Elements of Gaelic Grammar Part 10

uamha. Mil f. _honey_, has g. s. meala.

7. A few monosyllables ending in a vowel have their genitive like the nominative; as, ni m. _a thing_, ti m. _a person_, re m. _the moon_; to which add righ m. _a king_.

_Dative._ The dative singular is like the nominative; as, duine m. _a man_, d. s. duine; madainn f. _morning_, d. s. madainn.

_Vocative._ The vocative singular is like the nominative, as, caraid m.

_friend_, v. s. charaid; mathair f. _mother_, v. s. mhathair.

_Plural Number._

_Nominative.--General Rule._ The nominative plural is formed by adding to the nominative singular _a_ or _an_, written _e_ or _ean_ to correspond to a preceding small vowel; as, piobair m. _a piper_, n. p. piobairean; aimsir f. _time_, _season_, n. p. aimsirean. Some nouns suffer a contraction in the nominative plural; as, caraid m. _a friend_, n. p. cairdean; naimhaid m. _an enemy_, n. p. naimhdean; fiacail f. _a tooth_, n. p. fiaclan.

_Particular Rules._ 1. Some nouns, whose last consonant is _l_ or _n_, insert _t_ in the nominative plural; as, tuil f. _a flood_, n. p. tuilte; smuain f. _thought_, n. p. smuaintean; coille f. _a wood_, n. p. coilltean; aithne f. _a command_, n. p. aithnte. The _t_ is aspirated in dail f. _a plain_, n. p. dailthean; sail f. _a beam_, n. p. sailthean.

2. Some nouns in _air_, chiefly such as form their genitive singular in _ach_, retain the same syllable in the nominative plural, and insert _i_ after _a_; as,

Cathair, f. _a seat_, g. s. cathrach, n. p. cathraichean.

Lasair, f. _a flame_, g. s. lasrach, n. p. lasraichean.

Nathair, f. _a serpent_, g. s. nathrach, n. p. nathraichean.

{54} So also cuid f. _a part_, from the g. s. codach, has the n. p.

codaichean; athair m. _a father_, n. p. aithrichean; mathair f. _a mother_, n. p. maithrichean. To which add amhainn f. _a river_, n. p. aimhnichean; uisge m. _water_, n. p. uisgeachan; cridhe m. _the heart_, n. p.

cridheachan.

The following nouns form their nominative plural irregularly; duine m. _a man_, n. p. daoine; righ m. _a king_, n. p. righre; ni m. _a thing_, n. p.

nithe; cliamhuinn m. _a son-in-law_, or _brother-in-law_, n. p. cleamhna.

_Genitive._ The genitive plural of monosyllables and masculine polysyllables is twofold, like the nominative singular, and like the nominative plural; as, righ m. _a king_, g. p. righ or righre. The genitive plural of feminine polysyllables is like the nominative plural only; as, amhainn f. _a river_, g. p. aimhnichean. Suil f. _the eye_, has its g. p.

sul.

_Dative._ The dative plural is formed from the nominative plural by changing the final vowel into _ibh_; as, coluinn f. _the body_, n. p.

coluinne, d. p. coluinnibh; cridhe m. _the heart_, n. p. cridheacha, d. p.

cridheachaibh.

_Vocative._ The vocative plural is like the nominative plural; as, duine m.

_a man_, n. p. daoine, v. p. dhaoine.

Final _a_ or _e_ in all the singular cases of polysyllables is occasionally cut off, especially in verse; as, leab _bed_, teang _tongue_, coill _wood_, cridh _heart_.

_Of the Initial form of Nouns._

In nouns beginning with a consonant, all the cases admit of the _aspirated form_. In the vocative singular and plural the aspirated form alone is used, except in nouns beginning with a lingual, which are generally in the primary form, when preceded by a lingual; as, a sheann duine _old man_.

Nouns beginning with _s_ followed by a mute consonant have no aspirated form, because _s_ in that situation does not admit of the aspirate. In nouns beginning with _l_, _n_, _r_, a distinction is uniformly observed in p.r.o.nouncing the initial consonant, corresponding precisely to the distinction of primary and {55} aspirated forms in nouns beginning with other consonants. This distinction has already been fully stated in treating of p.r.o.nunciation.

The general use of the singular and plural numbers has been already mentioned. A remarkable exception occurs in the Gaelic. When the numerals fichead _twenty_, ceud _a hundred_, mile _a thousand_, are prefixed to a noun, the noun is not put in the plural, but in the singular number, and admits no variation of case. The termination of a noun preceded by da _two_, is the same with that of the dative singular, except when the noun is governed in the genitive case, and then it is put in the genitive plural[38]; when preceded by fichead, ceud, &c., the termination is that of the nominative singular; thus da laimh _two hands_, da chluais _two ears_, da fhear _two men_, fichead lamh _twenty hands_, ceud fear _a hundred men_, mle caora _a thousand sheep_, deich mle bliadhna _ten thousand years_[39].

CHAPTER III.

OF ADJECTIVES.

An adjective is a word used along with a noun, to express some quality of the person or thing signified by the noun.

Adjectives undergo changes which mark their relation to other words. These changes are made, like those on nouns, partly on the beginning, and partly on the termination, and may be fitly denominated by the same names. The changes on the beginning are made by aspirating an initial consonant. The numbers and cases, like those of nouns, are distinguished by changes on the termination. The gender is marked partly by the initial form, partly by the termination.

Adjectives whereof the characteristic vowel is broad, follow, {56} in most of their inflections, the form of nouns of the first declension, and may be termed Adjectives of the first declension. Those adjectives whereof the characteristic vowel is small, may be called Adjectives of the second declension.

_Example of Adjectives of the First Declension._

Mr, _great_.

Singular. Plural _Mas._ _Fem._ _Com. Gend._ _Nom._ Mor, Mhor, Mora.

_Gen._ Mhoir, Moire, Mora.

_Dat._ Mor, Mhoir, Mora.

_Voc._ Mhoir, Mhor, Mora.

_Formation of the Cases of Adjectives of the First Declension._

_Singular._

_Nominative._ The feminine gender is, in termination, like the masculine.

The other cases, both mas. and fem., are formed from the nominative, according to the rules already given for forming the cases of nouns of the first declension. Take the following examples in adjectives:--

_Genitive._--_General rule._ Marbh _dead_, g. s. m. mhairbh, f. mairbhe; dubh _black_, g. s. m. dhuibh, f. duibhe; fadalach _tedious_, g. s. m.

fhadalaich, f. fadalaich.

_Particular rules._ 1. Sona _happy_, g. s. m. shona, f. sona; aosda _aged_, g. s. m. and f. aosda; beo _alive_, g. s. m. bheo, f. beo.

2. Bochd _poor_, g. s. m. bhochd, f. bochd; gearr _short_, g. s. m. ghearr, f. gearr.

3. Breagh _fine_, g. s. m. bhreagha, f. breagha.

4. Crion _little_, _diminutive_, g. s. m. chrn, f. crne.

5. Donn _brown_, g. s. m. dhuinn, f. duinne; gorm _blue_, g. s. m. ghuirm, f. guirme; lom _bare_, g. s. m. luim, f. luime. {57} But dall _blind_, g.

s. m. dhoill, f. doille; mall _slow_, g. s. m. mhoill, f. moille; like the nouns crann, clann.

6. Cinnteach _certain_, g. s. m. chinntich, f. cinntich; maiseach _beautiful_, g. s. m. mhaisich, f. maisich. Tearc _rare_, g. s. m, theirc, f. teirce; dearg _red_, g. s. m. dheirg, f. deirge; deas _ready_, g. s. m.

dheis, f. deise. Breac _speckled_, g. s. m, bhric, f. brice; geal _white_, g. s. m. ghil, f. gile.

7. Geur _sharp_, g. s. m. gheir, f. geire; like the nouns breug, geug.

8. Liath _h.o.a.ry_, g. s. m. leith, f. leithe; dian _keen_, g. s. m. dhein, f. deine.

Irregulars. Odhar _pale_, g. s. m. and f. uidhir; bodhar _deaf_, g. s. m.

bhuidhir, f. buidhir.