Author |
Message |
Alex
| Posted on Wednesday, December 24, 2003 - 04:19 am: |
|
Guess who ;-P I got another odd and moronic question. How do you say '"life" in Irish? I hear them use LIFE a lot, and another example is the "Raidió na LIFE" |
|
shay
| Posted on Wednesday, December 24, 2003 - 01:39 pm: |
|
saol or beatha |
|
Alex
| Posted on Wednesday, December 24, 2003 - 06:14 pm: |
|
Thanks Shay :-) Whats the basic thought on 'Irish On Your own!' By Éamonn Ó Dónaill Deirbhile ní Churrighín? |
|
Chris C
| Posted on Thursday, December 25, 2003 - 11:49 am: |
|
Alex, I'm working through that book (and the tapes) right now. I think it's a good course. Make sure you have the book AND tapes, not just the book. I think Deirbhile ní Churrighín and her co-host on the tapes do a good job. They are very pleasant and enjoyable to listen to. I enjoy listening to the other speakers on the tapes, also--some with slightly diferent dialects. Sometimes they speak a little fast for me, but I think that may just be my lack of ability. I also have the "Learning Irish" course by Mícheál Ó Siadhail. I would suggest going through the "Irish On Your Own" course first, and then "Learning Irish." That's what I've decided to do. For me, Irish is a tough language--Mostly because I have trouble remembering things after I learn them. I speak Spanish fairly fluently, so I though that Irish would come as easily as Spanish did/does... yea right! |
|
Alex
| Posted on Friday, December 26, 2003 - 03:24 am: |
|
LOL I find that Irish sticks a little bit slower as well, but I think LOL here I go! That Irish is much harder to speak out loud, and the lenition and uru all may make you and I (I assume native english speakers) confused because like when do we assume Bhord, bord, and mbord are all the same words, in english it is a difference Luck-duck-lol dont get me started on that one now ;-P I think Irish is just more complex on the speaking and grammer wise, but the vocab doesnt seem that much harder, also with I know ALL languages have their things that seem moronic to non natives, but I find I can TWIST Irish 'idiocies'( I think thats the right word) to make sense where as spanish ones DONT WHATSOEVER So I think both are quite equal, each with pros and cons and thanks for the tips :-) |
|
Alex
| Posted on Friday, December 26, 2003 - 03:48 pm: |
|
How is there KerrY? When Irish has not K or Y originally? |
|
Bradford
| Posted on Friday, December 26, 2003 - 05:11 pm: |
|
Alex, Kerry is an English corruption of the Irish Ciarraí. - Bradford |
|
Alex
| Posted on Saturday, December 27, 2003 - 02:55 am: |
|
Ahh I thought it would be something similar to this.....to sad :'( |
|
Paul Brady
| Posted on Saturday, December 27, 2003 - 09:39 am: |
|
Alex, Getting back to your original question, "Life" in "Raidió na Life" is the Liffy River which runs through Dublin. Raidió na Life is an excellent community run radio station with Irish speaking programming. You can hear some of it on their web site. Paul Brady |
|
alex
| Posted on Saturday, December 27, 2003 - 04:10 pm: |
|
ahh! LOL my mistake then :-) So is it pronounced in Irish spelling too? Lih-feh? I got the idea of it being LIFE when I heard LIFE said as LIFE on Raidió na gaeltachta ;-) |
|
Alex
| Posted on Saturday, December 27, 2003 - 11:03 pm: |
|
A few things! Tá sé ag cur ocras orm-----Is this correct? tá sé cur ocras orm---it DOES make me hungry, but not now Tá ocras orm----I am hungry? Cur --- orm-> as in --- IS MAKING ME HUNGRY NOW! |
|
Al Evans
| Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 07:36 am: |
|
> tá sé cur ocras orm---it DOES make me hungry, but not now Cuireann sé ocras orm. You use the present habitual for this. --Al Evans |
|
Alex
| Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 02:13 pm: |
|
What is habitual exactly then? |
|
Al Evans
| Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 11:21 am: |
|
> What is habitual exactly then? I guess, from the point of view of an English speaker, it's about the same as the English present. The distinction is, for example, I am going to the store (now). Tá mé ag dul go dti an siopa. I go to the store (usually, every day, etc.). Téim go dti an siopa. In many languages, there would be no difference between the two: "Je vais au magasin", for example, could mean either "I go" or "I am going" to the store. --Al Evans |
|
Alex
| Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 03:52 pm: |
|
Any tips on grasping this?? So for saying it does make me hungry now I would say tá sé ag cur ocras orm? Hey my family went spend crazy on some books and I got some Qs.... What are the dialects of the following Irish on Your own Learning Irish Buntús cainte(PI) And also of those which is the best to go with first? I would say buntús cainte but I only have the first one.... |
|
James
| Posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 - 02:09 am: |
|
Alex, Now you've got yourself some really good material to work with! I'm glad your Christmas had an Irish twist to it. I don't know much about Irish on Your Own but the other two I have in my "arsenal" of references. Learning Irish is in the Cois Fhairge dialect that is spoken west of Galway. You'll find that book very heavy on grammar and sometimes overwhelmingly so. The author, Micheál Ó Síadhal (This guy's name has so many fadas in it I almost never get it right), doesn't do alot of explaining when it comes to grammatical terms and such. When I first started I found that this book raised more questions than it answered. Eventually, with the help of the good people on this site, it started to make sense. It is probably one of the most comprehensive texts out there. If you don't have the tapes that go with it, I would highly suggest you get them. You'll never make sense of the pronunciation without them. Buntús Cainte is exactly what the title says it is: Primary Stage of Speaking. There is absolutely NO grammar addressed in book 1. (Don't know about the rest of the series as I'm still working with book 1) The "dialect" is Standard Irish with no preference given to one region over another. It's a great way to just "do" Irish without getting so bogged down in the rules, etc. I use it when I'm driving down the road or when the ol' brain has just had a rough day. It's a "see it-say it" approach that works very well. Before you know it you'll be able to make some very basic statements about yourself, the weather, other people etc and this is a huge confidence booster. All in all I'd say you've got some top notch stuff to work with there. Congrats! You'll be speaking Irish before you know it! Le meas, James |
|
Alsander
| Posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 - 02:44 am: |
|
•LOL I hope so! Should I go with buntús cainte first then? the only thing was that I had ONLY the first, and the second and 3rd were nearly $30 a piece! The Irish on Your own one, seems like it has a little grammer and not too much though. I was thinking of going in order of thorughness and grammer...Bunús-Irish on your own- Learning Irish What is the input here? •My family also got me the book "Hanbook on Irish grammer"or something like that by Noel something....whats the imput on this one? •They went spend crazy :-) •Now I havent decided which one to go with first, but I am VERY impatient...so I went with lesson one of Buntús cainte so far.... It says Tá sé te Tá sé an-te then Tá sé fliuch tá sé an-fhliuch It showed all of these, now I am curious as to HOW DO I KNOW WHEN TO LENITE!? lol •then Next thing is in pronouncing An-fhuar agus an-fliuch, they sort of Skipped the FH sound? Shouldnt it make an H sound? This one is almost as hard for me, I think being an English speaker all my life, as the DH and GH! lol Also they sort of made GH a CLEAR Y sound...is this OK? If it is, then I have been stressing this pronunciation MUCH more that I got to! lol • I know this isnt Irish related but does anyone know what language this is too? µ? Isnt it like a lower case M in Greek? •Finally! lol... Does anyone know anything about this site? WWW.MyLanguageExchange.com It looks cool, any good/bad things heard about it? Anyone interested if it IS good? I think the guy MIGHT give me and a group a discount on a group membership If not this one anyone know of any other good ones where I can practice Irish in text AND SPEAKING? •Go raibh maith agat mo chara :-) |
|
James
| Posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 - 04:43 am: |
|
Handbook on Irish Grammar by Noel McGonagle is an excellent resource. All by itself it makes for some boring reading but it is a great synopsis of the rules encountered in other texts. I generally have mine readily at hand when I'm studying any other text. Regarding the lenition with "an". This is another type of "an" than you've encountered before. Rather than "an" as the definite article this is "an" as a superlative particle (at least I think that's what it's called). The rules for lenition when "an" is used as a superlative are a bit different from when it's used as the definite article. As you've already discovered, "t" resists lenition in this case. Check your McGonagle text on superlatives and it should give more detailed information on this subject. The lenitied "f", which is "fh", results in a silent set of consonants. Fuar become Fhuar, pronounced "oo-uhr", fliuch becomes "fhluich" and is pronounced "luch" with the "ch" given the gutteral sound. I'll dig out my McGonagle and try to give you a better explanation but now that you have your own resources see what you can find. Adh mór ort! James P.S. µ is a lower case "Mu" which is indeed, a greek letter that corresponds to "M" in english. |
|
James
| Posted on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 - 07:01 am: |
|
The term used for this type of "an" is an "intensive prefix." The rules for lenition when using "an" as an intensive prefix are the same as with "an" as the definite article. Remember the HaLoRaN example? All consonants except those in HaLoRaN will normally lenite. That holds true in the intensive prefix but you must also remember that some additional consonants "Don't Take Séimhu". The D,T and S of those three words are the additional consonants that don't lenite. An as the intensive prefix also requires a hyphen between itself and the intensified word. There is an additional intensifying prefix, "Ró" which corresponds to the english word "too." Rómhór = too big An-mhór = very big Ródhána = too bold An-dána = very bold Ró always lenites and is usually attached directly to the word it is modifying. The exception is if the word begins with a vowel. In that case, Ró gets a hyphen. Ró-óg = too young An-óg = very young Page 61 in your McGonagle handbook has all of this spelled out very nicely. Le meas, James |
|
Alex
| Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 - 03:27 am: |
|
THanks James! And is it just me or is Irish grammer HOPELESS!? No input on the other things? |
|
alex
| Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 - 04:06 am: |
|
I got another question I spoke to someone who spoke Scots gaelic(Whom by the way called irish a barbaric language ) He used à as opposed to á...he called it a groove? or somehting liek that |
|
James
| Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 - 05:41 am: |
|
No, Irish Grammar isn't hopeless, it just takes a lot of constant attention and review. The more you use it, the better you'll get with it. Other intensifiers are barr- = oustanding or extraordinary deá- = good droch- = bad fíor- = real, true, genuine síor- = constant or continual According to Ó Siadhal, the prefix word is written together with the modified word unless two vowels, two identical consonants, or two pre-fixes in which case the words are separated by a hyphen. I think this holds true with what McGonagle said but it's just a bit wordy. Mar sampla: ro-óg = two vowels so we use a hyphen droch-chapall = two identical consonant groups (ch) so we use a hyphen droch-sheanmhathair = two prefixing intensifiers (droch and sean) so we use a hyphen. Ó Siadhal takes about a page and a half to say what McGonagle says in 1/2 of a page. What's more, Ó Siadhal has his stuff scattered about in several headings. While his information is correct (who am I to say otherwise?) it just isn't as user friendly as McGonagle. This is a perfect example of why I always study with McGonagle as a back-up reference. Now, as for the Scotsman who called Irish a "barbaric" language....well, he needs to look at the origins of his own language (some would even say his own people)! In the case of what came first, Scots Gaelic or Gaeilge the answer is most assuredly Gaeilge!!! Le meas, James |
|
alex
| Posted on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 04:33 pm: |
|
A chairde! I am yet again confused! lol Why is it An Ghaeilge and not An Fháinne? I saw the word "An Fáinne Óir" in a book title?/ |
|
Larry
| Posted on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 07:48 pm: |
|
Fáinne is a masculine noun - Gaeilge is a feminine noun. An Ghaeilge refers to the Irish language in general terms. Study the rules regarding aspiration of nouns. |
|
alex
| Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 04:59 am: |
|
So masc dont take the change? Would you say Tá mé an-eaglasach---? also how do you say spider? |
|
An Mídheach Mealltach
| Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 08:25 am: |
|
No you wouldn't use an adjective to describe being afraid, you'd use the noun: "Tá an-eagla orm" or "Tá eagla an domhain orm" Spider is "damhán alla". |
|
alex
| Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 08:28 am: |
|
lol ok ty! |
|
James
| Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 08:51 am: |
|
Alex, In Irish when you want to say "I am....whatever" it us usually expressed as "Whatever....is upon me, at me, with me etc." So, when you use the intesifier to express "I am very..." you have to attach it to the "thing" i.e. fear, hunger, sorrow so that you wind up saying "There is much...whatever...on me. Le meas, James |
|
Alex
| Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 10:59 am: |
|
Tá mé tuirseach.. ?? and what is Fáith? |
|
Alex
| Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 10:02 pm: |
|
I got another tá brón orm and tá mé brónach |
|
An Mídheach Mealltach
| Posted on Sunday, January 04, 2004 - 09:03 am: |
|
Strictly there's nothing wrong grammatically with Tá mé brónach, but it just not used like that in colloquaill. It's only learners who try to put an English language structure on something they saw in a dictionary that would say that. Brónach would only be used as a qualifying adjective after a noun i.e. fear brónach a sad man. |
|
Alex
| Posted on Sunday, January 04, 2004 - 09:30 am: |
|
Well I forget who, I think Jonas said you would Tá mé brónach for I AM SAD not I AM SORRY when I asked how to differentiate between the two... So I would say Fear eaglasach? also What does An Leanabh Amadan mean in english? It is scots |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Sunday, January 04, 2004 - 04:59 pm: |
|
Fear eaglach - an easily frightened man, a nervous man You are correct about tá mé brónach An leanbh amadán - the idiot child |
|
alex
| Posted on Sunday, January 04, 2004 - 05:32 pm: |
|
How come the RTE has spanish on it? |
|
OCG
| Posted on Sunday, January 04, 2004 - 09:08 pm: |
|
Lot's of Spanish people live and work in Ireland, maybe that's why. |
|
Alex
| Posted on Sunday, January 04, 2004 - 09:29 pm: |
|
I hadnt the slightest idea! |
|
alex
| Posted on Monday, January 05, 2004 - 06:49 pm: |
|
Tá tinn uirthi. OR Tá sí tinneach.---she is sick Tá tinn orm? An bhfuil Matt ort? OR An matt ort? OR Nach bhfuil Matt ort? |
|
Alex
| Posted on Monday, January 05, 2004 - 07:13 pm: |
|
Can you say Tá AN aimsir an-fhuar anois. Or is the AN thing not allowed there or is that only when it means THE? |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Tuesday, January 06, 2004 - 04:23 am: |
|
Tá mé tinn (aidiacht /adjective) Tá tinneas orm (ainmfhocal / noun) An Matt atá ort? Tá AN aimsir an-fhuar anois. - yes: this is the definite article "The weather" |
|
Alex
| Posted on Tuesday, January 06, 2004 - 05:35 pm: |
|
So I can say Either An Matt atá ort? or Nach matt atá ort? So no difference between the two ways of saying one is sick? And then AN is only allowed once when it is a definite article? |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Wednesday, January 07, 2004 - 04:11 am: |
|
An Matt atá ort - Is your name Matt? (questioner is not sure of the answer) Nach Matt atá ort - Isn't your name Matt? (questioner expects the answer to be "Yes, I'm Matt) Tá mé tinn - I am ill Tá tinneas orm - I have a specific illness >>And then AN is only allowed once when it is a definite article I don't understand your question! |
|
Alex
| Posted on Wednesday, January 07, 2004 - 05:18 pm: |
|
Well like this In ainm an athar in THE name of THE father, now we only see ONE AN, I am told you cant have TWO ANs like that Now I am saying can you say T'a an aimsir an-fhuar inniu. ? |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2004 - 04:08 am: |
|
Tá an aimsir an-fhuar inniu. You can : the "an" in "an-fhuar" is not an article! An takes up about a page in a good Irish dictionary, because it can be used in many ways. The sentence you have could be translated word for word as It is (Tá) the weather (an aimsir) very (an-) cold (fhuar) today (inniu) |
|
Alex
| Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2004 - 04:59 pm: |
|
I know this, I was just making sure :-) |
|
Alsander
| Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2004 - 07:08 pm: |
|
I got some more dumb questions to bedazzle the mind on how slow I really am ;-) Ar chor ar bith---At all meaning like "I don't understand Irish AT ALL!" ? I only ask because you might say with Irish agat-at you so I was thinking like MAYBE AT ALL sort of ( Like Go raibh maith ar chor ar bith ) meaning thanks to EVERYONE. I think it is used in the first way but you never know! ór agus óir, one is a noun(ór) and the other is an adjective? Tá sé ór....It is gold and then Tá sé mo fáinne óir féin....It is my own Gold ring correct or no? |
|
OCG
| Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2004 - 08:05 pm: |
|
Hi Alsander Ar chor ar bith If you look up "cor" it means "a turn, a twist or an eventuality". There's a saying "is iomai cor sa saol" (there's many a twist in life) So, "ar chor ar bith" means "in any eventuality". So, "ní thuigim an Ghaeilge ar chor ar bith" means "I don't understand Irish in any eventuality, no matter what the circumstances". Ór is gold. "An fáinne óir" is "the ring of gold", Ór changes to the genitive form "óir" in that context.. Now, the last part of your question is one of the trickiest for learners. Tá sé mo fainne óir féin is WRONG !!! Shock, horror. The correct way to say it is: Is é m'fháinne óir féin é. Why?? Well beacuse when you identify that ring as your own you're CLASSIFYING it, not describing it. You CAN say: Tá an fáinne órga (the ring is golden)beacuse this is a description. However, when we need to classify something we use the Is XXX é. What is that thing? Cad e an rud sin? Is fáinne é It is a ring (the thing has now been classified) Cén sórt fáinne é? What kind of ring is it? Tá sé cruinn agus órga It is round and golden. ____________________ I've prolly caused you more dismay than I intended, I'll stop tormenting you now. Hope this helps (and that I haven't made any mistakes). Slan go fóill, a chara. |
|
Alex
| Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 04:44 pm: |
|
more more! lol Nach bhfuil do sheanmháthair an-fhuar anois? And then Nach do sheanmháthair í? Are these both correct sentencs? |
|
Alex
| Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 05:40 pm: |
|
Ní uisce agam ar chor ar bith? |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 04:08 am: |
|
Níl uisce agam ar chor ar bith? Nach bhfuil do sheanmháthair an-fhuar anois? correct Nach do sheanmháthair í? correct |
|
Alex
| Posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 04:46 pm: |
|
/me looks shocked and almost scared I, formed...a sentence in Irish?! /me faints |
|
Alex
| Posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 05:16 pm: |
|
AN bhfuil do fháinne óir agat? |
|
Alex
| Posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 05:29 pm: |
|
An bhfuil an fáinne deairg sin? |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 04:14 am: |
|
An bhfuil an fáinne sin dearg? (Is that ring red?) |
|
Alex
| Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 05:19 pm: |
|
Níl me ag dul ar chor ar bith |
|
alex
| Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 01:47 am: |
|
how do you say OR? |
|
Alex
| Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 02:23 am: |
|
Tá sé an-fhuar anois ansin, nach bhfuil? |
|
Seosamh Mac Muirí
| Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 04:49 am: |
|
.... an-fhuar anois? Abair é Alex. (You can sing it!) D'fhéadfá a rá. (You could say that = By God you're not telling a lie) Níl mé a rá nach bhfuil. (I'm not saying it isn't = Well I suppose you could say that!) Tá. Tá sé millteanach fuar. |
|
Seosamh Mac Muirí
| Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 04:55 am: |
|
.... or ... = nó An é x nó y atá i gceist agat? (Do you mean x or y?) Cé acu x nó y a bhí le feiceáil romhat ann? (Was it either x or y that you found there when you arrived?) Ní raibh ann ach breith nó fág. (It was just a matter of take it or leave it.) |
|
Alex
| Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 12:55 pm: |
|
Seosamh I am convinced your out to confuse me ! lol |
|
Seosamh Mac Muirí
| Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 05:47 pm: |
|
Gabh mo leithscéal Alex. Just take your time with them. The first post is just a motley of what I would say in reply to your weather comment: 1. Abair é Alex. (You can sing it!) 2. D'fhéadfá a rá. (You could say that = By God you're not telling a lie) 3. Níl mé a rá nach bhfuil. (I'm not saying it isn't (very cold) = Well I suppose you could say that it is very cold!) 4.Tá. Tá sé millteanach fuar. No. 3 is the one that throws people, probably, as I seldom see it in print, but it is a common native speech attitude and format, so keep an ear for it. Imagine that some beautiful person comes into a room and draws some immediate praise for their good looks. Someone else makes a negitive comment, 'Well I didn't say she was horrible/or/ I'm not saying she's horrible', which really only accentuates the initial statement because of the vein that it's said in. Glac go réidh iad / take them in your own time. Agus go maire tú do chéad abairt Ghaeilge - comhghairdeas - congrats on your serious sentence a few posts back there. Ádh mór. |
|
Alex
| Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 07:41 pm: |
|
serious sentence? lol |
|
Alex
| Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 03:36 am: |
|
Fagaim? |
|
Seosamh Mac Muirí
| Posted on Monday, January 19, 2004 - 05:57 am: |
|
Fágaim = I leave. But also: ... fágaim. = mar shampla / for example. It generally happens at the end of a sentence (1), but may occur between two phrases (2). 1. Seo nath amháin agus seo nath eile, fágaim. ! 2. Seo nath amháin, fágaim, agus seo an dara ceann. ! |
|
Alex
| Posted on Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 04:44 pm: |
|
OK! lol Tá nó níl? Tá nó níl sé? An bhfuil sé agat nó níl sé? An bhfuil sé nó níl sé agat? Another thing, I feel wierd asking but is anyone willing to maybe here me say these over MSN messenger/MSN? My ID is under e-mail, thanks... |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Thursday, January 22, 2004 - 04:11 am: |
|
An bhfuil sé agat nó nach bhfuil? Tá sé nó níl sé? |
|
OCG
| Posted on Thursday, January 22, 2004 - 03:23 pm: |
|
I can't follw this at all, frankly. |
|
Alex
| Posted on Thursday, January 22, 2004 - 09:51 pm: |
|
I am saying sentences, and Aonghus is correcting mistakes and showing me what to do with them....experimenting trial and error |
|
Seosamh Mac Muirí
| Posted on Friday, January 23, 2004 - 06:36 am: |
|
Obair mhaith, bail ó Dhia oraibh. |
|
Alex
| Posted on Friday, January 23, 2004 - 05:38 pm: |
|
ok LOL Ba mhaith liom ag dul go Éire! ? |
|
Alex
| Posted on Friday, January 23, 2004 - 08:29 pm: |
|
Tá mé an-óg? |
|
Seosamh Mac Muirí
| Posted on Saturday, January 24, 2004 - 05:06 am: |
|
If Aonghus is taking his Saturday in bed, in the shops, or strolling the beach, I'll chime in for you in a few hours to fill in a bit. Maith go leor! |
|
alex
| Posted on Saturday, January 24, 2004 - 03:54 pm: |
|
llol ok |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Monday, January 26, 2004 - 04:19 am: |
|
Ba mhaith liom ag dul go hÉireann (Ní bhímse ar líne ró mhinic ag an deire seachtaine - tá clann agam!) |
|
Alex
| Posted on Monday, January 26, 2004 - 05:10 pm: |
|
Something about the clann at me or on me? Ba mhaith liom ag dul go Albanácheann? |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 04:23 am: |
|
tá clann agam - I have a family Ba mhaith liom dul go hAlbanácheann? Where is Albanácheann? I've never come across the name |
|
Jennifer Poole
| Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 11:47 am: |
|
Hi! I'm new here, and would like to send a greeting to my friend pertaining to Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, I cannot find a translation for it. Any help is appreciated!!! "May your heart be filled with happiness on this Valentine's Day." Thank you! Jennifer |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 04:05 am: |
|
Go líonfar do chroí le h-áthas ar an Lá le Valintín seo. |
|
Jennifer Poole
| Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 09:14 am: |
|
Thank you so very much! |
|
Alex
| Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 05:21 pm: |
|
Conas tá an cheachta? |
|
Stiofan OSuilleabhain
| Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 08:58 pm: |
|
An bhfuil a fhios ag einne anseo, conas is feidir 'fada' a chur ar mo chuid 'a','e','o'.'i' agus 'u'? Ta me i mo chonai sna Stait Aontaithe anois agus 'keyboard' Mheireacanach in usaid agam. Ach is cuimhin liom go deimhin nuair a bhi me i mo chonai in Eireann, le keyboard 'Eorpach' niorbh ann ach 'ctrl', 'alt' agus an guth (vowel) litir a bhru agus bhi se deanta. Silim go bhfuil gleas/cleas 'cut & paste' le feiceail lastios, ach, nach bhfuil 'cleas' maith eile ann ach an oiread? (Gabh mo leithsceal freisin as ucht an droch litriu ata soleir sa techtaireact seo) |
|
Maidhc Ó G.
| Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 08:48 am: |
|
Dia dhuit, a Stiofain, Ma gcluin mé do cheist go ceart, Iarradh seo le 'Windows'. Alt. + 0225 á Alt. + 0193 Á 0233 é 0201 É 0237 í 0205 Í 0243 ó 0211 Ó 0250 ú 0218 Ú Maidhc. |
|
Larry
| Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 10:45 am: |
|
Alex, a chara, an cheachta?? If you're trying to ask "How is the lesson?" (singular) you'd say "Conas (a)tá an ceacht?" or to ask "How are the lessons?" it would be "Conas (a)tá na ceachtanna?"... But perhaps I'm missing something. |
|
Alex
| Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 05:15 pm: |
|
no no thank you! Anyhow I do believe someone asked about the é ? If you have windows and you go into langugaes there is a way to set your KEYBOARD as united states international it allows you to ãàâäá by typing the symbol then vowel or letter such as ñ or ç (' + c) If you fiddle aroung there you might find it |
|
Alex
| Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 10:29 pm: |
|
Sorry! Tá brón orm! I was saying no, no you gave me what I was looking for, thank you for doing this :-) Anyhow, I was listening to something in Latvian, and if I am not mistaken I heard similarities Tas (I think thats what the whole word was)--was similar to Tá and like when they asked questions, they changed the verb completely(so my untrained ears thought) and also if I am not mistaken LAHBA means book, and I thought this was similar to Leabhair Anyone know of this or can correct me on my thoughts here? I am only guessing at it, also the spellings of the latvian words are wrong, I know but I did it more phonetically. thank you |
|
Alex
| Posted on Sunday, February 01, 2004 - 02:35 am: |
|
HOw do you say YOU ARE LISTENING TO RADIÓ NA GAELTACHTA? |
|
OCG
| Posted on Sunday, February 01, 2004 - 06:55 am: |
|
Tá tú/sibh ag éisteacht le RnaG. I don't think that Latvian and Gaelic are related in any way. The word leabhar (in Irish) comes from the Latin word Liber, which is probably how the Latvian word for book evolved too. Latin (through the Roman Church) has had a huge impact on Irish and most other European languages too. |
|
Alsander
| Posted on Tuesday, February 03, 2004 - 07:56 pm: |
|
An bhfuil tú ag éisteach mé? nó a mé ? An bhfuil an A in AG os comhair guta ciúin? Le do thoil....Scríobh as Béarla nó as Gaeilge, ach scríobh an-bheag. |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 04:27 am: |
|
An bhfuil tú ag éisteach liom Scríobh as Béarla nó as Gaeilge, ach scríobh beagán - Write in Irish or English, but write a little. (What you had would mean write in very samll letters!) |
|
Alsander
| Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 06:00 pm: |
|
Hehe Well that was my first pure Irish post so I think I did pretty darn good :-P |
|
Alsander
| Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 06:50 pm: |
|
An bhfuil an A in AG os comhair guta ciúin? |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Thursday, February 05, 2004 - 06:59 am: |
|
Ní dóigh liom é |
|
Alsander
| Posted on Thursday, February 05, 2004 - 05:53 pm: |
|
That does mean you don't know? |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Friday, February 06, 2004 - 04:28 am: |
|
It means "I don't think so" |
|
Diarmuid
| Posted on Friday, February 06, 2004 - 05:47 am: |
|
Alex Could you tell me a bit about Latvian and Lithuanian..are they Slavic languages? or are they Finnish languges? or are they from another group? Go raibh maith agat Diarmuid |
|
Alsander
| Posted on Friday, February 06, 2004 - 10:54 pm: |
|
I tried saying like is the G silent ( ag scríobh ) unless it is in front of a vowel word (Ag éisteach) And I am sorry but all I can say is that Latvian uses ç and thats all I know, I'm not learning it, but from listening I just though I heard similarities to Irish. |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Saturday, February 07, 2004 - 03:12 pm: |
|
An bhfuil an A in AG os comhair guta ciúin? is what you wrote: Is the "A" in "AG" silent in front of a vowel An bhfuil an "g" in "ag" ciúin seachas roimh guta? Níl, mar a fuaimníonn mise é. (Not as I sound it). Ach bíonn i gcanúintí airithe. (But it is in some dialects) |
|
alsander
| Posted on Saturday, February 07, 2004 - 04:44 pm: |
|
ok sorry that was my mistake, I was going back and forth between the dictionary LOL |
|
Alsander
| Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 12:51 pm: |
|
Tá sibh ag éisteach le RTE Radió na Gaeltachta. Is that what they say? It sounds a little wierd...But I think it is that, no? |
|
Alsander
| Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 02:42 pm: |
|
Cén t-ainm atá uirthi/air? yes? |
|
Alsander
| Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 07:42 pm: |
|
An lá h-uafar an lá gaofar |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 04:40 am: |
|
Tá sibh ag éisteach le RTÉ Radio na Gaeltachta Cén t-ainm atá uirthi/air? yes! An lá h-uafar What's this? an lá gaofar yes! |
|
Alsander
| Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 04:48 pm: |
|
An lá h-uafar What's this? Was meant to be like horrible day I think it would be more like An lá go huafar? |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 04:10 am: |
|
horror uafás horrible uafásach So An lá uafásach - the horrible day Tá an lá uafásach - the day is horrible |
|
Alsander
| Posted on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 04:31 pm: |
|
An "as gaeilge" nó "as gHaeilge" é? An "as béarla" nó "as bhéarla" é? |
|
Fear na mBróg
| Posted on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 07:18 pm: |
|
as Gaeilge as Béarla -- Drill this into your head: ALL PREPOSITIONS TAKE A H except... le ag as go chuigh dar os "le" and "go" put a H before a vowel: le háthas, go háit 'i' takes an urú i gCorcaigh, i mbosca --- When "an" comes after the preposition: IN THE SINGULAR EVERYTHING GETS AN URÚ ag an mbuachaill ón mbanc tríd an bhfuinneog as an gcarr faoin mbord leis an bhfear except... den don sa which take a H EXCEPT when the noun begins with a d t or s den bhuachaill den duine sa chistin sa siopa don charr don teach ----- Some other stuff which I hope is self explanatory to you Chonaic mé an t-éan ach, tá suim agam san éan ( ag an éan, faoin éan ) Chonaic mé an tsráid go fóill, tá suim agam sa tsráid ( ag an tsráid ) ...special treatment! ag na fir leis na buachaillí ar fhir ar bhuachaillí den fhir den bhuachaill -Fear na mBróg |
|
Fear na mBróg
| Posted on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 07:25 pm: |
|
Looking over the posts I wanna clear something up: Dentals don't get a H after dentals D N T L S These consonants involve the tongue touching your pallette. No problem, but when one follows right after the other, (with the irish accent in anyway) we prefer not to H the second one. Thus: An-te An-deas An bhean deas Teideal an dáin seanbhean seanteach -Fear na mBróg |
|
Alex
| Posted on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 08:05 pm: |
|
I am a little confused but oh well... |
|
Alex
| Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 11:18 pm: |
|
Nach/An bhfuil tú ag dul go leis? now here is a brain boggler Are you going with him, TOO? lol WOuld it be like leis leis? |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 04:29 am: |
|
Nach/An bhfuil tú ag dul leis, leis? - no "go" But you could use "freisin" or "chomh maith" to avoid repeating leis. |
|
Àlex
| Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 02:23 pm: |
|
ok TY, you are very helpful Go raibh maith agat! |
|
Alex
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 12:05 am: |
|
An bhfuil tú ag dul go hÉriean leis freisin? Punc=dot? |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 04:10 am: |
|
An bhfuil tú ag dul go hÉireann leis, freisin? nó An bhfuil tú ag dul leis go hÉireann, freisin? Ponc = dot |
|
Brandon Lynn
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 05:10 am: |
|
My name is Brandon Lynn, and I was hoping someone could help me out with something. I have a large tatoo on my left arm of Irish heritage. And I want to place the words Irish Pride in gaelic or the ancient language, with Irish above my shamrock and Pride below it. If anyone could help me out with how to spell it out in the old languages, whether it be in letters or symbols, it would be greatly appreciated....Please contact me at |
|
alex
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 07:46 am: |
|
Thanks Aonghus Go raibh maith agat, so when I hear PUNC RTE they are giving an eamil address? |
|
Alex
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 07:53 am: |
|
Scoile na Teangaí? |
|
Fear na mBróg
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 09:36 am: |
|
ag dul go hÉirinn -- Is ise Éire. Chonaic mé Éire. Bhris Éire an fhuinneog. Chuaigh mé go hÉirinn. D'fhiafraigh mé d'Éirinn. Léim mé ar Éirinn. Bhí mé ag magadh faoi Éirinn. Is muidne muintir na hÉireann. Sé sin Taoiseach na hÉireann. Ar léigh tú Bunracht na hÉireann? Bhí mé ag lorg Éireann. Bhí sé ag moladh Éireann. Bhí an gall in aghaidh Éireann. |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 09:36 am: |
|
something ponc something is probably an e-mail address, yes. Scoil na dTeangacha - school of languages. Scoil na teanga - the school of the lenguage |
|
Alex
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 01:03 pm: |
|
ok can someone maybe give me a run down on the whole Érie Ériean Érinn spelling issue? |
|
Fear na mBróg
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 01:43 pm: |
|
Éire : It's a noun Like every noun, it can be put into different cases: Nominative case: This is where it is doing the action, eg. "Ireland broke the window." Dative case: This is where it comes after a preposition, eg. "to Ireland", "from Ireland", "with Ireland". Posessive case (aka Genetive case): This is where it owns something, eg. "That is Ireland's coat", "We are the people of Ireland", "Bank of Ireland", "The constitiution of Ireland". Nominative: Éire Dative: Éirinn Possessive: Éireann Sé seo mar a théann sé: Is maith liom Éire. Bhí mé in Éirinn inné. Thaitin Éire liom. Níor mhaith liom dul go hÉirinn sa gheimhreadh! An maith leat muintir na hÉireann? Cóimeadaim m'airgead i mBanc na hÉireann. Bhí an buachaill óg ag moladh Éireann. D'imir m'fhoireann in aghaidh Éireann. |
|
Alex
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 02:19 pm: |
|
Cén t-ainm atá ar sin leabhar? |
|
Fear na mBróg
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 03:13 pm: |
|
ar an leabhar sin Tá sé seo ag teacht amach as m'intinn. |
|
Fear na mBróg
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 03:15 pm: |
|
Agus, a hAlex, thaitneodh "go raibh maith agat" liom nuair a bhím ag caitheamh m'ama féin chun cabhrú le daoine eile gan íoc. |
|
alex
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 06:39 pm: |
|
Uhm I didnt get that last one, sorrry I dont know that many words..... Cén t-ainm atá ar an leabar? isnt the Genetive of LEABHAR LEABHAIR? And if so isnt Leabhair Thin....would differentiation just be about how it is used |
|
Bernard Brady
| Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 11:03 pm: |
|
From an earlier letter Ta an eagla orm Means There is fear on me. ( I think!} Ta eagla an domhain orm confuses me. Is it "There is a deep fear on me. " or is it "There is a fear of the deep on me" In doing the exercises om Siadahail's book I have the most trouble with the sentence constructions. |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2004 - 04:09 am: |
|
Tá eagla orm- I am frightened Tá an-eagla orm - I am very frightened Tá eagla an domhain orm - literally "I have the world's fear"; I am extremely frightened. I avoid translating this as "fear is on me" because I think that is misleading; word for word translations are usually. Alex: Cad é ainm an leabhair - genitive - what is the name of the book? Cén t-ainm atá ar an leabhar sin - what name is on that book (what is that book called) - book is accusative; the object of the verb tá |
|
alex
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2004 - 01:47 pm: |
|
Is that Cad é ainm an leabhair? thing a little more advanced? Also I asked...leabhair(thin/slender) is it just on the usage that you differentiate them? I thought it was eaglas? |
|
Fear na mBróg
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2004 - 02:24 pm: |
|
Cad é an -> Cén -- Leabhar Singular: Leabhar Plural: Leabhair Singular Possessive: Leabhair Plural Possessive: Leabhar Mar sin: Book Shop = Siopa Leabhar Name of the Book = Ainm an Leabhair Ar an leabhar, ar na leabhair -- Ní hea, ní hé "eaglas", "eagla" is ea é |
|
Alex
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2004 - 02:46 pm: |
|
but you say Tá tinneas orm...the s ending Éist a sé anois! ( listen to ---) |
|
alex
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2004 - 03:15 pm: |
|
Ba mhaith leat, an mhaith leat? Níor mhaith leat, what about the word like NACH? |
|
Fear na mBróg
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2004 - 10:02 pm: |
|
tinneas eagla Tá tinneas cinn orm Tá eagla an domhain orm Ar mhaith leat é? ::::::::::::::::: Wud u like it? Ba mhaith liom é :::::::::::::::::::: I wud like it Níor mhaith liom é :::::::::::::::: I wudnt like it Nár mhaith leat é? :::::::::::: Wudnt u like it? An maith leat é? ::::::::: Do u like it? Is maith liom é :::::::::: I like it Ní maith liom é ::::::::::: I dont like it Nach maith leat é? ::::::: Dont u like it? |
|
Alex
| Posted on Friday, February 20, 2004 - 10:43 pm: |
|
Whats with the "wud" and "u"? Can you say Ar mhaith leat ag dul go Méirica liom? can the AG (verb) form serve as saying TO GO(ag dul) ?? What about the command form of Éisteach? |
|
Fear na mBróg
| Posted on Saturday, February 21, 2004 - 03:23 pm: |
|
Verb: Dún Bris Brostaigh Deisigh Verbal Noun: Dúnadh Briseadh Brostú Deisiú Bhí mé ag dúnadh an dorais. Bhí mé ag briseadh na fuinneoige. Bhí mé ag deisiú an bhoird. Bhí mé ag brostú go Meiriceá. Is maith liom an doras a dhúnadh. Is maith liom an fhuinneog a bhriseadh. Is maith liom an bord a dheisiú. Is maith liom brostú go Meiriceá. The verbal noun goes to the end of the sentence UNLESS there's a preposition. Is maith liom milseáin a thabhairt don bhuachaill. Is maith liom dul go dtí an siopa. Is maith liom breith ar pheann. Verb: Éist Verbal Noun: Éisteacht Bhí mé ag éisteacht leis an mbuachaill. Ba mhaith liom éisteacht leis an gcailín. |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Saturday, February 21, 2004 - 04:34 pm: |
|
wud & u are abbreviations for "would" and "you" tinneas and tinn are different words Ar mhaith leat dul go Méirica liom? can the AG (verb) form serve as saying TO GO(ag dul) ?? You don't need ag in this context The command form of éist is éist! You will get a table of verbs at http://www.csis.ul.ie/scripts/focweb/Exe/focloir.exe by putiing in any form of the verb M. ORD. stands for modh orduitheach - command form |
|
Fear na mBróg
| Posted on Saturday, February 21, 2004 - 06:56 pm: |
|
A hAonghuis, maidir leis an modh orduitheach, cén fath go bhfuil níos mó ná "tú" agus "sibh" ann? Bhí mé ag smaoineamh air agus tháinig mé suas leis seo: "Look at that garden... I better do something with it" An eisean seo a bheadh ann?: "Féach ar an ngáirdín sin... déanaim rud leis" --- Or: "We better change that wheel" -> "Éirímis an rotha sin a athrú" -- Bhfuil an ceart agam? |
|
Alex
| Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 02:26 am: |
|
Go raibh maith agat |
|
Alex
| Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 02:48 am: |
|
Is maith liom ag dul go an chistin anois. Going to the kitchen now is ok with me. |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 03:00 pm: |
|
Níor chualas riamh aon phearsa seachas an dara pearsa (uatha nó iolra) den modh orduithreach in úsaid. Bheidh ciall airithe leis an chéad phearsa iolra. Is dócha go bhfeadfadh na pearsan eile bheith ann, agus go bhfuil siad san foclóir da réir Ba maith liom dul go an chistin anois - I would like to go to the kitchen now |
|
Alex
| Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 04:06 pm: |
|
Ba mhaith liom tú dul go chistin anois (liom). |
|
Alex
| Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 04:24 pm: |
|
Níor mhaith liom sé anseo linn. |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 04:59 am: |
|
Ba mhaith liom - I would like dá rachfá - if you would go go dtí an cistin to the kitchen liom anois - with me now This is a tricky one: it causes the conditional (modh conníolach) to be used. You can't be sure I'll go. If it were an order, you would leave out the ba mhaith liom, and it would be Téigh go dtí an cistin anois! Níor mhaith liom é a bheith anseo linn. |
|
Fear na mBróg
| Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 08:49 am: |
|
Níor mhaith liom é a bheith anseo linn. Are you sure that that would qualify "I wouldn't like him to be here with us.". Would one not have to say: Níor mhaith liom go mbeadh sé anseo linn. |
|
Alex
| Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 09:10 am: |
|
what does dtí mean? and I was reading something and I could have sworn I saw it as an chistin? Finally what is bheith and mbeadh? Go raibh maith agaibh(sp) (is it AlsandEr or AlsandAr?) |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 10:03 am: |
|
go dtí is a standrad phrase for "to" when a place is meant. Your right about an chistin - my mistake cistin - a kitchen an chistin - the kitchen beith is the verb "to be" which is horribly irregular! My version used the verbal noun; Fear na mbróg used the conditional. Both versions are correct. |
|
Alex
| Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 04:30 pm: |
|
ok lol Maybe I will ask if I think your wrong more often ;-P OK now Arent IS and TÁ the verbs for TO BE? also the verbal noun version and conditional version are a little more advanced for me, no? |
|
Antaine
| Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 07:58 pm: |
|
the verb is Bí, with Is the copula form (as he said, beith is the verbal noun "being"). I used to think the same way, about versions being too advanced for beginners. You obviously can't learn everything at once, but something I learned the hard way is that no tense is dispensible...look at how many conditional statements or verbal nouns you use in an hour when speaking in english. i used to think i could get away with past present future and imperitive. then i realized how essential conditional was. then habitual past. by the time i was done i finally had to admit defeat and say that i would always be linguistically crippled until i learned them all...that the best practice was using it, but i wasn't using it much because most of what i wanted to say i couldn't formulate. in this short message (by my quick count): habitual past - 2 conditional - 2 verbal nouns - 3 subjunctive - 1 |
|
Alex
| Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 08:38 pm: |
|
Im just so confused. I feel like I will never manage Irish at all. It is just SO confusing! Ba mhaith liom dul go dtí hÉrinn? HAY-RIN? |
|
Alex
| Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 08:44 pm: |
|
Im just so confused. I feel like I will never manage Irish at all. It is just SO confusing! Ba mhaith liom dul go dtí hÉrinn? HAY-RIN? |
|
Alex
| Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 08:48 pm: |
|
OK, over here, in the US, it seems that all those who are uninspired to teach, and have an attitude problem become English teachers. I don't understand half of these terms. If anyone has a good grammer site with Irish, and English examples I would greatly appreciate it and it would help me greatly in learning this and probably make it a little easier. |
|
Antaine
| Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 10:16 pm: |
|
surely...(sorry...you mentioned a couple of the terms so i thought you knew them from your irish books...and I am an english teacher in the US so :oP lol ) COPULA - the "is" form of the verb "bí" (to be). to be is irregular (doesn't follow the rules/patterns), which is why "tá" is the present form of "bí". it is irregular in other ways as well. As far as i know, "to be" is an irregular verb in every language. the other things habitual past - habitual past...let's see...the difference would be "i washed the dishes after dinner" (past) and "I washed dishes for three years over at the Harp and Bard" (habitual past). the two i used were: "I used to think" in two different places (i didn't think it once in the past, it was for an ongoing period...a habit...). conditional - this you usually find with "if/then" statement...ones where theres a "condition"..."If Jane goes to the mall, then Dick will go as well." Dick's going relies on the condition of whether or not Jane is going. Keep in mind, some of these things don't necessarily translate into special forms in English. Notice how we use "then" and follow it with the future, "will go"...in Irish you would need a special form of "go". verbal noun - verbal nouns are easy (verbal adjectives are the same idea). take a verb: "to write"..."I write" - present tense..."What do you think about my writing?" "writing" there is not a verb, but it comes from one. "writing" is playing the role of a noun (in english, -ing is a big flag for verbal nouns). "writing" will be treated as if it is a noun (eg. "the writings of Shakespeare" - you would never use "the" with a verb) and will behave as one. In english, to form a verbal noun, you most frequently add -ing. In Irish there are other rules (no -ing) but it's not that different. A verbal adjective is the same basic idea..."I wrote" - past tense. "It was written"..."written" is not a verb but it comes from one. It is an adjective to describe "it" subjunctive - okay...this one is the bane of english speakers everywhere studying languages like irish or french or any one that has this tense because, for all intents and purposes, we don't. Well, not exactly. We manage to express the same ideas, but without a special verb tense or even recognition that it's a special case. To say it in Irish, however you'll need to use it...so here we go... Subjunctive is used to describe or explain that which is not. Confused? Okay...let's break it down. Remember, this "sorta" exists in English. I suppose the best kind of example would be, "I wish that you were here." "were" would need to be in the subjunctive tense. "were" does exist in english in its own right, but look closely: in the past tense, you would say "you were", but in english because it follows the word "that" and is part of a wish (ie something that doesn't yet exist and may never) it is technically subjunctive. Also look that I'm not wishing you once were here many years ago...i'm actually wishing that you are here now. to indicate subjunctive in english we use the past tense in the slot designed for a present tense verb. many other (most other indoeuropean?) languages use the special subjunctive tense in order to express that kind of situation. I hope that wasn't too too confusing. if you still need more let me know. DEFINITELY don't get discouraged. did you take a langauge in HS? how many years? how much had you learned after all those years of professional instruction? So pat yourself on the back for what you have taught yourself and keep at it. I would get an English grammar book, the most in depth you can find so you can look up obscure stuff like that. hopefully it'll be one with lots of examples. conversational is nice, but very limiting. one cannot take the next step without heavy grammar (eventually)...but rome wasn't built in a day... Bíonn gach tosach lag |
|
alex
| Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 01:36 am: |
|
I think I get habitual, as in like it happened, is happening or WILL happen, but the tense doesnt say to what extent or when? correct me if I am wrong here And hey! An english teacher w/out an attitude problem! :-P uhm I don't need you currently, but if you maybe left me a more reliable contact such as email, or anything like that as to where I could ask you about these things in time, if needed you explained it well, and it really helped me out ( thank you very much! ) And no I didn't take a language in high school, I will when I go :-P I am learning spanish in school, and am only 14, so I don't think I can relate to your example with high school? |
|
Aonghus
| Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 04:28 am: |
|
This site has some good examples http://homepage.eircom.net/~eofeasa/ I usually try to avoid explaining grammar! I speak Irish; when I start trying to think about the grammar or why I say things the way I do, I usually make mistakes....But when I write what my gut feeling tells me correct, it usually is |
|
Antaine
| Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 07:24 am: |
|
okay...my email is ...i'm still learning myself so my explanations of particular technical irish things may be somewhat limited, but grammatical explanations as above I can handle. just keep an eye on how you progress in spanish...and that's with a teacher and curriculum.... how long have you been learning irish? |
|
Al Evans
| Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 11:38 am: |
|
Cupla rud... Antaine: "conditional - this you usually find with "if/then" statement...ones where theres a "condition"..."If Jane goes to the mall, then Dick will go as well." Dick's going relies on the condition of whether or not Jane is going." I don't believe that statement is actually in the conditional, since it has "goes...will go". I think that, in Irish, this would be: Má théann Jane go dtí an malla, rachaidh Dick ansin freisin. (Present and future) I believe that the conditional form of that statement would be "If Jane went to the mall, then Dick would go as well": Dá rachadh Jane go dtí an malla, rachadh Dick ansin freisin. (Conditional and conditional) (The clarification is muddied a bit by the use of an irregular verb; sorry:-) For completeness, one subjunctive form of the statement in English would be: Should Jane go to the mall, Dick would go as well. And for even more completeness, I think this is the subjunctive form in Irish: Dá dtéadh Jane go dtí an malla, théadh Dick freisin. (past subjunctive and past subjunctive) But I don't believe the subjunctive is used any more in Irish than it is in English. (It would be a miracle if I did that without any mistakes, mar sin, fáilte roimh gach ceartúchán!) --Al Evans |
|
Bradford
| Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 11:50 am: |
|
Alex, a chara, This is a very good thread... However it's getting pretty big and cumbersome. How about creating "Simple Help Part II" (or whatever) for your next question and we retire this particular one? Le meas, Bradford |
|
Antaine
| Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 02:27 pm: |
|
Al- sounds good! thanks... |
|
alex
| Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 04:37 pm: |
|
I was waiting for someone to ask me to do so, Im surprised it took you guys so long :-P |
|