Book 3:
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Preface
Phonetics

exercise CXXXIV

§ 783. Is fearr liom an áit sin, I pefer that place. Ní h-í an áit sin is fearr liom, It is not that place that I prefer. Do b'ḟearr liom an fíon, I would pefer the wine. An é an fíor do b'ḟearr leat? Is it the wine that you prefer? These examples show sentences in which the verb is is also the second verb in the sentence.

§784. Atá sé 'na ḟear ṁaiṫ. He is a good man. Is é atá 'na ḟear ṁaiṫ, it is he that is a good man.

§ 785. In Connaught, they also say, by a sort of inversion, is fear maiṫ atá ann, 'tis a good man that is in him. Bó ḃreaġ atá inntí (tis) a fine cow that is in her. But this is not used in Munster, where they use another local construction— fear maiṫ is eaḋ é, he is a good man (lit., a good man, he is that). Imsir ḃreaġ is eaḋ í.

§ 786. In sentences like atá an capall agam, atá Seaġan ag an tobar, where we have (I) a verb, (2) a nominative case (3) prepositional pronoun or phrase, the emphatic form is easily arrived at. Is agam atá an capall; is ag an tobar atá Seaġan; maċ againn ḃéiḋeas an greann, is it not we who shall have the fun?

§ 787. Translate into English

An ḃfuil ocras ort, a Ṗeadair? Ó, is orm atá an t-ocras go deiṁin, atáim ar an mbóṫar ó ṁaidin, agus ní ḟuair mé [??] ná deoċ fós. An ḃfuair tú an capal; fós? Is mise naċ ḃfuair. Naċ leat-sa do ḃí éiḋmonn aréir? Ní liom is le Seaġan do ḃí sé, do ḃiḋeaḋar ar an aonaċ indé. An ar an aonaċ do ḃíḋís, a Ṡeumais? Ní h-eaḋ, í raḃas ar aonaċ i mbliaḋna. An ar maidin ḃéiḋeas Pádraig ag dul suas an sliaḃ? Feuċ an madaḋ óg, naċ é atá na ṁadaḋ ḃreaġ láidir anois! Naċ orra do ḃí an eagla, fuair do ċonnaiċ siad an rus geal; do ḃí sé ċoṁ geal le taiḋḃse. Ní ag an tobar do ḃí an ḃó, aċt ag an ngeata (nath'-ă, gate)

§ 788. Translate into Irish

• "Is it the fever you have, Peter?" says the doctor.
• "It is not," says Peter, "But it is a cold I got long ago."
• "Are you improving now?"
• "Very little" (is beag an biseaċ atá orm, or is beag é).
• Was it you that was up in the mountain this morning? No, it was my brother; he wanted a horse.
• Is it a drink they want? Yes, give them a drink of water.
• Is it this house you prefer, or this other little house?
• This is the house your father preferred, but the other house would have been better fo rhim, as he did not get his health here.

note that
phonetic
symbols
are not
necessarily pronounced
as in English

See § 13-16