Graiméar na Gaedhilge

by Christian Brothers

1906

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Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son.

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THIRD EDITION – REVISED.

CAHILL & CO., Printers, Dublin.

PREFACE.

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THE Grammar of Spoken Irish presents many difficulties owing to the forms peculiar to different places, but as the literary usage embraces the dialects current in different localities, save a few archaic survivals, the literary usage has been adopted as the standard of this grammer.

Modern Irish may be said to date from the end of the 16th, or the beginning of the 17th century. At the commencement of the modern period many forms are found which belong to an earlier period, and many forms which have since grown obsolete, side by side with those by which they have since been replaced. We have deemed it advisable not to introduce into this grammer any obsolete grammatical forms, how prominent soever they may be in early modern literature. However, as students preparing for public examinations are frequently required to read the works of early modern authors, we have added in the present edition an appendix containing the verb-system of early modern Irish. Such early modern grammatical forms as survive only within a small area are not given in the large type; on the other hand, those grammatical forms generally found in literature, and which are still in use in any one of the three Irish-speaking Provinces, are given in the large print in preference to those more generally used by Irish speakers, but which are not found in literary works. It is hoped that this method may help to popularise Irish literature, and to reconcile in some degree the slight discrepancies which exist between the spoken and the literary usages.

In the present Grammar the letters l, n, and r are reckoned among the aspirable consonants, and s is omitted from the eclipsable ones. The declension of verbal nouns is transferred from the third declension to the chapter on the verbs. A collection of heteroclite nouns is inserted. The usual declension of the personal pronouns is not employed, and the terms Conjunctive and Disjunctive pronouns are adopted. The naming of the four principal parts of an Irish verb, the treatment of the Autonomous form of conjugation, the rejection of compound prepositions, infinitive mood, and present participle form a few of the features of this grammar. Among the appendices will be found lists of words belonging to the various declensions, of verbs of both conjugation, and of irregular verbal nouns.

Many of the rules have been taken from the "O'Growney Series" and from the "Gaelic Journal." The grammars of Neilson, O'Donovan, Bourke, Craig, and of many other authors, have been consulted. The chapter on the classification of the uses of the prepositions is based on Dr. Atkinson's edition of Keating's Trí Bior-ġaoiṫe an Ḃáis. Some of the sentences which illustrate the rules have been culled, with the author's permission, from the Mion-ċaint of the Rev. Peter O'Leary, P.P.

In the present edition the enunciation of the rule Caol le caol ⁊ leaṫan le leaṫan has been modified so as to bring it more into harmony with the spoken language. The sections on the Relative pronouns, Demonstrative pronouns, Adverbs, and Conjunctions have been greatly enlarged and improved. A large collection of Idiomatic expressions and an exhaustive Index have been also added.

The Christian Brothers acknowledge with pleasure their indebtedness to Mr. John McNeill, B.A., and Rev. Peter O'Leary, P.P., for their generous and invaluable aid in the production of this grammar. To Mr. R. J. O'Mulrenin, M.A., Mr. J. H. Lloyd, to Mr. Shortall, and to many other friends their best thanks are due, and gratefully tendered.

CONTENTS.

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	Page
The Letters	1
Sounds of the Vowels	2
The Diphthongs	2
The Triphthongs	3
Consonants, Division of the	4
„   Combination of the	6
Accent	6
„  Words distinguished by	7
Obscure Sounds of the Vowels	7
Aspiration, Explanation of	9
„   How marked	10
„   Rules for	11
Eclipsis	13
„  Rules for	15
Insertion of n	16
„  t	17
„  h	18
Attenuation and Broadening	18
Caol le caol ⁊ leaṫan le leaṫan	19
Syncope, Explanation of	20
„   Examples of	21
The Article	23
„   Initial changes produced by	23
Gender, Rules for	26
Cases, Number of	28
„  Rules for formation of the	28
First Declension	30
„    Examples of vowel-changes	33
„    Irregular Genitive Singular	34
„    Irregular Nominative Plural	34
Second Declension	36
„    Examples of vowel-changes	37
„    Irregular Genitive Singular	39
„    Irregular Nominative Plural	39
Third Declension	41
„    Irregular Nominative Plural	44
Fourth Declension	45
„    Irregular Nominative Plural	46
Fifth Declension	47
Heteroclite Nouns	51
Irregular Nouns	52
The Adjective	56
„    First Declension	56
„    Second Declension	59
„    Third Declension	60
„    Fourth Declension	60
„    Aspiration of	61
„    Eclipsis of	62
„    Comparison of	63
„    Irregular Comparison	68
Numeral Adjectives	69
„    „   Notes on	71
Personal Numerals	73
Possessive Adjectives	74
Demonstrative „	78
Indefinite   „	79
Distributive  „	82
Interrogative  „	82
Intensifying Particles	66
Emphatic   „	75
Translation of “Some”	80
„    “Any”	81
The Pronoun
Personal	83
Reflexive	84
Conjunctive and Disjunctive	85
Neuter Pronoun eadh	86
Prepositional	87
Relative	91
Demonstrative	93
Indefinite	94
Distributive	95
Interrogative	96
Reciprocal	97
The Verb
Conjugations, Number of	98
„    Three forms of	99
„    Autonomous form of	100
Moods, Number of	102
Tenses, Number of	103
„  Various forms of the	104
Principle Parts of a Verb	106
„    Examples of	107
First Conjugation	108
„    Notes on Moods and Tenses of	112
Rule for Aspiration of t of the Past Participle	116
Participle of Necessity	116
Derivative Participles	117
Declension of Verbal Nouns	118
Second Conjugation	118
Verbs in iġ and uiġ	119
Syncopated Verbs	120
Rules for formation of Verbal Noun	125
Irregular Verbs	127
Irregular Verbs, Absolute and Dependent forms of	138
Táim	127
Is	133
Beir	136
Taḃair	137
Abair	140
Gaḃ	142
Faġ	142
Deun	145
Feic	147
Clois or Cluin	150
Tar	150
Téiġ (Téiḋ)	152
Iṫ	154
Riġim	155
Defective Verbs
Ar, Dar, Feadar	156
Ṫárla, D’ḟóbair, Feudaim	157
Adverbs	157
Interrogative Words	160
“Up and Down,” &c.	160
“This side, that side,” &c.	162
“Over”	162
North, South, East, West	163
Compound or Phrase Adverbs	164
Days of the Week	167
“Head-foremost”	167
“However”	168
The Adverb “The”	168
Prepositions	168
Conjunctions	168
Use of ná and ná go	170
Use of mar	170
Interjections	171
Word-Building
Prefixes	173
Affixes	176
Diminutives	178
„  in ín	179
„  in án	179
„  in óg	180
Derivative Nouns	181
Compound Nouns	182
Derivative Adjectives	186
Verbs derived from Nouns	190
„  „     Adjectives	191
Syntax of the Article	192
Article used in Irish but not in English	193
Syntax of the Noun	196
Apposition	197
Collective Nouns	197
Personal Numerals	198
Personal Nouns	199
Syntax of the Adjective	201
Adjective used Attributively	202
„    Predicatively	204
Numeral Adjectives	205
Dual Number	209
Possessive Adjectives	211
Syntax of the Pronoun	213
Relative Pronoun	214
Translation of the Genitive case of the English Relative	216
Syntax of the Verb	218
Uses of the Subjunctive Mood	219
Relative form of the Verb	221
Verbal Noun and its Functions	224
How to translate the English Infinitive	226
Definition of a Definite Noun	235
When to use the Verb is	236
Position of Words with is	240
Translation of the English Secondary Tenses	241
Prepositions after Verbs	243
Translation of the Word “Not”	246
Syntax of the Preposition	249
Translation of the Preposition “For”	256
„     „    “Of”	260
Uses of the Preposition	262
Specimens of Parsing	284
Idioms	289
Idiomatic Phrases	305
The Autonomous form of the Irish Verb	315
Appendices
i. List of Nouns belonging to First Declension	325
ii. List of Feminine Nouns ending in a broad consonant belonging to Second Declension	327
iii. List of Nouns belonging to Third Declension	329
iv. List of Nouns belonging to Fifth Declension	333
v. List of Irregular Verbal Nouns	334
vi. List of Verbs of First Conjugation	336
vii. List of Syncopated Verbs	338
viii. Termination of the Regular Verbs in present-day usage	339
ix. Verb-System of Early Modern Irish	340
Index	343