Is cairde muid ón scoil -- we are friends from school
cairde is the plural of cara - - a friend
Although it is pronounced cáirde it is not necessary to put a síneadh fada or accent
on the a because of the strong consonant pair rd following.
ón scoil - - from the school
ó - - from is another preposition. This time it is combined with an - - the with the a elided.
We have met is before in Cian is ainm dom.
It is the other verb to be (Tá is the first) and from the point of view
of improving your Irish the more important.
| Is cara mé |
I am a friend |
| Is cara tú |
You are a friend |
| Is cara é |
He is a friend |
| Is cara í |
She is a friend |
| Is cairde muid |
We are friends |
| Is cairde sibh |
You (pl) are friends |
| Is cairde iad |
They are friends |
| Ní cairde iad |
They are not friends |
| An cairde muid? |
Are we friends? |
Notice we use é, í, and iad here. (I regard sé, sí, and siad which we met earlier
as "subjects" of the verb "tá" whereas é, í, and iad are objects of the verb is.
Do not worry about the underlying grammar. Just learn the phrases and note the usage.)
I prefer muid to sinn. They are both acceptable. The negative of is is ní and it
does not aspirate consonants following. It needs a h before a vowel however,
Ní hamadáin muid! - - we are not fools!
With this structure you could say much about yourself:
Is Éireannach mé - - I am Irish (an Irish person). Sasanach - - an English person; Meiriceánach - - an American. fear - - a man; bean - - a woman;
buachaill ard - - a tall boy; cailín álainn - - a beautiful girl;
mac léinn díograiseach - - an eager student; foghlaimeoir - - a learner.
Failure to use this structure properly leads to the common mistake
known as "Tá sé fear." Ugh! You should say Is fear é or
Fear is ea é but never "Tá sé fear."
Remember Tá sé can be used with adjectives or adverbs but not
with nouns where you must use the structure outlined above.
|
