Graiméar na Gaedhilge/Part III Chapter III
CHAPTER III.
The Adjective.
492. An adjective may be used either predicatively or attributively. An adjective is used predicatively when it is predicated of a noun by a verb, and in this case it is usually separated from the noun by the verb. “The way was long, the wind was cold.” “The day is fine.” “He made the mantles green.” “Long,” “cold,” “fine,” and “green” are used predicatively. An adjective is used attributively whenever it is not separated from the noun by the verb, and is not predicated of a noun by a verb: as, “The infirm old minstrel went wearily along.” “He made the green mantles.” The adjectives “infirm,” “old,” and “green” are here used attributively.
493. In Irish almost every common adjective can be used both predicatively and attributively. There are, however, one or two exceptions: droċ, bad, and deaġ, good, can never be used predicatively. If “bad” or “good” be used predicatively in the English sentence, we must use olc, bad, or maiṫ, good, in Irish. Never say or write is deaġ é for “he is good,” but is maiṫ é, &c.
The adjective iomḋa is always used predicatively with is. In Munster ’mó is used instead of iomḋa.
- Is iomḋa marcaċ do ġaḃ an tsliġe seo.
- (’Tis) many a rider (that) has gone this way.
ADJECTIVE USED ATTRIBUTIVELY.
(a) The Position of the Adjective.
494. As a general rule the adjective follows its noun in Irish: as, leaḃar mór, a big book; fear maiṫ, a good man.
Exceptions. (1) A numeral adjective, whether ordinal or cardinal, when it consists of one word, always precedes its noun: as trí ba, three cows; ḋá ċirc, two hens. The interrogative, possessive, and most of the indefinite adjectives also precede their noun.
(2) Monosyllabic adjectives are frequently placed before the noun, but then the noun and adjective form a compound noun, and consequently the initial of the noun is aspirated, when possible. This is always the case with adjectives: deaġ, good; droċ, bad; sean, old; and frequently with nuaḋ, new; and fíor, true. In this position the form of the adjectives never changes for number or case, but it is subject to the very same initial changes as if it were a noun.
- sean-ḟear, an old man; sean-ḟir, old men.
- treun-ḟear, a brave man; árd-rí, a high king.
- an tsean-ḃean, the old woman;
- láṁ an tsean-ḟir, the hand of the old man.
(3) When a name consists of two words the adjective frequently comes between them: as, “Sliaḃ geal gCua,” “the bright Slieve Gua.”
(b) Agreement of the Adjective.
When an adjective is used attributively and follows its noun, it agrees with the noun in gender, number, and case: as, bean ṁór, a big woman; mac an ḟir ṁóir, the son of the big man; na fir ṁóra, the big men.
For the aspiration and eclipsis of the adjective see par. 149.
495. Since the adjective in English has no inflexion for gender, it is quite a common thing to have one adjective qualifying two or more nouns of different genders. Sometimes in Irish we meet with one adjective qualifying two nouns of different genders or numbers; in such cases the adjective follows the latter noun, and agrees with it alone. However, the more usual method is to use the adjective after each noun: as,
- Fear maiṫ agus bean ṁaiṫ.
- A good man and woman.
ADJECTIVE USED PREDICATIVELY.
(a) Position of the Adjective.
496. An adjective used predicatively always follows its noun, except when it is predicated by means of the verb IS, in any of its forms, expressed or understood.
- The men are good, Tá na fir maiṫ.
- The day is fine, Tá an lá breáġ.
If the verb is be used in these sentences, notice the position of the adjective and the use of the pronoun.
- The men are good, Is maiṫ na fir iad.
- The day is fine, Is breáġ an lá é.
(b) Agreement of the Adjective.
An adjective used predicatively never agrees with its noun in either gender, number, or case: in other words, the simple form of the adjective is always used.
Moreover, it is never aspirated nor eclipsed by the noun.
497. When the adjective comes immediately after the Past Tense or Conditional of is (i.e., ba or buḋ), its initial is generally aspirated, when possible; but in this case it is not the noun which causes aspiration.
- Ba ḃreáġ an lá é. It was a fine day.
498. Notice the difference in meaning between the following:—
| Rinne sé na sgeana geura | He made the sharp knives. | |
| Rinne sé geur na sgeana | He made the knives sharp. | |
| Rinne sé na sgeana geur | ||
| Tá an ḃó ṁór duḃ. | The big cow is black. | |
| Tá an ḃó ḋuḃ mór. | The black cow is big. | |
| Tá an oiḋċe dorċa fliuċ. | The night is dark and wet. | |
| Tá an oiḋċe ḟliuċ dorċa. | The wet night is dark. | |
499. Adjectives denoting fulness or a part of anything are usually followed by de with the dative case:
- full of milk, lán de ḃainne.
- two barrels full of water, ḋá ḃaraile lán d’ uisge.
NUMERAL ADJECTIVES.
Position of the Words.
500. A numeral adjective, whether ordinal or cardinal, when it consists of one word, goes before the noun.
- ceiṫre capaill, four horses; sé caoiriġ, six sheep.
- an ċeud ḃuaċaill, the first boy.
The words for 40, 60, 80, 200, 800, &c, also precede their nouns.
501. A numeral adjective, except those just mentioned, consisting of two or more words, takes its noun immediately after the first part of the numeral: as,
- ceiṫre capaill deug, fourteen horses.
- ḋá uan deug, twelve lambs.
- ḋá ḃuin deug is trí fiċid, seventy-two cows.
502. When we wish to express large numbers in Irish, we may either place the unit digit first, then the tens, next the hundreds, and so on; or we may express them in the English order. Convenience for utterance and clearness of sense are the best guides in any particular case.
The word AGUS is generally used with the larger numbers CÉAD, MÍLE, etc., and IS with the smaller ones.
- 129 miles, céad (míle) agus naoi míle fiċead.
- 79 horses, naoi gcapaill déag is trí fiċid.
- 5,635 men, cúig ṁíle agus sé ċéad fear agus cúig fir deág ar ḟiċid.
- 256 sheep, sé caoiriġ déag is dá ḟiċid agus (ar) trí ċéad.
- 1,666 years, sé bliaḋna is trí fiċid agus (ar) sé ċéad agus (ar) míle.
- 519 A.D., aois do’n tiġearna cúig ċéad agus naoi déag.
- 52,000 of the Roman army, ḋá ṁíle déag is dá ḟiċid míle de ṡluaġ Róṁánaċ.
- More than 400 years, tuille(aḋ) (breis) agus ceiṫre ċéad bliaḋain.
About 80, tuairim le (or timċeall le) ceiṫre fiċid. „ is „ „ is „ „
The word sliġe is often added to make it clear that miles not thousands is meant. Sé míle sliġe, or sé míle [de] ṡliġe, six miles.
503. The initials of the numerals undergo the very same changes with regard to aspiration and eclipsis as a noun would in the same position.
504. The article prefixes t to aonṁaḋ, first, and to oċtṁaḋ, eighth, whether the following noun be masculine or feminine: as,
- an t‑oċtṁaḋ ḃean, the eighth woman.
Initial Changes produced by the Numerals.
505. Aon, one; dá, two; ceud, first; and treas, third, aspirate the initial of the following word: as,
- aon ḃó aṁáin, one cow; an ċeud ḟear, the first man.
506. Aon, prefixes t to the letter s; but has no effect on d or t: aon asal aṁáin, one ass; aon ċos aṁáin, one foot; aon tsagart aṁáin, one priest; aon tslat aṁáin, one rod; aon tseaḃac aṁáin, one hawk; ḋá ṡeaḃac, two hawks; aon taoḃ aṁáin, one side.
507. Seaċt, seven; oċt, eight; naoi, nine; and deiċ, ten; and their compounds eclipse the initial of the following noun and prefix n to vowels; seaċt mba, seven cows; deiċ n‑uḃla, ten apples.
508. Trí, ceiṫre, cúig and sé have usually no effect on consonants (except ceud, 100, and míle, 1000); but trí, ceiṫre, sé, and dara prefix h to vowels: as, trí ba, three cows; trí h‑asail, three asses; sé h‑uḃla, six apples; ’san dara h‑áit, in the second place; trí ċeud, 300; ceiṫre ṁíle, 4000.
Trí, ceiṫre, cúig and sé (as well as seaċt, oċt, &c.), cause eclipsis in the genitive plural: a ḃean na dtrí mbó. O woman of three cows! Luaċ ceiṫre bpúnt four pound’s worth.
The Number of the Noun after the Numerals.
509. The noun after aon is always in the singular, even in such numbers as 11, 21 , 31, 41, &c. The other numerals (except dá) may take the singular number when unity of idea is expressed: e.g., aon uḃall déag, eleven apples; ḋearmad sé ar na trí ḃuille ’ḃualaḋ. He forgot to strike the three blows.
510. When a noun has two forms in the plural, a short form and a long one, the short form is preferred after the numerals: as
- naoi n‑uaire, nine times; not naoi n‑uaireannta.
511. In Modern Irish the numerals fiċe, 20; dá ḟiċid, 40, &c., ceud, 100; míle, 1,000, are regarded as simple numeral adjectives which take the noun after them in the singular number.
512. This peculiar construction has arisen from the fact that these numerals are really nouns, and formerly governed the nouns after them in the genitive plural. As the genitive plural of most Irish nouns has exactly the same form as the nominative singular, the singular form has come to be almost universally used in Modern Irish after these numerals. Formerly they would use ceud ban and fiċe caoraċ, but now we use ceud bean and fiċe caora.
513. The word ceann and its plural cinn are often used with numerals when the noun is not expressed in English: as, Ca ṁeud (an’mó) leaḃar agat? Tá ḋá ċeann deug agam. How many books have you? I have twelve.
- Tá ceann (or duine) aca ins an tiġ.
- There is one of them in the house.
The Dual Number.
514. Ḋá, “two,” always takes the noun after it in the dual number (neither singular nor plural), which in every Irish noun has the same form as the dative singular. This does not at all imply that the noun after dá is in the dative case. It is in the dative singular form, but it may be in any of the five cases, according to its use in the sentence. All the cases of the dual number are alike, but the form of the genitive plural is often used for the genitive dual: ḋá ḃuin, two cows; ḋá ġaḃainn, two smiths; lán a ḋá láiṁ or lán a ḋá láṁ, the full of his two hands.
515. The article which qualifies a noun in the dual number will always be in the singular form.
516. The adjective which qualifies a noun in the dual number will be in the plural form, but really in the dual number; the pronouns belonging to the noun will be in the plural form; and the verb may, but need not be; because in these parts of speech the dual number and the plural number have the same forms.
517. The initial of an adjective[1] qualifying and agreeing with a noun in the dual number will be aspirated, no matter what the gender or case of the noun may be: as,
| ḋá ṫiġ ḋeug, | twelve houses. |
| an dá láiṁ ḃána, | the two white hands. |
| lán a dá láiṁ ḃeag, | the full of her two little hands. |
518. The d of dá is usually aspirated, except after words ending in d, n, t, l, s (dentals), or after the possessive adjective a, her.
- a dá ċois ḃeaga, her two little feet.
The Possessive Adjective.
519. A possessive adjective can never be used without a noun: as, her father and his, a h‑aṫair agus a aṫair.
520. The possessive adjectives always precede their nouns: as, mo ṁáṫair, my mother.
521. The possessives mo, my; do, thy; and a, his, aspirate the initial of their nouns; ár, our; ḃur, your; and a, their, cause eclipsis: as, a ḋán, his poem; do ṁáṫair, thy mother; a dán, her poem ; a ndán, their poem.
522. If a noun begins with a vowel, mo, my, and do, thy, become m’ and d’ (t or ṫ); a, his, has no effect; a, her, prefixes h; and a, their, prefixes n; ár, our, and ḃur, your, also prefix n to vowels: as, a aṫair, his father; a h‑aṫair, her father; a n‑aṫair, their father; m’ḟear, my husband; d’eun, your bird; ár n‑arán laeṫeaṁail, our daily bread; ḃur n‑aḃrán, your song.
523. The possessive adjectives, when compounded with prepositions (see par. 186), have the same influence over the initials of their nouns as they have in their uncompounded state: as, dom ṁáṫair, to my mother; óm ṫír, from my country.
524. When the portion of a thing which belongs to one or more persons is to be expressed by the possessive adjectives, the name of the thing is preceded by cuid, with the possessive adjective before it. The name of the thing is in the genitive case—genitive singular if quantity be implied, but genitive plural if number—as, my bread, mo ċuid aráin (lit. my share of bread); his wine, a ċuid fíona; their horses, a gcuid capall.
This rule is not always followed; for instance, we sometimes find m’ḟíon, my wine; but mo ċuid fíona is more idiomatic.
525. The word cuid is never used in this way before the name of a single object.
- mo leaḃar, my book; a gcapall, their horse.
- a leaḃar, his book; but a ċuid leaḃar, his books.
- a bó, her cow; a cuid bó, her cows.
526. The word cuid is not used in such phrases as mo ċosa, my feet; mo ṡúile, my eyes; a ċnáṁa, his bones, &c.
527. When the emphatic suffix is used, some make it follow ċuid; others make it follow the noun: as, mo ċuid-se aráin or mo ċuid aráin-se.
- Notes
- ↑ Except demonstrative, possessive, indefinite, and interrogative adjectives.