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The Verbal Noun and its Functions.
561. “Is there an Infinitive in Irish?” We give here Father O’Leary’s answer to his own question, “Certainly not.” In Irish there is neither an infinitive mood nor a present participle, both functions being discharged by the verbal noun. It follows from this statement that there is no such thing as a sign of the infinitive mood in Irish.
| Is maiṫ liom siuḃal. | I wish to walk. |
| Duḃras leis gan teaċt. | I told him not[1] to come. |
| Tá ormsa feiteaṁ. | I have to wait. |
| Níor ṁaiṫ liom beannuġaḋ dó. | I did not wish to salute him. |
| Ní ṫig le mála folaṁ seasaṁ. | An empty bag cannot stand. |
562. In the above examples, and in thousands of similar ones, the Irish verbal noun is an exact equivalent in sense of the English infinitive, sign and all. If any one of the prepositions do (or a), le or ċum, be used before the verbal nouns in the above examples, the result is utter nonsense. Now consider the following examples:—
| Is maiṫ liom an bóṫar do ṡiuḃal. | I wish to walk the road. |
| Is maiṫ liom focal do laḃairt. | I wish to speak a word. |
- ↑ Not before the English infinitive is translated by gan (a prep., without).
