parative sentence, the comparative must be preceded by the word níos (i.e., ní or niḋ, a thing, and the verb is) as—
- Tá an ġrian níos gile ná an ġealaċ,
- The sun is brighter than the moon.
- An ḃfuil tú níos fearr ná do ḋearḃráṫair?
- Are you better than your brother?
158. As stated in previous paragraph níos = ní + is. If the time of the comparison be past ní ba is used instead of níos. In conditional comparisons ní baḋ is employed.
- Ba ḋóiċ liom go raiḃ Úna ní b’aoirde ná Máire.
- I thought that Úna was taller than Máire.
159. Every superlative sentence in Irish is a relative sentence. Thus instead of saying “the best man” we say “the man (who) is best”; for “the tallest man,” we say “the man (who) is tallest.” The word “who” in this case is never translated, for the obvious reason that there is really no simple relative pronoun in Irish.
160. If the sentence happens to be in the past or future “the best man” will have to be translated as “the man (who) was best” or “the man (who) will be best.” In such cases is or as can never be used. Ba or buḋ must be used in the past tense.
