#uimhir iolra

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Leagan Béarla thíos/ English version below

"Is maol gualainn gan bhráthair" - ceann de na seanfhocail Gaelacha is fearr liom. Is dócha gur dheineann sé tagairt do "mhúrtha sciatha", eagar catha ina throid gaiscígh taobh le taobh. Throid gach fear le ga ina lámh dheis. Chosain gach éinne taobh deis a chomharsan leis an sciath a bhí ina lámh chlé. Mar sin, eagar fíor-dhaingean a bhí ann. Dá mbriseadh an "múr" seo, áfach, bheadh easpa cosanta dóibh siúd a bhí in aice leis an mbearna! Tá an tagairt is sine do fhoirm den seanfhocal seo le feiceáil i "mBuile Shuibhne", téacs ó ré na Meán-Gaelainne. Sa téacs seo, deirtear gur "toll taobh ó bheith gan bhráthair!"

Tá nasc de saghas éigean idir an seanfhocal seo agus an ainmfhocal "comhghuaillí"! Tá tagann an focal seo ó "comh" + "gualainn" + an iarmhír "-aí/-í" (nó an uimhir iolra de). Ciallaíonn sé gurb é "comhghuaillí" an gaiscíoch a sheas le taobh dhuine i gcath!

"Is maol gualainn gan bhráthair" ("bare is the shoulder without a brother) is one of my favourite Irish language proverbs. It seems to make reference to "shield walls", a battle formation in which warriors fought side by side. Every man fought with a spear in his right hand. Everyone protected their neighbour's right side with a shield in their left hand. As such, it was a very solid formation. If this wall were broken, however, there would be a lack of protection for those who were next to the gap. The oldest reference to a form of this saying is found in "Buile Shuibhne", a Middle Irish text. In this text, the form given is "toll taobh gan bhráthair" - "a pierced side from being without a brother".

There is a sort of connection between this saying and the noun "comhghuaillí" ("ally" or "comrade"). Comhghuaillí is made up of "comh" ("co-", "with", "as" or "like" depending on context), here acting as a prefix. "-Guaillí" could the plural of "gualainn" (shoulder) with the suffix "-aí/í" (one who, a doer of something); this is the interpretation I prefer! Or it could simply be gualainn's plural. Put together, the term for "comrade" thus means someone who stands by one's shoulder in battle!

[toingaeilge]

Tonnta, Tonna agus Tonntracha

There are a few different plurals for tonn, meaning ‘waves’. 

Standard Irish plural: tonnta

Ó Duinnín's Irish dictionary (1927) dictionary lists plurals tonnta, tonna and tonntracha. 

Ó Dónaill’s dictionary (1977) lists plurals tonnta and tonntracha along another variant: tonntacha

You might hear tonntracha pronounced as though tonnthracha in parts of Munster.

Archaic forms and other Celtic Languages

Toinn, tonnan and tonntan can be found in historical texts—they are dialectal forms from the Antrim Valleys, Oriel and North Down and are no longer used. 

Scottish Gaelic still uses plurals tuinn, tonna and tonnan (singular tonn) and Manx uses the plural tonnyn (singular tonn). 

[toinghaeilge]

Tonnta, Tonna agus Tonntracha

There are a few different plurals for tonn, meaning ‘waves’. 

Standard Irish plural: tonnta

Ó Duinnín's Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla (1927) lists plurals tonnta, tonna and tonntracha. 

Ó Dónaill’s Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla (1977) lists plurals tonnta and tonntracha along another variant: tonntacha

You might hear tonntracha pronounced as though tonnthracha in parts of Munster.

Archaic forms and other Celtic Languages

Toinn, tonnan and tonntan can be found in historical texts—they are dialectal forms from the Antrim Valleys, Oriel and North Down and are no longer used. 

Scottish Gaelic still uses plurals tuinn, tonna and tonnan (singular tonn) and Manx uses the plural tonnyn (singular tonn). 

[toinghaeilge]

The Genitive Plural

I should start off by saying that the genitive plural is disappearing. It appears to have gone completely in Donegal and most of Munster Irish. I believe Conamara Irish still has it, though.

Some posts to recap on:

Introduction: The Genitive Case

Plural Forms

In our first post on Plural Forms, we learnt of the weak and strong plural forms, but couldn’t learn about its actual definition without this post.

Strong Plural

A strong plural is one that has identical nominative and genitive plurals. For example,

Na buachaillí: The boys Scoil na mBuachaillí: The boys’ school

The first uses the nominative plural, while the second takes the genitive plural. You can see that these are identical.

Weak Plurals

A weak plural does not have genitive plural form as it does the nominative. An example would be fear:

An fear: The man Teach an fhir: The man’s house

Na fir: The men Teach na bhfear: The men’s house

You can see that the nominative singular, an fear, is identical to the genitive plural, teach na bhfear.

Forming the genitive for weak plurals

In general*, the weak genitive plural is identical to the nominative singular, as you can see in the above example with fear/fir.

*An exception would be certain feminine nouns, although there is no real point in memorising them because there is no foolproof way of determining the declension of a noun (you can caution a guess, though!)

In these cases, the final consonant simply broadens.

Try it

Translate these using common genitive plurals:

1. Our books 2. Buying of boats 3. Reading his words

Hover below for answers

1. Ár gcuid leabhar 2. Ceannach bád 3. Ag léamh a fhocal

[toinghaeilge]

Plurals 2: With Adjectives

When nouns are plural, the adjectives attached to them must also take plural forms. Here is a general guide on the various plural forms for adjectives:

Ending in a vowel

These usually do not change with the plural noun (exceptions include breá → breátha and te → teo)

tanaí → daoine tanaí

One syllable

Often, adjectives with one syllable get an -a suffix in the plural for broad ending nouns, and -e for slender ending nouns:

mór → buachaillí móra binn → guthanna binne

Adjectives already in plural forms

Adjectives that are already in the plural form take on their singular forms:

Ending in -úil

Adjectives ending -úil become -úla:

fear dathúil → fir dathúla

Ending in -air

Adjectives ending -air become -ra:

leabhar deacair → leabhair dheacra

Feminine nouns

The adjectives here do not take a séimhiú:

oíche fhuar → oícheanta fuar

Masculine nouns ending in slender syllables

These will take a séimhiú:

amhrán fada → amhráin fhada

Try it

Translate these:

1. Sweet apples 2. Small books 3. Soft ears 4. Common questions (Hint: you can spot this somewhere on Butt Gaeilge)

Hover below for answers

1. Úlla mhilse 2. Leabhair bheaga 3. Cluasa boga 4. Ceisteanna coitianta

[toinghaeilge]

Cuid

Duolingo’s enemy: Cuid. Many non-native speakers tend to neglect cuid because there is no equivalent in the English language. Here are instances where cuid should be used:

Non-alienable nouns in the plural

Nouns that take cuid are ones you don’t have to possess by default or easily lose, such as leabhar and cúpán but not cosa or tuismitheoirí.

So mo chuid bróga because I can buy shoes or wear them out; mo chuid fiacla because I can lose them; mo chuid leabhar because I can buy, sell, or lose books; mo chuid gaolta, because births (and deaths) happen; mo chuid airgid but mo lámha and mo chosa, because they are, well, pretty difficult to lose.

Cuid is used after the possessive pronoun: mo chuid leabhair, a gcuid cúpán.

Uncountable nouns

Examples of these include uisce, gruaig and airgid. So, as before, cuid comes after the possessive pronoun: mo chuid báinne.

Note:

Cuid is used with all plurals in South Connemara, at least around Carraroe, so you might hear things like Tá mo chuid cosa tinn.

Also, the noun following cuid takes the genitive as cuid is a noun as well. Following the rules for the genitive case, the reasoning is that we have a noun that modifies another noun.

Try it

Translate these:

1. There are many advantages. 2. She has strong opinions. (hint: opinion = tuairim) 3. She has two dogs and a cat.

Hover below for answers

1. Tá cuid mhór buntáistí ann. 2. Tá a cuid tuairimí láidir aici. 3. Tá dhá mhadra agus cat aici.

[toinghaeilge]

Multiple Pronouns: You and What Army?

The order of pronouns in a sentence are as follows:

First person (plural and singular)

Second person (plural and singular)

Other

You may want to recap on the subject form versus the object form:

Tú vs. Thú

With multiple pronouns in a sentence, the subject form (mé, tú, sé, sí, siad) follows immediately after the verb. All pronouns afterwards follow the object form (mé, thú, é, í, iad). Féin also follows all pronouns when multiple parties are sharing a verb. For example,

Tiocfaidh sé féin agus iad féin Himself and themselves will come

Tiocfaidh sé agus tiocfaidh siad He will come and they will come

Note: When the emphatic form is used for comparison and contrast, féin isn't necessary.

[toingaeilge]

Multiple Pronouns: You and What Army?

The order of pronouns in a sentence are as follows:

First person (plural and singular)

Second person (plural and singular)

Other

You may want to recap on the subject form versus the object form:

Tú vs. Thú

With multiple pronouns in a sentence, the subject form (mé, tú, sé, sí, siad) follows immediately after the verb. All pronouns afterwards follow the object form (mé, thú, é, í, iad). Féin also follows all pronouns when multiple parties are sharing a verb. For example,

Tiocfaidh sé féin agus iad féin Himself and themselves will come

Tiocfaidh sé agus tiocfaidh siad He will come and they will come

Note: When the emphatic form is used for comparison and contrast, féin isn't necessary.

[toinghaeilge]

Grow a Pair

Scissors, trousers, headphones, glasses, stairs: plural or singular? Is bríste é nó is bríste iad? 

Anything that comes in a set is singular. A pair of trousers, a flight of stairs. Although I have seen both used, the singular is strongly favoured. I believe it is related to the use of singular forms in obvious plurals, such as when one is counting. 

Of course, change the pronouns and definite article to suit:

suas an staighre suas na staighrí

is bríste é is brístí iad

[toingaeilge]

Grow a Pair

Scissors, trousers, headphones, glasses, stairs: plural or singular? Is bríste é nó is bríste iad? 

Anything that comes in a set is singular. A pair of trousers, a flight of stairs. Although I have seen both used, the singular is strongly favoured. I believe it is related to the use of singular forms in obvious plurals, such as when one is counting. 

Of course, change the pronouns and definite article to suit:

suas an staighre suas na staighrí

is bríste é is brístí iad

[toingaeilge]

The Genitive Plural

I should start off by saying that the genitive plural is disappearing. It appears to have gone completely in Donegal and most of Munster Irish. I believe Conamara Irish still has it, though.

Some posts to recap on:

Introduction: The Genitive Case

Plural Forms

In our first post on Plural Forms, we learnt of the weak and strong plural forms, but couldn’t learn about its actual definition without this post.

Strong Plural

A strong plural is one that has identical nominative and genitive plurals. For example,

Na buachaillí: The boys Scoil na mBuachaillí: The boys’ school

The first uses the nominative plural, while the second takes the genitive plural. You can see that these are identical.

Weak Plurals

A weak plural does not have genitive plural form as it does the nominative. An example would be fear:

An fear: The man Teach an fhir: The man’s house

Na fir: The men Teach na bhfear: The men’s house

You can see that the nominative singular, an fear, is identical to the genitive plural, teach na bhfear.

Forming the genitive for weak plurals

In general*, the weak genitive plural is identical to the nominative singular, as you can see in the above example with fear/fir.

*An exception would be certain feminine nouns, although there is no real point in memorising them because there is no foolproof way of determining the declension of a noun (you can caution a guess, though!)

In these cases, the final consonant simply broadens.

Try it

Translate these using common genitive plurals:

1. Our books 2. Buying of boats 3. Reading his words

Hover below for answers

1. Ár gcuid leabhar 2. Ceannach bád 3. Ag léamh a fhocal

[toinghaeilge]

Counting Things

Because we’re all cúig bliaina d’aois, we’re going to count shit today. You’ll need to recap on this:

Counting People

In case you didn’t want to, in that post we learnt that multiples of ten (-teen, twenty &c.) came after the noun instead of tacking onto the digit before it, giving us ceithre oíche dhéag, for example, for fourteen nights.

We also counted up to a thousand people, and while counting things is not exactly the same as counting people, they will share some similarity that will be relevant to this discussion.

Plurals are for Losers, and I Eat Losers for Breakfast

Unlike for personal numbers in our previous counting post, counting things does not use the genitive plural (or any plural at all). Because the quantity is already stated, we do not need to use the plural. However, the rule for adjectives in the plural still apply. These adjectives take séimhiú.

One to Ten

When using aon and the numbers two to six, the noun takes a séimhiú.

One big box:

bosca mór bosca amháin mór aon bhosca amháin mór

Note: aon also means “any”, so aon bhosca mór would mean “any big box”. That’s why amháin is used so we can say one big box (only).

Two big boxes:

dhá bhosca mhóra

Four red apples:

ceithre úll dhearga

From seven to ten, the number takes an urú:

Seven big boxes:

seacht mbosca mhóra

Nine red apples:

naoi n-úll dhearga

Onward, Trusty Bosca

However, when it comes to anything over ten, we can choose to append the adjective before or after the multiple. If it comes before it, the adjective still takes the singular. If it comes after, the adjective is in the plural.

Fourteen heavy boxes:

Ceithre bhosca throm dhéag Ceithre bhosca dhéag throma

Note: Déag takes a séimhiú when the item counted ends in a vowel.

The eighteen red apples

na hocht n-úll dhearg déag na hocht n-úll déag dhearga

Zero boxes:

bosca ar bith

Again, bosca takes the singular, but ar bith (literally: on existence) would signify “at all”. It does not take séimhiú or urú ar bith.

With the Article

Numbers one, two and multiples of ten take an, while three to ten take na.

an dhá bhosca mhóra the two big boxes

na naoi n-úll dhearga the nine red apples

an fiche leathanach the twenty pages

an t-aon bhád déag the eleven boats

Other Forms

Instead of is fiche (and 20), you might commonly see the forms agus fiche, fichead (of 20) or fichid (on 20).

trí bhád is fiche/agus fiche (3 boats and 20)

trí bhád fichead (3 boats of 20)

trí bhád ar fhichid (3 boats on 20)

And more rarely, instead of is caoga or is seachtó, you might see caogad (of 50) or seachtód (of 70) or ar caogaid (on 50) or ar seachtóid (on 70). They will take similar forms to the above with fiche, fichead and fichid.

Try it

Translate these:

1. I have seventeen slender fish. 2. There are sixteen difficult books. 3. I ate the eighty-three cakes.

Hover below for answers

1. Tá seacht n-iasc déag thanaí. Tá seacht n-iasc thanaí déag. 2. Tá sé leabhar déag dheacra ann. Tá sé leabhar dheacair déag ann. 3. D'ith mé na trí cháca is ochtó mhilis. D'ith mé na trí cháca mhilse is ochtó.

[toingaeilge]

Counting Things

Because we’re all cúig bliaina d’aois, we’re going to count shit today. You’ll need to recap on this:

Counting People

In case you didn’t want to, in that post we learnt that multiples of ten (-teen, twenty &c.) came after the noun instead of tacking onto the digit before it, giving us ceithre oíche dhéag, for example, for fourteen nights.

We also counted up to a thousand people, and while counting things is not exactly the same as counting people, they will share some similarity that will be relevant to this discussion.

Plurals are for Losers, and I Eat Losers for Breakfast

Unlike for personal numbers in our previous counting post, counting things does not use the genitive plural (or any plural at all). Because the quantity is already stated, we do not need to use the plural. However, the rule for adjectives in the plural still apply. These adjectives take séimhiú.

One to Ten

When using aon and the numbers two to six, the noun takes a séimhiú.

One big box:

bosca mór bosca amháin mór aon bhosca amháin mór

Note: aon also means “any”, so aon bhosca mór would mean “any big box”. That’s why amháin is used so we can say one big box (only).

Two big boxes:

dhá bhosca mhóra

Four red apples:

ceithre úll dhearga

From seven to ten, the number takes an urú:

Seven big boxes:

seacht mbosca mhóra

Nine red apples:

naoi n-úll dhearga

Onward, Trusty Bosca

However, when it comes to anything over ten, we can choose to append the adjective before or after the multiple. If it comes before it, the adjective still takes the singular. If it comes after, the adjective is in the plural.

Fourteen heavy boxes:

Ceithre bhosca throm dhéag Ceithre bhosca dhéag throma

Note: Déag takes a séimhiú when the item counted ends in a vowel.

The eighteen red apples

na hocht n-úll dhearg déag na hocht n-úll déag dhearga

Zero boxes:

bosca ar bith

Again, bosca takes the singular, but ar bith (literally: on existence) would signify “at all”. It does not take séimhiú or urú ar bith.

With the Article

Numbers one, two and multiples of ten take an, while three to ten take na.

an dhá bhosca mhóra the two big boxes

na naoi n-úll dhearga the nine red apples

an fiche leathanach the twenty pages

an t-aon bhád déag the eleven boats

Other Forms

Instead of is fiche (and 20), you might commonly see the forms agus fiche, fichead (of 20) or fichid (on 20).

trí bhád is fiche/agus fiche (3 boats and 20)

trí bhád fichead (3 boats of 20)

trí bhád ar fhichid (3 boats on 20)

And more rarely, instead of is caoga or is seachtó, you might see caogad (of 50) or seachtód (of 70) or ar caogaid (on 50) or ar seachtóid (on 70). They will take similar forms to the above with fiche, fichead and fichid.

Try it

Translate these:

1. I have seventeen slender fish. 2. There are sixteen difficult books. 3. I ate the eighty-three cakes.

Hover below for answers

1. Tá seacht n-iasc déag thanaí. Tá seacht n-iasc thanaí déag. 2. Tá sé leabhar déag dheacra ann. Tá sé leabhar dheacair déag ann. 3. D'ith mé na trí cháca is ochtó mhilis. D'ith mé na trí cháca mhilse is ochtó.

[toinghaeilge]

Prepositions with the Article

Prepositions with the article trigger an urú in the noun. However, the ones listed below are prepositions that can be combined with the article.

For Singular Articles

Do + an = Don

Don bhean

I + an = Sa (before noun starting with a consonant)

Sa bhaile

I + an = San (before noun starting with a vowel)

San oíche

Le + an = Leis an

Leis an scéal

Ó + an = Ón

Ón úrlár

For masculine nouns beginning with a vowel, the singular article removes the t- prefix:

An t-arán An ógbhean

→ →

Ar an arán Leis an ógbhean

Plural Articles

I + na = Sna

Sna coillte

Le + na > Leis na

Leis na cianta

Try it

Translate these:

1. Speak to the teacher 2. Over the hill 3. From the school

Hover below for answers

1. Abairt leis an mhúinteoir 2. Thar an gcnoc 3. Ón scoil

[toingaeilge]

Plurals 2: With Adjectives

When nouns are plural, the adjectives attached to them must also take plural forms. Here is a general guide on the various plural forms for adjectives:

Ending in a vowel

These usually do not change with the plural noun (exceptions include breá → breátha and te → teo)

tanaí → daoine tanaí

One syllable

Often, adjectives with one syllable get an -a suffix in the plural for broad ending nouns, and -e for slender ending nouns:

mór → buachaillí móra binn → guthanna binne

Adjectives already in plural forms

Adjectives that are already in the plural form take on their singular forms:

Ending in -úil

Adjectives ending -úil become -úla:

fear dathúil → fir dathúla

Ending in -air

Adjectives ending -air become -ra:

leabhar deacair → leabhair dheacra

Feminine nouns

The adjectives here do not take a séimhiú:

oíche fhuar → oícheanta fuar

Masculine nouns ending in slender syllables

These will take a séimhiú:

amhrán fada → amhráin fhada

Try it

Translate these:

1. Sweet apples 2. Small books 3. Soft ears 4. Common questions (Hint: you can spot this somewhere on Butt Gaeilge)

Hover below for answers

1. Úlla mhilse 2. Leabhair bheaga 3. Cluasa boga 4. Ceisteanna coitianta

[toingaeilge]

Prepositions with the Article

Prepositions with the article trigger an urú in the noun. However, the ones listed below are prepositions that can be combined with the article.

For Singular Articles

Do + an = Don

Don bhean

I + an = Sa (before noun starting with a consonant)

Sa bhaile

I + an = San (before noun starting with a vowel)

San oíche

Le + an = Leis an

Leis an scéal

Ó + an = Ón

Ón úrlár

For masculine nouns beginning with a vowel, the singular article removes the t- prefix:

An t-arán An ógbhean

→ →

Ar an arán Leis an ógbhean

Plural Articles

I + na = Sna

Sna coillte

Le + na > Leis na

Leis na cianta

Try it

Translate these:

1. Speak to the teacher 2. Over the hill 3. From the school

Hover below for answers

1. Abairt leis an mhúinteoir 2. Thar an gcnoc 3. Ón scoil