p h o u k a  h o m e i r i s h  l e s s o n s  h o m e

 

§ 19. The Article and the Noun.

There is no INDEFINITE article in Irish; thus, gort means "a field." The DEFINITE article is an, "the" ( ăn : like the an- in "annoy"), as, an gort, the field. In such phrases (compare the English "a field") the stress is laid on the noun; the is no stress on the article and the vowel-sound of the article is obscure, as an gort (ăn gŭrth). In the spoken language the n of the article an is often omitted before nouns beginning with a consonant.

§ 20 The Adjective and the Noun

Adjectives, as a rule, are placed AFTER the noun which they qualify; as cú óg (koo ōg) , a young greyhound; an gort mór, the big field; gort mór árd, a big high field

§ 21 Words

árd	aurdh	high, tall	mé	mae	I
bó	(bō )	a cow	mór	(mōr)	great, big, large
bos	(bŭs)	palm of hand	óg	(ōg)	young
cos	(kŭs)	a foot	sál	(saul)	a heel
cú	(koo)	a greyhound	srón	(srōn)	nose
glas	(glos)	adj green	tú	(thoo)	thou
glún	(gloon)	knee	úr	(oor)	fresh, new
gort	(gŭrth)	a field
Proper Names:
Árt	(orth)	Art	Úna	(oon' ă )	Una
The conjunction "and"			agus	(og- ăs)	and

§ 22 ACCENTS

In words of two syllables the accent is usually upon the first syllable, as marked in oon' ă, og'- ăs. The vowel of the last syllable when short , is then, as a rule, obscure (see §14 above.