Céard é? - "What is it?" How do you say, "What was it?" using "céard"?

Cerbh e?

Nach e? Isn't it?

Narbh e? wasn't it?

(sorry, can't do fadas on this PC)

Céard é? = What is it?

That's an abbreviation of:

Céard is é?


What was it = Céard ba é?


You wouldn't normally come across such a sentence without emphasis, you'd most likely see:

Cad ab ea é?
Cad a bhí ann?

--

As for "Cérbh":

Cé hé = Who is he?

Cé is é?


Cérbh é = Who was he?

Cé ba é?

Táir blaisín beag róthapa leis an gceann sin: That's an abbreviation of: ....

B'fhiú a ghlacadh níos réidhe le habairtí den chineál so. Réiteoidh tú níos fearr leo le himeacht ama, tá mé cinnte, tharla a oiread díograise ionat.

Just as "won't" is an abbreviation of "will not", "I'm" "I am", "You are" "You're", "Do not" "Don't".


"Don't" is a fully-fledged word, just as is "I'm" "You're", but I would still call them abbreviations.

These words are contractions, not abbreviations. Usually an abbreviation is a shortened form of a word while contractions combine two or more words by inserting an apostrophe in the place of omitted letters. Do not becomes don't.

Contractions have their origins in spoken language, and we all use them more than we realize. For me, contractions are what make spoken Irish so difficult to understand, having gotten my foundation in the printed word. I often recall being baffled by what should have been the most familiar phrase imaginable the first time I heard G'r'amaith'gat.

Aontaím leat, a Sheáin.

Cad a ndéarfá futhu seo?:


Is madra é -> Madra é.

Is é an madra -> 'Sé an madra.


An giorrúchán nó crapachán iad thuas?

I think I may have put my foot in my mouth when I assumed that crapadh agus giorrú correspond identically with the English 'abbreviate' and 'contract'.

The fact is that giorrúchan may be translated as either abbreviation or contraction.

My apologies for correcting Fear na mBrog. As the commercial for Certs said, "You're both right."

At any rate, thanks for agreeing with me, Fear. I assume you were referring to the difficulty following all those contracted phrases when they're spoken rapidly.

I would say Sé is a contraction of Is and é. And the phrase Madra é has just left out a word, that being 'Is.' Help, somebody. This water's up to my chin.

Sean

Well if you look at it like so: Our speech is divided-up into sentences, which in English go like so:

[Person] [Verb] [Object] [Adverb]

or, as Gaeilge:

[Briathar] [Duine] [Rud] [Dobhriathar]


If you think of certain criteria having "default values", certain criteria can be left out. For example, let's say that the default verb is "Is". Therefore, when there's no verb in the sentence, you know that the verb is "Is". Thus:

Is madra é.

could easily become

Madra é.


Would you call that an abbreviation? I don't know. All I know is that it's an intelligible sentence.

As for:

Is é an madra

becoming

'Sé an madra


This is exactly like

I am

becoming

I'm


I suppose maybe this is sort of an abbreviation, turning two syllables into one that resembles them both.

A Fhear na mBróg, a chara, the hint in Irish (above) was that you would be well served in reconsidering such work as involved in the entry above (Céard é? = What is it? That's an abbreviation of: Céard is é?). I don't even like repeating it, in case someone takes to it! It smacks of a certain Kila song, which you may know of, 'Tóg é ...'
Nílimid ag trácht ar ghiorrú, gearradh, ar ghiortú, ná ar aon ní eile mar é. Nod don eolach.

Dála an scéil, a Sheosaimh, cad é an leagan ceart, meas tú:

Tóg é go bog é

nó

Tóg go bog é.

Tóg go bog é.

What the hell is "Tóg é go bog é" supposed to mean? "Take it easy it"?

I think Seosamh was suggesting the phrase "tóg é go bog é" not be used not be used.