Page:Graimear na Gaedhilge.djvu/262

The Negative Adverb—Not,

600. Young students experience great difficulty in translating the English negative adverb—“not.” We here give the various ways of translating “not.”

Not,	with the	Imperative	mood,	is translated by	ná.
„	„	Subjunctive	„	„	nár.
„	„	Verbal noun		„	gan.

Indicative Mood	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	Past Tense	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	statement, níor or ċar.
				question, nár or naċar.
		All other tenses	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	statement, ní or ċa.
				question, naċ, ná.

“If … not” is translated by muna:^[1] if the verb be in the past tense use munar.

All the above forms are used in principal sentences only. In dependent sentences “that … not” is always translated by naċ or ná, except in the past tense, indicative mood, when nár or naċar must be used.

Ní, aspirates; ċa, eclipses. Ċa becomes ċan before is and fuil: e.g. ċan mé, It is not I.

How to answer a question. Yes — No.

601. (a) In Irish there are no fixed words for “Yes” or “No.” As a general rule in replying to questions, “Yes” or “No” is translated by using the same verb and tense as has been employed in the question.

1. Pronounced morru.