I was trying to translate this sentence:
They were nearing the cave

I was looking up the dictionary for nearing and one of the suggestions was druidim. Would this sound okay; Dhruidimeadar an uaimh ?

Go raibh maith agat.
F.

Podser - isn't "druid" ="dún", the first one is northern word,the next one - southern? I think using "druid" will confuse people from Tír Chonaill!

Now I checked dictionary - "to near" is not "druid"! it is "druid le".

So - "They neared the cave" must be - "(Do) dhruideadar leis an uaimh".

But if you are trying to say "They were nearing the cave", then "dhruidear" is not the right form. You should say rather "(Do) bhíodar ag druidim leis an uaimh".

Last remark - "dhruidimeadar" is wrong, as the stem from which all cjnjugated forms are derived is "druid", "druidim" is verbal noun, so no endings can be appended to it.

Is mise,
Róman

Tá an ceart beagnach go hiomlán ag Róman:

druidim [ainm briathartha][ainmfhocal baininscneach den dara díochlaonadh]
dúnadh (doras, leabhar, a dhruidim); teannadh (druid isteach leis an tine; druid aníos anseo; druid amach uaim).

Tá gá le focal eile in éineacht le druid chun an treo ina bhfuiltear ag bogadh a chuir in iúl.

Brón mhór orm, bhí sé déanach aréir nuair a scríos an "post" seo, Druid- go raibh maith agat.
P.

PS- An bhfuil sé sin i gceart- "gur aithin"

(Message edited by Podsers on October 29, 2006)

quote:

Brón mhór orm

"Tá ana-bhrón orm" is fearr, is dóigh liom. :-)

It is no sin to ask a question, it is a sin to stay ignorant! Ámhar mór ort!

I've always taken "druid le" to mean "approach".

He approached the dog.
Dhruid sé leis an madra.

A Fhir na mbróg,

How do define the difference between "approaching" and "nearing" a dog? Seriously ;-)

Is mise 7rl

Pé scéal é, "approach" is a loan-word from French "approcher" and it means EXACTLY "to near", as "proche"="near". So? :-)

Well, being a native speaker of English and all that. . .

Use of the word "approach" suggests to me that the person or entity is concious of their closing proximity on the target in question.

Use of the word "near" casts doubt on the person or entity's awareness of their closing proximity on the target in question.

For example:

The enemy approached from the South, preparing to attack.

The enemy were nearing the ambush, blissfully unaware of their pending faith.

But then again, that's me talking as a fluent speaker rather than a grammarian. ; )

(Message edited by Fear_na_mBróg on October 29, 2006)

Tá Béarla casta!

An difear, dar liomsa - is féidir "nearing" gan é bheith i gceist agat é a bhaint amach; tá aidhm agat le approaching.

Ach is difear ana chaol atá ann.

Druidfidh mé liom anois!

I think the English sentence is too vague. I gives no reason or context as to how or why the distance between them and the cave is being lessoned. In Irish, could one use different prepositions to convey at least some further texture? Mar sampla, Dhruid siad isteach air an uaimh. (They attacked the cave._?)

I have always had the sense that "druid" is somewhat a "casual", a bit like "drift" in English. Druid isteach leis an tine - Drift into the fire

Druid an doras - close over the door not as definite as shut the door.

Does this amke sense or am I off the beam?

Again, I think that would depend on some other context. A wind causing something to approach near the fire.
I think Druid leaves a little wiggle room as far as 'close the door'. (Close it completely or just so it's not so widely open?) - vs. Dún an doras. Close the door - completely.

I myself was also wondering on the usage of "ar" adverbially to reflect some sort of purpose; I think my example may've needed a bit more context itself.

Cá bhfuil Lughaidh? Dá mbeadh sé anseo... he'd tell you that "druid" is common in the North as an exact equivalent of "dún":

Druid an doras. Druid do bhéal.

druidim [ainm briathartha][ainmfhocal baininscneach den dara díochlaonadh]
dúnadh (doras, leabhar, a dhruidim); teannadh (druid isteach leis an tine; druid aníos anseo; druid amach uaim).

No wiggle room, a Mhaidhc.

On its own it means shut. With an auxiliary word, wiggle is introduced.

quote:

Druid do bhéal.

A Dhonncha,

An bhfuilir ana-shiúraltha ann, a chara? Deirtear "Éist do bhéal" de gnáth, ná deirtear?

Is mise 7rl

Is féidir Druid, éist, nó dún do bhéal a rá; ach níl aon cheann acu béasach!

Tá an abairt "druid do bhéal" le fáil sa leabhar An Teanga Bheo: Gaeilge Uladh ar leathanach 134.

Tá an abairt "éist do bhéal" le fáil sa leabhar "IWM" ar leathanach 74.

Bíonn dhá insint ar scéal agus dhá leagan déag ar amhrán... agus cé mhéad leagan ar "shut your mouth" ?

(dún, druid, éist) X (do bhéal, do chlab, do chab, do ghob)
= 3 X 4 = 12

Gan trácht ar Bí id thost! Cuir srian ar do theanga. etc.