I am working on the Gaelic Language Reader and an answer in chapter 8 is:


“Mara bhfuil an oíche ann, ní tá an bóthar ciúin.”

Shouldn’t that be “níl?”

Doesn't look right to me either, Jim.

Who produced that 'Gaelic Language Reader'?

My first reaction was to whip out a dictionary and see if there's such a noun as "tá". It appears there isn't.

That line you've written above would be like an English speaking person saying:

I didn't went to his house.
I didn't took the book.

This ain't English and that ain't Gaeilge.

Also "Mara bhfuil an oíche ann" seems perculiar to me in that I've never heard the likes of it before. It seems to me that the sentence is trying to express:

If it's not nightime, the road is quiet.

(Although if you replace "ní tá" with "níl", you get: "If it isn't the night, the road isn't quiet", which suggests that the road is noisier at night...)

Well, if what's intended is:

If it's not the night, the road is quiet.

The following constructions would be more familiar:

Murab í an oíche atá inti, tá an bóthar ciúin.
Murab í an oíche, tá an bóthar ciúin.

FnmB,

Go raibh maith agat!


Antoin,

It is by Nancy Stenson, and is at: http://nexus.brocku.ca/rogawa/gaelic/

It is vey helpful for extra practice for "Learning Irish." I heard about it here.

I think this mistake is just a typo.

"Mara bhfuil" is a very common expression.

Mara bhfuil an oíche ann, ní bheidh an bóthar ciúin.

If it is not nightime, the road will not be quiet.

I'm guessing that's what was meant.

***************************************

"Murab" is past tense, so is wrong in this case.

Murab an oíche ann.. If it wasn't nightime.

I wasn't referring to "mara bhfuil" as being perculiar, I was referring to "mara bhfuil an oíche ann". You wouldn't hear the likes of:

Tá oíche ann.

You'd hear:

An oíche atá inti.

****************************

"Murab" is in fact the present tense:

Is múinteoir é.
Mura múinteoir é, ...
Ba mhúinteoir é.
Murar mhúinteoir é, ...

Is éan é.
Murab éan é, ...
B'éan é.
Murarbh éan é, ...

With regard to the exercises by Nancy Stenson, I found a fair number of typos.

Convincing myself that I was right and the answer key was mistaken might have been the most educational part of the experience:-) Regardless of that, though, the exercises were invaluable.

As to the other question, I don't see any problem with "Tá an oiche ann" == "Night is here". We rarely use the definite article with "night" in English (counterexample, "Here comes the night"). It's often used, but not translated, in other languages.

--Al Evans

Fear na mBróg,

Murab is past tense.

Take a look at the very last line on this page:

http://homepage.eircom.net/~abardubh/lessons/ceacht13.html

Murab = Mura + Ba

That article is incorrect.

My information is according to "Nuachúrsa Gaeilge na mBráithre Críostaí". It makes sense too when you think of:

Is éan é.
Deir sé gurb éan é.
B'éan é.
Dúirt sé gurbh éan é.

Murab éan é, ...
Murarbh éan é, ...

Sularb éan é, ...
Sularbh éan é, ...

Mura + ba = murar
Sula + ba = sular

Mura + b' = murarbh
Sula + b' = sularbh