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Tag Archives: plural)

As Easy As “Pióg”: How To Say Kinds of Pies in Irish Posted by on Nov 12, 2011

(le Róislín) In the end, you’ll need to be your own judge as to whether this is really “as easy as pie,” but here at least are some tips for naming different types of pies.  And as two holiday seasons approach, Lá Altaithe (Meiriceá) and An Nollaig, what tastier topic? So let’s look at the terms for…

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Laethanta na Seachtaine i bhFrásaí le “Dé” (Days of the Week, with Pronunciation, in “Dé” Phrases) Posted by on Sep 27, 2011

(le Róislín) As alluded to in the previous blog, there are two main ways to refer to the days of the week in Irish.  One is when the day is the subject of the sentence, as in “Inniu an Luan” (Today is Monday).  The other form is preceded by the word “Dé” instead of the…

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Laethanta na Seachtaine (Days of the Week, in Irish, with pronunciation) Posted by on Sep 24, 2011

(le Róislín) And one more féilire-related topic: laethanta na seachtaine.  Which could also be called “laethe na seachtaine.”  Both plural forms of “lá” are widely used, “laethanta” and “laethe.” You’ve already noticed the use of “an tuiseal ginideach” in this phrase, right?  That accounts for the “-e” ending to the word “seachtain.”  Since we’re saying…

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Cúpla Caife Gaelach, Dhá Chaife Ghaelacha (A Couple of Irish Coffees vs. Two Irish Coffees) Posted by on Aug 20, 2011

(le Róislín) Lenition, another lenition, and a plural ending.  That’s the difference that happens when we say “two Irish coffees” as opposed to “a couple of Irish coffees.” So how does that work? As we discussed in the last blog, the Irish word “cúpla” is followed by the singular form of the noun (unlike English…

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Rudaí Gaelacha, Rudaí Éireannacha Posted by on Aug 17, 2011

(le Róislín) We’ve recently discussed rudaí Francacha and a cluster of rudaí Ollannacha, rudaí Dúitseacha, agus rudaí Ísiltíreacha.  How about now cúpla rud Gaelach agus cúpla rud Éireannach? And before we proceed with the interesting cultural “stuif,” let’s look at the structures in the paragraph thuas. Rudaí is a plural noun (plural of rud, thing)…

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What’s the “Tuiseal” of “an Tuiseal Ginideach” Anyway? Posted by on Apr 5, 2011

(le Róislín) By now, you’ve probably heard the term “tuiseal” quite a bit in discussing Irish nouns.  It’s generally translated as “case” as in “an tuiseal gairmeach” (“a Shinéad” for “Sinéad” in the “vocative” case) or as in “an tuiseal ginideach” (“cóta Sheáin” for “John’s coat” in the “genitive” case), etc. Of course, this isn’t…

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Na hUimhreacha Pearsanta i nGaeilge (Irish Personal Numbers and Cuid a Cúig or the Last Installment of Dhá Lá Dhéag na Nollag) Posted by on Jan 6, 2011

(le Róislín) Fotheideal (perhaps too long for the subject line): Ag comhaireamh na ndaoine san amhrán “Dhá Lá Dhéag na Nollag” Learning to use the numbers in Irish is often considered one of the more challenging aspects of the language.   Often you start out with the “maoluimhreacha” (independent numbers) such as “a haon, a dó…

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