The following is a extract from Shán O Cuív's "An Comhgar Chun na Gaedhilge d'Fhoghluim" (1929):


'For students and writers of Irish who think in English there are no words more fruitful of error than "all" and "once". A sentence in a public examination paper in Irish last year contained the phrase, "Is é a bhfuil uaim", the author evidently meaning "all that I want is".

The simple way of saying this in Irish would be "níl uaim ach", but the author, perhaps, was confused by the construction "sin a bhfuil uaim", "that's all I want", and "sin a bhfuil agam", "that's all I have", in which "a bhfuil" is the equivalent of "all".

It is possible to say "is é atá uaim ná". This, however, means "the exact thing I want is", and if the force of "all" in "all that I want is" has to be conveyed, "níl uaim ach" is certainly the best way to do it.'


I understand what O Cuív is saying here, what I don't quite understand is why "Is é a bhfuil uaim" is wrong. Does that phrase make any sense at all?

I think the second paragraph explains it.

quote:

It is possible to say "is é atá uaim ná". This, however, means "the exact thing I want is"

I'll try to break it down, maybe that will help

Is * é * a bhfuil * uaim
It is * thing * that * wants from me

"Is é a bhfuil uaim..." doesn't look wrong to me.

Oh. Now I see that I was confused above, and that Shan Ó Cuív was at least implying that it was wrong.

I think the meaning is the same as "Is é atá uaim", i.e. that one particular thing is meant. But perhaps it is at least inelegant.

Thanks for the responses.
So "is é a bhfuil uaim" would make sense to you as meaning "all that I want is", it's just that it's not the best, most natural way to express it?

I have all three parts of "An Comhgar Chun na Gaedhilge d'Fhoghluim" and have generally found them very good, even entertaining at times, but one fault O Cuív does seem to have is giving examples of "incorrect" Irish - as here - without making clear why they're "incorrect" or if they have another meaning.

*Is é a bhfuil uaim ná tusa =|= All I want is you.

Hmm, I don't think it's wrong grammatically but rather wrong semantically.

What does "all" mean in "all I want"?
It doesn't really mean "I want everything" but rather: "I want only"
You usually translate "only" in Irish with "ní ... ach".
In English (and in German, by the way) you can use "all" as in "all I want is ..." ("alles was ich will ist ...")

But the question is: Are forms for "all" ever used in Irish to translate "only"?
I don't think so.

That's what Ó Cuív means by "think[ing] in English".

So I'd stick to: Níl uaim ach tusa. = All I want is you.

Lars

(Message edited by Lars on June 22, 2009)

By the way:
If one wants to use at all costs "a bhfuil" one should perhaps say:

Diabhal/Dheamhan a bhfuil uaim ach tusa = All I want is you

Lars

Thanks Lars, I think it's finally "clicked" in my thick brain :)

"Is é a bhfuil uaim" means literally "The entirety or the complete amount that I want is.."
But that's not the meaning of the English phrase being translated which is, as you say, "I want only".