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.
