(le Róislín)

An bhfuil brón ar an madra seo? Nó náire? An mbíonn mothúcháin ar ainmhithe, ar mhadraí go háirithe?  Do bharúil?(http://pixabay.com/en/dog-basenji-hundbild-sorry-601216/, Public Domain)

A few posts ago, we looked at the Irish abbreviation ‘TBO‘ for “Tá brón orm” (nasc thíos).   This might be a good time to look at how to say that some other emotions, feelings (like hunger or thirst), or illnesses are “on you” (ort) in Irish.

How does this compare to English?  In most cases, for the emotions and feelings, we use an adjective form, like “I’m sad” or “I’m sorry” or “I’m hungry.”  For most of the illnesses, in English we say we “have” the illness (I have a cold, etc.).  In Irish, we’re typically using a form of the word “ar,” which means “on” (Sorrow is on me; A cold is on me).

First let’s look at the forms of “on” itself (8 forms, because, remember, it’s conjugated in Irish).  If you’re thinking, “conjugating prepositions” … yikes!  Well, it’s not so bad–we’re just adding the pronoun parts (me, you – singular, him, her, us, you – plural, them) to the end of the preposition itself, so “orm,” as one word, translates to two words in English “on me.”  Like this:

orm [OR-um, sort of like “forum”] on me

ort [ort, just one syllable, sort of like “sort”], on you (singular)

air [er^zh, with the buzzy slender Irish “r” that we also see in “tirim” and “Máire“], on him

uirthi [UR^zh-hee, the “t” is completely silent], on her

orainn [OR-in], on us

oraibh [OR-iv, the “bh” is like an English “v”], on you (plural)

orthu [OR-hoo; again, the “t” is completely silent], on them

And then there’s the basic form, “ar,” used when you’re actually mention the person or thing that something is “on.”   Like this:

Tá brón ar an mbean.   The woman is sad/sorry.

Tá brón ar Sheán.  Seán is sad/sorry.

Níl brón ar an “Aingeal Caointe” cé go bhfuil an tAingeal Caointe” ag caoineadh.  Sin abairt do lucht leanúna Doctor Who, ach tá an abairt ciallmhar go leor fiú muna móidín _Doctor Who_ thú.  Oooh, I got to use the “Who thú” combo arís, which sounds like “hoo-hoo.”  You might remember that phrase from the blog posted on January 23rd, 2015, which dealt with saying “I am not a number” (do lucht leanúna _The Prisoner_) and “An móidín Doctor Who thú?” (nasc thíos).

Aistriúchán: The “Weeping Angel” is not sad/sorry even though the Weeping Angel is crying.

The word “ar” can also have the basic physical meaning of “on,” as in:

Tá an leabhar ar an mbord.  The book is on the table.

And a slightly extended, but still sort of physical meaning, as in:

Tá hata orm.  I am wearing a hat, lit. a hat is on me.

So now that we’ve dealt with the forms of and basic meaning of “ar,” let’s look at some emotions and illnesses that are “on” us in Irish.   Translations are given below, but first see if you recognize some, or all, of them:

1) Tá iontas orm.

2) An bhfuil ocras ort?

3) Tá slaghdán air.

4) Tá ailléirge uirthi le seacláid.  (a double-preposition challenge!)

5) Tá tart orainn.

6) An bhfuil áthas ort?

7) Tá uathachas orthu.

And finally, a few using the basic form “ar” plus a noun:

Tá einceifealapaite spúinseach bhólachta ar an mbó sin.

Tá einceifealapaite spúinseach bhólachta ar na ba sin.

Tá náire ar Sheán. 

Bhuel, tá súil agam (note that “hope” is “at” you in Irish, not “on” you) go raibh áthas oraibh (Aha! “on you”) go raibh seans agaibh (“chances” are “at” you in Irish) a bheith ag cleachtadh na structúr seo.  SGF – Róislín

Naisc: https://blogs.transparent.com/irish/tbo-and-other-irish-phrases-with-orm/ TBO and other Irish phrases with ‘orm’ Posted on 16. Apr, 2015 by róislín in Irish Language

https://blogs.transparent.com/irish/i-am-not-an-uimhir-and-other-indefinite-predicate-nominatives-lets-say-them-in-irish/ ‘I am not an ‘uimhir’ ‘ and Other Indefinite Predicate Nominatives — Let’s Say Them in Irish  Posted on 23. Jan, 2015 by róislín in Irish Language

Aistriúchán:

1) Tá iontas orm. I am surprised.

2) An bhfuil ocras ort? Are you hungry?

3) Tá slaghdán air. He has a cold.

4) Tá ailléirge uirthi le seacláid.   She is allergic to (lit. “le,” with) chocolate.

5) Tá tart orainn.  We are thirsty.

6) An bhfuil áthas ort?  Are you happy?

7) Tá uathachas orthu.  They are autistic.

And finally, a few using the basic form “ar” plus a noun:

Tá einceifealapaite spúinseach bhólachta ar an mbó sin.  That cow has Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy.

Tá einceifealapaite spúinseach bhólachta ar na ba sin. Those cows have BSE (as above).

Tá náire ar Sheán.  Seán is ashamed/embarrassed.