Page:Graimear na Gaedhilge.djvu/41

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eclipsis, as ṫug sé an t‑airgead do’n ḟear, he gave the money to the man; cuid de’n ḟeur, some of the grass.

(e) No change is produced by the article in the singular if the noun begins with d, n, t, l, s (followed by a mute), or r. In Munster d and t are often eclipsed in the dative.

Plural.

(f) If a noun begins with an eclipsable consonant the article eclipses it in the genitive plural, as a ḃean na dtrí mbó, O woman of (the) three cows; Sliaḃ na mban, "the mountain of the women."

(g) If the noun begins with a vowel the article prefixes n to the genitive plural and h to the nom., the acc., and dative plural, as luaċ na n‑uḃ, the price of the eggs; na h‑asail, the asses; ó na h‑áitiḃ seo, from these places.

(h) The letter s is never replaced by t in the plural number under the influence of the article.


CHAPTER II.

The Noun.

I. GENDER.

41. There are only two genders in Irish, the masculine and the feminine.

The gender of most Irish nouns may be learned by the application of a few general rules.