PronType: pronominal type
Art: articles
Pronominal articles in Irish include the definite articles an or na. These articles can combine with prepositions to create new forms, e.g., an + de = den (“from the”), an + faoi = faoin (“under the”), na + i = sna (“in the”).
Examples
- an tuairim “the opinion”
- na seirbhíse “the services”
- san áit “in the place”
- faoin suíochán “under the seat”
Dem: demonstrative
Irish demonstrative pronouns indicate nearness to the speaker, whether this is a difference of time or space. There are three main degrees of closeness: near to the speaker (seo, “this/these”), of some distance to the speaker (sin, “that/those”), and of greater distance to the speaker (siúd, úd, “that/those over there”).
Examples
- Caithfidh mé sin a fhoghlaim “I have to learn that”
- an ceo seo “this fog”
- Ina measc siúd “in the midst of that”
Emp: emphatic
Personal pronouns (including prepositional pronouns) can take an emphatic suffix (se/sa) depending on whether the root has a broad or slender final vowel. The suffix -an is also used in some cases (leosan “with them”, eisean “him”, seisean “he” )
Examples
- Mise amháin a thabharfas aire dó “I alone would take care of him” (no-one else)
- Ní fios domsa “I don’t know/ (lit. The information is not at-me)”
- ar seisean “said he” (not her, them, etc)
Ind: indefinite
Indefinite pronouns are used to refer to unspecified quantities or persons.
Examples
- beidh cibé méid ann “there will be however many there”
- ní raibh aon duine acu ag goil “nobody (lit. not one person of them) was crying”
- ar gach uile Chaitliceach “at every single Catholic”
Int: interrogative
The interrogative pronouns can be used to specify or question a specific noun. The pronouns used for inanimate things include cén, cad, céard, cathain, conas and cá, while cé can be used for persons, places or things. These interrogative pronouns can be combined with other nouns to form common question phrases, such as cén fáth (“what reason”), and cé mhéad (“how many”)
Examples
- cén tréimhse a bhí i gceist “which period was in question”
- cad é sin? “what is that?”
- cé atá ag comóradh “who is assembling”
Prs: person
Examples
- mé, tú, sé, sí, sinn, siad “I, you, he, she, we, they”
Rel: relative
The relative pronoun in Irish is a (or ná), and is used to introduce a relative clause or adverbial clause. It can combine with other words, such as the possible combinations with the present form of the verb bí “to be”, as in atá or atáimse, with the copula is, as in ab, or with the preposition le “with”, as in lena.
Examples
- le grúpa a bhí ag iarraidh “with a group that was trying”
- a dúirt sí “she said”
- File ab ea Dónall Ó Muláin “(lit. it was a poet that Dónall Ó Muláin was)”
- seanáiteanna atá luaite sa leabhar “old places that are mentioned in the book”
PronType in other languages: [arr] [bej] [bg] [bm] [bor] [cs] [el] [en] [es] [fi] [fr] [ga] [gd] [gn] [gub] [gun] [hu] [hy] [it] [ka] [kpv] [ky] [la] [myu] [pcm] [qpm] [sga] [sl] [sv] [tr] [tt] [u] [uk] [urj] [zh]