| Is maith liom . . . . I like Saturday.
|
| Literally |
| maith |
liom |
is |
| (a) good (thing) |
with me |
is |
| = I consider good . . . .
|
| = I like . . . . . |
|
| |
| Grammar point: An Chopail / The Copula |
| Both John Millington Synge and Brian Ó Nualláin
(Flann O'Brien / Myles na Gopalleen) achieved fame by writing English
using literal Irish idioms. You should learn this structure, and
all its variants, well. It is very different to anything in English
and it is basic to Irish. Here are other examples in the present
tense: |
| The words in each column can be substituted for each other to
create different meanings. Try it. |
| Is |
maith |
liom |
I like |
| Ní |
maith |
liom |
I do not like |
| An |
maith |
leat |
Do you like . . . . ? |
| Is |
fearr |
leis |
He prefers . . . |
| Is |
aoibhinn |
leis |
He loves ... / considers delightful |
| Is |
breá |
léi |
She loves . . . / considers fine |
| Ní |
mian |
linn |
We do not want . . . / It is not a desire with us |
| An |
dóigh |
libh |
Do ye think? / Is it a state (of thought) with you? |
| Is |
fuath |
leo |
They hate . . . |
| Is |
gráin |
liom |
I detest . . . |
| Is |
ionadh |
liom |
I am amazed . . . / I consider (. . .) a wonder. |
|
| There are many other useful examples which I will think of later
and add in here. The table above is a substitution table so the
elements in each column can be interchanged in order to convey different
meanings. Practise these over and over again if you want to learn
Irish well.You will find more on this here. |
| |
