Moderator:kevin
In that case, I would use the version with the copula. (And since Ciarán mentioned Munster, I feel compelled to point out that it's more common there to say "Ceapaire is ea é.")Aisling wrote:What are the differences between "Is ceapaire é." and "Ceapaire atá ann."?
I wanted to meansay "It is a sandwich."
Actually, I think Ciarán is mistaken about this being more common in Munster. According to Ó Siadhail, it's in Ulster that BÍ + i largely replaces copula constructions for expressing identity. In Munster and in the Standard, there's a contrast with BÍ + i being used for less permanent states of affairs. E.g.:Aisling wrote:And how is the "atá ann" structure used in which situations?
linguoboy wrote:To me, Tá teilifís ann is a simple existential: "There's a television". Teilifís atá ann would be an emphatic version of this (which is a bit strange, since existentials are generally presentational) whereas teilifís atá inti is classificational, the equivalent of Is teilifís Í. This is a construction that doesn't really exist in Munster but is the norm in Ulster. (Although Munster does use a negative version, e.g. níl inti ach teilifís "it's only a television".)
linguoboy wrote:Obviously, the dynamic interpretation makes more sense with animate subjects, since they are capable of changing their identification, but that doesn't mean I can't imagine situations where tá sí ina teilifís wouldn't be sensible to say. Imagine someone demonstrating how a wireless device can be used to play streaming video from a site like Hulu. "It's a television!" (I.e. now it's acting like one, but that isn't its permanent nature.) Or imagine an animation of something morphing from one shape to another or someone miming various objects. "She's a television!" (She's still a performer, but she's acting like a television at the moment.) And so forth.
It would depend on the context and the speaker. If they spoke an Ulster dialect, I'd assume it was classificatory. If they were Munster, I might wonder if I was missing part of the sentence.Ciarán12 wrote:Okay, but as Teilifís atá ann and teilifís atá inti only differ in the grammatical gender of the form of i here, what would you make of it if a masculine noun were used? Say, Buidéal atá ann for example?
Or perhaps it's me who's formed the wrong impression. If I find any examples in the wild of the dynamic meaning being applied to non-humans, I'll share them here.Ciarán12 wrote:Perhaps I've simply picked up the wrong impression of its use due to that particular usage being rarely applicable to non-humans.
NB: "ag teastáil" is optional in these sentences. E.g. Tá airgead uaim. - "I need money."Aisling wrote:Tá airgead ag teastáil uaim. - I need money.
Tá níos mó airgid ag teastáil uaim chun teach nua a cheannach. - I need more money to buy a new house.
These are emphatic forms. They are best translated by stressing the pronoun (shown in writing either with italics or boldface), e.g.:Aisling wrote:Táim ag déanamh iarrachta ar mo chuid Gaeilge a fheabhsú. - I'm trying to improve my Irish.
Ar fhéach tú ar léarscáil an domhain riamh? - Have you ever looked at the world map?
D'inis sé é domsa é. - He told it to me.
D'fhág mé mo bhróga dhearga sa halla. - I left my red shoes in the hall.
And a question:
How can we translate the suffix "-sa/-se" like in "agamsa", "agatsa", "domsa", "uirthise"?
And what meaning do these suffixes give to the sentence? What is the difference between "agam" and "agamsa" (or "liom" and "liomsa")?
Ag + VN usual acts as a gerundive, so I would translate this as "Do you think we are very good swimming?" (i.e. while swimming), which isn't quite the same thing. I think it would be understood perfectly well, but it sounds Englishy to me. More native idioms would be: ...go bhfuil snámh an-mhaith againn or gur an-mhaith ár snámhAisling wrote:Tháinig an t-eolaí ar phláinéad nua amach. - The scientist discovered a new planet.
An gceapann tú go bhfuilimid go han-mhaith ag snámh? - Do you think that we are very good at swimming?
It's the relative particle, "in which". There are two ways to construct so-called indirect relative clauses involving a preposition: with a preposition at the end or at the beginning. The former is more common nowadays:Aisling wrote:Cá bhfuil an teach inar rugadh mé? - Where is the house which I was born in? : (What is "inar" used in this sentence for?)
I don't think this works since dofheicthe means "unseen" in the sense of "invisible". "Unsee" is really a derived verb meaning "to forget having seen something" and I can't think of an equivalent in Irish.Aisling wrote:How would you translate "What has been seen cannot be unseen" into Irish? I've tried to translate it. The translation below is my own attempt:
Ní féidir le haon rud a chonacthas a bheith dofheicthe.
linguoboy wrote:I don't think this works since dofheicthe means "unseen" in the sense of "invisible". "Unsee" is really a derived verb meaning "to forget having seen something" and I can't think of an equivalent in Irish.Aisling wrote:How would you translate "What has been seen cannot be unseen" into Irish? I've tried to translate it. The translation below is my own attempt:
Ní féidir le haon rud a chonacthas a bheith dofheicthe.
The expression is dearmad a déanamh ar rud. And using the perfect here is very awkward.Aisling wrote:"Ní féidir le haon rud a chonacthas dearmad a bheith déanta."
Aisling wrote:Nuair a théimid a chodladh ar an oíche, níl aon ráthaíocht ann go músclóimid ar maidin. Ach socraímid an t-aláram go fóill chun muid a dhúiseacht. Dóchas a ghlaoitear air.
linguoboy wrote:Aisling wrote:Nuair a théimid a chodladh ar an oíche, níl aon ráthaíocht ann go músclóimid ar maidin. Ach socraímid an t-aláram go fóill chun muid a dhúiseacht. Dóchas a ghlaoitear air.
Nílim ag feiscint aon bhotúin. Maith an bhean thú!
Aisling wrote:Is ainm baineann é m'ainm úsáideora, ach is buachaill mé.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests