Uses of the prepositions. Irregular Verbs "hear" and "get".
by Myles Dillon
T LESSON XIV Some uses of prepositions in Irish are quite different from English idiom, and they may well be learned in connection with the prepositional pronouns. The verb td is used with various prepositions in special senses: td uaim lit. "is from me" means "I want", just as td se agam means "I have it". Hunger, thirst, tiredness, anxiety, anger, fear, joy, shame, are said to be "on" a person: td ocras orm "I am hungry"; an bhfuil tuirse ort? "are you tired?"; bhi eagla orthu "they were afraid", etc. An action to someone's disadvantage is said to be done "on" him: dhoigh se anfraoch orm "he burned my heather"; bhris se an clai orm "he broke my fence", lit. "he broke the fence on me", as is commonly said in Ireland. Describing someone, you may say nil ann ach tosnoir "there is not in him (anything) but a beginner" = "he is only a beginner"; nil inti ach gearrachaUe "she is only a young girl"; nil iontu ach creachdin "they are only small ones (of potatoes)". 1 Td aithne agam air means "I know him", lit. "I have acquaintance on him"; td eolas agam air "I know it (of places and things)"; td afhios agam "I know" (of facts), lit. "its knowledge is at me." Ar is used to describe a state, and does not then aspirate the following noun (p. 17): ar crochadh "hanging", ar buile "in a rage", ar siul "going on", "happening", ar meisce "drunk", ar bothar "on the way" (but ar bhothar Chorcai "on the road to Cork"), ar loistin "lodging". Chun "towards" with a verbal noun expresses purpose or futurity (p. 115). 1 Prepositional pronouns with i are in Lesson XV. 83 84 IRISH De "from" followed by the possessive a {da) and an abstract noun means "however great, small, good, bad", etc.: da mheid e, nil se mor a dhothain "however big it is (= big as it is), it is not big enough"; da laghad e "small as it is"; ddfheabhas e "good as it is"; da olcas e "bad as it is". Notice that the verb is is simply omitted. The phrase may be completed by is ea is and a comparative adjective (p. 120) in such sentences as "the sooner the better": da luaithe e is ea is fearr. And the abstract noun may be followed by a relative clause: da luaithe a thiocfaidh se is ea is fearr "the sooner he comes the better". Fe "under, about" is used in various idioms. Note fdgaimfutfein e "I leave it to yourself to decide"; fe cheann "within" in expressions of time:/e cheann uair an chloig "in an hour's time"; fe cheann seachtaine "in a week"; fe dheireadh "at last";/e no thairis "more or less". Gan "without" with a verbal noun makes it negative: gan dul "not to go"; gan an leabhar do leamh "not to read the book". Idir . . . agus can mean "both . . . and": idirfhir agus mnd "both men and women". The literal meaning is, of course, also normal: idir an tine agus an doras "between the fire and the door"; idir Chorcaigh agus BaileAtha Cliath. Le "with" with a verbal noun has the force of Eng. "to" as in "a book to read", "work to do": td litir le scriobh agam "I have a letter to write; td ba agam le cur go dti an t-aonach "I have cows to send to the fair"; cad td le deanamh anois againn? "what are we to do now?". In expressions of time le means time since when: le seachtain "for the past week", le huair an chloig "for the past hour": td se ina chonai anso le bliain "he has been living here for a year." Le is used for ownership (p. 130); leabhar liom-sa "a book of mine" as distinct from mo leabhar "my book". 6 "from": besides td se uaim, an impersonal verb teastai- onn se is common: teastaionn se uaim (or td se ag teastdil uaim) "I want it"; do theastaigh se uaim "I wanted it; do theastaigh uaim e do dheanamh "I wanted to do it", where LESSON XIV 85 e do dheanamh is subject of the verb (p. 79). Note also chonac uaim e "I saw him in the distance". The verb cloisim "I hear" is irregular only in the past tense: sg. 1. do chuala, 2. do chualais, 3. do chuala se; pi. 1. do chualamair, 2. do chualabhair, do chuala sibh, 3. do chualadar. Partic: cloiste. Verbal noun: clos, cloisint. The verb gheibhim "I get" is irregular, and has distinct absolute and dependent forms except in the past tense: Absol. Dep. Absol. Dep. Pres. gheibhim faighim Imperf. do gheibhinn faighinn Future Condit. Partic. gheobhad do gheobhainn fachta faighead faighinn Past do maireas maireas Verbal Noun fail After the negative particle m, the initial / is eclipsed except in the imperfect: ni bhfaighim, ni bhfuaireas, ni bhfaighead, ni bhfaighinn, but ni fhaighinn "I used not to get". VOCABULARY aithne (ahini) f. acquaintance b' fheidir (bedir) go perhaps caitheamh (kohav) vn. throw- ing, spending ciall (keeal) f. sense coroin (krong) f.five shillings De hAoine (de-heeni) on Friday do mholas do / advised him drochsceal (dro-shgeeal) m. bad news eolas (olas) m. knowledge fada (foda) long; sara fada before long fagaint (faagint) vn. leaving faid (fad) f. length; da fhaid the longer . . . , however long. . . faill (fayl) f. cliff feabhas (fyaus) m. goodness, excellence; da fheabhas however good feadaim (feeadim) / can fearr (faar) better fios (fis)m. knowledge 86 IRISH gairim (gaarim) / laugh gleo (glo) m. noise go leir (ga-ler) all iarraim (eearim) / ask imm (imi-nee) m. anxiety inion (i-neean) f. daughter is docha probably laghad (leead) m. smallness; muintir (mweentir) f. people naomhog (na-vog) f. coracle ocras (okaras) m. hunger ming traein (tran) f. train triur (troor) m. three people tuirse (tirshi) f. tiredness os comhair (kor) in front of snamh (snaav) vn. swim- mings de shnamh by swim- da. laghad the less . . . mi (mee) m. month Exercise 33 1. Fuaireas litir 6m mhathair ar maidin. 2. D'iarr si orm teacht abhaile fe cheann seachtaine. 3. Raghad ar an dtraein 6 Magh Chromtha De hAoine. 4. An bhfuilir chun mise d'fhagaint anso? 5. Nilim. Feadfair-se teacht i n-eineacht Horn. 6. Gheobhair-se litir amaireach is docha. 7. Ar chualais an sceal i dtaobh an triuir a chuaigh ag iascaireacht inne? 8. D'iompaigh an naomhog orthu agus thanadar i dtir de shnamh. 9. An bhfuil aithne agat orthu? 10. Ta aithne mhaith again ar dhuine acu agus do mholas do gan dul amach i n-aon chor. 11. Cad ta ar siul amuigh ar an mbothar? 12. Na cloiseann tu an gleo? Ni chloisim. 13. Ta na garsuin thoir fen bhfaill ag caitheamh cloch isteach sa bhfarraige. 14. Gheobhaid siad ciall le haois! 15. An bhfeadfaidh se bheith anso fe cheann uair an chloig? 16. An bhmairis aon sceal 6 Mhairtin 6 imigh se? 17. Ni bhfuaireas. B'fheidir go bhfaighinn 1 litir uaidh sara fada. 18. Nior chualamair aon ni mar gheall air ach go bhfuil se ar loistin i n-eineacht lena dhearthair. 19. Is maith an sceal e sin, da laghad e. 20. Da fhaid a fhanfaidh se sa Ghaeltacht is ea is fearr a fhoghlaimeoidh se an Ghaeilge 2 . 21. Da fheabhas i an mhoin, is fearr an gual na i. 22. Bhiodar go leir ag rince, idir bhuachailli agus cailini. 23. Do bhriseadar an fhuinneog orm sarar imiodar. 24. An bhfuil a fhios agat car chuadar? Nil a fhios 2 . 1 Note the conditional (not the simple future) after b'fheidir. 2 In the recording you will hear dialect forms of these words. LESSON XIV 87 Exercise 34 1. They are anxious, for they got bad news from their daughter today. 2. She is sick and she cannot come home till the end of the month. 3. Do you know what was wrong with her? No. 4. Perhaps we shall get a letter tomorrow. 5. 1 have not got any news from my people for a week. 6. The sooner you write to them (chuthu) the better. 7. You will probably get an answer. 8. They have all gone away, both men and women. 9. My father asked me to go to the shop and get him to- bacco. 10. I got five shillings from him. 11. I went down to the shop. 12. When I went in, the girl said to me: What do you want? 13. You will not get any tobacco from me for you are only a child (p. 88). 14. Tell (p. 90) your father to come. 15. My father laughed when he heard the story. 16. Who is that man who is standing in front of the fire? 17. 1 do not know him. 18. He is the school-master. 19. They have not come home yet. 20. They will be tired and hungry after the work. 21. They will sleep well tonight. .