Irish
In Early Modern Irish, the absolute/conjunct distinction was on the wane. It was less thoroughgoing than in Old Irish, but more than in the modern languages. In the conjunct of the present tense, endingless forms like Old Irish ·gair (cf. Gaelic glac and Manx dilg above) were gradually being replaced by forms with the ending -(e)ann. The distinction was found not only in the 3rd person singular, but also in the 1st and 3rd persons plural. Thus in Early Modern Irish, distinctions like the following were made:
| Independent | Dependent | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| molaidh | mol / molann |
praises |
| molmaoid | molam | we praise |
| molaid | molad | they praise |
The distinction was also found in the 1st and 3rd persons of the future tense:
| Independent | Dependent | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| molfad | molabh | I will praise |
| molfaidh | molfa | s/he will praise |
| molfamaoid | molfam | we will praise |
| molfaid | molfad | they will praise |
In Modern Irish, all of these distinctions have been lost. Sometimes it is the independent form that was generalized (e.g. molfaidh "will praise"), sometimes the dependent form (e.g. molann "praises").
However, the deuterotonic/prototonic distinction is still found in many irregular verbs, for example:
| Independent | Dependent | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| bhí | raibh | was |
| rinne | dearna | made |
| gheobhadh | faigheadh | would find |
| chonaic | faca | saw |
| chuaigh | deachaigh | went |
Irish has two types of relative clause: direct and indirect (see Irish syntax#Relative clauses for details). The distinction between them is shown firstly by the fact that the relative particle a triggers lenition of the following verb in direct relatives but eclipsis of the verb in indirect relatives, and secondly (where the distinction is made) it takes the independent form of the verb in direct relatives and the dependent form in indirect relatives. For example:
- an obair a bhí mé a dhéanamh "the work which I was doing" (direct relative; independent form)
- an fear a raibh a mhac san ospidéal "the man whose son was in the hospital (indirect relative; dependent form)
Irish also has two types of conditional clause, which are introduced by two different words for "if": má introduces realis clauses, and dá introduces irrealis clauses. Realis clauses indicate conditionals with a possible fulfillment (e.g. "if he is agreeable", which leaves open the possibility that he is), while irrealis clauses indicate purely hypothetical conditionals (e.g. "if it were a nice day", but it isn't). The realis particle má triggers lenition of the following verb and takes the independent form, while the irrealis particle dá triggers eclipsis and takes the dependent form. For example:
- má chonaic sí é "if she saw it" (realis; independent form)
- dá bhfaigheadh sí é "if she had found it" (irrealis; dependent form)
Read more about this topic: Dependent And Independent Verb Forms
Famous quotes containing the word irish:
“The Irish are often nervous about having the appropriate face for the occasion. They have to be happy at weddings, which is a strain, so they get depressed; they have to be sad at funerals, which is easy, so they get happy.”
—Peggy Noonan (b. 1950)
“Of all the characters I have known, perhaps Walden wears best, and best preserves its purity. Many men have been likened to it, but few deserve that honor. Though the woodchoppers have laid bare first this shore and then that, and the Irish have built their sties by it, and the railroad has infringed on its border, and the ice-men have skimmed it once, it is itself unchanged, the same water which my youthful eyes fell on; all the change is in me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“For generations, a wide range of shooting in Northern Ireland has provided all sections of the population with a pastime which ... has occupied a great deal of leisure time. Unlike many other countries, the outstanding characteristic of the sport has been that it was not confined to any one class.”
—Northern Irish Tourist Board. quoted in New Statesman (London, Aug. 29, 1969)