NounType: NounType
In Irish, noun forms fall into certain groups or declentions (see Form). These nouns follow patterns of inflection depending on gender, number and case. The noun type feature affects the form of modifying adjectives, and so is a feature of both parts of speech.
Strong: strong plurals
The form of a strong plural remains unchanged regardless of grammatical case, i.e. it does not inflect.
Examples
- bláthanna “flowers” (nominative, accusative, genitive)
- oibreacha “works” (nominative, accusative, genitive)
- cótaí “coats” (nominative, accusative, genitive)
Weak: weak plurals
Unlike the strong plural, a weak plural noun is different in the nominative, accusative and genitive cases.
Examples
- focail “words” (nominative, accusative)
- focal “words” (genitive)
- Aontais “Unions” (nominative, accusative)
- Aontas “Unions” (genitive)
Adjectives in Irish can have endings that are slender or not slender (broad). Depending on how the preceding noun ends, the form of the adjective can change.
NotSlender: broad consonants
A final consonant is termed broad if the preceding vowel is broad (a, á, o, ó, u, ú). The feature ‘NotSlender’ applies to adjectives qualifying a plural noun that ends in a broad consonant or a vowel.
Examples
- dathanna príomhúla
- nótaí praiticiúla
Slender: slender consonants
A final consonant is termed slender if the preceding vowel is slender (e, é, i, í). The feature ‘Slender’ applies to adjectives qualifying a plural noun that ends in a slender consonant.
Examples
- na heagrais dheonacha
- thuaithe cháilitheacha
NounType in other languages: [azz] [ga] [koi] [kpv] [mdf] [myv] [nci] [nhi] [quc] [sq] [u]