I am sometimes a little confused about the following:

(the distinction is fudged in other languages also in the speech of everyday)

ceapaim gur chóir dó an rud siúd a dhéanamh
I think that it is right for him etc.

ceapaim go mba chóir dó an rud siúd a dhéanamh
I think that it would be right for him etc.
I think that it was right for him etc. ? (- context is decidng which one is meant?)

ceapaim nach gcóir dó an rud siúd a dhéanamh
I think that it is not right for him etc.

ceapaim nár chóir dó an rud siúd a dhéanamh
I think that it would not be right for him etc.
I think that it was not right for him etc.

So "is cóir/gur chóir" means only one thing but "ba chóir/go mba chóir" can be past tense or conditional mood, correct?

Is this a correct form:
Níor cheapaim gurbh fhéidir dúinn an bua a bhaint amach.
I didn't think it was possible for us to win.

Or would you say:
Níor cheapaim go mbainfidis an bua amach

Another query:
"Dá mba rud é gur..." is a closed condition in the past like "if it had been that...", correct? But are there other ways to express this species of thing?


Ultimate question: is there anywhere on the internet where I could find English and Irish texts side-by-side, for example newspaper articles and news bulletins - it would help me in both? Friends of mine have has this in other languages and they say that it is a wonderful way to get up-and-running and quickly into the mainstream - no matter what purist language teaching theorists say about working only within the language to be learned. I wonder what are your opinions over this? I think it the other lamguage is like scaffolding on on a house being builded and can be thrown away after a while and you can carry on in purity in one language which is better then (Foclóir Beag is iontach in this way; should be Foclóir Mór really!) - but it is needed in the beginning - otherwise frustrated people give up before they really got started.

(Sorry for my mistakes - I wrote quickly - thanks)

Bump.

I'm not sure I have the answer to you question, the copula is a wonderous beast.

My gut feeling is that the difference is somewhat like "should" and "ought"

quote:

ceapaim gur chóir dó, I think he should do X (now this minute
ceapaim go mba chóir dó , I think he ought to do

Dá mba rud é go raibh freagra do cheisteanna eile agam, thabharfainn iad!

Wait for the grammar gurus.

quote:

ceapaim gur chóir dó an rud siúd a dhéanamh

= I think that he shoud do that (referred to) thing

quote:

ceapaim go mba chóir dó an rud siúd a dhéanamh

=I think that he should do that (referred to) thing

This is reported speech, claoninsint. The direct speech sentence is "Ba chóir dó an rud siúd a dhéanamh". "Ba" is used for both the past and the modh coinníollach but the common meaning for the sentence is "He should do it". To say he should have done it would be different and I'm not sure if "Ba chóir dó é a bheith déanta aige". Like Aonghus I am no grammar guru and others have probably studied this.

... gur chóir ... and ... go mba chóir ... have the same meaning but the first is the form recommended by An Caigheán Oifigiúil while the latter is a simpler way of expressing the idea, retaining the verb and the form of the original sentence.

quote:

ceapaim nach gcóir dó an rud siúd a dhéanamh

... nach cóir ... means "is not right" and ... nár chóir ... "was not right" or "would not be right" essentially both mean "He should not do that thing". Note "gcóir" is incorrect. "Nach" would eclipse a verb but nothing else -- not nouns or adjectives etc.

quote:

ceapaim nár chóir dó an rud siúd a dhéanamh

I think that it would not be right for him etc.
I think that it was not right for him etc.
Correct. "He should not do it" ("siúd" is unusual unless referring especially to something already referred to. Like "úd". Look it up in the dictionary. "Siúd" has lots of meanings. "sin" would be better.)

So "is cóir/gur chóir" means only one thing but "ba chóir/go mba chóir" can be past tense or conditional mood, correct?

quote:

"is cóir/gur chóir"

Direct speech "Is cóir dó" meaning "He should"

Indirect speech after a primary tense verb "Ceapaim gur cóir dó" meaning "I think he should". (Note: no séimhiú/lenition or urú/eclipse)

Indirect speech after a historic tense verb "Cheap mé gur chóir dó" meaning "I thought he should". (Note the lenition)

Is this a correct form:
Níor [cheapaim] cheap mé (or níor cheapas) gurbh fhéidir [dúinn] linn an bua a bhaint amach.
I didn't think it was possible for us to win.

As for "dúinn" versus "linn" the former expresses a subtle meaning "that we had the ability / capacity to win" while "linn" is more common. "Dúinn" would almost be regarded as a mistake now.

Or would you say:
[Níor cheapaim] Níor [cheapaim] cheap mé (or níor cheapas)go mbainfidis an bua amach

In this case the introductory verb is in one of the historic tenses and the future tense changes to the conditional {cheap mé} + "bainfimid" >>> go mbainfidis

That's about as much as I can manage for the moment.

quote:

... gur chóir ... and ... go mba chóir ... have the same meaning but the first is the form recommended by An Caigheán Oifigiúil while the latter is a simpler way of expressing the idea, retaining the verb and the form of the original sentence.

I think both are in the CO because you find both in Graiméar Gaeilge na mBráithre Críostaí.
I don't think there's any difference in meaning between them. I think they are just dialectal variations.