Abbreviations and Grammar Explanations

ar lean.

ar leanúint

bain.

baininscneach

fir.

firinscneach

gin.

tuiseal ginideach

gin. iol.

tuiseal ginideach iolra

iol.

iolra

sb.

saorbhriathar

tabh.

tuiseal tabharthach

u.

uatha

()

words in parentheses in the middle of an example may be used or omitted

a out of do

refers to the particle a being derived from do e.g., rud a dhéanamh

copular sentence

a sentence where the subject is connected to the object, e.g., ba cheoltóir é; is fada liom uaim í

adverbial phrase

a phrase that has applications as an adverb, e.g., chríochnaigh siad ar deireadh; níl sé ar fáil

adjective

a word that qualifies a noun or pronominal, e.g., an carr dearg; an bosca mór; tá sé fliuch

verbal noun

a word that has applications both as a noun and a verb, e.g., deireadh na heitilte, ag eitilt; foghlaim a fháil, ag foghlaim

proper noun

a name of a certain person or a place, e.g., Liam; Éire

noun

word that is used in reference to a person or a place or a thing or an idea, e.g., bean; bóthar; camán; díograis

subject

the main noun (or its equivalent) in a sentence, e.g., cheannaigh Nuala mála nua, tá páipéar ar an mbord; canfaidh sé amhrán

clause

phrase that is linked to another phrase, e.g., chuaigh sí chun na hoifige [agus thosaigh sí ag obair]; [tá an lá tirim] ach níl sé te

relative clause

clause in which there is a relative particle or in which there is a relative form of a verb, e.g., sin í an cailín a dhún an doras ar maidin; cá bhfuil an bhróg nár ghlan tú inné?

slender consonant

consonant to which e or i is the closest vowel

lenitable consonant

a consonant that can undergo lenition — b, c, d, f, g, m, p, s (except for sc-, sf-, sm-, sp-, st- and sv-) and t

eclipsable consonant

a consonant that can undergo eclipsis — b, c, d, f, g, p and t

broad consonant

consonant where a, o or u are the nearest vowels

accusative

a noun (or its equivalent) that represents a person (or thing) on which an action is performed, e.g., léigh mé leabhar; tá an leabhar léite agam; léigh mé *é*;

diminutive

a suffix that makes a noun small, e.g., -ín; noun to which this suffix is applied, e.g., buachaillín

adverb

word or word group that qualifies another word that is not a noun or pronominal, e.g., rith sé go tapa; bhí sé mall go leor; bhí sí thuas beagnach nuair a thit sí

adjectival adverb

adverb that has an adjective form (with go or without go), e.g., ní thagann sí minic go leor; bhí sé díreach ag éirí; d’iarr sí air labhairt go cruinn

subordinate clause

clause that depends on a main clause it is related to, , e.g., chuala mé scéal nuair a bhí mé óg

prepositional clause

subordinate clause that starts on a preposition e.g., chun na bainise; ó dhaltaí scoile; leis an Roinn

proleptic prominal

pronominal that comes before the thing to which it refers, e.g., tá a fhios agam gurb ise a rinne é; ba mhaith liom a rá go bhfuilim an-bhuíoch díbh

adjectival function

a function that is the same as an adjective, that is to say, to qualify a noun or pronomnial, e.g., pingin ar bith; turas ar an Afraic

prepositional phrase

a small phrase (with two words, at least) that starts with a preposition, e.g., ar bith; ar leith; den scoth; in aisce

partitive genitive

genitive that qualifies a noun of quantity or part, e.g., roinnt aráin; mo chuid eolais; tuilleadh siúcra

subsequent

a pronominal, including a possessive adjective, that refers back to the the proleptic in an indirect relative clause, e.g., sin é an fear a bhfuil an carr aige

inflexion

change in word affixes to show the different functions of the word, e.g., amhrán, amhráin; beag, bige; can, canaigí

bare

in the personal numbers, no noun following

main clause

a clause that is not dependent on any other clause, e.g., chuala mé scéal nuair a bhí mé óg

compound preposition

a specific prepositional phrase that has a meaning as a unit and usually formed by preposition + noun, e.g., ar nós; d’ainneoin; thar ceann.
A prepositional phrase of this form is a compound preposition if the noun has another meaning in another context, for example, i gcás (in case) is a prepositional phrase meaning if; not a prepositional phrase i gcás meaning in a bag/case, in legal proceedings

simple preposition

a word placed before a noun or before a pronominal to show its relationship to another word in the sentence, e.g., bhuail mé le hÁine; chuir sé fáilte roimh na haíonna

antecedent

word or phrase in a main clause that goes directly before the relative particle, e.g., na mná a bhí ag caint

emphatic prefix

particle that goes before a word to stress it, e.g., tá sé an-chairdiúil; an-pheileadóir is ea í

partitive dative

the form preposition + dative, used in place of the partitive gentive, e.g., roinnt den arán; beirt de na páistí; cuid d’airgead Thomáis