Blair Collection > Elements of Gaelic grammar

56 OF THE PARTS [Part 11.
the nonimati\'e plural ends in a confonant, the dative plural
is formed by adding ibh to the nominative Angular -, as
*crann' m, a tree, n. p. *croinn', d. p. *crannaibh'; 'mac' m.
n/ori, n. p. *mic' d. p, 'macaibh.' — If the nominative plu-
ral ends in a vowel> the final vowel is changed into ibh /
as *tobar' a wf//, n. p. 'tobraiche', d. p. 'tobraichibh.'
2. Monofyllables ending in an afpirated confonant, which
have their nominative plural like the genitive lingular, form
their dative plural like the nominative plural ; as 'damh' an
op(, g. f. and n. p. Maimh' d. p. 'daimh' not 'damhaibh*;
'iiadh' m. a deer, g. f. and n. p. and d. p. *feidh.' So
*fluagh' m, people, hojl, g. f. *fluaigh', n. p, and d. p, 'floigh."
— Nouns ending in ch, of three or more fyllables, form their
dative plural like the nominative plural, rather than in ibh ,•
as *colmhearfnach' m. a neighbour, d. p. *coimhearfnaich' ra-
ther than *coimh€arfnachaibh'j ^phairifeach' m. a Pharifeej
d. p, 'phairifich' rather than * phairlfeachaibh.'
Vocative. The vocative plural is like the nominative plu-
ral, terminating in a, but feldom in an ; as *fear m. a ?»««,
n. p. 'fir' or *feara', v. p. 'fheara'-, *oglach' m. zfervant,
n. p. 'oglaich', v. p, 'oglacha.' Except perhaps monofyl-
lables which never form their nominative plural in «, nor
their dative plural in ibh j as *damh' m. an o.v, n. p. Maimh'^
V. p. * dhaimh' j 'a fhloigh' Rom. xv. 1 1 .
The irregular noun 'Bean' f. a woman, is declined thus ;
Singular. Plural.
Nom. Bean Mnai, mnathan
Gen. Mna Ban
Dat. Mnaoi Mnathaibh
Fee. Bhean. Mhnathan.