POSITION OF WORDS WITH IS.
589. The predicate of the sentence always follows IS: as,
| Dermot is a man, | Is fear Diarmuid. |
| They are children, | Is páisdí iad. |
| John is a priest, | Is sagart Seaġán. |
| Coal is black, | Is duḃ gual. |
| A cow is an animal, | Is ainiṁíġe bó. |
| Turf is not coal, | Ní gual móin. |
| Is it a man? | An fear é? |
590. Sentences of Identification—e.g., Conn is the king—form an apparent exception. The fact is that in this sentence either the word “Conn” or “the king” may be the logical predicate. In English “king” is the grammatical predicate, but in Irish it is the grammatical subject, and “Conn” is the grammatical predicate. Hence the sentence will be, Is é Conn an rí.
591. In such sentences, when two nouns or a pronoun and noun are connected by the verb is, as a general rule, the more particular and individual of the two is made grammatical predicate in Irish. The converse usually holds in English. For instance, we say in English “I am the messenger,” but in Irish is mise an teaċtaire (lit. “the messenger is I”). Likewise with the following:—
| You are the man, | Is tú an fear. |
| He is the master, | Is é sin an maiġistir. |
| We are the boys, | Is sinne na buaċaillí. |
