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Compendium Gramadaí Gaeilge

Ainmfhocal + aidiacht

Noun + adjective

Pléann an téacs seo le cásanna nuair a bhíonn ainmfhocal agus aidiacht ag seasamh in éindí agus an aidiacht in úsáid go haitreabúideach ag an ainmfhocal, mar shampla duine dílis. Pléann sé freisin le cásanna nuair atá aidiacht bhriathartha á h-úsáid ar an bhealach seo, mar shampla gloine bhriste (ón bhriathar bris) - is ionann aidiacht bhriathartha agus aidiacht anseo.

This text deals with situations when a noun and an adjective stand together, and the adjective is being used attributively to the noun, for example (loyal person). It also deals with situations when a verbal adjective is being used in this way, for example (broken glass), from the verb (to break) - verbal adjective and adjective are the same thing here.

Dhá úsáid na haidiachta

Two uses of the adjective

Is féidir aidiachtaí a úsáid ar dhá bhealach:

Adjectives can be used in two ways:

  • Go haitreabúideach, nuair atá an aidiacht ag seasamh in aice leis an ainmfhocal, istigh san fhrása céanna. Mar shampla: Is duine brocach é, Tá uisce te agam anseo, Phós sé beann dhílis.

    Attributively, when an adjective stands with the noun in the same phrase. For example: (He is a filthy person), (I have hot water here), (He married a loyal woman).

  • Go faisnéiseach, nuair atá an aidiacht ag seasamh áit éigin eile san abairt, taobh amuigh den fhrása ina bhfuil an t-ainmfhocal. Mar shampla: Tá an duine seo brocach, Is te an t-uisce atá agat anseo, Nach dílis an bheann a phós sé?

    Predicatively, when an adjective stands somwehere else in the sentence, outside the phrase in which the noun is. For example: (This person is filthy), (The water you have here is hot), (Isn't the woman he married loyal?)

Uimhir uatha, tuiseal ainmneach agus tabharthach

Singular number, nominative and dative case

An t-ainmfhocal:

The noun:

  • Má tá alt nó réamhfhocal roimh an ainmfhocal, lean na gnáthrialacha chun claochlú tosaigh a chur ar an ainmfhocal más gá.

    If there is an article or a preposition before the noun, follow the usual rules to mutate the beginning of the noun if necessary

An aidiacht:

The adjective:

  • Más baininscneach an t-ainmfhocal, cuir séimhiú ar an aidiacht (más féidir):

    If the noun is feminine, aspirate the adjective (if possible):

    an bheann chliste, eagraíocht mhór, obair dheonach, an lámh ghortaithe, an tsráid leathan

    the clever woman, a large organization, voluntary work, the hurt hand, the wide street

    Tabhair faoi deara nach bhfuil feidhm ag riail an "dentals" sa chás seo:

    Notice that the "dentals" rule does not apply in this case:

    beann dheas, an teilifís dhaite, an bhialann Shíneach

    a nice woman, a colour television, a Chinese restaurant

  • Más firinscneach an t-ainmfhocal, ná cuir aon chlaochlú tosaigh ar an aidiacht:

    If the noun is masculine, do not mutate it the adjective:

    an fear cliste, dream mór, an leabhar conspóideach

    the clever man, a large group, the controversial book

Uimhir uatha, tuiseal ginideach

Singular number, genitive case

An t-ainmfhocal:

The noun:

1. Cuir an t-ainmfhocal sa tuiseal ginideach.

Put the noun in the genitive case.

2. Má tá alt nó réamhfhocal roimh an ainmfhocal, lean na gnáthrialacha chun claochlú tosaigh a chur ar an ainmfhocal más gá.

If there is an article before the noun, follow the usual rules to mutate the noun if necessary.

An aidiacht:

The adjective:

1. Más firinscneach an t-ainmfhocal, cuir séimhiú ar an aidiacht. (Níal feidhm ag riail an "dentals" sa chás seo.)

If the noun is masculine, aspirate the adjective. (The "dentals" rule does not apply here.)

2. Cuir an aidiacht sa tuiseal ginideach. Gheobhaidh tú eolas san fhoclóir mar gheal ar fhoirm ghinideach gach aidiachta, seo achoimre ghinearálta ar an dóigh a bhfaightear í:

Put the adjective in the genitive case. A dictionary will tell you the genitive form of each adjective, this is a general overview of the way it is formed:

  • Más firinscneach an t-ainmfhocal atá roimh an aidiacht:

    If the noun before the adjective is masculine:

    • Má chríochnaíonn an aidiacht ar ghuta nó ar chonsan caol, fág í mar atá sí:

      If the adjective ends with a vowel or with a slender consonant, leave it as it is:

      an sos fada > deireadh an tsosa fhada

      the long pause > the end of the long pause

      an t-athair saibhir > airgead an athar shaibhir

      the rich father > the rich father's money

    • Má chríochnaíonn an aidiacht ar chonsan leathan, caolaigh í:

      If the adjective ends with a broad consonant, slenderize it:

      an carr mór > luach an chairr mhóir

      the big car > the value of the big car

      fear gnóthach > dialann fir ghnóthaigh

      a busy man > diary of a busy man

      crann ard > aois crainn aird

      a tall tree > the age of a tall tree

  • Más baininscneach an t-ainmfhocal atá roimh an aidiacht:

    If the noun before the adjective is feminine:

    • Má chríochnaíonn an aidiacht ar ghuta, fág í mar atá sí:

      If the adjective ends with a vowel, leave it as it is:

      an oíche fhada > fiabhras na hoíche fada

      the long night > the fever of the long night

      an chathair ársa > foirgnimh na cathrach ársa

      the ancient city > the buildings of the ancient city

    • Má chríochnaíonn an aidiacht ar –úil, déan –úla as:

      If the adjective ends with -úil, turn it into -úla:

      an bheann spórtúil > fear céile na mná spórtúla

      the sporty woman > the sporty woman's husband

      banaltra chairdiúil > gúna banaltra cairdiúla

      a friendly nurse > the gown of a friendly nurse

    • Má chríochnaíonn an aidiacht ar –air, déan –ra nó -aire as:

      If the adjective ends eith -air, turn it into -ra or -aire:

      an cheist dheacair > freagra na ceiste deacra

      the hard question > the answer to the hard question

      an abhainn shocair > bruacha na habhann socra

      the quiet river > the banks of the quiet river

      an fhadhb íogair > réiteach na faidhbe íogaire

      the delicate problem > the solution to the delicate problem

    • Má chríochnaíonn an aidiacht ar –each, déan –í as:

      If the adjective ends with -each, turn it into -í:

      an réabhlóid Rúiseach > fuil na réabhlóide Rúisí

      the Russian revolution > the blood of the Russian revolution

      ceist mhistéireach > freagra ceiste mistéirí

      a mysterious question > the answer to a mysterious question

    • Má chríochnaíonn an aidiacht ar –ach, déan -aí as:

      If the adjective ends with -ach, turn it into -aí:

      an traein dhéanach > teacht na traenach déanaí

      the belated train > the arrival of the belated train

      an bheann shalach > éadach na mná salaí

      the dirty woman > the dirty woman's clothes

    • Má chríochnaíonn an aidiacht ar aon chríoch eile, cuir –e léi, agus caolaigh an fréamh más féidir:

      If the adjective ends with any other ending, add -e to it and slenderize the stem if possible:

      an tsráid chaol > dromchla na sráide caoile

      the narrrow street > the surface of the narrow street

      an bheann mhór > árasán má mná móire

      the big woman > the big woman's apartment

Uimhir iolra, tuiseal ainmneach agus tabharthach

Plural number, nominative and dative case

An t-ainmfhocal:

The noun:

1. Cuir an t-ainmfhocal san uimhir iolra.

Put the noun in the plural.

An aidiacht:

The adjective:

1. Má chríochnaíonn an t-ainmfhocal atá roimh an aidiacht ar chonsan caol, cuir séimhiú ar an aidiacht, más féidir. (Tabhair faoi deara anseo gur cuma cén inscne a mbaineann an t-ainmfhocal léi.)

If the noun before the adjective ends with a slender consonant, aspirate the adjective if possible. (Notice that it does not matter here what gender the noun is.)

2. Cuir an aidiacht san uimhir iolra. Gheobhaidh tú eolas san fhoclóir mar gheal ar fhoirm iolra gach aidiachta, seo achoimre ghinearálta ar an dóigh a bhfaightear í:

Put the adjective in the plural. A dictionary will tell you the plural form of an adjective, this is a general overview of the way to derive it:

  • Má chríochnaíonn an aidiacht ar –úil, déan –úla as:

    If the adjective ends with -úil, turn it into úla:

    duine misniúil > daoine misniúla

    a confident person > confident people

    an sagart cairdiúil > na sagairt chairdiúla

    the friendly priest > the confident priests

  • Má chríochnaíonn an aidiacht ar –air, déan –ra nó -aire as:

    If the adjective ends with -air, turn it into -ar or -aire:

    ceacht deacair > ceachtanna deacra

    a hard lesson > hard lessons

    an páiste socair > na páistí socra

    the quiet child > the quiet children

    ceist íogair > ceisteanna íogaire

    a delicate question > delicate questions

  • Má chríochnaíonn an aidiacht ar aon chonsan caol eile, cuir –e léi:

    If the adjective ends with any other slender consonant, add -e to it:

    scoláire maith > scoláirí maithe

    a good student > good students

    na oíche ghairid > na hoícheanta gairide

    the short night > the short nights

  • Má chríochnaíonn an aidiacht ar chonsan leathan, cuir –a léi:

    If the adjective ends with a broad consonant, add -a to it:

    an chathair mhór > na cathracha móra

    the big city > the big cities

    an sagart brocach > na sagairt bhrocacha

    the filthy priest > the filthy priests

  • Má chríochnaíonn an aidiacht ar ghuta, fág í mar atá sí:

    If the adjective ends with a vowel, leave it as it is:

    an sos fada > na sosanna fada

    the long pause > the long pauses

    cathair ársa > cathracha ársa

    an ancient city > ancient cities

    Tá dhá eisceacht ann, te agus breá:

    There are two exceptions, "te" and "breá":

    cloch the > clocha teo

    a hot stone > hot stones

    cailín breá > cailíní breátha

    a good girl > good girls

Uimhir iolra, tuiseal ginideach

Plural number, genitive case

An t-ainmfhocal:

The noun:

  • Cuir an t-ainmfhocal sa ghinideach iolra.

    Put the noun in the genitive plural.

An aidiacht:

The adjective:

1. Ná cuir aon chlaochlú tosaigh ar an aidiacht, cuma cén inscne a mbaineann an t-ainmfhocal léi.

Do not mutate the adjective in any way, no matter which gender the noun is.

2. Cuir an aidiacht sa ghinideach iolra. Is mar seo a dhéantar é:

Put the adjective in the genitive plural. This is how it's done:

  • Má tá lagiolra ag an ainmfhocal atá roimh an aidiacht, tá ginideach iolra na haidiachta mar a gcéanna lena hainmneach uatha:

    If the noun before the adjective has a weak plural, the adjective's genitive plural is the same as its nominative singular:

    an fear mór > leabaí na bhfear mór

    the big man > the beds of the big men

    an taoiseach cam > cleasanna na dtaoiseach cam

    the crooked Prime Minister > the tricks of the crooked Prime Ministers

    an chos fhada > rianta na gcos fada

    the long foot > the traces of the long feet

    an lámh ghortaithe > fuil na lámh gortaithe

    the hurt hand > the blood of the hurt hands

  • Má tá tréaniolra ag an ainmfhocal atá roimh an aidiacht, tá ginideach iolra na haidiachta mar a gcéanna lena hainmneach iolra:

    If the noun before the adjective has a string plural, the adjective's genitive plural is the the same as its nominative plural:

    na tránna salacha > gaineamh na dtránna salacha

    the dirty beaches > the sand of the dirty beaches

    na croíthe briste > gol na gcroíthe briste

    the broken hearts > the cry of the broken hearts

    na tíortha Cumannacha > uachtaráin na dtíortha Cumannacha

    the Communist countries > the presidents of the Communist countries

    na hainmhithe fiáine > saoirse na n-ainmhithe fiáine

    the wild animals > the freedom of wild animals

Breis is aidiacht amháin

More than one adjective

I gcásanna nuair a bhíonn ainmfhocal á cháiliú ag breis is aidiacht amháin, leanann gach ceann acu na rialacha céanna faoi mar atá siad leagtha amach thuas, idir chlaochlú tosaigh agus chlaochlú deiridh. Mar shampla:

In situations when a noun is being qualified by more than one adjective, each of the adjectives follows the same rules as they have been layed out above, including any intial and terminal mutations. For example:

an custaiméir mór brocach > airgead an chustaiméara mhóir bhrocaigh

the big filthy customer > the money of the big filthy customer

Michal Boleslav Měchura
valselob@hotmail.com