Elements of Gaelic Grammar

Plural Number.

Nominative. Masculine nouns which insert i in the gen. sing. have their nom. plur. like the gen. sing.; as, oglach m. a servant, g. s. oglaich, n. p. oglaich; fear m. a man, g. s. and n. p. fir. Many of these form their nom. plur. also by adding a short a to the nominative singular. Other masculine nouns, and all feminine nouns, have their nom. plural in a, to which n is added, euphoniæ causa, before an initial vowel^[37].

Particular Rules for forming the Nom. Plur. in a or an.

1. By adding a to the nom. singular; as, dubhar m. a shadow, n. p. dubhara; rioghachd f. a kingdom, n. p. rioghachdan. Under this Rule, some nouns suffer a syncope; as, dorus m. a door, n. p. dorsa for dorusa.

2. Nouns ending in l or nn, often insert t before a; as, reul m. a star, n. p. reulta; beann f. a pinnacle, n. p. beannta. So lòn m. a marsh, n. p. lòintean.

3. Some nouns in ar drop the a, and add to the nom. sing. the syllable aich; and then the final a becomes e, to correspond to the preceding small vowel; as, leabhar m. a book, n. p. leabhraiche; tobar m. a well, n. p. tobraiche; lann. f. an enclosure, inserts d, n. p. lanndaiche. Piuthar f. a sister, from the g. s. peathar, has n. p. peathraiche; so leaba f. a bed, g. s. leapa, n. p. leapaiche. Bata m. a staff, n. p. batacha; la or latha a day, n. p. lathachan or laithean.

4. Some polysyllables in ach add e or ean to the genitive singular; as, mullach m. summit, g. s. mullaich, n. p. mullaichean; otrach m. a dunghill, n. p. otraichean; clarsach f. a harp, n. p. clarsaichean; deudach f. the jaw, n. p. deudaichean. So sliabh m. a moor, g. s. sleibh, with t inserted, n. p. sleibhte. Sabhul m. a barn, g. s. sabhuil, n. p. saibhlean, contracted for sabhuilean.

The following Nouns form their Nominative Plural irregularly: Dia m. God, n. p. dée or diathan; scian f. a knife, n. p. sceana or scinichean; sluagh m. people, n. p. sloigh; bo. f. a cow, n. p. ba.

Genitive. 1. Monosyllables, and nouns which form their nominative plural like the genitive singular, have the genitive plural like the nominative singular; as, geug f. a branch, g. p. geug; coimhearsnach m. a neighbour, g. s. and n. p. coimhearsnach.

2. Polysyllables which have their nominative plural in a or an, form the genitive like the nominative; leabhar m. a book, n. p. and g. p. 'leabraichean'—When the nominative plural is twofold, the genitive is so too; as 'fear' n. a man, n. p. fir, or sometimes feara, g. p. fear or feara.

Cu m. a dog has its g. p. con; caora f. a sheep, g. p. caorach; sluagh m. people, g. p. sluagh or slogh.

Dative. The dative plural is formed either from the nominative singular or from the nominative plural. If the nominative plural ends in a consonant, the dative plural is formed by adding ibh to the nominative singular; as, crann m. a tree, n. p. croinn, d. p. crannaibh; mac m. a son, n. p. mic, d. p. macaibh. If the nominative plural ends in a vowel, the final vowel is changed into ibh; as, tobar a well, n. p. tobraiche, d. p. tobraichibh.

2. Monosyllables ending in an aspirated consonant, which have their nominative plural like the genitive singular, form their dative plural like the nominative plural; as, damh an ox, g. s. and n. p. daimh, d. p. daimh, not damhaibh; fiadh m. a deer, g. s. and n. p. and d. p. feidh. So sluagh m. people, host, g. s. sluaigh, n. p. and d. p. sloigh. Nouns ending in ch, of three or more syllables, form their dative plural like the nominative plural, rather than in ibh; as, coimhearsnach m. a neighbour, d. p. coimhearsnaich rather than coimhearsnachaibh; phairiseach m. a Pharisee, d. p. phairisich rather than phairiseachaibh.

Vocative. The vocative plural is like the nominative plural, terminating in a, but seldom in an; as, fear m. a man, n. p. fir or feara, v. p. fheara; oglach m. a servant, n. p. oglaich, v. p. oglacha. Except perhaps monosyllables which never form their nominative plural in a, nor their dative plural in ibh; as, damh m. an ox, n. p. daimh, v. p. dhaimh; a shloigh, Rom. xv. 11.

The irregular noun Bean f. a woman, is declined thus:

SECOND DECLENSION.

Formation of the cases of nouns of the second Declension.

Singular Number.

General Rule for the Genitive. The genitive of polysyllables is like the nominative; of monosyllables is made by adding e to the nominative; as, caraid m. a friend, g. s. caraid; aimsir f. time, g. s. aimsir; tigh m. a house, g. s. tighe; ainm m. a name, g. s. ainme; im m. butter, g. s. ime; craig f. a rock, g. s. craige.

Particular Rules for the Genitive. 1. Feminine nouns in ail and air drop the i and add ach; if the nominative be a polysyllable, ai is thrown away; as, sail f. a beam, g. s. salach; dail f. a plain, g. s. dalach; lair f. a mare, g. s. làrach; cathair f. a seat, g. s. cathrach; nathair f. a serpent, g. s. nathrach; lasair f. a flame, g. s. lasrach. To these add còir f. right, g. s. còrach or còire.

2. Monosyllables characterised by oi drop i and add a; as, feoil f. flesh, g. s. feola; tòin f. bottom, g. s. tòna; sròin f. the nose, g. s. sròine or sròna.

3. Monosyllables characterised by ui change ui into a or o, and add a; as, muir f. the sea, g. s. mara; fuil f. blood, g. s. fola or fala; druim f. a ridge, g. s. droma. Except sùil f. the eye, g. s. sùla; cuid f. a part, g. s. codach or cuid.

4. A few feminine polysyllables in eir form their genitive like monosyllables; as, inneir f. dung, g. s. inneire; suipeir f. supper, g. s. suipeire.

5. The following dissyllables seem to have formed their genitive like monosyllables, and then suffered a contraction. Sometimes the characteristic vowel is retained, and sometimes it is thrown away, the final e of the genitive being converted into a, when requisite to suit an antecedent broad vowel.

6. The following nouns form their genitive by dropping the characteristic small vowel; athair m. a father, g. s. athar; mathair f. a mother, g. s. mathar; brathair m. a brother, g. s. brathar; namhaid m. an enemy, g. s. namhad. Cnaimh m. a bone, g. s. cnamha; uaimh f. a cave, g. s. uamha. Mil f. honey, has g. s. meala.

7. A few monosyllables ending in a vowel have their genitive like the nominative; as, ni m. a thing, ti m. a person, ré m. the moon; to which add righ m. a king.

Dative. The dative singular is like the nominative; as, duine m. a man, d. s. duine; madainn f. morning, d. s. madainn.

Vocative. The vocative singular is like the nominative, as, caraid m. friend, v. s. charaid; mathair f. mother, v. s. mhathair.

Plural Number.

Nominative.—General Rule. The nominative plural is formed by adding to the nominative singular a or an, written e or ean to correspond to a preceding small vowel; as, piobair m. a piper, n. p. piobairean; aimsir f. time, season, n. p. aimsirean. Some nouns suffer a contraction in the nominative plural; as, caraid m. a friend, n. p. càirdean; naimhaid m. an enemy, n. p. naimhdean; fiacail f. a tooth, n. p. fiaclan.

Particular Rules. 1. Some nouns, whose last consonant is l or n, insert t in the nominative plural; as, tuil f. a flood, n. p. tuilte; smuain f. thought, n. p. smuaintean; coille f. a wood, n. p. coilltean; àithne f. a command, n. p. àithnte. The t is aspirated in dail f. a plain, n. p. dailthean; sail f. a beam, n. p. sailthean.

2. Some nouns in air, chiefly such as form their genitive singular in ach, retain the same syllable in the nominative plural, and insert i after a; as,

So also cuid f. a part, from the g. s. codach, has the n. p. codaichean; athair m. a father, n. p. aithrichean; mathair f. a mother, n. p. maithrichean. To which add amhainn f. a river, n. p. aimhnichean; uisge m. water, n. p. uisgeachan; cridhe m. the heart, n. p. cridheachan.

The following nouns form their nominative plural irregularly; duine m. a man, n. p. daoine; righ m. a king, n. p. righre; ni m. a thing, n. p. nithe; cliamhuinn m. a son-in-law, or brother-in-law, n. p. cleamhna.

Genitive. The genitive plural of monosyllables and masculine polysyllables is twofold, like the nominative singular, and like the nominative plural; as, righ m. a king, g. p. righ or righre. The genitive plural of feminine polysyllables is like the nominative plural only; as, amhainn f. a river, g. p. aimhnichean. Suil f. the eye, has its g. p. sùl.

Dative. The dative plural is formed from the nominative plural by changing the final vowel into ibh; as, coluinn f. the body, n. p. coluinne, d. p. coluinnibh; cridhe m. the heart, n. p. cridheacha, d. p. cridheachaibh.

Vocative. The vocative plural is like the nominative plural; as, duine m. a man, n. p. daoine, v. p. dhaoine.

Final a or e in all the singular cases of polysyllables is occasionally cut off, especially in verse; as, leab bed, teang tongue, coill wood, cridh heart.

Of the Initial form of Nouns.

In nouns beginning with a consonant, all the cases admit of the aspirated form. In the vocative singular and plural the aspirated form alone is used, except in nouns beginning with a lingual, which are generally in the primary form, when preceded by a lingual; as, a sheann duine old man. Nouns beginning with s followed by a mute consonant have no aspirated form, because s in that situation does not admit of the aspirate. In nouns beginning with l, n, r, a distinction is uniformly observed in pronouncing the initial consonant, corresponding precisely to the distinction of primary and aspirated forms in nouns beginning with other consonants. This distinction has already been fully stated in treating of pronunciation.

The general use of the singular and plural numbers has been already mentioned. A remarkable exception occurs in the Gaelic. When the numerals fichead twenty, ceud a hundred, mile a thousand, are prefixed to a noun, the noun is not put in the plural, but in the singular number, and admits no variation of case. The termination of a noun preceded by da two, is the same with that of the dative singular, except when the noun is governed in the genitive case, and then it is put in the genitive plural^[38]; when preceded by fichead, ceud, &c., the termination is that of the nominative singular; thus da laimh two hands, da chluais two ears, dà fhear two men, fichead làmh twenty hands, ceud fear a hundred men, mìle caora a thousand sheep, deich mìle bliadhna ten thousand years^[39].

CHAPTER III.

OF ADJECTIVES.

An adjective is a word used along with a noun, to express some quality of the person or thing signified by the noun.

Adjectives undergo changes which mark their relation to other words. These changes are made, like those on nouns, partly on the beginning, and partly on the termination, and may be fitly denominated by the same names. The changes on the beginning are made by aspirating an initial consonant. The numbers and cases, like those of nouns, are distinguished by changes on the termination. The gender is marked partly by the initial form, partly by the termination.

Adjectives whereof the characteristic vowel is broad, follow, in most of their inflections, the form of nouns of the first declension, and may be termed Adjectives of the first declension. Those adjectives whereof the characteristic vowel is small, may be called Adjectives of the second declension.

Example of Adjectives of the First Declension.

Formation of the Cases of Adjectives of the First Declension.

Singular.

Nominative. The feminine gender is, in termination, like the masculine.

The other cases, both mas. and fem., are formed from the nominative, according to the rules already given for forming the cases of nouns of the first declension. Take the following examples in adjectives:—

Genitive.—General rule. Marbh dead, g. s. m. mhairbh, f. mairbhe; dubh black, g. s. m. dhuibh, f. duibhe; fadalach tedious, g. s. m. fhadalaich, f. fadalaich.

Particular rules. 1. Sona happy, g. s. m. shona, f. sona; aosda aged, g. s. m. and f. aosda; beo alive, g. s. m. bheo, f. beo.

2. Bochd poor, g. s. m. bhochd, f. bochd; gearr short, g. s. m. ghearr, f. gearr.

3. Breagh fine, g. s. m. bhreagha, f. breagha.

4. Crion little, diminutive, g. s. m. chrìn, f. crìne.

5. Donn brown, g. s. m. dhuinn, f. duinne; gorm blue, g. s. m. ghuirm, f. guirme; lom bare, g. s. m. luim, f. luime. But dall blind, g. s. m. dhoill, f. doille; mall slow, g. s. m. mhoill, f. moille; like the nouns crann, clann.

6. Cinnteach certain, g. s. m. chinntich, f. cinntich; maiseach beautiful, g. s. m. mhaisich, f. maisich. Tearc rare, g. s. m, theirc, f. teirce; dearg red, g. s. m. dheirg, f. deirge; deas ready, g. s. m. dheis, f. deise. Breac speckled, g. s. m, bhric, f. brice; geal white, g. s. m. ghil, f. gile.

7. Geur sharp, g. s. m. ghéir, f. géire; like the nouns breug, geug.

8. Liath hoary, g. s. m. leith, f. léithe; dian keen, g. s. m. dhéin, f. déine.

Irregulars. Odhar pale, g. s. m. and f. uidhir; bodhar deaf, g. s. m. bhuidhir, f. buidhir.

Dative.—General rule. Uasal noble, d. s. m. uasal f. uasail; bodhar deaf, d. s. m. bodhar, f. bhuidhir.

Particular rule. 1. Trom heavy, d. s. m. trom, f. thruim.

Vocative. Beag small, v. s. m. bhig, f. bheag.

Plural.

In Monosyllables the plural, through all its cases, is formed by adding a to the nom. sing.; in Polysyllables, it is like the nom. sing.; as, crom crooked, pl. croma; tuirseach melancholy, pl. tuirseach.

A few Dissyllables form their Plural like Monosyllables, and suffer a contraction; as, reamhar fat, pl. reamhra, contracted for reamhara. Gen. xli. 20.

Adjectives of the Second Declension.

All the Cases of Adjectives of the Second Declension are formed according to the general rules for nouns of the second declension; that is, Monosyllables add e for the gen. sing. fem. and for the plural cases; Polysyllables are like the nom. sing. throughout.

In the Second Declension, as in the First, Dissyllables sometimes suffer a contraction in the plural; as, milis sweet, pl. milse contracted for milise.

Of the Initial Form of Adjectives.

Adjectives admit the aspirated form through all the Numbers and Cases. In Adjectives beginning with a Labial or a Palatal, the aspirated form alone is used in the gen. and voc. sing. masc. the nom. dat. and voc. sing. feminine.

Comparison of Adjectives.

There are in Gaelic two forms of Comparison, which may be called the First and the Second Comparative.

The First Comparative is formed from the gen. sing. mas. by adding e; as, geal white, g. s. m. gil, comp. gile, ghile; ciontach guilty, g. s. m. ciontaich, comp. ciontaiche. Some Adjectives suffer a contraction in the Comparative; as, bodhar deaf, comp. buidhre for buidhire; boidheach pretty, comp. boidhche for boidhiche.

If the last letter of the gen. be a, it is changed into e, and i inserted before the last consonant; as, fada long, g. s. m. fada, comp. faide; tana thin, g. s. m. tana, comp. taine.

The Second Comparative is formed from the first, by changing final e into id; as, trom heavy, 1. comp. truime, 2. comp. truimid; tiugh thick, 1. comp. tiuighe, 2. comp. tiuighid. Many Adjectives, especially Polysyllables, do not admit of the Second Comparative.

Both these forms of Comparison have an aspirated as well as a primary form, but are otherwise indeclinable.

The following Adjectives are compared irregularly.

To these may be added the nouns—

Moran a great number or quantity, and Tuilleadh more.

The Superlative, which is but a particular mode of expressing comparison, is the same in form with the First Comparative.

An eminent degree of any quality is expressed by putting one of the particles ro, glé, before the Positive; as, ro ghlic very wise, glé gheal very white. The same effect is produced by prefixing fior true, sàr exceeding, &c., which words are, in that case, used adverbially; as, fior mhaiseach truly beautiful, sàr mhaith exceedingly good.

Cardinal Numbers.

Cardinal Numbers joined to a Noun.

Ordinal Numbers.

The following numeral Nouns are applied only to persons:—

CHAPTER IV.

OF PRONOUNS.

The Pronouns are, for the most part, words used instead of nouns. They may be arranged under the following divisions: Personal, Possessive, Relative, Demonstrative, Interrogative, Indefinite, Compound.

The Personal Pronouns are those of the 1st, 2d, and 3d persons. They have a Singular and a Plural Number, a Simple and an Emphatic Form. They are declined thus:—

The Pronoun 'sibh' you, of the plural number is used almost universally in addressing a single person of superior rank or of greater age; while 'tu' thou, of the singular number is used in addressing an inferior or an equal. But the degree of seniority or of superiority, which is understood to entitle a person to this token of respect, varies in different parts of the Highlands^[41]. The Supreme Being is always addressed by the pronoun 'tu' thou, of the singular number.

The Possessive Pronouns correspond to the Personal Pronouns, and, like them, may be called those of the 1st, 2d, and 3d persons singular, and 1st, 2d, and 3d persons plural. They have an Emphatic Form, which is made by connecting the syllable sa with the possessive pronoun of the 1st, 2d, and 3d persons singular, and 2d person plural; ne with that of the 1st person plural, and san with that of the 3d person plural. These syllables are placed immediately after the nouns to which the possessive pronouns are prefixed, and connected by a hyphen.

These Pronouns are as follow:—

If the noun be followed by an adjective, the emphatic syllable is affixed to the adjective; as, do làmh gheal-sa thy white hand.

The possessive pronouns mo, do, when followed by a vowel, commonly lose the o, whose absence is marked by an apostrophe; as, m' aimn my name; d' athair^[42] thy father. The same pronouns when preceded by the preposition ann in, suffer a transposition of their letters, and are written am, ad, one broad vowel being substituted for another, as, ann ad chridhe in thy heart, 1 Sam. xiv. 7, ann am aire in my thoughts.

The possessive pronoun a his, is often suppressed altogether after a vowel; as, na sanntaich bean do choimhearsnaich, no oglach, no bhanoglach, no dhamh, no asal, covet not thy neighbour's wife, or his man-servant, or his maid-servant, &c., Exod. xx. 17. In these and similar instances, as the tense is but imperfectly expressed (especially when the noun begins with a vowel), and cannot be gathered with certainty from any other part of the sentence, perhaps it might be an improvement to retain the pronoun, even at the expense of cutting off the final vowel of the preceding word; as, n' a oglach, n' a bhanoglaich, &c. In many cases, however, this appears hardly practicable; as, cha bheo athair his father is not alive, which could not with any propriety be written cha bheo a athair^[43].

The word fein corresponding to the English words self, own, is subjoined occasionally both to the personal and possessive pronouns: thus mi fein myself, mise fein I myself, thu fein thyself, thusa fein thou thyself, or thy own self, mo shluagh fein my own people.

The other Pronouns are as follow:—

CHAPTER V.

OF VERBS.

A word that signifies to be, to do, or to suffer anything, is called a Verb.

The Verb in Gaelic, as in other languages, is declined by Voices, Moods, Tenses, Numbers, and Persons.

The Voices are two: Active and Passive.

The Moods are five: the Affirmative or Indicative, the Negative or Interrogative, the Subjunctive, the Imperative, and the Infinitive. Many, but not all, Transitive Verbs have a Passive Participle.

The Tenses are three: the Present, the Preterite, and the Future.

The Numbers are two: Singular and Plural.

The Persons are three: First, Second, and Third. The distinction of number and person takes place only in a few tenses.

The inflections of Verbs, like those of nouns, are made by changes at the beginning, and on the termination.

The changes on the termination are made according to one model, and by the same rules. But for the sake of stating some diversity in the initial changes, it may be convenient to arrange the verbs in two conjugations, whereof the first comprehends those verbs which begin with a consonant, the second, those verbs which begin with a vowel. Verbs beginning with f, followed by a vowel, are ranged under the second conjugation, along with verbs beginning with a vowel.

The verb Bi be, which is used as an auxiliary to other verbs, is declined as follows:—

Bi, be.

Affirmative or Indicative Mood.

Negative or Interrogative Mood.

Subjunctive Mood.

Compound Tenses.

The present affirmative ta is often written tha. This is one of many instances where there appears reason to complain of the propensity remarked in Part I. in those who speak the Gaelic, to attenuate its articulations by aspiration. Another corrupt way of writing ta which has become common, is ata. This has probably taken its rise from uniting the relative to the verb; as, an uair ata mi; instead of an uair a ta, &c., mar a ta, &c. Or perhaps it may have proceeded from a too compliant regard to a provincial pronunciation.

The pret. neg. robh appears to be made up of the verbal participle ro, the same with do, and bha, throwing away the last vowel; ro bha, robh.

The verb and pronoun of the 1st per. sing. and 3d per. plur. are frequently incorporated into one word, and written taim I am, taid they are.

The pres. neg. loses the initial bh after the participle cha not, mur if not, nach that not; n is inserted, euphoniae causa, betwixt the participle cha and the verb; as, cha n 'eil, mur 'eil, nach 'eil. This Tense is often pronounced beil after the participle am; as, am beil e? is it?

In the North Highlands, the pret. neg. often takes the common verbal participle do before it; as, cha do robh mi, or cha d'robh mi, I was not.

Initial b of the fut. neg. is aspirated after the participle cha not; as, cha bhi.

Initial bh of the pret. subj. loses the aspiration after the participles ni not, mur if not, nach that not, gu that, nam if; as, mur bithinn, nam bitheadh tu.

The subjunct. and imper. often suffer a contraction, by changing ithea into io; as, biodh, biom, bios, &c.

Some of the compound tenses of Bi are rarely if ever used. They are here given complete, because they correspond to the analogy of other verbs; and show how accurately the various modifications of time may be expressed by the substantive verb itself.

Example of a verb of the First Conjugation. Buail to strike.

ACTIVE VOICE.

Simple Tenses.

Affirmative or Indicative Moods.

Negative or Interrogative Mood.

Subjunctive Mood.

Compound Tenses.

Affirmative Mood.

Negative Mood

Subjunctive Mood.