díreaċ	díreaċa

140. The following list of adjectives gives examples of the vowel-changes mentioned above. The genitive masculine is given; the genitive feminine is formed by adding e:—

NOM.	GEN.		NOM.	GEN.
lom	luim	bare	searḃ	seirḃ	bitter
gorm	guirm	blue	seang	seing	slender
borb	buirb	rough	geur	géir	sharp
crom	cruim	bent	díreaċ	díriġ	straight
donn	duinn	brown	uaigneaċ	uaigniġ	lonely
bog	buig	soft	Albanaċ	Albanaiġ	Scotch
boċt	boiċt	poor	fionn	finn	fair
trom	truim	heavy	fial	féil	generous
mear	mir	active	fliuċ	fliċ	wet
ceart	cirt (ceirt)	right	beag	big	small
deas	deis	pretty	críon	crín	withered
dearg	deirg	red	teann	teinn	stern

141. There are five or six adjectives of the first declension which are syncopated in the genitive singular feminine and in the plural:—

NOMINATIVE.	GEN. SING.		PLURAL.
	Masc.	Fem.	Both Genders.
uasal, noble	uasail	uaisle	uaisle
díleas, beloved, dear	dílis	dílse	dílse
reaṁar, fat	reaṁair	reiṁre	reaṁra
ísiol, low	ísil	ísle	ísle
gearr, short	girr[2]	giorra (irreg.)	gearra

SECOND DECLENSION.

142. All adjectives ending in a slender consonant, except those in aṁail, belong to the second declension.

In the singular all the cases, both masculine and feminine, are alike, except the genitive feminine which is formed by adding e.

In the plural both genders are alike. All the cases, with the exception of the genitive, are alike, and are formed by adding e to the nominative singular.

The genitive plural is the same as the nominative singular.

Example.
143.	maiṫ, good
	SINGULAR.		PLURAL.
	Masculine.	Feminine.	Both Genders.
Nom. & Acc.	maiṫ	maiṫ	maiṫe
Gen.	maiṫ	maiṫe	maiṫ
Dat.	maiṫ	maiṫ	maiṫe
Voc.	maiṫ	maiṫ	maiṫe

144. Notice the following examples of syncope in the genitive feminine and in the plural:—

aoiḃinn,	gen. sing.	fem. and pl.	aoiḃne, pleasant
áluinn,	„	„	áilne (áille), beautiful
milis,	„	„	milse, sweet

145. The following adjectives are irregular:—

cóir,	gen. sing. fem.	and plural	córa, right, just
deacair,	„	„	deacra, difficult
socair,	„	„	socra, easy

THE THIRD DECLENSION.

146. The third declension includes all those adjectives which end in aṁail. This termination has the same signification as the English affix like in warlike, or ly in manly, princely, &c.

In both numbers the two genders are alike. All the cases in the singular are the same, except the genitive, which is formed by adding a. This is always accompanied by syncope. All the cases of the plural (except the genitive) are the same as the gen. sing. There are no exceptions or irregularities in this declension.

Example.
147.	fearaṁail, manly
	SINGULAR.	PLURAL.
	Both Genders.	Both Genders.
Nom. & Acc.	fearaṁail	fearaṁla
Gen.	fearaṁla	fearaṁail
Dat.	fearaṁail	fearaṁla
Voc.	fearaṁail	fearaṁla

FOURTH DECLENSION.

148. All adjectives ending in a vowel belong to the fourth declension, as fada, long; órḋa, golden. They have no inflexions whatever, all the cases, singular and plural, being exactly alike.

There are two exceptions—viz., te, hot, warm; and beo, alive. Te (often spelled teiṫ, becomes teo in the genitive singular feminine, and also in the plural of both genders.

Beo, alive, becomes beoḋa in the plural. In the singular it is quite regular, except after the word Dia; its genitive is then ḃí, as Mac Dé ḃí, the Son of the living God.

Rules for the Aspiration of the Adjectives.

These rules really belong to Syntax, but for the convenience of the student we give them here.

149. (a) An adjective beginning with an aspirable consonant is aspirated in the nominative and accusative feminine singular, in the genitive masculine singular, and in the dative and vocative singular of both genders.

(b) The adjective is also aspirated in the nominative and accusative plural when the noun ends in a slender consonant.

Exceptions to the Rules for Aspiration.

150. (a) An adjective beginning with d or t is usually not aspirated when the noun ends in d, n, t, l, or s (dentals).

(b) c and g are usually not aspirated when the preceding word ends in c, g, or ng.

(c) p and b are usually not aspirated when the preceding word ends in p, b, or m.

These exceptions apply to most rules for the aspiration of nouns as well as adjectives.

(d) The genitive of nouns of the 3rd and 5th declesions ought not to have the initial of the adjective following them aspirated. Usage, however, differs somewhat on this point.

(e) In the spoken language of Connaught the adjective is not aspirated in the dative singular masculine.

Rules for Eclipsing the Adjective.

151. (a) The adjective is usually eclipsed in the genitive plural, even though the article is not used before the noun; and if the adjective begins with a vowel n is prefixed.

(b) The initial of an adjective following a noun in the dative sing. should, as a rule, be aspirated; but whenever the noun is eclipsed after the article the adjective is often eclipsed also; aspiration in this case is just as correct as eclipsis, and is more usual.

Examples

152. Noun, Adjective and Article declined in combination.

	SINGULAR.	PLURAL.
	an fear mór, the big man.
Nom. & Acc.	an fear mór	na fir ṁóra
Gen.	an ḟir ṁóir	na ḃfear mór
Dat.	leis an ḃfear ṁór	leis na fearaiḃ móra
Voc.	a ḟir ṁóir	a ḟeara móra

an tseamróg glas ḃeag, the green little shamrock.
Nom. & Acc.	an tseamróg glas ḃeag	na seamróga glasa beaga
Gen.	na seamróige glaise bige	na seamróg nglas mbeag
Dat.	ó’n tseamróig glais ḃig	ó na seamrógaiḃ glasa beaga
Voc.	a ṡeamróg glas ḃeag	a ṡeamróga glasa beaga

an tsean-ḃean ḃoċt, the poor old woman.
Nom. & Acc.	an tsean-ḃean ḃoċt	na sean-ṁná boċta
Gen.	na sean-ṁná boiċte	na sean-ḃan mboċt
Dat.	do’n tsean-ṁnaoi ḃoiċt	do na sean-ṁnáiḃ boċta
Voc.	a ṡean-ḃean ḃoċt	a ṡean-ṁná boċta

N.B.—When an adjective precedes its noun it is invariable.

Comparison of Adjectives.

153. In Irish there are two comparisons—(1) the comparison of equality, (2) the comparison of superiority.

154. The comparison of equality is formd by placing ċoṁ (or ċo), “as” or “so,” before the adjective, and le, “as,” after it. (This le becomes leis before the article, and then causes eclipsis if the noun be singular.)

If a verb occurs in the second portion of the sentence, agus (not le) must be used for the second “as” in English. Tá Seaġán ċoṁ mór le Seumas, John is as big as James. Ní ḟuil sé ċoṁ láidir leis an ḃfear, he is not as strong as the man. Ní ḟuil sé ċoṁ maiṫ agus (as) ḃí sé, he is not as good as he was.

155. The comparison of superiority has three degrees—the positive, the comparative, and the superlative. The positive is the simple form of the adjective, as bán, geal. The comparative and superlative have exactly the same form as the genitive singular feminine of the adjective, as báine, gile.

156. The comparative degree is always preceded by some part of the verb is, expressed or understood, and in almost every case is followed by the word ná (or iona), “than.”

Is gile an ġrian ná an ġealaċ,

The sun is brighter than the moon.

An fearr tusa ná do ḋearḃráṫair?

Are you better than your brother?

157. In a comparative sentence the verb tá (or any other verb) may be used, but even then the verb is must be used.

Whenever tá (or any other verb) is used in a comparative sentence, the comparative must be preceded by the word níos (i.e., ní or niḋ, a thing, and the verb is) as—

Tá an ġrian níos gile ná an ġealaċ,

The sun is brighter than the moon.

An ḃfuil tú níos fearr ná do ḋearḃráṫair?

Are you better than your brother?

158. As stated in previous paragraph níos = ní + is. If the time of the comparison be past ní ba is used instead of níos. In conditional comparisons ní baḋ is employed.

Ba ḋóiċ liom go raiḃ Úna ní b’aoirde ná Máire.

I thought that Úna was taller than Máire.

159. Every superlative sentence in Irish is a relative sentence. Thus instead of saying “the best man” we say “the man (who) is best”; for “the tallest man,” we say “the man (who) is tallest.” The word “who” in this case is never translated, for the obvious reason that there is really no simple relative pronoun in Irish.

160. If the sentence happens to be in the past or future “the best man” will have to be translated as “the man (who) was best” or “the man (who) will be best.” In such cases is or as can never be used. Ba or buḋ must be used in the past tense.

If the first portion of the sentence contains a verb in the conditional mood, the conditional of is (viz., do baḋ: do is often omitted) must be used.

The highest hill in Ireland, an cnoc is áirde i n‑Éirinn.

The biggest man was sitting in the smallest chair,

Ḃí an fear ba ṁó na ṡuiḋe ins an gcaṫaoir ba luġa.

The best man would have the horse,

Do ḃeaḋ an capall ag an ḃfear do b’ḟearr

(Lit. The horse would be at the man (who) would be best).

The English comparative of Inferiority is translated by níos luġa followed by an abstract noun corresponding to the English adjective: e.g., níos luġa fearaṁaileaċt, less manly.

Intensifying Particles.

161. The meaning of an adjective can be intensified by placing any of the following particles before the positive of the adjective. All these particles cause aspiration.

An, very; fíor (or fír), very or truly (as truly good); ríoġ, very; ríoġ ṁaiṫ, very good.

glé, pure (as pure white); ró, too, excessively.

sár, exceedingly; úr, very (in a depreciating sense).

maiṫ, good; an-ṁaiṫ, very good; fíor-ṁaiṫ, truly good; ró-ḟuar, too cold.

sár ṫe, excessively hot (warm); úir-ísiol, very low; úr-ġránda, very ugly. 162. In the spoken language the adjective is sometimes intensified by repeating the positive twice, as—

ḃí sé tinn tinn, he was very sick.

tá sé trom trom, it is very heavy.

lá fliuċ fliuċ, a very wet day.

163. Sometimes de is annexed to the comparative; it is really the prepositional pronoun de, of it.

Ní móide (mó + de) go raġad. It is not likely that I shall go.

Ní misde (measa + de) ḃeiṫ ag braṫ ort! It is no harm to be depending on you!

164. Although the comparative and the superlative are absolutely alike in form, yet they may be easily distinguished:—

(1) By the context; the comparative can be used only when we are speaking of two persons or things, the superlative is always used for more than two.

(2) By the word ná (than) which always follows the comparative, except when de is used; the superlative is never followed by either.

165. When comparing adjectives (i.e., giving the three degrees of comparison), it is usual to use níos before the comparative, and is before the superlative, as—

POSITIVE.	COMPARATIVE.	SUPERLATIVE.
bán	níos báine	is báine
glas	níos glaise	is glaise

Remember that níos and is change their forms according to the tense of the verb in the sentence.

166.

Irregular Comparison.

POSITIVE.				COMPARATIVE.
beag, little or small				luġa
fada, long				fuide, faide, sia
mór, big				mó
olc, bad				measa
maiṫ, good				fearr
gearr, short				giorra
breáġ,[3] fine				breáġṫa
minic, often				minicí, mionca
te (teiṫ), warm				teó
tirim, dry				tiorma
furus(a) urus	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	easy	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	fusa usa
ionṁuin, dear, beloved				ionṁuine or annsa
gar, near (of place)				goire
fogus, near			$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	foigse foisge
treun, brave, strong			$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	tréine treise
gránda, ugly				gráinde
árd, high			$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	áirde airde aoirde
iomḋa, many				mó or lia (more numerous)

Neasa and túisge, nearer, sooner, are comparatives which have no positive.

N.B.—The superlatives of the above adjectives have exactly the same forms as the comparatives.

167.

Numeral Adjectives.

	CARDINALS.		ORDINALS.
1,	aon … aṁáin	1st,	ceud,[4] aonṁaḋ
2,	dá	2nd,	dara, tarna, dóṁaḋ
3,	trí,	3rd,	tríoṁaḋ, treas
4,	ceiṫre	4th,	ceaṫraṁaḋ
5,	cúig	5th,	cúigeaḋ, cúigṁaḋ
6,	sé	6th,	seiseaḋ, séṁaḋ
7,	seaċt	7th,	seaċtṁaḋ
8,	oċt	8th,	oċtṁaḋ
9,	naoi	9th,	naoṁaḋ
10,	deiċ	10th,	deaċṁaḋ, deiċeaḋ
11,	aon deug	11th,	aonṁaḋ deug
12,	dá ḋéag	12th,	dara deug
13,	trí deug	13th,	treas deug, tríoṁaḋ deug
14,	ceiṫre déag	14th,	ceṫraṁaḋ deug
15,	cúig deug	15th,	cúigeaḋ deug
16,	sé deug	16th,	seiseaḋ deug
17,	seaċt deug	17th,	seaċtṁaḋ deug
18,	oċt deug	18th,	oċtṁaḋ deug
19,	naoi deug	19th,	naoṁaḋ deug
20,	fiċe	20th,	fiċeaḋ
21,	aon is (or as) fiċe; aon ar ḟiċid	21st,	aonṁaḋ ar ḟicid
22,	dó or dá is fiċe; dó or dá ar ḟiċid	22nd,	dara ar ḟiċid; dara … fiċead
23,	trí is fiċe; trí ar ḟiċid	23rd,	tríoṁaḋ ar ḟiċid or treas ar ḟiċid
30,	deiċ is fiċe [tríoċa]	30th,	deaċṁaḋ ar ḟiċid
31,	aon deug is fiċe	31st,	aonṁaḋ deug ar ḟiċid
32,	dó or dá ḋeug is fiċe	32nd,	dara deug ar ḟiċid
37,	seaċt deug is fiċe	37th,	seaċtṁaḋ deug ar ḟiċid
40,	dá ḟiċid [ceaṫraċa]	40th,	dá ḟiċideaḋ
41,	aon is dá ḟiċid	41st,	aonṁaḋ ar ḋá ḟiċid
44,	ceaṫair or ceiṫre is dá ḟiċid	44th,	ceaṫraṁaḋ ar ḋá ḟiċid
50,	deiċ is dá ḟiċid; leiṫċeud, caoga	50th,	deaċṁaḋ ar ḋá ḟiċid
51,	aon deug is dá ḟiċid	51st,	aonṁaḋ deug ar ḋá ḟiċid
60,	trí fiċid [seasga]	60th,	trí fiċideaḋ
61,	aon is trí fiċid	61st,	aonmaḋ ar ṫrí fiċid
70,	deiċ is trí fiċid [seaċtṁoġa]	70th,	deaċṁaḋ ar ṫrí fiċid
71,	aon deug is trí fiċid	71st,	aonṁaḋ deug ar ṫrí fiċid
80,	ceiṫre fiċid [oċtṁoġa]	80th,	ceiṫre fiċideaḋ
81,	aon is ceiṫre fiċid	81st,	aonṁaḋ ar ċeiṫre fiċid
90,	deiċ is ceiṫre fiċid [nóċa]	90th,	deaċṁaḋ ar ċeiṫre fiċid
91,	aon deug is ceiṫre fiċid	91st,	aonṁaḋ deug ar ċeiṫre fiċid
100,	céad (ceud)	100th,	ceudaḋ
101,	aon is ceud	101st,	aonṁaḋ ar ċeud
200,	dá ċeud	200th,	dá ċeudaḋ
300,	trí ċeud	300th,	trí ċeudaḋ
400,	ceiṫre ċeudaḋ	400th,	ceiṫre ċeudaḋ
800,	oċt gceud	800th,	oċt gceudaḋ
1000,	míle	1000th,	míleaḋ
2000,	dá ṁile	2000th,	dá ṁíleaḋ
3000,	trí ṁíle	3000th,	trí ṁíleaḋ
4000,	ceiṫre ṁíle	4000th,	ceiṫre ṁíleaḋ
1,000,000,	milliún	1,000,000th,	milliúnaḋ

Notes on the Numerals.

168. There is another very idiomatic way of expressing the numbers above twenty-one, viz., by placing the word fiċead alone after the first numeral:​—​deiċ fiċead, 30: fiċead is really the genitive of fiċe, so that the literal meaning of deiċ fiċead is ten of twenty; deiċ gcapaill fiċead, 30 horses; seaċt mba fiċead, 27 cows.

169. Whenever any numeral less than twenty is used by itself (i.e., not followed immediately by a noun), the particle a^[5] must be used before it. This a prefixes h- to vowels:​—​a h‑aon, one; a dó, two; a h‑oċt, eight.

Tá sé a ceaṫair a ċlog, it is four o'clock.

Tá sé leaṫ-uair d’éis a dó, it is half past two. 170. Very frequently in modern times the particle as (=agus) is used instead of is in numbers. As in numbers is pronounced iss.

171. A dó and a ceaṫair can be used only in the absence of nouns. If the nouns be expressed immediately after "two" and "four," dá and ceiṫre must be used.

172. Aon, one, when used with a noun almost always takes the word aṁáin after the noun; as, aon ḟear aṁáin, one man. Aon by itself usually means “any;” as, aon ḟear, any man; aon lá, any day. Sometimes aon is omitted and aṁáin only is used, as lá aṁáin, one day.

173. Under the heading "Ordinals" two forms will be found for nearly all the smaller numbers. The forms given first are the ones generally used. As the secondary forms are often met with in books, they are given for the sake of reference. Céad, first, is used by itself, but aonṁaḋ is used in compound numbers, such as 21st, 31st &c.

First, as an adverb, is ar d‑tús or ar d‑túis, never, ceud.

174. The d of dá two is always aspirated except after a word ending in one of the letters, d, n, t, l, s, or after the possessive adjective a, her.

The words for 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, given in brackets, are the old words for these numbers; they are not used now, and are given simply for reference.

175. Fiċe, ceud, and míle, together with the old words for 30, 40, 50, &c., are really nouns^[6] and can be declined.

Nom.	fiċe	gen.	fiċead	dat.	fiċid	pl.	fiċid
„	ceud	„	céid	„	ceud	„	ceudta
„	míle	„	míle	„	míle	„	mílte

The other words are 5th declension, and form their genitive by adding d.

176. Míle, a thousand, or a mile, and ceud, a hundred never change their forms after a numeral; naoi míle, 9,000, or 9 miles.

The Personal Numerals.

177. The following numeral nouns are used especially of persons. All, with the exception of dís and beirt, are compounds of the word fear, a man (the f of which has disappeared owing to aspiration), and the numeral adjectives.

aonar[7] (aon-ḟear)		one person
[dís (días)]		a pair, a couple
beirt		two persons, a couple[8]
triúr (or triar) (trí-ḟear)		three persons
ceaṫrar (ceaṫair-ḟear)		four persons
cúigear		five persons
seisear		six persons
mór-ṡeisear seaċtar	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	seven persons
oċtar		eight persons
naonḃar or nónḃar		nine persons
deiċneaḃar		ten persons
dáreug (dá-ḟear-ḋeug)		twelve persons

N.B.—The singular form of the article is used before these numerals; as an cúigear fear, the five men.

The Possessive Adjectives.

178. The term “possessive pronouns” has been incorrectly applied by many grammarians to the “possessive adjectives.” A pronoun is a word that can stand for a noun and be separated from the noun, as the words “mine” and “his” in the sentences, “This book is mine,” “This cap is his.” If I wish to say in Irish, “Did you see his father and mine?” I say, “An ḃfacais a aṫair agus m’ aṫair” (not agus mo). The possessive adjectives in Irish can never stand alone; hence they are not pronouns.

179. The possessive adjectives are as follows:—

SINGULAR.	PLURAL.
mo, my	ár, our
do, thy	ḃur (or ḃar), your
a, his or her	a, their

180. a, his; a, her; and a, their, are very easily distinguished by their initial effects on the following word.

181. The o of mo and do is elided whenever they are followed by a word beginning with a vowel or ḟ, as m’ ḟuinneóg, my window; d’ aṫair, thy father.

182. Before a vowel do, thy, is very often written t or ṫ, as d’ aṫair, t’ aṫair, ṫ’ aṫair, thy father; even h‑aṫair is sometimes wrongly written.

183. The possessive adjectives may take an emphatic increase, but this emphatic particle always follows the noun, and is usually joined to it by a hyphen; and should the noun be followed by one or more adjectives which qualify it, the emphatic particle is attached to the last qualifying adjective.

The Emphatic Particles.

184. The emphatic particles can be used with (1) the possessive adjectives, (2) the personal pronouns, (3) the prepositional pronouns, and (4) the synthetic forms of the verbs. Excepting the first person plural all the particles have two forms. When the word to which they are attached ends in a broad vowel or consonant use the broad particles, otherwise employ the slender.

			SINGULAR.	PLURAL.
1.			‑sa, ‑se	‑ne
2.			‑sa, ‑se	‑sa, ‑se
3.	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	Masc.,	‑san, ‑sean	‑san, ‑sean
		Fem.,	‑se, ‑si

Examples.

mo ṫeaċ-sa, my house; a ṫeaċ-san, his house; ár dteaċ-ne, our house; mise, myself; seisean, himself; aca-san, at themselves; buailim-se, I strike.

185. The word féin may also be used (generally as a distinct word) to mark emphasis, either by itself or in conjunction with the emphatic particles: as

mo ṫeaċ féin, my own house

mo ṫeaċ-sa féin, even my house

mo ṫeaċ breáġ mór-sa, my fine large house

mo ṫeaċ féin and mo ṫeaċ-sa may both mean "my house," but the latter is used when we wish to distinguish our own property from that of another person; as, your house and mine, do ṫeaċ-sa agus mo ṫeaċ-sa.

186. The possessive adjectives are frequently compounded with the following prepositions:—

i, in (ann), in; le, with; do, to; ó, from; and fá, under.

SINGULAR.	PLURAL.
i, in or ann, in.
im, am, ’mo, in my	nár, inár, i n‑ár, in our
id, ad, ’do, in thy, in your	nbhur, i nbhur, in your
’na, i n‑a, ina, in his, in her	na, i n‑a, ina, in their

In the third person singular and plural iona, ionna, anna are also found written.

187. le, with.
lem, le mo,*[9] with my	le n‑ár, with our
led, le do,*[9] with thy or your	le nḃur, with your
le n‑a, with his or her	le n‑a, with their
188. do, to.
dom’, do mo,*[9] to my	dár, to our
dod’, do do,*[9] to thy or your	do ḃur, dá ḃur, to your
dá, to his or her	dá, to their
189. ó, from.
óm, ó mo,*[9] from my	ó n‑ár, from our
ód, ó do,*[9] from thy or your	ó nḃur, from your
ó n‑a, from his or her	ó n‑a, from their
190. fá or fó, under.
fám, fóm, under my	fá n‑ár, fó n‑ár, under our
fád, fód, under thy, your	fá nḃur, fó nḃur, under your
fá n‑a, fó n‑a, under his, her	fá n‑a, fó n‑a, under their

191. The following compounds are frequently used with verbal nouns:—

ag, at.
agom, ag mo,*[9] at my	’gár, ġár, ag ár, at our
agod, ag do,*[9] at thy, your	ag ḃur, at your
agá, ’gá, ġá, at his, her	agá, ’gá, or ġá, at their

192. When “you” and “your” refer to one person, the singular words tú and do are used in Irish, d’aṫair, your father (when speaking to one person), ḃur n‑aṫair, your father (when speaking to more than one.)

193. Those of the above combinations which are alike in form are distinguished by the initial effect they cause in the following word; as, ó n‑a ṫiġ, from his house; ó n‑a tiġ, from her house; ó n‑a dtiġ, from their house.

194. The above combinations may take the same emphatic increase as the uncompound possessive adjectives; óm ṫiġ féin, from my own house; óm ṫiġ breáġ ṁór-sa, from my fine large house.

Demonstrative Adjectives.

195. The demonstrative adjectives are so^[10], this; sin,^[11] that; and úd, that or yonder.

so is frequently written seo when the vowel or consonant preceding it is slender.

These words come after the nouns they qualify, and should the noun be followed by any qualifying adjectives, so, sin or úd comes after the last qualifying adjective.

It is not enough to say fear so or bean sin for “this man” or “that woman.” The noun must always be preceded by the article. “This man” is an fear so; “these men,” na fir seo; an ḃean so, this woman; an ḃean sin, that woman.

196. The word úd is used when a person or thing is connected in some way with the person to whom you speak or write; an fear úd, that man (whom you have seen or heard of); an oiḋċe úd, that particular night which you remember; or in pointing out an object at some distance, as—

An ḃfeiceann tú an bád úd? Do you see that boat?

Also with the vocative case, as—

A ċloiginn úd ṫall atá gan teangaiḋ.

Thou skull over there that art without tongue.

Indefinite Adjectives.

197. The chief indefinite adjectives are​—​aon, any; éigin, some, certain; eile, other; uile (after the noun), all, whole; and the phrase ar biṫ, any at all; pé, whatever.

e.g., aon lá, any day; aon ċapall, any horse; an tír uile, the whole country; duine éigin, a certain person; an fear eile, the other man. An ḃfaca tú an leaḃar i n‑áit ar biṫ? Did you see the book anywhere? Ní ḟuil airgead ar biṫ agam, I have no money at all. Biṫeaṁaċ dob’ eaḋ an Síogaiḋe, pé uaisleaċt do ḃí aige nó ná raiḃ. The Siogaidhe was a rascal, whatever nobility he had or hadn’t.

198. The following words are nouns, and are followed by a genitive or de with the dative. As they are employed to translate English indefinite adjectives, we give them here:—

mórán, much			ḃfuil mórán fíona agat, Have you much wine?
(an) iomad, a great deal, a great many}}			an iomad airgid, a great deal of money
beagán, little			beagán aráin, a little bread
(an) iomarca, too much			an iomarca uisge, too much water
an-ċuid, rather much			an-ċuid salainn, rather much salt
dóṫain, sáiṫ	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	enough, sufficient	tá mo ḋóṫain aráin agam, I have sufficient bread
oiread (agus), as much (as), so much (as)			an oiread sin óir, so much gold
tuilleaḋ, more			tuilleaḋ aráin, more bread
neart, plenty, abundance			neart airgid, plenty of money
cuid, roinn or roinnt, a share, some			cuid, roinn or roinnt óir, some gold
a lán, many, numerous			tá a lán fear mbreáġ i n‑Éirinn. There are many fine men in Ireland

199. Translation of the word “Some.”

(a) As has been said, cuid, roinn or roinnt is used to translate the word “some,” but there are other words used, as braon, a drop, used for liquids; dornán or doirnín, a fistful, used for hay, straw, corn, potatoes, &c.; grainín, a grain, used for meal, flour, tea, &c.; pinginn, a penny, used for money. All these words take a genitive.

(b) “Some of” followed by a noun is translated by cuid de followed by a dative case.

(c) “Some of” followed by a singular pronoun is translated by cuid de; when followed by a plural pronoun, by cuid ag.

Tá braon bainne agam,	I have some milk
Tá grainín siúcra aige,	He has some sugar
Cuid de na fearaiḃ,	Some of the men
Tá cuid de sin olc,	Some of that is bad
Tá cuid aca so olc,	Some of these are bad

Translation of “Any.”

200. (a) When “any” is used in connection with objects that are usually counted it is translated by aon with a singular noun; as aon ḟear, any man; ḃfuil aon ċapall agat? or ḃfuil capaill ar biṫ agat? Have you any horses?

The following phrases followed by a genitive case are used for “any” with objects that are not counted: aon ġreim, for bread, butter, meat, &c.: aon deór for liquids; aon ġrainín, for tea, sugar, &c.; ḃfuil aon ġreim feola aige? Has he any meat?

(b) “Any of” followed by a noun is translated by aon duine de, for persons; aon ċeann de, for any kind of countable objects; aon ġreim de, &c., as above. An ḃfaca tú aon duine de na fearaiḃ? Did you see any of the men? &c.

(c) “Any of” followed by a plural pronoun is translated by the phrases given in (b), but the preposition ag is used instead of de; as—

Ní ḟuil aon ceann aca annsin. There is not any of them there.

Ní raiḃ aon duine againn annso ċeana. Not one of us was here before.

Distributive Adjectives.

201. Gaċ, each, every, as gaċ lá, every day: uile (before the noun), every; the definite article, or gaċ, must be used with uile; as an uile fear, every man. Ḃi gaċ uile ċeann aca tinn. Every one of them was sick.

Gaċ re, every other, every second; gaċ re ḃfocal, every second word.

202. The Interrogative Adjectives.

ca or cé, what, as cé ṁéad. what amount? i.e., how much or how many?

ca h‑áit, what place? ca h‑ainm atá ort? What is your name? ca h‑uair, what hour? when?

In English we say “what a man,” “what a start,” &c., but in Irish we say “what the man,” “what the start,” as caidé an geit do ḃainfeaḋ sé aisti! What a fright he would give her! (lit. he would take out of her).

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Notes

1. When used as nouns they take the termination.
2. gearra is sometimes used in the spoken language.
3. This word was formerly spelled breáġḋa or breáġṫa, and these forms may be used in the plural.
4. The c of ceud is usually aspirated after the article.
5. In Ulster and Munster the article an is used instead of this a.
6. See Syntax, par. 511 and 512.
7. Used in the idiomatic expression for “alone.” See par. 654.
8. Lánaṁa, a married couple.
9. The forms marked with an asterisk are used in the North.
10. Also sa, seo, or se.
11. Also soin, sain or san.