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21 Relative Clauses: Special Verb Forms

It has been mentioned in lesson 4, section 16.1, that simple verbs in absolute inflection have special relative forms for the 3rd persons and generally also for the 1st person plural. The endings of these relative forms were originally characterised by a final -e, which goes back to a petrified form of the old relative pronoun *yo-. This -e has generally been preserved in the following relative forms:

• in the 1st person plural active of all tenses, ending in -me (deponent -mer);
• in the 3rd person plural active of all tenses, ending in -te (deponent and impersonal/passive -tar), as in the present indicative active toingthe, toingte in lesson 4;
• in the 3rd person singular present indicative active of the irregular verb téit 'goes' (téte) and of the substantive verb attá 'is' (file);
• in the 3rd person singular indicative active of the t-preterite, ending in -t-e, as in berthae in lesson 2;
• in the 3rd person singular indicative active of the suffixless preterite, ending in -e;
• in the 3rd person preterite impersonal/passive, ending in -th(a)e.

Otherwise, the relative form of 3rd person singular active ends in -s(s), i.e. in the present indicative of all verbs other than téit and attá, in the ā-subjunctive, as well as in the f-future, in the normal reduplicated future, and in the future formations of certain other verbs.

22 The Verb: Absolute and Conjunct

In most tenses and moods, all personal forms of finite verbs can have either absolute or conjunct inflection, that is, they have two different sets of endings. Thus, a weak verb such as 'leaves' has the 3rd person singular present indicative active lécid in the absolute inflection vs. léci in the conjunct inflection, with corresponding impersonal/passive forms léicthir and léicther; for the strong verb 'bears, carries', the absolute and conjunct forms are berid and be(i)r in the active vs. ber(a)ir and berar in the passive, and similarly the deponent verb 'places' has the absolute and conjunct forms su(i)digidir and suidigedar in the active vs. suidigthir and suidigther in the impersonal/passive. Whether a personal form takes absolute or conjunct inflection is determined by the form of the verb itself (simple or compound) and by the element preceding it, as the following subparagraphs will show.

22.1 Absolute vs. Simple Conjunct

The absolute forms are used where the verb is neither compounded with any preposition or verbal particle (ro, no), nor preceded by a so-called conjunct particle (see below). Instances of personal verbal forms in absolute inflection from this lesson include the 3rd person preterite indicative active luid, the 3rd person plural present indicative active foit, the 3rd person present indicative active is, the 3rd person singular conditional active cráidfed, etc.

Conjunct forms, on the other hand, are used where the verb is either compounded with a preposition or a verbal particle (ro, no), or is preceded by a conjunct particle. These particles are called conjunct particles because they demand the conjunct form of a following verb (simple or compound). The conjunct particles are:

1. the negative particles ní/ni, nícon/nicon, ná/na, nád, nacon and their compounds;
2. the interrogative particle in, and sometimes also the interrogative pronoun cía;
3. prepositions in combination with the relative particle (s)a^N (cf. lesson 4, section 16.1);
4. the nasalising preposition i^N, hi^N in relative use ('in which');
5. the nasalising conjunctions ara^N 'in order that', dia^N 'if, when', co^N, con^N 'so that'.

Three different types of conjunct forms can be distinguished: simple conjunct, conjunct deuterotonic and conjunct prototonic. Their use depends on the element preceding them. Simple conjunct forms occur with non-compounded verbs only. They are employed:

1. where a simple (i.e. non-compounded) verb follows a conjunct particle (instances from this lesson include the 3rd person singular present indicative active loiti after ná, the 1st person singular present subjunctive active chela after ní, and the 3rd person singular conditional bíad after nícon); and
2. where a simple verb is preceded by the verbal particle ro or no (as e.g. in the 3rd person singular past subjunctive ropud, the 3rd person singular perfect indicative passive rucad, the 1st person singular perfect indicative active roscarus, and the 1st person singular past subjunctive active nocharainn in this lesson).

22.2 Conjunct Deuterotonic vs. Conjunct Prototonic

Compound verbs (i.e. verbs compounded with a preposition) have either deuterotonic or prototonic form (the difference in accentuation between deuterotonic and prototonic forms has already been explained in lesson 1, section 1.2).

Deuterotonic means that the stress falls on the second element of the compound, so that verbs compounded with one preposition bear the stress on the first syllable of the verbal root (e.g. the 3rd person present indicative passive dogníther from do°gní, or the 3rd person preterite indicative active asbert from as°beir in this lesson), while verbs compounded with two or more prepositions bear the stress on the second preposition.

Prototonic means that the stress falls on the first element of the compound, which is invariably the first preposition, thus implying important phonological changes in the verbal compound. Prototonic form is required:

1. After the conjunct particles mentioned in 22.1 (cf. in this lesson the 1st person plural present indicative active dénaim from do°gní, or the 2nd person singular present subjunctive active tís from do°icc)
2. In the imperative (cf. the 1st person plural imperative active dénaim, from do°gní, in this lesson)
3. Occasionally where the verb introduces a relative clause (cf. the nasalised 1st person singular past subjunctive active relative ndénainn, from do°gní, in this lesson)
4. In the archaic construction where the verb stands at the end of its clause (on this phenomenon cf. lesson 1, section 2.3).

23 The Noun: u-, i-, and ī-Stems

The inflection of u-stems corresponds to that of the i-stems: both are characterised by the Irish ending -o -a in the genitive singular and dual; the nominative, vocative, accusative and dative singular, and the nominative, accusative dual have no ending, from a descriptive point of view, while the final consonant of these cases is neutral in the u-stems and palatal in the i-stems; the dative plural and dual of both stems end in -ib, the genitive plural ends in -e. Both stems differ in the plural, however, where the masculine u-stems end in -e, -a or -i and the neuters either show u-quality in the final consonant or have the ending -a while the i-stems show the ending -i in the nominative, vocative and accusative masculine and -e in the neuter.

23.1 u-Stems

These comprise masculines and neuters; they are represented, first, by the masculine mug 'serf':

		Singular		Plural		Dual
Nom.		mug		mog(a)e, moga		mug
				mog(a)i
Voc.		mug		(*mugu)		mug
Acc.		mug		mugu		mug
Gen.		mogo, -a		mog(a)e		mogo, -a
Dat.		mug		mog(a)ib		mog(a)ib

...and u-Stems are represented, second, by the neuter dorus 'door':

		Singular		Plural		Dual
Nom.		dorus		dorus, doirsea		dorus
Voc.		dorus		doirsea		dorus
Acc.		dorus		dorus, doirsea		dorus
Gen.		doirseo, -ea		doirse		*doirseo,-ea
Dat.		dorus		doirsib		*doirsib

Instances of u-stems in this lesson include the accusative singular masculine áinius and the compound genitive singular masculine coṁchrotha; in lesson 4, the dative singular masculine áth; in lesson 3, the compound accusative plural masculine mórchathu; in lesson 1, a neuter form in the dative singular collud.

23.2 i-Stems

All three genders are found, though neuters are rare. As masculines and feminines of this declension are inflected alike, the following will suffice.

For example, the feminine súil 'eye':

		Singular		Plural		Dual
Nom.		súil		sú(i)li		súil
Voc.		súil		sú(i)li		súil
Acc.		súil		sú(i)li		súil
Gen.		súlo, -a		sú(i)le		súlo, -a
Dat.		súil		sú(i)lib		sú(i)lib

For example, the neuter muir 'sea':

		Singular		Plural		Dual
Nom.		muir		mu(i)re		muir
Voc.		muir				muir
Acc.		muir		mu(i)re		muir
Gen.		moro, -a		mu(i)re		moro, -a
Dat.		muir		mu(i)rib		mu(i)rib

Instances are found in this lesson in the dative singular masculine cúairt, in the nominative singular neuter cuirm, in the accusative singular neuter of the substantivized adjective gair, and in the nasalised genitive singular feminine ndegae.

23.3 ī-Stems

These are feminine only. The inflection of ī-stems is basically like that of the yā-stems (cf. lesson 4, section 18); it differs however both in the nominative and vocative singular and in the nominative and accusative dual, where the ī-stems have no apparent ending and show palatal quality in the final consonant. The inflection of ī-stems is exemplified by the noun setig 'female companion, wife':

		Singular		Plural		Dual
Nom.		sétigL		séitchi		sétigL
Voc.		sétigL		*séitchi		sétigL
Acc.		séitchiN		séitchi		sétigL
Gen.		séitche		séitcheN		*séitcheL
Dat.		séitchiL		séitchib		*séitchib

The present lesson provides two examples: the accusative singular blíadain, and the genitive singular caille.

24 The Adjective: Declensions of the Adjective

It has already been mentioned in lesson 3, section 14, that adjectives are inflected in certain syntactic positions. Five different classes of adjectival declensions can be distinguished:

1. o- and ā-stems;
2. yo- and yā-stems;
3. i-stems;
4. u-stems;
5. consonantal stems.

The distribution of genders corresponds to that of the substantives, so that classes 3-5 contain all three genders (in the u-stem adjectives, the feminine inflection survived, whereas original Indo-European feminine u-stem nouns were incorporated into the ā-stems), while masculine and neuter adjectives belonging to classes 1 or 2 inflect as o- or yo-stems and the corresponding female forms inflect as ā- or yā-stems. Classes 1-3 contain numerous adjectives, while those belonging to class 4 are less common, and of class 5 only few remnants exist.

The declensions are the following:

24.1 o- and ā-stems

For example, bec(c) 'small':

Singular		Masc.		Fem.		Ntr.
Nom.		becc		becc		becc
Voc.		bicc		becc		becc
Acc.		becc		bicc		becc
Gen.		bicc		bicce		bicc
Dat.		biucc		bicc		biucc

Plural		Masc.		Fem/Ntr.
Nom.		bicc		becca
Voc.		biccu		becca
Acc.		biccu, becca		becca
Gen.		becc		becc
Dat.		becc(a)ib		becc(a)ib

Examples of adjectives following this declension are the masculine nominative singular án and the feminine genitive singular flainn in this lesson, the compound comtrén, the masculine nominative singular mór, the feminine nominatives singular of the colour adjectives glass, finn and derg (in the compound áuderg) and the feminine dative singular deiss in lesson 4, the feminine nominative singular doltach and the masculine nominative singular of the colour adjective donn in lesson 3.

24.2 yo- and yā-stems

For example, u(i)le 'all, whole':

Singular		Masc.		Fem.		Ntr.
Nom.		u(i)le		u(i)le		u(i)le
Voc.		u(i)li		u(i)le		u(i)le
Acc.		u(i)le		u(i)li		u(i)le
Gen.		u(i)li		u(i)le		u(i)li
Dat.		u(i)liu		u(i)li		u(i)liu

Plural		Masc/Fem/Ntr.
Nom.		u(i)li
Voc.		u(i)li
Acc.		u(i)li
Gen.		u(i)le
Dat.		u(i)lib

Examples of yo-/yā-stem adjectives are found in the feminine accusative singular clí and in the feminine nominative singular uile in lesson 4, as well as in the masculine dative singular inneltiu in lesson 2.

24.3 i-stems

For example, maith 'good':

Singular		Masc/Ntr.		Fem.
Nom.		maith		maith
Voc.		maith		maith
Acc.		maith		maith
Gen.		maith		ma(i)the
Dat.		maith		maith

Plural		Masc/Fem/Ntr.
Nom.		ma(i)thi
Voc.		ma(i)thi
Acc.		ma(i)thi
Gen.		ma(i)the, maith
Dat.		ma(i)thib

Examples of adjectives following this declension are the neuter accusative singular gair and the feminine nominative singular maith in this lesson, the compounds comfobaid and coméscaid in lesson 4, as well as the neuter accusative plural réidi and the masculine nominatives singular hálaind and caín in lesson 1.

24.4 u-stems

For example, dub 'black':

Singular		Masc/Ntr.		Fem.
Nom.		dub		dub
Acc.		dub		duib
Gen.		duib		dub(a)e
Dat.		dub		duib

Plural		Masc/Fem/Ntr.
Nom.		dub(a)i
Acc.		dub(a)i
Gen.		dub
Dat.		dub(a)ib

An example of an adjective following this declension is found in the masculine nominative singular dub in lesson 3.

As adjectives following the consonantal declension are very rare, and since only single forms exist, no paradigm is given here.

The declension according to which an adjective inflects depends on its stem formation. New adjectives can be formed:

1. by composition of nouns or adjectives, without adding a suffix (as in lesson 3 in adjectival compounds of the type comtrén 'of the same strength' (prefix 'same' + adjective 'strong'), comchrotha 'of the same shape' (masculine genitive singular of comchruth, preposition 'same' + noun 'shape'), etc., or in the feminine nominative singular áuderg 'red-eared' (noun 'ear' + adjective 'red') in lesson 4);
2. by derivation from nouns or adjectives by means of the suffix -d(a)e, inflecting as yo- and yā-stems;
3. by derivation from nouns or adjectives by means of the suffix -ach, inflecting as o- and ā-stems (as in the feminine nominative singular doltach 'pernicious' from dolud 'distress, loss, damage' in lesson 3);
4. by derivation from transitive verbs by means of the suffix -the (-te -de -se), serving as past participle passive (as in inneltiu in lesson 2, masculine dative singular of inneltae, from the verb in°lá 'arranges, adjusts').

25 Infixed Pronouns

The difference between independent and dependent personal pronouns has already been mentioned in lesson 2, section 10 (the independent forms having been discussed in detail in lesson 3, section 15.1). The proclitic dependent forms of the personal pronoun are used with verbs and, being attached to a pretonic preverb, are considered to be infixed in the verbal form.

The exact position of the infixed pronoun depends on the pretonic element(s) preceding the verb, which cause the infixed pronoun to be integrated into the verb in one of the following manners:

1. Where the verb (compounded or not) is preceded by one or more conjunct particles (cf. above, 22.1), the pronoun is generally attached to the last of these, and the stress falls on the immediately following element (as in nicot^L ḃia in lesson 4, where the infixed pronoun t^L of the 2nd person singular is attached to the negative particle nicon, or in conda rodart in lesson 3, where the infixed pronoun da^H of the 3rd person singular feminine is attached to the conjunction con and precedes the verb dairid; the same conjunction is found with attached infixed pronoun id^L of the 3rd person singular masculine in the form conidcorastar in lesson 2, where the verb is fo°ceird).
2. If the verb is not preceded by any conjunct particles but is compounded with a preposition or a verbal particle, the pronoun is generally attached to the first of these (as in fomchanad, where the infixed pronoun m^L of the 1st person singular is attached to the preverb fo of the compound verb fo°cain, in this lesson, or in fortatnesabsu, where the infixed pronoun tat^L of the 2nd person singular is attached to the preverb for of for°nesa).
3. If the verb is neither preceded by a conjunct particle nor compounded, the semantically void verbal particle no is prefixed to the verb, and the pronoun is attached to this particle (as in not^Lbenabsu, in lesson 4, where the infixed pronoun t^L of the 2nd person singular is attached to the verbal particle no in order to serve as infixed pronoun with the simple verb benaid).

Infixed personal pronouns may serve the following syntactic purposes:

1. They express the direct object when attached to active or deponent forms of transitive verbs (e.g. dot^Lucai 'brings you' in lesson 3, where the infixed pronoun t^L of the 2nd person singular serves as direct object of the verb do°beir 'brings', or similarly in condarodart in lesson 3, where the direct object of dairid is represented by the infixed pronoun da^H of the 3rd person singular feminine).
2. They express the indirect object when attached to forms of the verb 'to be' (e.g. nicot^Lḃia in lesson 4, where the infixed pronoun t^L of the 2nd person singular serves as indirect object of the substantive verb attá).
3. The infixed pronouns of the 1st and 2nd persons indicate the subject when attached to passive forms.

Formally, the infixed pronouns fall into three different classes, termed A, B and C in traditional grammar. Since the use of class C infixed pronouns is determined by syntactical rather than phonological aspects -- as in the case of classes A and B -- they will be discussed separately, in lesson 6, section 26.

25.1 'Class A' Infixed Pronouns

These are used after all particles and most prepositions which originally ended in a vowel, i.e. ro, no, do, di, fo, ar, im(m) and the negative particle ní/ni (also after cetu, cita 'first'). Their forms are:

1 Sg.				mL, mmL
2 Sg.				tL
3 Sg.		masc.		aN (-N)
		fem.		sN, s
		ntr.		aL (-L)
1 Pl.				n, nn
2 Pl.				b, f
3 Pl.				sN, s

After the negative particle ní/ni, which itself causes spirant mutation (cf. lesson 2, section 6.3), the a of the 3rd person singular masculine and neuter is regularly ommited; the presence and form of an infixed pronoun can therefore only be determined by the effect ní/ni has on a following initial (spirant mutation meaning ní/ni without attached pronoun, lenition meaning ní/ni + infixed pronoun 3rd person singular masculine, and nasalisation meaning ní/ni + infixed pronoun 3rd person singular neuter).

Instances of verbs with class A infixed pronouns include manim^Ldergaissu and not^Lbenabsu in lesson 4.

25.2 'Class B' Infixed Pronouns

These are characterised by an initial d- in all forms, which is never lenited (hence often written t). They are used after prepositions originally ending in a consonant, i.e. for and etar, also frith- and com- (which combine with the initial d- of the infixed pronoun to give frit- and cot-), and ad-, aith-, ess-, in-/ind-, oss-, all of which combine with the initial d- to give at- (occasionally written ad-, add-, atd-). Their forms are:

1 Sg.				domL, dumL, tomL, tumL, dam(m)L, tam(m)L
2 Sg.				totL, tatL, tL
3 Sg.		masc.		tN, taN
		fem.		daH, taH
		ntr.		tL
1 Pl.				don, ton, tan(n)
2 Pl.				dob, dub, tob (tof), tab
3 Pl.				daH, taH

Instances of verbs with class B infixed pronouns include atom^Lgládathar, from ad°gládathar, in lesson 2, as well as atat^Lchoṁnaic, from ad°cumaing, and conda^Hrodart, from dairid, in lesson 3.

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