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In this section we'll try to give you a fairly comprehensive overview of the Gaelic prepositions - including some of the more obscure issues and a fresh view on some old friends.
But before we start, a quick anecdote about rules in language.
Linguists will tell you that some languages are PRO-drop languages and some are not. PRO stands for 'pronoun' and PRO-drop means that in some languages you're permitted to drop the pronoun in a sentence. Generally, this is allowed because the verb alone already marks the grammatical person (i.e. you, me, he, they etc.). Spanish is a PRO-drop language in which you can either say yo tengo una cebra or tengo una cebra and both mean "I have a zebra." On the other hand, linguists will tell you that English is not a PRO-drop language, never ever, ever. Or is it? This morning, I asked my partner a question: "have you ever used the word "prune" as an insult?" The answer came straight back: "might have done". Can YOU see a pronoun anywhere? I can't. Anyway, this isn't a blog, but I thought I'd remind us all that languages are unruly things. While there are rules that you can learn and follow, they rarely apply in 100% of cases. Still, 99% isn't bad either, is it?
For the most part, they're arranged in groups according to their first element, for example, for mu choinneimh, look under mu.
How to remember them? Wellll... I get asked that a lot. I've tried but it may not be everyone's cup of sùgh an eòrna - but just in case.
À
| à |
[a]
|
| às an |
[as əN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| asam |
[asəm]
|
| asad |
[asəd]
|
| às |
[as]
|
| aiste |
[aʃdʲə]
|
| asainn |
[asɪNʲ]
|
| asaibh |
[asɪv]
|
| asta |
[asdə]
|
Aig
| aig |
[ɛgʲ]
|
| aig an |
[ɛgʲ əN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| agam |
[agəm]
|
| agad |
[agəd]
|
| aige |
[ɛgʲə]
|
| aice |
[ɛçgʲə]
|
| againn |
[agɪNʲ]
|
| agaibh |
[agɪv]
|
| aca |
[axgə]
|
Aig + possessive pronoun
| 'gam |
[gam]
|
| 'gad |
[gəd]
|
| 'ga |
[ga]
|
| 'ga (h-) |
[ga (h)]
|
| 'gar (n-) |
[gar (n)]
|
| 'gur (n-) |
[gar (n)]
|
| 'gan |
[gan]
|
Air
More about air
| air |
[ɛrʲ]
|
| air an |
[ɛrʲ əN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| orm |
[ɔrɔm]
|
| ort |
[ɔRʃd]
|
| air |
[ɛrʲ]
|
| oirre |
[ɔRə]
|
| oirnn |
[ɔːRNʲ]
|
| oirbh |
[ɔrʲɪv]
|
| orra |
[ɔRə]
|
Ann an
More about ann an
| ann an |
[ãũN əN(ʲ)]
|
| anns an |
[ãũNs əN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| annam |
[ũNəm]
|
| annad |
[ũNəd]
|
| ann |
[ãũN]
|
| innte |
[ĩːNʲdʲə]
|
| annainn |
[aNɪNʲ]
|
| annaibh |
[aNɪv]
|
| annta |
[ãũNdə]
|
Ann an + possessive pronoun
| 'nam |
[nam]
|
| 'nad |
[nad]
|
| 'na |
[na]
|
| 'na (h-) |
[na (h)]
|
| 'nar (n-) |
[nar (n)]
|
| 'nur (n-) |
[nar (n)]
|
| 'nan |
[nan]
|
De
More about de
| de |
[də]
|
| dhen / dhen an |
[ʝɛN(ʲ)] / [ʝɛnəN(ʲ)]
|
| dhìom |
[ʝĩə̃m]
|
| dhìot |
[ʝied]
|
| dheth |
[ʝe]
|
| dhith |
[ʝi]
|
| dhinn |
[ʝĩNʲ]
|
| dhibh |
[ʝiv]
|
| dhiubh |
[ʝu]
|
Do
| do |
[də]
|
| dhan / dhan an |
[ɣaN(ʲ)], [ɣanəN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| dhomh |
[ɣɔ̃]
|
| dhut |
[ɣuhd]
|
| dha |
[ɣa]
|
| dhi |
[ʝi]
|
| dhuinn |
[ɣɯ̃ĩNʲ]
|
| dhuibh |
[ɣɯiv]
|
| dhaibh |
[ɣaiv]
|
Eadar
| eadar |
[edər]
|
| eadar an |
[edər əN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| eadarainn |
[edərɪNʲ]
|
| eadaraibh |
[edərɪv]
|
| eatarra |
[ehdəRə]
|
Fo
| fo |
[fɔ]
|
| fon / fon an |
[fɔN(ʲ)] / [fɔnəN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| fodham |
[fo.əm]
|
| fodhad |
[fo.əd]
|
| fodha |
[fo.ə]
|
| foidhpe |
[foihbə]
|
| fodhainn |
[fo.ɪNʲ]
|
| fodhaibh |
[fo.ɪv]
|
| fodhpa |
[fohbə]
|
Gu
| gu |
[gu]
|
gun
chun an |
[gunəN(ʲ)]
[xunəN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| thugam |
[hugəm]
|
| thugad |
[hugəd]
|
| thuige |
[hɯgʲə]
|
| thuice |
[hɯçgʲə]
|
| thugainn |
[hugɪNʲ]
|
| thugaibh |
[hugɪv]
|
| thuca |
[huxgə]
|
Le
| le |
[le]
|
| leis an |
[leʃ əN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| leam |
[ləm]
|
| leat |
[lahd]
|
| leis |
[leʃ]
|
| leatha |
[le.ə]
|
| leinn |
[lẽĩNʲ]
|
| leibh |
[leiv]
|
| leotha |
[lo.ə]
|
Mu
| mu |
[mə]
|
| mun / mun an |
[muN(ʲ)] / [munəN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| umam |
[ũməm]
|
| umad |
[ũməd]
|
| uime |
[ɯ̃imə]
|
| uimpe |
[ɯ̃imbə]
|
| umainn |
[ũmɪNʲ]
|
| umaibh |
[ũmɪv]
|
| umpa |
[ũːmbə]
|
O
| o |
[ɔ]
|
| on / on an |
[ɔN(ʲ)] / [ɔnəN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| uam |
[uəm]
|
| uat |
[uəhd]
|
| uaidhe |
[uajə]
|
| uaipe |
[uəihbə]
|
| uainn |
[ũə̃ĩNʲ]
|
| uaibh |
[uəiv]
|
| uapa |
[uəhbə]
|
Ri
More about ri
| ri |
[rʲi]
|
| ris an |
[rʲiʃ əN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| rium |
[rʲum]
|
| riut |
[rʲuʰd]
|
| ris |
[rʲiʃ]
|
| rithe |
[rʲi.ə]
|
| r(u)inn |
[rɯ̃ĩNʲ]
|
| r(u)ibh |
[rɯiv]
|
| riutha |
[ru.ə]
|
Tro
| tro |
[trɔ]
|
| tron / tron an |
[trɔN(ʲ)] / [trɔnəN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| tromham |
[trɔ.əm]
|
| tromhad |
[trɔ.əd]
|
| troimhe |
[trɔjə]
|
| troimhpe |
[trɔihbə]
|
| tromhainn |
[trɔ.ɪNʲ]
|
| tromhaibh |
[trɔ.ɪv]
|
| tromhpa |
[trɔ̃hbə]
|
Thar
| thar |
[har]
|
| thar an |
[har əN(ʲ)]
|
|
|
| tharam |
[harəm]
|
| tharad |
[harəd]
|
| thairis air |
[harʲɪʃ ɛrʲ]
|
| thairte |
[haRʃdʲə]
|
| tharainn |
[harɪNʲ]
|
| tharaibh |
[harɪv]
|
| tharta |
[haRʃdə]
|
Personal pronouns
| mi |
[mĩː] |
[mi]
|
thu
tu |
[uː]
[duː] |
[u]
[du]
|
| e |
[ɛː] |
[ə]
|
| i |
[iː] |
[i]
|
| sinn |
[ʃiːNʲ] |
[ʃiNʲ]
|
| sibh |
[ʃiːv] |
[ʃiv]
|
| iad |
[iəd] |
[əd]
|
Personal pronouns with emphatic suffixes
| mise |
[mĩʃə]
|
thusa
tusa |
[usə]
[dusə]
|
| esan |
[ɛsən]
|
| ise |
[iʃə]
|
| sinne |
[ʃiNʲə]
|
| sibhse |
[ʃiːvʃə]
|
| iadsan |
[iədsən]
|
Possessive pronoun
| mo chù |
[mə'xuː]
|
| do chù |
[də'xuː]
|
| a chù |
[ə'xuː]
|
| a cù |
[ə'kuː]
|
| ar cù |
[ər'kuː]
|
| ur cù |
[ər'kuː]
|
| an cù |
[əŋ'kuː]
|
Possessive pronoun with emphatic suffixes
| mo chù-sa |
[mə'xuːsə]
|
| do chù-sa |
[də'xuːsə ]
|
| a chù-san |
[ə'xuːsən]
|
| a cù-se |
[ə'kuːʃə]
|
| ar cù-ne |
[ər'kuːnə]
|
| ur cù-se |
[ər'kuːʃə]
|
| an cù-san |
[ən'kuːsən]
|
Possessive pronoun with initial vowel
| m' anam |
[manam]
|
| d' anam |
[danam]
|
| anam |
[anam]
|
| a h-anam |
[ə'hanam]
|
| ar n-anam |
[ər'nanam]
|
| ur n-anam |
[ər'nanam]
|
| an anam |
[ə'nanam]
|
Possessive pronoun with initial vowel and emphatic suffixes
| m' anam-sa |
[manamsə]
|
| d' anam-sa |
[danamsə]
|
| anam-san |
[anamsən]
|
| a h-anam-se |
[ə'hanamʃə]
|
| ar n-anam-ne |
[ər'nanamnə]
|
| ur n-anam-se |
[ər'nanamʃə]
|
| an anam-san |
[ə'nanamsən]
|