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Is mithid . . . . It is high time also (freisin) that attention is being directed to the content (ábhar) of the courses.
Más maith is mithid! - - if it is good it must be (done)! is a common saying.
go bhfuil aird á díriú - - that attention is being directed. This construction hinges on the word á which is, surprisingly, made up of the preposition do and an aidiacht sealbhach, third person, feminine, a.To illustrate the structure let me give the other possible forms with personal pronouns:
| I was being directed to. . . |
Bhí mé do mo dhíriú chuig . . |
| You were being directed to . . . |
Bhí tú do do dhíriú chuig . . . |
| He was being directed to . . . . |
Bhí sé á dhíriú chuig . . . |
| She was being directed to . . . . |
Bhí sí á díriú chuig . . . . |
| We were being directed to . . . . |
Bhíomar dár ndíriú chuig . . . . |
| You (pl) were being directed to . |
Bhí sibh do bhur ndíriú chuig . . . |
| They were being directed to . . . |
Bhí siad á ndíriú chuig . . . . |
Note that the preposition do is absorbed in the word á in both third person singular and plural. One would expect dá but the d has been dropped under the influence of an alternative structure with the preposition ag
Nouns being either masculine or feminine should show their gender in the third person singular with this construction as here aird á díriú but few Irish speakers, or writers! achieve such accuracy. Nevertheless you should try!
ábhar na gcúrsaí - - the content of the courses This is an example of an tuiseal ginideach uimhir iolra - - The genitive case plural. Note the use of the in English. Irish uses the article only once.
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