Thosaigh mé ar an leabhar seo ach tá sé go fíor-dheacair. An bhfuil aon áis ar fáil ar an idirlíon a chabhródh liom - le ceann de na scéalta ar aon nós?

Would it be that I should start on something easier?

And is "Thosaigh mé ar an leabhar seo a léamh" correct or should it be "Thosaigh mé air an leabhar seo a léamh"?

I mean, I see things like "Rinne mé iarracht ar an rud sin a dhéanamh" and "Rinne mé iarracht air an rud an rud sin a dhéanamh": could you explain the difference?


Is it more like "ar an rud" like "ar" connected with "rud", or "air" by itself - stand alone - and "an rud sin" like a qualification coming after it with no grammatical affect on "air"?

(Message edited by acco on November 11, 2009)

ar + é -> air

Ní hé Ó Cadhain a mholfainn do dhuine atá ag tosú amach. Tá sé deacair.

Bíonn ceisteanna anseo minic go leor, ach níl fhios agam an bhfuil nótaí ann.

Acco, you are correct in saying "Thosaigh mé ar an leabhar a léamh."

If you left out the words "an leabhar" but wanted to substitute a pronoun ("é") for them you would then say "Thosaigh mé air" where the preposition "ar" has become a prepositional pronoun "air". "Air" is deemed to be equivalent to "ar" + "é"

The other prepositional pronouns with "ar" are:

ar + mé = orm
ar + tú = ort
ar + é = air
ar + í = uirthi
ar + muid / sinn = orainn
ar + sibh = oraibh
ar + iad = orthu

That's written standard Irish. I suspect some dialects don't make much of a distinction between the pronunciation of "ar" and "air" least of all the newest dialect "canúint na bhfoghlaimeoirí" where the sound of both is likely to be closer to the English "err" than the proper sounds of "ar" and "air". The best dialect for the latter is that of Ceathrú Thaidhg in North Mayo where the speech actually sizzles with slender rs but all of that is for another thread. Foghlaimeoirí (like me) don't always hear these refined sounds and miss them. We have to keep trying.

I hope the above is of help, Acco.