Pronunciation
Review
The
sentences below are written in the form of the pronunciation
guide. Read them aloud, or have someone read them
to you. Ass you hear them, form a mental picture
of the meaning and the situation. Do not translate
the sentences word for word. After you have finished,
look at the Key at lesson end to verify your understanding.
Dee-uh
git, uh HAY*-mish. DEE-uhs MWIR-e git, uh VWAW*-re.
nee AHK-uh may* too le FAH-duh oh HIN. KUN-uhs taw*
too in-YOO? oh, er OUS. law* SEER-e uh-GUHM. shin
ay* un FAW* goh vwil AW*-huhs OH-ruhm. ahk* KUN-uhs
taw* too fay*n? taw* may* goh MAH, FRESH-in. is
DOHK*-uh goh vwil too uh duhl uh-VWAHL-e uh-NISH.
NEEL-im. vee may* uh SHOOL TIM-puhl un K*OON-ye
k*un NOO-uhk*-taw*n uh AW*-il. neel ay*n shkay*l
NOO-uh uh-GUHM-suh, ahk** BAY*-dir goh vwil shkay*l
NOO-uh suh NOO-uhk*-taw*n. taw* SOO-il uh-GUHM goh
me. ahk* taw* OH-ruhm DE-fir uh YAY*N-uhv. taw*
shay* eg EYE-ree DAY*N-uhk*. slaw*n uh-GUHT, uh
HAY*-mish. slaw*n lat, uh VWAW*-re. HEE-hee may*
too uh-REESH goh LOO-uh.
Grammar
We
will look at the genitive plural in Irish in this
lesson. An expression like "the men's hats"
in English takes the form of "hats of the men"
in Irish. The words for "of the men" will
be in the genitive plural.
Very
often the genitive plural in Irish is the same as
the nominative plural, which is the plural form
that you have been learning in the Vocabularies
in recent lessons.
In
other cases, the genitive plural is like the simplest
and first form of the noun, the nominative singular.
It is not difficult to select the right form. In
nearly all words, if the plural adds two or more
letters to the singular, or if the plural ends in
"___ í", then the genitive plural
is the same as the nominative plural. Examples:
scoil,
na scoileanna (skuhl, nuh SKUHL-uh-nuh), school,
the schools; the plural is long, so the genitive
plural is "scoileanna", and "closing
the schools" is "ag dúnadh na scoileanna",
closing of the schools.
margadh,
na margaí (MAHR-uh-guh, nuh MAHR-uh-gee),
market, the markets; the plural ends in "__
í", so the genitive plural is "margaí",
and "opening the markets" is "ag
oscailt na margaí", opening of the markets.
In
nouns that merely slenderize the last consonant
or only add "__a", to form the plural,
the genitive plural will be the same as the simplest
form of the noun, the nominative singular. Examples:
bád,
na báid (baw*d, nuh BAW*-id), boat, the boats;
here the "d" at the word end is slenderized,
and consequently the genitive plural is "bád"
the same as the nominative singular, the basic form
that you have learned. "Buying boats"
is "ceannach bád" buying of boats.
bróg,
na bróga (brohg, nuh BROHG-uh), shoe, the
shoes; here the plural merely adds " __ a",
so the genitive plural is "bróg",
the same as the nominative singular. "Selling
shoes", is, "ag díol bróg",
selling of shoes.
The
genitive plural changes in its first consonant when
it follows the words for "my", "your",
and "his", just like other noun forms
in Irish. Examples:
"Buying
my shoes" is literally "buying of my shoes",
"ag ceannach mo bhróg" (uh KAN-uhk*
muh VROHG).
"Reading
his words" is "ag léamh a fhocal"
(uh LAY*V uh OH-kuhl).
"In
front of your copies" is "os comhair do
chóipeanna" (ohs KOH-ir duh K*OH-ip-uh-nuh).
Eclipsis
is also found here, when the words "na",
meaning "of the", and "ár"
(aw*r), cur; bhur (vwoor), your (plural); a (uh),
their, come before the genitive plural. Examples:
"Reading
our copies" is "ag léamh ár
gcóipeanna".
"Buying
their shoes" is "ag ceannach a mbróg".
"Closing
the roads" is "ag dúnadh na mbóithre".
At
first, you will have to pay close attention to the
word forms in reading to detect the genitive plural,
but a little practice will help.
Reflex
Expressions
Learn
these expressions for quick use in conversation.
Cad
is ainm duit? (kahd is A-nim dit), What is your
name?
____
is ainm dom ( ___ is A-nim duhm), ___ is my name.
Tá
gach rud i gceart (taw* gahk* ruhd i GYAHRT), Everything
is all right.
Drill
Here
is some practice with the genitive plurals.
"Fear"
(far) is "man"; "fir" (fir)
is "men". The plural merely slenderizes
the final consonant, so the genitive plural must
be the same as the nominative singular. What is
"hats of the men"?
Answer:
hataí na bhfear (HAH-tee nuh VAR). The "na",
meaning "of the" in the plural, causes
eclipsis, and "bh" eclipses "f".
"Dealbh"
(DYAL-uhv) is "statue"; "dealbha"
is "statues". This plural is formed by
merely adding "a", so what is "cleaning
the statues"?
Answer:
ag glanadh na ndealabh (uh GLUHN-uh NYAL-uhv).
We
will continue with drilling on the genitive forms
next week.
Key
to the pronunciation exercise:
Dia
dhuit, a Shéamais. Dia's Muire
dhuit, a Mháire. Ní fhaca mé
tú le fada ó shoin. Conas tá
tú inniu? Ó, ar fheasbhas.
Lá saoire agam. Sin é an fáth
go bhfuil áthas orm. Ach conas tá
tú féin? Tá mé
go maith, freisin. Is dócha go bhfuil tú
ag dul abhaile anois. Nílim. Bhí
mé ag siúl timpeall an chúinne
chun nuachtán a fháil.
Níl aon scéal nua agamsa, ach b'fhéidir
go bhfuil scéal nua sa nuachtán.
Tá súil agam go mbeidh. Ach tá
orm deifir a dhéanamh. tá sé
ag éirí déanach. Slán
agat, a Shéamais. Slán
leat, a Mháire. Chífidh mé
tú arís go luath.
Hello,
James. Hello, Mary. I haven't seen you
for a long time. How are you today? Oh,
excellent. I have a holiday. That's the reason that
I am glad. But how are you yourself?
I am well, too. I suppose that you are going home
now. I'm not. I was walking around the
corner to get a newspaper. I hope there
will be one. But I must hurry. It's getting late.
Good-by, James. Good-by, Mary. I will
see you again soon.
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