How to translate “for” into Irish

To start with, remember that the equivalents of verbs which take for in English govern their own prepositions in Irish, and that you are supposed to learn the preposition with the verb. So, for instance, he is waiting for Seán is in Irish tá sé ag fanacht le Seán. This does not mean that le is particularly common as an equivalent for for, though.

But let’s get on with it. Here:

DO is typically used in the sense “to the benefit of”. Tá mé ag obair dó “I am working for him.”

AS is typically used in the sense “in return for”. D’íoc mé dhá euro as “I paid two euro for it”.

But note AR in the related but somewhat different sense in “I bought it for two euro”: Cheannaigh mé ar dhá euro é.

AR SON is usually used in the sense “for the sake of a noble cause”: Fuair Seán Ó Rudaí bás i bpáirc an áir ar son na hÉireann. “Seán Ó Rudaí died on the battlefield for Ireland.” It is a combined preposition that takes the genitive case, and when used with personal pronouns, you insert a possessive pronoun between ar and son: ar mo shon, ar do shon, ar a shon, ar a son, ar ár son, ar bhur son, ar a son. Note that in spoken dialects, the son part is often permanently lenited after ar, i.e. ar shon na hÉireann.

Note, though, that in Ulster Irish, ar son does usually have the sense “in return for, in payment for”. There, you’d say D’íoc mé dhá euro ar a shon. I guess that in Ulster, you’d use I bhFÁCH LE or AR MHAITHE LE when speaking about siding with causes or doing something in favour of somebody or something. In these expression, le is the normal preposition le and behaves in the normal way, as regards prepositional pronouns, mutations and stuff. (For your information: the prepositional forms of le are liom, leat, leis, léi – léithi in Ulster -, linn, libh, leo – or leofa in Ulster. Le becomes leis before the definite articles: leis an, leis na. And with the article it affects the noun in the usual ways.)

AS UCHT is usually used for “in return for”: go raibh míle maith agat as ucht do chineáltais “thank you a thousand times for your kindness”. It does find some use even in the sense “for the sake of” and “in account for”, but personally I’d prefer to use it only in the sense of “in return for”, and then only speaking about abstract things (i.e. I thank you as ucht your kindness, but I pay you as this thing I am buying).

LE hAGHAIDH is used in the meaning of “intended for”: Chuir siad seomra in áirithe le m’aghaidh “They reserved a room for me”.

IN ARAICIS is typically Ulster Irish, and it is used when you go, say, to the airport or the railway station “for” somebody, i.e. to meet and fetch this person. Chuaigh siad go stáisiún na traenach in araicis Sheáin “they went to the railway station for Seán”. Takes genitive, or personal pronouns. I guess that in the standard language you use i m’araicis, i d’araicis, ina araicis, ina haraicis, inár n-araicis, in bhur n-araicis, ina n-araicis, but the first two ones are in m’araicis, in d’araicis if the orthography tries to imitate genuine dialectal pronunciation.

I gCOMHAIR or FAOI CHOMHAIR is basically synonymous with LE hAGHAIDH, i.e. intended for. Use genitive, or personal possessive pronouns when appropriate: i mo chomhair, i do chomhair, ina chomhair, ina comhair, inár gcomhair, in bhur gcomhair, ina gcomhair; faoi mo chomhair, faoi do chomhair, faoina chomhair, faoina comhair, faoinár gcomhair, faoi bhur gcomhair, faoina gcomhair.

AR FEADH (I tend to write it ar feádh, but I see that the standard orthography is ar feadh with no fada. Oops.). This one is mostly temporal: ar feadh lae, ar feadh bliana and so on – “for the duration of a day, a year”…

THAR CIONN. Well, the standard is again thar ceann, but in my opinion it is entrenched enough to use the old dative form here. This means “on behalf of”, i.e. as a representative for. Shínigh an Príomh-Fheidhmeannach an conradh thar cionn Bigmoney Teoranta. “The Chief Executive Officer signed the contract for (on behalf of) Bigmoney Ltd.” Takes genitive (thar cionn na cuideachta) and personal possessive pronouns (thar mo chionn, thar do chionn, thar a chionn, thar a cionn, thar ár gcionn, thar bhur gcionn, thar a gcionn).

FAOI DHÉIN when you go to the shop “for” something, or when you go and fetch somebody from the airport or the railway station. Chuaigh mé go dtí an siopa faoi choinne uachtar reoite = I went to the shop for some ice cream. Takes genitive, and personal possessive pronouns (faoi mo dhéin, faoi do dhéin, faoina dhéin, faoina déin, faoinár ndéin, faoi bhur ndéin, faoina ndéin).

FAOI CHOINNE is for a particular kind of use, for an occasion. Cheannaigh mé cóta te faoi choinne an gheimhridh = I bought a warm coat for winter. Takes genitive, and personal possessive pronouns (faoi mo choinne, faoi do choinne, faoina choinne, faoina coinne, faoinár gcoinne, faoi bhur gcoinne, faoina gcoinne).

DE GHRÁ is used typically with abstract nouns in the meaning “for the sake of…” (de ghrá na síochána = “for the sake of peace”, for instance). Takes genitive.

Teicneachabaireacht an “Réaltaistir” agus an Ghaeilge

(leagan leasaithe den tseanaiste a foilsíodh ar an Tuairisceoir sa bhliain 2013)

Ceann de na foinsí Béarlachais is mó i saol na Gaeilge í an tsiamsaíocht Mheiriceánach – sin rud chomh follasach agus is féidir. Ní gnách Gaeilge a chur ar na sraithscéalta teilifíse a bhfuil gnaoi an phobail orthu, ná fiú ar na leabhair mhór-ratha le scríbhneoirí éadroma. Ró-annamh a bhactar leis an teanga a chur ar leabhair nach raibh iontu ar dtús ach ficsean sainseánra (nó genre fiction mar a deir an Béarla) nó garrfhicsean (pulp fiction) agus a bhain amach clú an chlasaicigh idir an dá linn. (Tá mé féin tar éis leabhar amháin den chineál sin,  Foundation le hIsaac Asimov, a aistriú go Gaeilge. Thairis sin, tá Foundation and Empire leis an údar céanna agus A Princess of Mars le hEdgar Rice Burroughs á n-aistriú go Gaeilge agam i láthair na huaire.) Is beag an sólás do lucht na Gaeilge é, ach is féidir an fhadhb chéanna a aithint i saol na dteangacha eile – teangacha, fiú, a bhfuil stádas cobhsaí acu i saol cultúrtha agus poiblí a dtíortha.

San Fhionlainn, mar shampla, chloisfeá cliséanna na sraithscéalta Meiriceánacha go léir – sa bhunteanga – i gcoimhthéacs an chomhrá Fionlainnise. Tá an Béarla á fhoghlaim ón tríú rang bunscoile i leith. Thairis sin, ní gnách linn na sraithscéalta teilifíse a dhubáil: is fearr linn fotheidil ná athghuth. Mar sin, chuala muid criú an Enterprise, na Friends, agus laochra na sraithscéalta eile ag labhairt Béarla ar an teilí riamh, agus d’éirigh muid cleachtach ar a gcuid buafhocal. Ní hé sin an scéal atá fíor ina lán tíortha Eorpacha eile. Cé go bhfuil Gearmáinis an lae inniu torrach le focail Bhéarla, dealraíonn sé gurb as Gearmáinis a labhraíos Picard, Janeway, Worf agus Troi, gan tagairt a dhéanamh don chuid eile acu, ar theilifís na Gearmáine.

Luaigh mé an Enterprise, agus ceart go leor beidh an Star Trek go mór mór faoi chaibidil agam san aiste seo. Nó an Réaltaistear – sin é an leagan Gaeilge a múineadh dom thiar sna nóchaidí, nuair nach raibh mé ach díreach i ndiaidh ballraíocht a bhaint amach ar an bhfóram Gaeilge úd Gaelic-L.

Tá sé ina sheandeilín smolchaite ag lucht na Gaeilge ná nach bhfuil maith ar bith sna téarmaí eolaíochta a thagas as ceárta an Choiste Téarmaíochta. Cé nach bhfuil mé féin sásta le gach moladh dá n-eisíonn siad, caithfidh mé a rá go bhfuil mé tinn tuirseach de bhéal bhocht seo na nGaeilgeoirí i dtaobh na téarmaíochta oifigiúla ar na saoltaibh seo. Déarfainn go raibh téarmaí ar choincheapanna nua-aimseartha amscaí i ngach teanga ó thús. Nuair a chuaigh na cainteoirí ina dtaithí thréig an coimhthíos. Sin, nó chuir siad a gcasadh féin ar an bhfocal lena dhéanamh níos nádúrtha sa teanga.

Mar sin is é is bunrúta leis an bhfadhb áirithe seo – arís – ná nach n-úsáidtear an Ghaeilge ná na téarmaí eolaíocha Gaeilge go fairsing. Dá gcloisfeá téarmaí Gaeilge ar an teilifís an t-am ar fad, dá mbeifeá ag léamh leabhair fhaisnéise faoi bhrainsí éagsúla eolaíochta agus a gcúrsaí, agus dá mbeadh cultúr léitheoireachta an chineál sin leabhar forleathan i measc lucht na Gaeilge (ar ndóigh ba mhór an chabhair dá mbeadh na leabhair sin ann!), is dócha nach mbeadh na daoine chomh míshásta is atá siad leis na téarmaí, cé go mba iad na “drochthéarmaí” céanna a bheadh i gceist. Is é an locht is mó atá ar na téarmaí Gaeilge ná go bhfanann siad sna foclóirí in áit a bheith i gcúrsaíocht choitianta.

“Ní fiú cur inár n-aghaidh! Déanfar cuid den chnuasphobal díbh!” (“Resistance is futile! You will be assimilated”) Sin é an chaint a chloisfeá ó na “Borg“. Is iad na Borg cine na gcibearg in ollchruinne fhicseanúil an Réaltaistir – daoine agus iad iompaithe ina róbait. Níl pearsantacht ná indibhidiúlacht acu, agus is é an t-aon chuspóir atá acu ná na daoine go léir a “Bhorgú” nó a “chomhshamhlú” le comhphobal agus cnuasintinn na mBorg. San eipeasóid dhúbailte “The Best of Both Worlds” (“Rogha an Dá Shaol” – is iad sin saol na ndaoine daonna agus saol na mBorg) den tsraith “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, d’éirigh leis na Borg captaen an Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard, a chimiú agus a “chomhshamhlú”, ionas go ndearnadh Borg de. “Locutus” an t-ainm a bhí air agus é ina chibearg – focal Laidine a chiallaíos “An Té a Labhair”. Sa deireadh, d’éirigh le criú an Enterprise Picard a tharrtháil agus gléasra na mBorg a bhaint de. Ba é Patrick Stewart a rinne páirt Jean-Luc Picard sa tsraith ST:TNG. (Foinse: Vicipéid an Bhéarla.)

Is minic a bhíos na téarmaí Béarla ar choincheapanna eolaíochta lán chomh hamscaí leis na téarmaí Gaeilge. Scéal eile é áfach go gcloiseann na Béarlóirí na téarmaí seo i gcoimhthéacs na teanga nádúrtha, agus nuair atá Béarla dúchasach timpeall ar an bhfocal deacair, is furasta duit do chuid féin a dhéanamh de. Bítear ag fáil lochta ar an “teicneachabaireacht” (technobabble) ar na sraithscéalta ficsin eolaíochta, cosúil leis an Réaltaistear, go minic, nó ag gáire fúithi, ach b’fhearr liom sibhse stad den scigiúlacht sin le bhur marana a dhéanamh ar an bhfíric seo leanas: is í an teicneachabaireacht a chuireas an chosmhuintir i dtaithí na bhfocal eolaíoch agus a dhéanas cuid nádúrtha den ghnáthchaint díobh. Is é an fhadhb ná nach mbíonn na focail nuachumtha nó na téarmaí eolaíochta le cloisteáil i sruth na cainte líofa ná le léamh i gcoimhthéacs na dea-Ghaeilge. A mhalairt ar fad.

Is minic a chloiseas muid iomrá ar an dá rud “Gaeilge uafásach scoile” agus “Gaeilge Gaeltachta”, ach ar an drochuair dealraíonn sé nár bhac aon duine riamh le comparáid chórasach a dhéanamh idir an stíl a chleachtas na scríbhneoirí dúchasacha agus an cineál Gaeilge a bhíos le léamh i scríbhinní na n-údar nár fhoghlaim Gaeilge ach ar scoil. Mar sin, níl treoirleabhair ná téacsleabhair againn a mhíneodh don ghnáthléitheoir, don ghnáthscríbhneoir agus don ghnáth-Ghaeilgeoir bhocht conas a d’fhéadfadh sé “an Ghaeilge uafásach scoile” a dhí-fhoghlaim. (An ar mo chrann-sa a thitfeas sé, meas tú?)

Is deacair a rá ar ndóigh céard is dea-Ghaeilge ann, an cineál Gaeilge a mba chóir dúinn aithris a dhéanamh air, an stíl neodrach. Ina lán teangacha tá stíl na teanga liteartha chomh cobhsaí, chomh seanbhunaithe, is nach bhfuil mórán easaontais ann faoin gcineál teanga ba chóir a fhoghlaim is a chleachtadh. Bíonn scríbhneoirí cruthaitheacha ann agus a gcuid turgnamh is trialach idir lámhaibh acu ach tríd is tríd tá a fhios agat céard is dea-stíl ann mar a thuigfeadh clasaicigh na teanga an coincheap sin. Maidir le dea-stíl na Gaeilge, arís, chinn mé, na blianta ó shin, mo thuiscint féin ar na cúrsaí seo a thógáil ar dhúshraith an bhéaloidis agus na scéalaíochta traidisiúnta.

B’fhéidir nach raibh traidisiún liteartha ag muintir na Gaeltachta fadó, ach ar a laghad bhí traidisiún scéalaíochta agus seanchais acu, agus cé gur gnách linn mar Ghaeilgeoirí bheith ag caí, ag cáiseamh agus ag caoineadh an tsaibhris a cailleadh nuair a d’imigh an teanga, is é lomlán na fírinne ná go bhfuil cuid mhór den tsaibhreas chéanna againn i gcónaí. San am a chaith mé féin i mo Ghaeilgeoir chuaigh a lán ábhar béaloidis i gcló faoi chlúdach leabhair, agus de réir is mar a rinne mé staidéar ar na cinn a cheannaigh mé i rith an ama seo tháinig ciall agam do Ghaeilge na Gaeltachta. Ní féidir liom a rá go mbeinn ar aon leibhéal leis na máistrí móra ach sílim go bhfuil mé in ann aithris éigin a dhéanamh ar a bhfuil léite agam agus na hamscaíochtaí is dual do scríbhneoirí na Galltachta a sheachaint.

Cé go bhfuil na nuathéarmaí riachtanach agus géar-riachtanach, is é an rud is tábhachtaí, an rud is géire a theastaíos, ná an Ghaeilge thraidisiúnta. Caithfidh an scríbhneoir maith bheith eolach ar an ábhar agus ar na téarmaí riachtanacha, ach san am chéanna caithfidh sé a bheith ábalta na saintéarmaí a sheachaint nuair nach bhfuil gá leo. Níl sna téarmaí sin ach uirlisí de chuid na ceirde go bunúsach. Mar is eol dúinn, is namhaid í an cheird gan í a fhoghlaim agus bíonn an uirlis is úsáidí dainséarach díobhálach i lámh an duine nach bhfuil an dóigh cheart aige uirthi.

Is iomaí cineál Béarlachais a chuireas isteach ar léitheoir na Gaeilge, ar ndóigh. Ceann acu an rómhuinín a bhíos ag scríbhneoirí maithe féin as na téarmaí nuachumtha i gcoimhthéacsanna neamhoiriúnacha, Bíonn an Béarla scríofa an-difriúil leis an teanga líofa labhartha, agus na focail teibí teicniúla ag ruaigeadh na gnáthchainte as, agus is rómhinic a fheicim daoine a bhfuil a gcuid Gaeilge go hiontach ar fad nuair a labhraíos siad ag cur seaicéad ceangail an Bhéarla fhoirmiúil orthu féin nuair a thosaíos siad ag scríobh – ag scríobh Gaeilge.

Teastaíonn uathu téarmaí casta “liteartha” a chur in áit na bhfocal nádúrtha, in aithris ar nós an Bhéarla. Ní féidir leo anáil a tharraingt ná a ligean amach mar is dual don duine – tosaíonn siad ag ionanálú agus ag easanálú, nó fiú ag cleachtadh ríospráide. Anois, admhaím go mbíonn focail cosúil leis an mbeirt seo ag teastáil agus sinn ag iarraidh cúrsaí eolaíochta a phlé – shílfínn nach ndéanfá in uireasa “ionanálú”, “easanálú” nó “ríospráid” i dtráchtas leigheaseolaíochta nó fiseolaíochta. Ach má bhímid ag plé na rudaí seo i gcomhthéacs na gnáthchainte, is é an rud is tábhachtaí ná na gnáthfhocail nó na gnáthleaganacha a fhoghlaim is a úsáid, is é sin, tarraingt na hanála agus ligean amach na hanála.

Is mór an trua ar ndóigh má bhaineann daoine úsáid as “ionanálú” agus “easanálú” toisc nach bhfuil na leaganacha dúchasacha ar eolas acu agus iad ag gabháil leor leis an gcéad fhocal (nó fiú leis an aon fhocal!) a dtagann siad air san fhoclóir. Má théann siad ar lorg “inhale” agus “exhale” – focail mhóra Laidineacha sa Bhéarla féin, gheobhaidh siad ansin “ionanálaigh” agus “easanálaigh”, téarmaí troma Gaeilge nach bhfuil inghlactha ach i dtéacs foirmiúil leigheaseolaíochta, má scríobhtar téacsanna den chineál sin sa teanga ar aon nós.

Má chuirimid Gaeilge i mbéal na mBorg ar an Réaltaistear, is é an chéad leagan a mholfas lucht na Gaeilge scoile dúinn ná “comhshamhlófar sibh” nó rud éigin cosúil leis sin, Cúpla mí ó shin bhí pictiúrchomhad á scaoileadh timpeall ar an bhFacebook le haistriúcháin droch-Ghaeilge ar roinnt frásaí ón Réaltaistear – más buan mo chuimhne ní raibh oiread is ceann amháin acu in aon neasacht do bheith ceart ná intuigthe mar Ghaeilge, ach is díol suntais é gur bhain an duine bocht ónar tháinig an iarracht thruamhéileach seo – gur bhain sé úsáid as “comhshamhlú” le “assimilate” an Bhéarla a aistriú. Léiriú maith scigphictiúrtha é seo ar an meon a bhíos ag a lán agus iad ag iarraidh “an Ghaeilge a chur in oiriúint don aonú haois fichead”: is cuma faoi cheart na comhréire, faoi dhul nádúrtha na bhfocal, is é an rud is tábhachtaí ná úsáid a bhaint as téarma nuachumtha.

Is é an chéad phrionsabal atá ag gach aon aistritheoir maith ná go bhfuil sé leis an gciall a aistriú seachas malairt focail a chur ar an mbuntéacs. Ar ndóigh más ag cur malairt teanga ar fhicsean eolaíochta ar nós an Réaltaistir atáimid, is cuid den atmaisféar iad na focail mhóra nach dtuigtear ach ar éigean. Le fírinne thig a rá nach mbíonn an cineál Béarla a labhraíos na Borg ar an Réaltaistear rónádúrtha, toisc go bhfuiltear ag tabhairt le fios gur cnuaschine, cnuasphobal agus cnuasintinn iad nach dtugann aitheantas d’indibhidiúlacht ar aon nós. Is féidir a rá go bhfuilimid i gcall Gaeilge chomh mínádúrtha céanna leis an smaoineamh seo a chur in iúl.

Mar sin féin, dá mbeinnse le Gaeilge a chur ar scannáin nó ar scéalta a bhaineas le coincheap an Réaltaistir, is dócha go mbeinn ag iarraidh téarmaí speisialta a sheachaint a fhad agus ab fhéidir.  Ar ndóigh, ní féidir déanamh in uireasa rudaí ar nós “féasar” (phaser), ach níl ina leithéidí ach ainmneacha ar rudaí nach bhfuil ann ar aon nós ach taobh istigh d’ollchruinne fhicseanúil an Réaltaistir féin – ainmneacha is féidir a dhealramh le hainmneacha dílse. Cuid de na téarmaí meafaracha is féidir iad a aistriú focal ar fhocal (wormhole mar shampla – ní thuigim cén fáth nach bhféadfainn “poll péiste” a thabhairt air as Gaeilge). Maidir leis na Borg, is dóigh liom gur fearr coincheap an assimilation a aistriú go Gaeilge gan dul i muinín leis an bhfocal “comhshamhlú”: Déanfar cuid den chnuasphobal díbh! Ní fiú cur inár n-aghaidh!

An focal resistance, dála an scéil. Cé gur chaith na Gaeil seacht n-aois laochais (seven heroic centuries,mar a dúirt Yeats) ag cur troda ar na Gaill, níor ceapadh focal ar leith le resistance a aistriú sa chiall mhíleata – ba leor do na Gaeil troid nó cath. Is é an focal a chuireas ligeadóirí agus casadóirí na téarmaíochta ar fáil dúinn inniu ná “frithbheartaíocht”, agus cé go bhfuil sé cineál trom, níl locht ar bith agamsa air. Scéal eile áfach go bhfaca mé an téarma “friotaíocht” go rómhinic sa chiall seo ag daoine ar mó a ngrá don Ghaeile ná a n-eolas uirthi. Is éard atá i gceist leis an bhfriotaíocht ná resistance na leictreoireachta. Dá mbeadh an teanga go maith ag an té a chrothnaigh uaidh an focal Gaeilge ar resistance, thuigfeadh sé go mb’fhearr an téarma a sheachaint agus an coincheap a chur in iúl le gnáthfhocal éigin (troid, cath, spairn lann…) mura bhfuil tú cinnte faoi aistriúchán ceart an téarma Béarla

Again, some words about the use of “ag” with the autonomous verb

In English, the preposition by is used for announcing the agent of an action in passive constructions: it was done by him (passive) corresponds to he did it (active). In Irish, the story is more complicated.

The author of a book or an article: “A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens”: Use le, if there is no verbal construction involved: Scéal fá Dhá Chathair le Charles Dickens. (Of course, it should be Scéal faoi Dhá Chathair in standard Irish, but the existing translation comes from the pre-Caighdeán era, and the translator was an Ulster dialect speaker.)

When the action is (or was, or will be) ongoing and not completed, we use the construction with do + possessive + verbal noun. This passive construction takes the ag agent.

Tá muid dár n-ionsaí ag trúpaí naimhdeacha “We are being attacked by enemy troops”

Bhí sibh do bhur mealladh ag an gcailín leathnocht, agus níor thug sibh faoi deara go raibh bhur bpócaí á bhfolmhú ag a páirtí “You guys were being charmed by the half-naked girl, and you didn’t notice that your pockets were being emptied by his partner”

Bhí “Scéal fá Dhá Chathair” á chumadh ag Charles Dickens “A Tale of Two Cities was being written by Charles Dickens” (or rather “authored, composed” – I used the verb cum!/cumadh)

When the action is definitely completed, we use the participle (the -the/-te/-tha/ta form).

Tá an cath briste orainn ag na trúpaí naimhdeacha “We have been defeated by the enemy troops” (in Irish we say, “the battle has been broken on us by the enemy troops”)

Bhí sibh meallta ag an gcailín leathnocht “You guys had been charmed by the half-naked girl”

Bhí “Scéal fá Dhá Chathair” cumtha ag Charles Dickens “A Tale of Two Cities had been written by Charles Dickens”

There is a definite difference between the Irish construction Bhí sé déanta aige and the English construction It was done by him. They do not mean the same. The Irish construction is basically the exact equivalent of the German “situational passive” or Zustandspassiv – es war von ihm gemacht/getan. It means that it had been done previously, but the prevailing situation is that it was not being done anymore, and only the results existed at the time referred to. Thus, tá an cath briste orainn is best translated with the English perfect: we have been defeated; and bhí an scéal cumtha is a pluperfect: the story had been composed.

Now, of course, you want to ask, how you exactly translate into Irish such a construction as A Tale of Two Cities was written by Charles Dickens. This English construction does signal that the act of writing has been completed, but it also stresses the act, not just the result (the Irish situational passive only stresses the result). My short answer is: you don’t. You say instead Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities, or ’twas Charles Dickens who wrote A Tale of Two Cities. Thus:

Chum Charles Dickens “Scéal fá Dhá Chathair”.

Ba é Charles Dickens a chum “Scéal fá Dhá Chathair”.

Those who learnt their Irish mainly from contemporary non-native sources will ask me, what about *Cumadh “Scéal fá Dhá Chathair” ag Charles Dickens then? I have always recommended against using ag agents with the autonomous verb. Here is why.

It is to be admitted that during different periods, there have been attempts to use an agent with the autonomous verb. My illustrious fellow countryman Anders Ahlqvist once pointed out to me that Old Irish used the preposition that was the cognate of as (‘out of’). Diarmuid Ó Sé has in his article in Ériu in 2006,  Agent Phrases with the Autonomous Verb in Modern Irish, surveyed this kind of constructions. It is suggested by Niall Ó Dónaill in his indispensable dictionary that le was used in older literary Irish – basically, in Early Modern Irish and later attempts to approximate classical style – for this purpose.

However, Ó Sé is of the opinion that such constructions as cailleadh X le Y “X was lost (killed) by Y” do not suggest that Y killed X, but rather, that Y was the reason of X being lost or killed – i.e., Y didn’t wield the weapon that killed X. A typical construction is cailleadh an laoch le bean álainn – i.e. a beautiful woman was the reason why the hero was killed (in the classical or postclassical examples used by Ó Sé, bean still had the dative form, so cailleadh an laoch le mnaoi álainn would be closer to the actual style, but you get the picture). The idea here is more like “he was lost/killed through a beautiful woman, a beautiful woman was his undoing”.

In fact, this usage of le is still common in such constructions as cailleadh le hocras é “he starved to death” (“he was lost through hunger”) and even the active construction fuair sé bás le hocras (“he got death through hunger”). I would also suggest that le is possible as a kind of agent preposition when the agent is not personal, but, for instance, a force of nature, so that it is difficult to say whether it is an agent or a reason: scoilteadh an spéir le tintreach (“the sky was split by/with a lightning”).

Sometimes, very rarely, you see le in contemporary literature used as agent. I have seen it once or twice in all the Ulster folklore collections I have perused for the last twenty years. I remember there is one very thin volume from Ulster – I can’t recall the title, and it seems the book is not included in my old bibliography – which includes one instance of le obviously used as a personal agent. (And of course, in An Chéad Mhám by Seán Bán Mac Meanman, there were examples of this le usage as an attempt at archaism, but that does not count.)

Another possible agent preposition is ó, which is used in Connacht Irish in such expressions as pósadh ón sagart iad “they were married by (actually from) the priest” (this example comes from Tomás de Bhaldraithe). Moreover, Ó Sé points out that Tomás de Bhaldraithe also found such gems in Connacht as this:

cén fáth nach múinfidís ó Ghaeilgeoir í? “why wouldn’t they teach her from an Irish-speaker?” (the meaning intended is “why wouldn’t they have her taught by an Irish-speaker?”)

Now, I feel very tempted to recommend these usages of ó to you, but I guess I must refrain from that. This ó usage will not be understood outside Connacht, and it is so uncommon that I have never encountered it in native literature or folklore.

Then that ag. Such constructions as goideadh an t-uisce beatha ag an druncaire “the whisky was stolen by the drunkard” are encountered in non-native literature, in bad newspaperese and in officialese, but I must say that they are really grating if you have acquired your Irish through the study of native literature and folklore. In fact, while folklore elicited from terminal speakers (i.e. speakers who aren’t regular users of the language anymore, and whose grasp of the language is loosening) does tend to exhibit unacceptable Anglicisms and solecisms, this ag usage is practically non-existent even in such material.

Diarmuid Ó Sé notes that they are sometimes found in texts written by native speakers especially of Munster background, when they try to sound refined and literary. Myself, I have found an abundance of ag agents in Dónall Mac Sithigh’s book Fan Inti, which is a Munster native speaker’s account of traditional boat-making. However, the book is in this respect very exceptional. It is my impression that these constructions are one of the most obvious differences between “good Gaeltacht Irish” (which you acquire, in Finland, by reading books written by native speakers as well as by reading folklore) and “that horrible school Irish”.

Diarmuid Ó Sé also notes that the ag is most often attached to the autonomous past tense, typically not to other tenses. He says this is a “genuine syntactic restriction” and refers to Edward Keenan’s and Matthew Dryer’s article on Passive in the world’s languages, which suggests that there is a connection between perfective verb and the need for an agent construction. Irish past tense is, according to him, basically an aorist, i.e. a verb form that refers to a completed (perfective) action. I agree on that, but I find Ó Sé’s explanation a little long-winded.

My impression is that this use of the ag agent has originated in non-native Irish and especially in direct relative clauses, which can be ambiguous: if we say an t-oifigeach a mharaigh an saighdiúir, does it mean “the officer who killed the soldier”, or “the officer whom the soldier killed”? You are tempted to use *an t-oifigeach a maraíodh ag an saighdiúir if the second interpretation is correct.

However, there is another way to avoid this ambiguity. You see the fact is that you are allowed to use indirect relative clause in such occasions. Then, write out the correct pronoun and use the indirect relative particle. Like this:

an t-oifigeach ar mharaigh sé an saighdiúir “the officer who killed the soldier”

an t-oifigeach ar mharaigh an saighdiúir é “the officer whom the soldier killed”

 

These usages are found in native folklore, and while they are not very common, they are found in all dialects, and sometimes even when they are not necessary. For some reasons though, they seem not to be taught at school, which may be one reason why those ag agents are so common in school Irish.

Guides to good Irish – Treoirleabhair don dea-Ghaeilge

An Béal Beo. By Tomás Ó Máille. This one was first published in the good old days of the Free State, and when I entered the Irish-language scene in the nineties, it had the reputation of some sort of secret medicine. I acquired an old copy and started to transform it to the new spelling for my own use, but fortunately, immediately after the millennium, the book was reissued in a modernized version. It teaches traditional Gaeltacht Irish in its cultural setting – among other things it includes the description of a loom and its parts (!). You might find it rather challenging, but if you want to learn to think in Irish, to use traditional sayings and idioms and understand their meaning, you need to read this book, and make extensive notes. The language is rather Connemara-slanted, but there is linguistic material from other dialects.

Tomás Ó Máille a scriobh. Foilsíodh an chéad eagrán thiar i laethanta an tSaorstáit, agus nuair a thosaigh mise ag cur aithne ar shaol na Gaeilge is éard a fuair mé amach go rabhthas ag labhairt faoin leabhar seo mar a bheadh druagántacht na seanleigheasraí ann. Cheannaigh mé seanchóip agus chrom mé ar an litriú nua a chur i bhfeidhm uirthi le haghaidh m’úsáide féin, ach, ádhúil go leor, tháinig eagrán nua i gcló tar éis chasadh na mílaoise. Is éard a mhúineas an leabhar seo ná Gaeilge thraidisiúnta i gcomhthéacs an tseansaoil – mar shampla tá cur síos ann ar sheol an fhíodóra agus ar a pháirteanna (!). Is dócha go bhfaighidh tú an leabhar réasúnta deacair, ach más mian leat a bheith in ann smaoineamh as Gaeilge, úsáid a bhaint as na teilgeanacha dúchasacha cainte agus a mbunchiall a thuiscint, caithfidh tú an leabhar seo a léamh agus nótaí cuimsitheacha a bhreacadh síos. Tá blas Chonamara ar stíl an údair, ach san am chéanna tarraingíonn sé ar na canúintí eile freisin le haghaidh ábhair.

An Cabhsa, By Tomás de Bhial. This is a book of idiomatic expressions explained in their context, in sentences which make sense, and with practical advice. If you find the idea of reading Gaeltacht literature intimidating, you might start with this book. The writer was a teacher in the Ring of Waterford Gaeltacht, and the language used is mostly very mainstream, the kind of Munster and Connacht expressions that are widely used even by non-natives.

Tomás de Bhial a chum an ceann seo. Is éard atá sa leabhar seo ná teilgeanacha dúchasacha cainte agus iad mínithe ina gcoimhthéacs, in abairtí a bhfuil ciall cheart iontu, chomh maith le leideanna praiticiúla. Más ábhar scanraidh duit dul i ngleic le litríocht na Gaeltachta, tá súil agam go réiteoidh an leabhar seo an ród romhat beagáinín. Bhi an t-údar ina mhúinteoir i nGaeltacht na Rinne, agus an teanga a úsáidtear sa leabhar tá sí an-chóngarach do phríomhshruth na Gaeilge – teilgeanacha cainte ó Chonnachtaibh nó ón Mumhain atá ann, Gaeilge den chineál a d’fheicfeá ag scríbhneoirí neamhdhúchais chomh maith.

Dea-Chaint John Ghráinne agus a chairde. Collected by Tom Hodgins. This is a book about expressing emotions in idiomatic Irish. This is Ulster Irish pure and unadulterated, and if you want to express your emotions like Séamus Ó Grianna, you need to read this book. However, having read Ó Grianna’s available books as well as other Ulster classics, I was mostly familiar with the material in the book already. This is good news though: it means that you can learn to express emotions in good Irish if you read Gaeltacht literature; and on the other hand, that this book can make that literature more accessible for the learner.

Tom Hodgins a bhailigh. Leabhar é seo a chuirfeas ar do chumas do chuid mothúchán a chur in iúl go nádúrtha trí mheán na Gaeilge dúchasaí. Is í Gaeilge Uladh an chanúint a úsáidtear. Mar sin, más maith leat friotal Shéamuis Uí Ghrianna a chur ar do chuid mothúchán, ní mór duit an leabhar seo a léamh. Ón taobh eile de áfach, caithfidh mé a rá nár tháinig mé ar mhórán rudaí anseo nach raibh ar eolas agam cheana féin, nó bhí mé tar éis mionstaidéar a dhéanamh ar shaothar Uí Ghrianna agus ar na clasaicigh eile ó Chúige Uladh cheana féin. Dea-scéala é sin féin áfach: ciallaíonn sé gur féidir leat friotal na mothúchán a fhoghlaim trí litríocht Gaeltachta a léamh, agus go gcuirfidh an leabhar seo le do thuiscint ar an litríocht sin, más foghlaimeoir thú.

“…mar a déarfá”, by Séan Mac Cionnaith. This is a book of Irish clichés, as the author suggests. This is basically a very good, extensive guide to idiomatic Irish, but regrettably it seems that it was rushed into print. The idiomatic expressions presented sometimes exhibit pre-Caighdeán spelling or archaic grammar (unnecessary dative forms, for instance). Basically, the problem seems to be that the author took the expressions (or at least some of them) as he found them in primary sources, without checking them in standard dictionaries. So, for an old hand such as me who knows the language well, this book is a great help, but I cannot wholeheartedly recommend it for learners. This is deplorable: with some editing this would be a superb book, now it is only a good one. However, the problem of the book is the problem of much Irish publishing in general: you don’t have access to a whole team of expert editors, you must do the work all by yourself. Noting this, the book is quite a tour de force.

Seán Mac Cionnaith a scríobh. Cnuasach cliséanna Gaeilge atá ann, mar a deir an t-údar. Go bunúsach is iontach cuimsitheach an treoirleabhar é don duine a bhfuil Gaeilge dhúchasach ag teastáil uaidh ach uaireanta feictear duit go ndeachaigh an leabhar i gcló gan an snas deireanach a fháil, Na teilgeanacha cainte sa leabhar, ó am go ham d’aithneofá litriú na ré réamh-Chaighdeánaí orthu, sin nó lorg na seanghramadaí (tuiseal tabharthach mar shampla, áit nach bhfuil gá leis an bhfoirm a thuilleadh). Is é an phríomhfhadhb dar liom ná gur phioc an t-údar na teilgeanacha cainte (cuid acu ar a laghad) leis mar a fuair sé sna bunfhoinsí iad, gan iad a sheiceáil sna foclóirí caighdeánacha. Mar sin is mór an chabhair atá sa leabhar seo dom féin, ós duine de na seanfhondúirí mé, ach ní féidir liom é a mholadh do na foghlaimeoirí gan chuntar. Is mór an trua é, nó dá ndéanfaí tuilleadh eagarthóireachta ar an leabhar, bheadh sé thar barr ar fad – níl sé ach go maith faoi láthair.  Tríd is tríd áfach is é an phríomhfhadhb atá ag an leabhar seo ná fadhb na foilsitheoireachta Gaeilge go ginearálta: níl teacht agat ar fhoireann eagarthóirí seanchleachta agus caithfidh tú iomlán na hoibre a dhéanamh ar do leontaí féin. Le taobshúil air sin, is móréacht é an leabhar seo.

Cora Cainte as Tír Chonaill, by Seán Mac Maoláin. This book is another reissued one from the good old days, and the language is pure Donegal Irish, as the title suggests. It is a list of words followed by explanations or usage examples, all in Irish. The reissued version uses a standard spelling which sometimes seems less than well suitable to how the words are pronounced in Donegal. However, the book is a good guide to Ulster Irish for those who only know the Caighdeán.

Ba é Seán Mac Maoláin a chuir an leabhar seo i dtoll le chéile. Atheagrán eile é ar sheanleabhar maith, agus is í Gaeilge Thír Chonaill an chanúint sa leabhar seo, mar is léir ón teideal. Liosta focal é, agus míniúcháin nó samplai úsáide i ngach iontráil, as Gaeilge amháin. An litriú a úsáidtear san atheagrán seo tá sé chomh gar don Chaighdeán is nach bhfuil sé chomh hoiriúnach céanna d’fhuaimniú na canúna. San am chéanna is maith an treoir atá ann dóibh siúd nach bhfuil ach an Caighdeán acu agus iad ag iarraidh ciall a bhaint as canúint Uladh.

I guess you miss Ceart nó Mícheart, by Seán Ó Ruadháin, here. The next blog post is my old review of that very book. (Only in Irish, I am afraid.)

Is dócha go bhfuil sibh ag crothnú Ceart nó Mícheart le Seán Ó Ruadháin anseo. Sa chéad bhlagmhír eile tá mo sheanléirmheas ar an leabhar áirithe sin.

A quick and very dirty guide to Irish prepositions (now as one page)

“THE USUAL RULES”:

The “usual rules” of initial mutation after the combination of a simple preposition and a following definite article:

• To start with, note that a plural noun preceded by a simple preposition and a definite article follows the same rules as when it is preceded just by a definite article: i.e. a consonant does not change, but a vowel takes a h-: ar na fir, ag na mná, leis na héanacha (similarly: na fir, na mná, na héanacha)
• All the difficulties are, thus, in the singular.
• The basic rule is, that the noun is eclipsed: ar an bhfear, ag an mbean. A vowel is not affected (but the t- before a masculine noun beginning with a vowel is dropped: an t-éan, but leis an éan).
• However, initial t- and d- are not eclipsed: ag an doras, ag an tine (such forms as ag an ndoras, ag an dtine are Kerry Irish).
• As an alternative, the Ulster way of leniting the noun instead is allowed in the caighdeán: ag an fhear, ag an bhean.
• In standard Irish, the initial lenitable s- (s + vowel, sn-, sl-, sr-) behaves in the same way as if there was no preposition, i.e. if the noun is masculine, it is not affected (ar an saol), but if it is feminine, the s- turns into a t-, written ts- (ar an tsráid). However, in Ulster, no difference between genders is observed here (ar an tsaol, ar an tsráid).

AG

Followed by the “dative case” (which is today for the most part equal to the nominative case, i.e. the dictionary form). When used before an article + a noun, the usual rules of eclipsis/lenition etc. apply.

Aigesna rather than ag na in plural is typically Munster Irish.

Personal forms: agam, agat, aige, aici, againn, agaibh, acu.

Before nouns with no article: ag does not affect the first sound in any way.

Main meanings of ag:

• at (in the concrete locational sense): tá sé ina sheasamh ag an doras “he is standing at the door”
• chez, in somebody’s home
• at an occasion
• in somebody’s possession: tá gluaisteán agam “I have a car/an automobile”

Note: The widespread habit of using le in the sense of “in somebody’s home” is an Anglicism. Due to the fact that English does not have a preposition corresponding to Irish ag, German bei, or Swedish hos, with is used in English. But in Irish, if you are “staying with” somebody, you should use ag for translating “with”.

AR

Followed by the “dative case” (which is today for the most part equal to the nominative case, i.e. the dictionary form). When used before an article + a noun, the usual rules of eclipsis/lenition apply.

Personal forms: orm, ort, air, uirthi, orainn, oraibh, orthu.

Before nouns with no article: The main rule is, that it lenites. However, when it refers rather to the abstract state than to the concrete position, the lenition is omitted: ar muin chapaill (on horseback) vs. ar mhuin an chapaill áirithe seo (on the back of this particular horse). Note:

ar dhóigh “in a way” vs. ar dóigh “excellent” (But note ar fheabhas “excellent”, which is an exception of the exception). There is, of course (!), even ar ndóigh “of course”. (And speaking of ar + eclipsis, remember also ar gcúl. This kind of irregular eclipsis after ar is probably due to the fact that the ar we now have is a merger of several prepositions, one of them iar “after”, which used to eclipse the noun.)

ar shiúl “away, gone” vs. ar siúl “happening, going on”

ar tarraingt “in traction” (when you lie with a broken bone in a hospital)

ar fionraí “suspended”

ar cois “happening, going on”

ar obair “happening, going on, proceeding”

ar dalladh “intensely”

ar fheabhas “excellent”. This is an irregularity, because in exact this kind of expressions you would expect no lenition of the f-.

Main meanings of ar:

• on, upon (in the most concrete sense): ar an urlár “on the floor”
• for a price: cheannaigh mé ar ocht bpunt é “I bought it for eight pounds”
• in a relative position: tá sé ar an bhfear is fearr “he is the best man”
• under the authority of someone: tá Nearó ina Impire ar an Róimh “Nero is the Emperor of Rome”
• affected by emotion or disease: tá tuirse orm, tá fearg orm, tá slaghdán orm, tá tinneas cinn orm
• “about” in the sense of “talking about something”. This usage, however, is more connected with particular verbs and phrases than that of faoi. (Compare Irish trácht ar rud and English “to remark upon something”.)
• “Down upon” referring to aggression and attack is in Irish anuas ar.

AS

Followed by the “dative case” (which is today for the most part equal to the nominative case, i.e. the dictionary form). Before an article + a noun, the usual rules apply.

Personal forms: asam, asat, as, aisti, asainn, asaibh, astu.

Before nouns with no article: they are not affected at all. In Kerry, as does lenite, but this is heavily dialectal, and speakers of other dialects might find it out and out wrong. In Cork Irish, at least in Cape Clear, the historically correct form a is used instead (as being only the third person masculine singular form) – it does not affect a consonant, but adds a h- to a vowel.

Main meanings of as:

• out of; from among; from; away from
• emanating from (smells, for instance)
• material, medium: rud a ní as uisce; labhairt as Gaeilge
• in payment for: d’íoc mé deich bpunt as na hearraí “I paid ten pounds for the goods”

CHUIG

Followed by the “dative case” (see above). Before an article + a noun, the usual rules apply.

Personal forms: chugam, chugat, chuige, chuici, chugainn, chugaibh, chucu.

Before nouns without article: they are not affected at all.

Main meanings of chuig: to, towards.

Note: ag is in dialects often used instead of chuig.

CHUN

Followed by the genitive case. The usual genitive rules apply. Note though, that when chun precedes an articleless noun which is followed by a definite genitive, that articleless noun can be declined in genitive too: leas ár dtíre “the interest/greater good of our country”, chun leasa ár dtíre “to the greater good of our country”.

Personal forms; the same as for chuig.

Main meanings:

• to, towards
• to a conclusion, to an effect
• for a purpose

Note the older forms chum, do-chum, which you might encounter in texts printed in Gaelic type and spelled according to the old orthography.

DE

Followed by the dative case (see above). Before an article + a noun, it lenites where applicable, and turns a lenitable s- into a t- (but written ts-). Lenites nouns without an article.

Personal forms: díom, díot, de, di, dínn, díbh, díobh. The initial d- is often lenited (dh-).

Main meanings:

• from, off: rud a bhaint de dhuine “to take a thing away from somebody”, stad sé den obair “he stopped working”
• attached to, sticking to: cheangail mé an rópa den bhád “I bound, attached, the rope to the boat”; cheangail mé an dá bhád dá chéile le rópa “I tied the two boats to each other with a rope”

Note: non-natives often use le to refer to what something is attached or bound to. This is wrong. In Irish you always use de for this. Le refers to whatever you use for tying them together. Thus, you tie the boats de each other le a rope.

Another note: it is quite common as dialects go to conflate de and do into one preposition, or to use do where you’d expect de. Remember this when you read native texts with Ó Donaill’s dictionary.

Desna rather than de na in plural is Munster Irish.

DO

Initial mutations as after de.

Personal forms: dom, duit, dó, di, dúinn, daoibh, dóibh. The initial d- is often lenited (dh-).

Main meanings:

• To, i.e. when giving something to someone: tabhair dom an bréagán sin “give me that toy”.
• To a place (although for this I’d mostly prefer go dtí)
• For (intended for someones use; to the benefit of; etc.)
• In certain verbal noun constructions, it refers to the agent of the verbal noun: i ndiaidh dom teacht abhaile/ar theacht abhaile dom “when I had come home”

Dosna rather than do na is Munster Irish.

FAOI

Lenites a noun that follows it directly. The usual rules apply to the combination of preposition + article.

Personal forms: fúm, fút, faoi, fúithi, fúinn, fúibh, fúthu.

Main meanings:

• Under, beneath.
• About, around; also “about” in the sense of talking about something.

An Ulster acquaintance of mine suggested that there was a division of meaning between fá “about” and faoi “under, beneath” in Ulster dialect. This is possible, but my impression is that the choice of faoi, fá, fé, fó in older texts mostly depends of the phonetic environment, i.e. the vowels of the surrounding nouns (this would account for the form fó in the expression an Tír fó Thoinn “the land beneath the wave”, a mythological underwater otherworld; the expression has also, probably facetiously, been used for the Netherlands).

Fé is a common spelling variant in Munster. Fésna instead of faoi na is Munster dialect.

I

Eclipses a noun that follows it directly (i dteach). Becomes in before a vowel. In the standard language, the combination i + an (ins an, now commonly written sa, san) lenites; in Connemara, though, it is assimilated to the “usual rules” (sa mbád rather than sa bhád). In plural, i + na becomes ins na (now commonly written sna).

Sa in plural is Munster dialect.

Personal forms: ionam, ionat, ann, inti, ionainn, ionaibh, iontu.

Main meanings:

• In, inside: sa teach
• In a position: i gceannas ar na saighdiúirí
• Innate capacities: tá comhábhair an cheoltóra mhaith ann 
• Role: tá mé i mo mhúinteoir
• Accusation, guilt: tá sé á chúiseamh i ndúnmharú; fuarthas ciontach i ndúnmharú é

LE

According to the standard language, it should affix a h- to a following vowel. Combines with the article to yield leis an in singular, leis na in plural. Leis an follows the usual rules.

Personal forms: liom, leat, leis, léi, linn, libh, leo.

Main meanings:

• with
• towards, facing
• often used with verbs of interaction, transaction: labhair sé liom “he spoke with/to me”; dhíol sé a sheancharr liom “he sold his old car to me”
• with is it refers to ownership: is liom an carr úd “that car over there is mine”. Note the difference: tá carr agam “I have a car”, but is liom an carr “the car belongs to me”.

Ó

The usual rules apply when followed by an article. When it precedes an articleless noun, it lenites. Ósna in plural is Munster dialect: ó na is standard.

Personal forms: uaim, uait, uaidh, uaithi, uainn, uaibh, uathu.

Main meanings:

• from (from a place, from a person, from a limit, from a root cause, away from someone)
• since (a point of time)

 

TRÍ

Becomes tríd before an. (Oops! All these years I have happily written it as tríd even before plural na!) It tends to be permanently lenited (thrí) and you do see the form tríd even before a noun without an article (this is dialectal though).

It’s the usual rules before an article. Before a noun without an article, trí lenites.

Personal forms: tríom, tríot, tríd, tríthi, trínn, tríobh, triothu.

Main meanings of trí:

• through: tríd an bhfuinneog, tríd an doras
• by doing something, by using something, by doing something in a way: rinne sé an t-aireagán trí mhiontaighde “he made the invention by minutious research”
• through the medium of: ag múineadh trí Ghaeilge

UM

This preposition is only ever used in Cork Irish (well, probably sometimes in Kerry before names of holidays) and in legalese. I confess I have no exact idea what it means, but it follows the usual rules when  it comes before an article. Before a naked noun, it lenites, with the exception of labial consonants (b, m, p). For main meanings, consult the online Ó Donaill dictionary. – OK, fine, I am pulling your leg. It usually means “about, around”, and it is often used with temporal nouns: um an dtaca so (yes, it is definitely a Munster preposition, so um an eclipses the t’s and the d’s!), um an gCáisc, um an Nollaig. In legalese, it refers to what a law or an act is about: an tAcht um Theascadh na mBod Rófhada “the Too Long Penises Amputating Act”.

It has the personal forms umam, umat, uime, uimpi, umainn, umaibh, umpu. However, one of my readers pointed out on Twitter that she had never seen these forms before. They are hardly ever used anywhere else than in the native literature of Co. Cork; a book where you could expect to see them is Dónall Bán Ó Céileachair’s Scéal mo Bheatha. And of course in Peadar Ua Laoghaire’s books. In fact, I reckon this otherwise very marginal and dialectal preposition became part of modern Irish legalese only because Ua Laoghaire with Séadna and his other books was so influential in the early years of the revival of Irish.

ROIMH

Lenites naked nouns, but follows the usual rules with articles. The form roimis an… rather than roimh an… is Munster Irish. Also in Munster Irish, you might see genitive forms after roimh.

Personal forms: romham, romhat, roimhe, roimpi, romhainn, romhaibh, rompu.

Main meanings:

• before (in a temporal sense): roimh an Nollaig, roimh an gCáisc
• before (in an order of preference, arrival, prestige etc.), ahead of: tháinig siad abhaile romhainn
• waiting for someone: nuair a thuirling an t-eitleán i mBaile Átha Cliath, bhí cuid mhór de lucht ár leanúna ansin romhainn

THAR

Lenites naked nouns, except in sayings of a general meaning (thar barr, thar muir, thar bord, thar claí, thar smacht, thar sáile); the usual rules apply before a definite article.

Personal forms: tharam, tharat, thairis, thairsti, tharainn, tharaibh, tharstu.

Main meanings:

• over, across, to the other side of something: chuaigh Seán thar sáile agus bhunaigh sé gnó ríomhaireachta i San Francisco
• over, above: chuaigh an t-uisce thar an gcloigeann air agus bádh é
• going or getting by or past something: chuaigh siad tharainn agus an choiscéim ghasta sin fúthu
• beyond: chuaigh na páistí thar smacht ar an múinteoir bocht
• in preference to: roghnaigh mé an ceann maith thar an drochcheann

IDIR

I have always had this idea that when it means “between”, it does not lenite the following noun, while when it means “among”, it does. However, Ó Donaill tells us that it basically lenites, with the exception of certain phrases. Whatever. It does not affect a noun preceded by article, so no “usual rules” there.

Eadar is a common variant spelling, typical of Ulster writers.

It has personal forms only in plural: eadrainn, eadraibh, eatarthu. These are only used alone. If idir is followed by two pronouns, those are kept: idir sinn agus iad, idir sibh agus sinn, and so on. There is one book – An Fhiannuidheacht by Cormac Ó Cadhlaigh – where you see stuff like eadrainn agus iad rather than idir sinn agus iad. The book is otherwise written in a rather commonplace Munster Irish for the most part, so I don’t know whether this is an archaism or a hypercorrection.

Main meanings:

• between
• both (…and)

A quick and very dirty guide to Irish prepositions (part two)

TRÍ

Becomes tríd before an. (Oops! All these years I have happily written it as tríd even before plural na!) It tends to be permanently lenited (thrí) and you do see the form tríd even before a noun without an article (this is dialectal though).

It’s the usual rules before an article. Before a noun without an article, trí lenites.

Personal forms: tríom, tríot, tríd, tríthi, trínn, tríobh, triothu.

Main meanings of trí:

• through: tríd an bhfuinneog, tríd an doras
• by doing something, by using something, by doing something in a way: rinne sé an t-aireagán trí mhiontaighde “he made the invention by minutious research”
• through the medium of: ag múineadh trí Ghaeilge

 

UM

This preposition is only ever used in Cork Irish (well, probably sometimes in Kerry before names of holidays) and in legalese. I confess I have no exact idea what it means, but it follows the usual rules when  it comes before an article. Before a naked noun, it lenites, with the exception of labial consonants (b, m, p). For main meanings, consult the online Ó Donaill dictionary. – OK, fine, I am pulling your leg. It usually means “about, around”, and it is often used with temporal nouns: um an dtaca so (yes, it is definitely a Munster preposition, so um an eclipses the t’s and the d’s!), um an gCáisc, um an Nollaig. In legalese, it refers to what a law or an act is about: an tAcht um Theascadh na mBod Rófhada “the Too Long Penises Amputating Act”.

It has the personal forms umam, umat, uime, uimpi, umainn, umaibh, umpu. However, one of my readers pointed out on Twitter that she had never seen these forms before. They are hardly ever used anywhere else than in the native literature of Co. Cork; a book where you could expect to see them is Dónall Bán Ó Céileachair’s Scéal mo Bheatha.

ROIMH

Lenites naked nouns, but follows the usual rules with articles. The form roimis an… rather than roimh an… is Munster Irish.

Personal forms: romham, romhat, roimhe, roimpi, romhainn, romhaibh, rompu.

Main meanings:

• before (in a temporal sense): roimh an Nollaig, roimh an gCáisc
• before (in an order of preference, arrival, prestige etc.), ahead of: tháinig siad abhaile romhainn
• waiting for someone: nuair a thuirling an t-eitleán i mBaile Átha Cliath, bhí cuid mhór de lucht ár leanúna ansin romhainn

THAR

Lenites naked nouns, except in sayings of a general meaning (thar barr, thar muir, thar bord, thar claí, thar smacht, thar sáile); the usual rules apply before a definite article.

Personal forms: tharam, tharat, thairis, thairsti, tharainn, tharaibh, tharstu.

Main meanings:

• over, across, to the other side of something: chuaigh Seán thar sáile agus bhunaigh sé gnó ríomhaireachta i San Francisco
• over, above: chuaigh an t-uisce thar an gcloigeann air agus bádh é
• going or getting by or past something: chuaigh siad tharainn agus an choiscéim ghasta sin fúthu
• beyond: chuaigh na páistí thar smacht ar an múinteoir bocht
• in preference to: roghnaigh mé an ceann maith thar an drochcheann

 

IDIR

I have always had this idea that when it means “between”, it does not lenite the following noun, while when it means “among”, it does. However, Ó Donaill tells us that it basically lenites, with the exception of certain phrases. Whatever. It does not affect a noun preceded by article, so no “usual rules” there.

Eadar is a common variant spelling, typical of Ulster writers.

It has personal forms only in plural: eadrainn, eadraibh, eatarthu. These are only used alone. If idir is followed by two pronouns, those are kept: idir sinn agus iad, idir sibh agus sinn, and so on. There is one book – An Fhiannuidheacht by Cormac Ó Cadhlaigh – where you see stuff like eadrainn agus iad rather than idir sinn agus iad. The book is otherwise written in a rather commonplace Munster Irish for the most part, so I don’t know whether this is an archaism or a hypercorrection.

Main meanings:

• between
• both (…and)

Main Difficulties

I don’t suggest it is easy to learn good Irish. Not being a native speaker of English, my idea of what is difficult in Irish is obviously different from that of most learners, but speaking of purely practical difficulties, I’d like to note the following:

• The dialectal differences, of course. People often exaggerate them, especially those people who try to find any convenient excuse not to learn Irish. However, they are there, and they complicate the acquisition of Irish. There is a recognized linguistic, or sociolinguistic, phenomenon called schizoglossia. In a schizoglossic situation, you don’t know which kind of language you should see as exemplary and normative, and you have this feeling that whatever you say, it will be wrong according to some norm. This phenomenon especially concerns diaspora minorities, for whom the language they habitually speak will be full of borrowings from the local language, but who at the same time often find the linguistic changes in the old country vulgar and distasteful. Analogies with Irish should be obvious; in a way, the Irish-speakers are a diaspora in their own country.
• The abundance of bad examples. Publicly displayed Irish in Ireland is often plain wrong, and when it is not grammatically incorrect, it is too obviously translated from English. For instance, the dead word rochtain is far too often used as a catch-all for all the meanings of the English word access. However, it should be limited to where a special term is called for (accessing a computer network, for instance), instead of calling every door an “access” to the building. Of course, the ultimate problem here is the stupid way how English nowadays tries to express the most everyday things with Latinate abstractions, and then people translating into Irish but without much idea of how Irish really works think that they need a special Irish word for every hard word in English, instead of translating the highfalutin’ English into plain and intelligible Irish.
• Bad teaching materials. It is very good that people use Learning Irish, because it is vintage Gaeltacht Irish. But as my little spies have told me, it does occur that reading materials for schools often intentionally depart from acceptable Irish, using instead their own pidgin. An example of this is a (printed and officially distributed) book which consequently used past tense instead of habitual past tense. This is so wrong that it should be punishable with death. If children haven’t been taught the habitual past yet, there are grammatically legal workarounds (for example using the conditional instead – there are dialects where conditional has ousted the habitual past – as well as the expression ba ghnách le [duine] [rud] a dhéanamh: bhíodh sé ag obair ansin = ba ghnách leis a bheith ag obair ansin “he used to work there”). But learning materials should never include anything grammatically incorrect.
• Bad cultural priorities. We are constantly told to admire “modernist” authors who are no native speakers and whose “modernist experimentation” is just a way to conceal the fact that – to put it brutally – they couldn’t write anything near Gaeltacht Irish to save their lives. At the same time, there are excellent writers of popular fiction whose novels have never been reprinted since their first publication back in the fifties or sixties. In the nineties, Cló Iar-Chonnacht rediscovered and reprinted Máire Nic Artáin, which is a linguistically superb novel about a Catholic girl falling in love with a Protestant boy in Belfast. When I read it for the first time, I was completely lost for words: how was it possible that such a book hadn’t been reprinted for almost forty years, while everybody had been kvetching about how there are no books for young people in the language? For Chrissake, if people like me read Joan Lingard’s Kevin and Sadie novels with interest in Finland when young, how is it possible that young Irish people wouldn’t read Máire Nic Artáin? And it’s not the only example. Seán Ó Mulláin’s swashbuckling historical novels about the Ryan family are still waiting to be reprinted. So is Mícheál Ó hOdhráin’s Cine Cróga.

A quick and very dirty guide to Irish prepositions (part one)

“THE USUAL RULES”:

The “usual rules” of initial mutation after the combination of a simple preposition and a following definite article:

• To start with, note that a plural noun preceded by a simple preposition and a definite article follows the same rules as when it is preceded just by a definite article: i.e. a consonant changes not, but a vowel takes a h-: ar na fir, ag na mná, leis na héanacha (similarly: na fir, na mná, na héanacha)
• All the difficulties are, thus, in the singular.
• The basic rule is, that the noun is eclipsed: ar an bhfear, ag an mbean. A vowel is not affected (but the t- before a masculine noun beginning with a vowel is dropped: an t-éan, but leis an éan).
• However, initial t- and d- are not eclipsed: ag an doras, ag an tine (such forms as ag an ndoras, ag an dtine are Kerry Irish).
• As an alternative, the Ulster way of leniting the noun instead is allowed in the caighdeán: ag an fhear, ag an bhean.
• In standard Irish, the initial lenitable s- (s + vowel, sn-, sl-, sr-) behaves in the same way as if there was no preposition, i.e. if the noun is masculine, it is not affected (ar an saol), but if it is feminine, the s- turns into a t-, written ts- (ar an tsráid). However, in Ulster, no difference between genders is observed here (ar an tsaol, ar an tsráid).

 

AG

Followed by the “dative case” (which is today for the most part equal to the nominative case, i.e. the dictionary form). Before an article + a noun, the usual rules apply.

Aigesna rather than ag na in plural is typically Munster Irish.

Personal forms: agam, agat, aige, aici, againn, agaibh, acu.

Before nouns with no article: ag does not affect the first sound in any way.

Main meanings of ag:

• at (in the concrete locational sense): tá sé ina sheasamh ag an doras “he is standing at the door”
• chez, in somebody’s home
• at an occasion
• in somebody’s possession: tá gluaisteán agam “I have a car/an automobile”

Note: The widespread habit of using le in the sense of “in somebody’s home” is an Anglicism. Due to the fact that English does not have a preposition corresponding to Irish ag, German bei, or Swedish hos, with is used in English. But in Irish, if you are “staying with” somebody, you should use ag for translating “with”.

 

AR

Followed by the “dative case” (which is today for the most part equal to the nominative case, i.e. the dictionary form). Before an article + a noun, the usual rules apply.

Personal forms: orm, ort, air, uirthi, orainn, oraibh, orthu.

Before nouns with no article: The main rule is, that it lenites. However, when it refers rather to the abstract state than to the concrete position, the lenition is omitted: ar muin chapaill (on horseback) vs. ar mhuin an chapaill áirithe seo (on the back of this particular horse). Note:

ar dhóigh “in a way” vs. ar dóigh “excellent” (But note ar fheabhas “excellent”, which is an exception of the exception). There is, of course (!), even ar ndóigh “of course”. (And speaking of ar + eclipsis, remember also ar gcúl.)

ar shiúl “away, gone” vs. ar siúl “happening, going on”

ar tarraingt “in traction” (when you lie with a broken bone in a hospital)

ar fionraí “suspended”

ar cois “happening, going on”

ar obair “happening, going on, proceeding”

ar dalladh “intensely”

Main meanings of ar:

• on, upon (in the most concrete sense): ar an urlár “on the floor”
• for a price: cheannaigh mé ar ocht bpunt é “I bought it for eight pounds”
• in a relative position: tá sé ar an bhfear is fearr “he is the best man”
• under the authority of someone: tá Nearó ina Impire ar an Róimh “Nero is the Emperor of Rome”
• affected by emotion or disease: tá tuirse orm, tá fearg orm, tá slaghdán orm, tá tinneas cinn orm
• “about” in the sense of “talking about something”. This usage, however, is more connected with particular verbs and phrases than that of faoi. (Compare Irish trácht ar rud and English “to remark upon something”.)
• “Down upon” referring to aggression and attack is in Irish anuas ar.

AS

Followed by the “dative case” (which is today for the most part equal to the nominative case, i.e. the dictionary form). Before an article + a noun, the usual rules apply.

Personal forms: asam, asat, as, aisti, asainn, asaibh, astu.

Before nouns with no article: they are not affected at all. In Kerry, as does lenite, but this is heavily dialectal, and speakers of other dialects might find it out and out wrong. In Cork Irish, at least in Cape Clear, the historically correct form a is used instead (as being only the third person masculine singular form) – it does not affect a consonant, but adds a h- to a vowel.

Main meanings of as:

• out of; from among; from; away from
• emanating from (smells, for instance)
• material, medium: rud a ní as uisce; labhairt as Gaeilge
• in payment for: d’íoc mé deich bpunt as na hearraí “I paid ten pounds for the goods”

 

CHUIG

Followed by the “dative case” (see above). Before an article + a noun, the usual rules apply.

Personal forms: chugam, chugat, chuige, chuici, chugainn, chugaibh, chucu.

Before nouns without article: they are not affected at all.

Main meanings of chuig: to, towards.

Note: ag is in dialects often used instead of chuig.

CHUN

Followed by the genitive case. The usual genitive rules apply. Note though, that when chun precedes an articleless noun which is followed by a definite genitive, that articleless noun can be declined in genitive too: leas ár dtíre “the interest/greater good of our country”, chun leasa na tíre “to the greater good of our country”.

Personal forms; the same as for chuig.

Main meanings:

• to, towards
• to a conclusion, to an effect
• for a purpose

Note the older forms chum, do-chum, which you might encounter in texts printed in Gaelic type and spelled according to the old orthography.

DE

Followed by the dative case (see above). Before an article + a noun, it lenites where applicable, and turns a lenitable s- into a t- (but written ts-). Lenites nouns without an article.

Personal forms: díom, díot, de, di, dínn, díbh, díobh. The initial d- is often lenited (dh-).

Main meanings:

• from, off: rud a bhaint de dhuine “to take a thing away from somebody”, stad sé den obair “he stopped working”
• attached to, sticking to: cheangail mé an rópa den bhád “I bound, attached, the rope to the boat”; cheangail mé an dá bhád dá chéile le rópa “I tied the two boats to each other with a rope”

Note: non-natives often use le to refer to what something is attached or bound to. This is wrong. In Irish you always use de for this. Le refers to whatever you use for tying them together. Thus, you tie the boats de each other le a rope.

Another note: it is quite common as dialects go to conflate de and do into one preposition, or to use do where you’d expect de. Remember this when you read native texts with Ó Donaill’s dictionary.

Desna rather than de na in plural is Munster Irish.

DO

Initial mutations as after de.

Personal forms: dom, duit, dó, di, dúinn, daoibh, dóibh. The initial d- is often lenited (dh-).

Main meanings:

• To, i.e. when giving something to someone: tabhair dom an bréagán sin “give me that toy”.
• To a place (although for this I’d mostly prefer go dtí)
• For (intended for someones use; to the benefit of; etc.)
• In certain verbal noun constructions, it refers to the agent of the verbal noun: i ndiaidh dom teacht abhaile/ar theacht abhaile dom “when I had come home”

 

Dosna rather than do na is Munster Irish.

FAOI

Lenites a noun that follows it directly. The usual rules apply to the combination of preposition + article.

Personal forms: fúm, fút, faoi, fúithi, fúinn, fúibh, fúthu.

Main meanings:

• Under, beneath.
• About, around; also “about” in the sense of talking about something.

An Ulster acquaintance of mine suggested that there was a division of meaning between fá “about” and faoi “under, beneath” in Ulster dialect. This is possible, but my impression is that the choice of faoi, fá, fé, fó in older texts mostly depends of the phonetic environment, i.e. the vowels of the surrounding nouns (this would account for the form fó in the expression an Tír fó Thoinn “the land beneath the wave”, a mythological underwater otherworld; the expression has also, probably facetiously, been used for the Netherlands).

Fé is a common spelling variant in Munster. Fésna instead of faoi na is Munster dialect.

I

Eclipses a noun that follows it directly (i dteach). Becomes in before a vowel. In the standard language, the combination i + an (ins an, now commonly written sa, san) lenites; in Connemara, though, it is assimilated to the “usual rules” (sa mbád rather than sa bhád). In plural, i + na becomes ins na (now commonly written sna).

Sa in plural is Munster dialect.

Personal forms: ionam, ionat, ann, inti, ionainn, ionaibh, iontu.

Main meanings:

• In, inside: sa teach
• In a position: i gceannas ar na saighdiúirí
• Innate capacities: tá comhábhair an cheoltóra mhaith ann 
• Role: tá mé i mo mhúinteoir
• Accusation, guilt: tá sé á chúiseamh i ndúnmharú; fuarthas ciontach i ndúnmharú é

LE

According to the standard language, it should affix a h- to a following vowel. Combines with the article to yield leis an in singular, leis na in plural. Leis an follows the usual rules.

Personal forms: liom, leat, leis, léi, linn, libh, leo.

Main meanings:

• with
• towards, facing
• often used with verbs of interaction, transaction: labhair sé liom “he spoke with/to me”; dhíol sé a sheancharr liom “he sold his old car to me”
• with is it refers to ownership: is liom an carr úd “that car over there is mine”. Note the difference: tá carr agam “I have a car”, but is liom an carr “the car belongs to me”.

Ó

The usual rules apply when followed by an article. When it precedes an articleless noun, it lenites. Ósna in plural is Munster dialect: ó na is standard.

Personal forms: uaim, uait, uaidh, uaithi, uainn, uaibh, uathu.

Main meanings:

• from (from a place, from a person, from a limit, from a root cause, away from someone)
• since (a point of time)

 

What to put between tá and the noun

One of the first things you learn is that you can’t put two nouns together by using the verb tá. Using tá you can tell what something is like, or where it is, but you can’t tell what it is, or who somebody is – that is, instead, told using the copula, which is a part of speech of its own, not a verb. (Grammarians and textbook authors often suggest that the copula, is, is another verb for “to be”. This is misleading, because is has a syntax of its own, very different from how normal verbs are used in a sentence. It is better to see is as a distinct part of speech. Tá, on the other hand, is a verb.)

However, people do sometimes feel pressed to combine two nouns using tá, and they are not always quite familiar with how this is done correctly. They tend to put mar “as, like” before the second noun. While this is not wrong (well, not always), I myself feel very seldom even tempted to do so, because I use other instruments.

To start with, i + possessive pronoun. This should be part of every Irish speaker’s toolbox.

Tá mé i mo mhúinteoir. I am a teacher.

Tá mé i m‘fheirmeoir. I am a farmer.

Tá mé i m‘fhisiceoir. I am a physicist.

Tá mé i m‘eachtránaí spáis. I am a space adventurer.

Tá mé i mo ridire. I am a knight.

Tá mé i mo chaptaen spásloinge. I am a spaceship captain.

Tá mé i mo theangeolaí. I am a linguist.

Tá tú i d‘fheirmeoir. You are a farmer.

Tá tú i d‘fhisiceoir. You are a physicist.

Tá tú i d‘eachtránaí spáis. You are a space adventurer.

Tá tú i do ridire. You are a knight.

Tá tú i do chaptaen spásloinge. You are a spaceship captain.

Tá tú i do theangeolaí. You are a linguist.

Tá sé ina fheirmeoir. He is a farmer.

Tá sé ina fhisiceoir. He is a physicist.

Tá sé ina eachtránaí spáis. He is a space adventurer.

Tá sé ina ridire. He is a knight.

Tá sé ina chaptaen spásloinge. He is a spaceship captain.

Tá sé ina theangeolaí. He is a linguist.

Tá sí ina feirmeoir. She is a farmer.

Tá sí ina fisiceoir. She is a physicist.

Tá sí ina heachtránaí spáis. She is a space adventurer.

Tá sí ina ridire. She is a knight.

Tá sí ina captaen spásloinge. She is a spaceship captain.

Tá sí ina teangeolaí. She is a linguist.

Tá muid inár bhfeirmeoirí. We are farmers.

Tá muid inár bhfisiceoirí. We are physicists.

Tá muid inár n-eachtránaithe spáis. We are space adventurers.

Tá muid inár ridirí. We are knights.

Tá muid inár gcaptaein spásloinge. We are spaceship captains.

Tá muid inár dteangeolaithe. We are linguists.

Tá sibh in bhur bhfeirmeoirí. You (guys) are farmers.

Tá sibh in bhur bhfisiceoirí. You are physicists.

Tá sibh in bhur n-eachtránaithe spáis. You are space adventurers.

Tá sibh in bhur ridirí. You are knights.

Tá sibh in bhur gcaptaein spásloinge. You are spaceship captains.

Tá sibh in bhur dteangeolaithe. You are linguists.

Tá siad ina bhfeirmeoirí. They are farmers.

Tá siad ina bhfisiceoirí. They are physicists.

Tá siad ina n-eachtránaithe spáis. They are space adventurers.

Tá siad ina ridirí. They are knights.

Tá siad ina gcaptaein spásloinge. They are spaceship captains.

Tá siad ina dteangeolaithe. They are linguists.

Tá mé ag obair i mo mhúinteoir. I am working as a teacher.

Bhí sí ag obair ina múinteoir. She was working as a teacher.

Chaith Seán trí bliana sa tSaimbia ina mhúinteoir. Seán spent three years in Zambia as a teacher.

Bhíodh Cathal ina mhúinteoir ó am go ham. Cathal used to work as a teacher occasionally.

Chuir Séimí aithne ar a lán neachanna eachtardhomhanda nuair a bhí sé ina chaptaen spásloinge. Séimí got acquainted with a lot of extraterrestrial beings when he was a spaceship captain.

Nuair a bhí sé ina mhúinteoir bhí dearcadh eile aige ar an gceist seo. When he was a teacher, he had a different view of this question. (= Ina mhúinteoir dó bhí dearcadh eile aige ar an gceist seo.)

The idea behind this construction is being in the role, say, of a teacher. A child could also say: Tá mé i mo Gharda “I am (being) a policeman” (i.e. the child refers to the role of a policeman in a game).

There is one thing to be noted about this construction. The possessive pronoun (or possessive adjective, both terms are used) mo, do, a, a,  ár, bhur, a has the power of the definite article. Thus, when you want to tell us that Nero was an Empire of Rome, you cannot say ?bhí Nearó ina Impire na Róimhe. In the construction Impire na Róimhe we have a noun (Impire) qualified by a definite genitive (na Róimhe), You cannot put a definite article before this, and you cannot put a possessive pronoun/adjective before it either. In this example, it is better to use the preposition ar to refer to the entity Nero was an emperor of: bhí Nearó ina Impire ar an Róimh. It is also possible to say bhí Nearó ina Impire Rómhánach, but it sounds kind of literary.

The preposition i, in usually takes the form i (without -n) before mo, m’ and do, d’. If you see the -n there, i.e. in mo, in m’, in do, in d’, this is an indicator of Ulster dialect.

A related construction is Múinteoir atá ann. As you should know, ann is the word for “there” in the existential sense, but it is also the combination of the preposition i and the third person singular masculine pronoun, “in it, in him”. These three constructions are more or less interchangeable:

Is múinteoir é = Múinteoir is ea é = Múinteoir atá ann.

There is a dialect difference: the third one is markedly Ulster dialect.

Similarly: Is múinteoir mé – Múinteoir is ea mé – Múinteoir atá ionam

Is múinteoir thú – Múinteoir is ea thú – Múinteoir atá ionat

Is múinteoir í – Múinteoir is ea í – Múinteoir atá inti

Is múinteoirí sinn – Múinteoirí is ea sinn – Múinteoirí atá ionainn

Is múinteoirí sibh – Múinteoirí is ea sibh – Múinteoirí atá ionaibh

Is múinteoirí iad – Múinteoirí is ea iad – Múinteoirí atá iontu.

In Ulster, where this is a common construction, there is a tendency to use ann for all third persons, so you should not be amazed to see Múinteoir atá ann used to refer to a woman, or Múinteoirí atá ann.

Note that a similar construction is used for referring to the innate qualities of a person. Thus, you could also say: Tá comhábhair an mhúinteora ann “He has all the makings of a teacher” (i.e. he is innately qualified to become one). And, while ar refers to (notionally transient) diseases (tá slaghdán orm), i refers to permanent invalidity: tá cam reilige ann “he is club-footed”.

Another preposition used in this way is ar. It is most typically used when we suggest relative position, and it can be used when the noun is definite and qualified by a superlative adjective construction:

Tá sé ar fhir chróga na hÉireann “he is one of Ireland’s [most] courageous men” (the superlative is here notional, but not needed in the construction; word for word it means “he is among the courageous men of Ireland”)

Tá sé ar na fir is cróga in Éirinn “he is among – i.e. one of – the most courageous men in Ireland”. Note that we can’t have the genitive form here, because the definite article is a necessary part of the superlative construction, and a definite genitive cannot follow a definite noun. We work around this problem by using in Éirinn “in Ireland” rather than the genitive form.

Tá sé ar an bhfear is cróga in Éirinn “he is the most courageous man in Ireland”. This is the “relative position” use of ar, which we see even in the following:

Tá sé ar fhear chomh cróga is a rugadh in Éirinn riamh “He is as courageous a man as ever was born in Ireland”.

Indirect vs Direct Relative Clause

The difference between indirect and direct relative clause is a key difficulty in Irish, and you never study it long enough. Here is how it works in traditional language.

The main difference between direct and indirect clauses is, that in a direct clause, the element relativized is either the subject or the object of the relative clause, and it is not written out in the relative clause. Like this:

Sin é an fear a chonaic mé. That is the man who saw me/whom I saw.

Sin é an fear a chonaic ag obair mé. That is the man who saw me working.

Sin é an fear a chonaic mé ag obair. That is the man whom I saw working.

Sin é an fear a chonaic sé. That is the man whom he saw.

Sin é an fear a chonaic é. That is the man who saw him/it.

Sin é an rud a thuig sé. That is the thing that he understood.

An fear atá ag obair anseo, is é mo mhac é. The man who is working here is my son. (More literally, “the man who is working here, he is my son”.)

The particle that signifies direct relative clause is a, and it always lenites, if this is applicable. It does not lenite the impersonal forms of regular verbs in past tense:

an mac a saolaíodh dóibh the son who was born to them

or those irregular verbs which are similar to regular ones in not leniting the impersonal form in past tense:

an bronntanas a tugadh dó the present that was given to him

But note that chonacthas is always lenited whether there is a direct relative particle before it or not. The past tense forms of faigh!/fáil, both personal and impersonal, resist lenition: an t-airgead a fuair mé uait the money I got from you, an pota óir a fuarthas ag deireadh an bhogha báistí the pot of gold that was found at the end of the rainbow. 

As you see above, the verb tá has the direct relative form atá – such forms as athá are dialectal (Munster), because the a- is historically speaking part of the stem. For a similar reason, the verb abair!/rá does not usually lenite the d- in direct relative: a deir, a deireadh, a déarfadh, a dúirt. It is not unheard of to write these relative forms as one word, i.e. adeir, adeireadh and so on, but it is not the present standard. 

The d’ used before vowel and fh- is usually kept after the direct relative a, and it is not lenited (in the written language, that is – the spoken language is a more complicated story). This d’ can be dropped at least in conditional mood before fh- + consonant, i.e. a fhliuchfadh is as correct as a d’fhliuchfadh, but I have learned to keep the d’ and usually do so, so I am not very sure where it can be dropped. 

The addition of a broad -s to present and future forms in relative clauses is not part of the standard, but it is the rule in the most widely spoken dialects, and I use it in my Irish, because it is my opinion that it is a good way to keep direct and indirect relative distinct. Thus, I write:

An fear a thagas ag glanadh an urláir gach uile lá, is iarchaptaen mara é a chuaigh ar an drabhlás.

The man who comes to clean the floor every day, he is a former sea captain who went/has gone to the dogs.

An fear a thiocfas ag glanadh an urláir amárach, is iarchaptaen mara é a chuaigh ar an drabhlás.

The man who will come to clean the floor tomorrow, he is (etc.).

In the standard language they prefer a thagann, a thiocfaidh. Note that this form can also keep the -nn before the -s in the present tense:  a thaganns. However, it is my opinion that this latter form is less established in literary Irish.

Such present forms of strong verbs as chí/tchí/tí ‘sees’, gheibh ‘gets’, ‘finds’, deir ‘says’, thig ‘comes’ do not usually take the -ann, and nor do they need the relative -as, even in dialects and styles where it is otherwise preferred. However, I don’t think such forms as a (t)chíos, a gheibheas, a deireas, a thigeas are wrong either. 

Note that tchí/chí/tí and gheibh are not part of the standard language, which prefers respectively feiceann and faigheann. Thig is accepted by the standardizers in the phrase thig leis [rud a dhéanamh] = is féidir leis [rud a dhéanamh] ‘he can [do something]’, and sometimes those who don’t know that it is basically the same as tagann perceive it as a distinct verb and try to introduce other finite forms of the same “verb”.

The habitual present of the verb “to be”, bíonn, is typically treated as a regular habitual present. Thus, its direct relative form is a bhíonn in the standard language and a bhíos, a bhíonns in those dialects which take the relative -s. However, in Ulster the delenited forms a bíos and a bí also exist. This is as far as I know due to some ancient irregularity.

If the verb has a personal ending, the -s forms are of course not used: seo é an seomra a ghlanaim gach uile lá this is the room I clean every day. However, I don’t think it is wrong at all to use pronoun and -s form: seo é an seomra a ghlanas mé gach uile lá.

It is a well-known problem that the direct relative clause can be ambiguous. Sin é an t-oifigeach a mharaigh an gnáthshaighdiúir can mean “that is the officer who killed the common soldier” or “that is the officer whom the common soldier killed”. Scroll down for how the ambiguity can be avoided.

The direct relative clause is also used in emphasis:

Airsean a rinne mé trácht ‘It’s of him I made mention’

Ar an traein a tháinig mé ‘It’s by train I came’

Leis an gcailín a labhair mé ‘It’s with the girl I spoke’

The indirect relative clause is used when the relativized element is written out inside the relative sentence. Most often this means that the element relativized is a prepositional phrase in the relative clause, but it can also be something that is referred to by a possessive pronoun:

Seo é an fear a ndearna mé trácht air. This is the man I made mention of. 

An duine a nglanaim a sheomra gach uile lá, níl a fhios agam a dhath ina thaobh. The person whose room I clean every day, I don’t know anything about him or her. (In English “him or her”, or maybe “them”, but in Irish we use the masculine gender, because the noun duine is masculine.)

An duine ar cheannaigh mé an rothar uaidh, chuaigh sé ar imirce go dtí an Astráil. The person from whom I bought the bike emigrated to Australia.

An t-arrachtach ar dhírigh an captaen a gha-ghunna air, is é peata an Tliongánaigh úd thall é. The monster at which the captain aimed his raygun is the pet of that Klingon over there. (The noun Tliongánach for Klingon is purportedly based directly on the Klingon language, so I’ll use it. Earlier, I preferred Cliongónach, but as Tliongánach is so much more authentic, I guess Irish-speaking Trekkies should prefer it. Qapla’!)

The preposition can be put before the indirect relative clause, but this is a somewhat posh or literary usage not all are aware of:

Seo an fear ar a ndearna mé trácht. This is the man of whom I made mention. (In fact, you do sometimes see this done wrongly, like this: Seo an fear ar a rinne mé trácht. I tend to think that this is a pure Anglicism rather than a rethinking of the old structure. I.e., the old one being entirely forgotten by or unknown to the speaker, the new one is introduced under the influence of literary English. Of these two I recommend the older form though, because it is an established literary form; but being stylistically marked, it is less acceptable than Seo an fear a ndearna mé trácht air.) 

Similarly: 

Tháinig an fear ar labhair mé leis = Tháinig an fear lenar labhair mé The man to whom I spoke came. 

D’imigh an fear a bhfuair mé an peann ar iasacht uaidh = D’imigh an fear óna bhfuair mé an peann ar iasacht The man from whom I borrowed the pen went away/left.

An t-arrachtach ar dhírigh an captaen a gha-ghunna air, is é peata an Tliongánaigh úd thall é = An t-arrachtach ar ar dhírigh an captaen a gha-ghunna, is é peata an Tliongánaigh úd thall é.

As you see, the indirect relative a eclipses, i.e. behaves like the go (“that”) particle. In the past tense of the regular verbs, we use ar, which lenites and which behaves like gur. Thus:

Seo é an fear ar thrácht mé air. This is the man I mentioned (note that in Irish trácht!/trácht ‘to mention’ takes the ar preposition).

Note that the inflected preposition agrees in person with the element relativized:

Mise a ndearna sé trácht orm, ní maith liom a iompraíocht ar aon nós. Me, whom he mentioned, I don’t like his behavior at all. (Yes, the example is somewhat contrived, but I vouch for its grammaticality. The English translation is intentionally clumsy, meant to keep close to the original.)

Mise an duine a ndearna sé trácht air – I am the person he mentioned, because here the element relativized is not mise immediately, but rather an duine.

Indirect relative clauses are also used after such nouns as áit “place” or dóigh “way, manner, method”, although no preposition is written out: an áit ar chaith mé laethanta m’óige the place where I spent the days of my youth, an dóigh ar chríochnaigh sé an obair the way he finished the work. The underlying structure here is *an áit inar chaith mé laethanta m’óige/*an áit ar chaith mé laethanta m’óige inti; *an dóigh ar ar chríochnaigh sé an obair/*an dóigh ar chríochaigh mé an obair uirthi – note that we say san áit, ar an dóigh; but the underlying structure is no longer used. You do see direct relative clause used here sometimes, but it should be avoided as substandard language. The direct/indirect relative clause distinction might be disappearing in spoken Irish, but what I am concerned about is established literary language (whichever dialect). 

After nouns meaning “way” in the sense of a concrete way or road, you have a direct relative clause: an bealach a tháinig sé the way he came. Here bealach is treated as a kind of object or accusative, although the verb tar!/tag-/t(h)ioc-/tháinig/teacht does not take a real object. 

After units of time you can have either: an lá a bhí mé ansin = an lá a raibh mé ansin the day I was there. (Of course if the verb is a transitive one and the unit of time is obviously its object, then use only the direct relative clause: an lá a chaith mé ansin the day I spent there.) Actually, I would see those units of time as “extra objects” and prefer an lá a bhí mé ansin, an bhliain a bhí mé ansin, an mhí a bhí mé ansin, but some people insist an indirect relative clause should be used here.

I’d like to point out however that the conjunction nuair ‘when’ is always followed by a direct relative clause, and nuair comes from an uair ‘the hour, the time, the occasion (when)’, so it occurs to me that putting the direct relative after units of time is a usage that has been around for a while and should be accepted.

Finally, there is the “all-inclusive relative clause”. This can be an indirect or a direct one, but it uses the a + eclipsis (or with the regular past tense, ar + aspiration), which then has the meaning “all available ones”:

Tháinig a raibh ann All who were there came.

Labhair mé lena raibh sásta freagra a thabhairt I spoke to all who were willing to answer.

Labhair mé lenar casadh orm I spoke to all whom I met.

Direct and indirect relative clauses look the same when negated. Compare:

Sin é an fear a chonaic mé. That is the man whom I saw.

Sin é an fear nach bhfaca mé. That is the man whom I didn’t saw.

Sin é an fear ar chuala mé trácht air. That is the man whom I heard mention of.

Sin é an fear nár chuala mé trácht air. That is the man whom I didn’t hear mention of.

Labhair mé lena raibh sásta freagra a thabhairt. I spoke to all who were willing to answer.

Labhair mé le nach raibh sásta freagra a thabhairt. I spoke to all who weren’t willing to answer. 

And finally: 

If you want to avoid the ambiguity in direct relative clauses, you are allowed to write out the subject or the object and make the relative clause indirect. Like this:

Sin é an t-oifigeach a mharaigh an gnáthshaighdiúir. That is the officer who killed the common soldier/whom the common soldier killed (the original direct relative clause).

Sin é an t-oifigeach ar mharaigh an gnáthshaighdiúir é. That is the officer whom the common soldier killed. (This is the more common variant.)

Sin é an t-oifigeach ar mharaigh sé an gnáthshaighdiúir. That is the officer who killed the common soldier. (This is less common of the two, because for the direct relative clause, this is the default interpretation.)

This possibility is overlooked by practically every learners’ grammar, and when I suggest it, there is always someone who suggests it is wrong. Indeed, you need to sift through literally thousands of pages of native literature and folklore to see this often enough to be sure of it. However, it is common enough to be acceptable, and it is used in every dialect zone, both Connacht, Ulster and Munster.