Chapter 3 - The Pronoun

§60. — Personal Pronouns.

Personal Pronouns, as in other languages, agree with their antecedents in number, gender, and person.

If a sentence be the antecedent, the pronoun will be the third person singular masculine ; but if a noun of multitude be the antecedent, the pronoun will be the third person plural.

If two or more persons or things be mentioned, the pronoun will agree with the first person rather than the second, and with the second rather than the third — ḃuail sé túsa agus mise, agus ḃí sinn tín, he struck you and me. and we were sick.

The personal pronouns, when compounded with prepositions, as given in § 27, are used with the substantive verb bi, and with other verbs to form certain idiomatic expressions. We subjoin a few examples.

Agam, means literally, with me ; but, when used with bi, serves in place of the verb to have; as, tá agam leaḃar, I have a book; tá agad, you have (sing.) ; tá age, he has ;beiḋ siad agad, you shall have them : ta fios d'intin agamsa, I know your intention; naċ ḃfuil ocras ort? are you not hungry ? cá hainim atá ort ? what is your name? nil neart agam air, I cannot help it; an ḃfuil aon niḋ uait? do you want any thing?

§61. —Possessive Pronouns

The possessive pronouns always precede their nouns ; as, mo ċeann, my head.

On the position of the emphatic increase when used with possessives, see § 28.

The possessive pronouns, when either compounded with, or preceded by, the preposition ann, in, expressed or understood, are used with the substantive verb bí, to denote an office or state of being ; as, tá sé 'na ṡagart , he is a priest, literally, he is in his priest's state.

§62. — Relative and Interrogative Pronouns

The Relative Pronoun a, whether expressed or understood, aspirates the initial mntables of verbs, except when a preposition governing the relative precedes it, and the relative is not the nominative to the verb ; in such a case it eclipses instead of aspirating. The preposition may sometimes be understood.

On the reason for the eclipsis, see § 29.

The relative always precedes the verb, and, being indeclinable, the context must decide 'whether it is the agent or the object; as, an fear a ḃuaileas me, the man whom I strike ; an fear a ḃaileas me, the man who strikes me.

" The relative is often omitted when it is either preceded or followed by a vowel or an aspirated consonant ; as, an giolla ṫug an gearrán leis , the boy that brought the horse with him" — Neilson.

The Interrogative Pronouns always precede the verb with which they are connected ; as, go dé mar tú tu? how do you do? If the interrogative should be under the government of a preposition, it is still placed first ; and the preposition follows with a personal pronoun expressed, unless the interrogative should be connected directly with a noun ; as, cia leis a ḃfuil? with whom is lief

§63. — Demonstrative and Indefinite

The Demonstrative Pronouns immediately follow the nouns or adjectives with which they may be connected ; as, an ḃean sin, that woman.

There is one exception to the foregoing : — viz. where the assertive present is is understood; as, so an fear, this is the man.

"The pronouns creudi, gode, cia, are common used without interrogation, as demonstratives ; as, tá ḟios agam go dé a ḋéarfá, I know what you would say." — Neilson.

Uile, when placed before a noun, signifies every, and takes the noun in the singular ; but when placed after a noun, it has the meaning of all, and the noun is then put in the plural ; as, uile fear, every man ; fir uile, all men.