Blair Collection > Elements of Gaelic grammar

Chap. II.] OF SYNTAX. 169
'naomhachadh, gnathachadh, brifeadh,' admit of a regular
Genitive, 'naomhachaidh, gnathachaidh, brifidh. In the
following examples, thefe Infinitives, becaufe they govern a
fubfequent noun in the Genitive, are themfelves in the No-
minative, though their relation to the preceding word na-
turally requires their being put in the Genitive Cafe. ' Tha
' an treas aithne a' toirmeafg mi-naomhach«^//j no mi-
' ghnzthachadh ni fam bitb,' &c. the third commandment for-
bids the profaning or the ahufmg of any thing , &c. AiTem. Cat,
Gael. Edin. 1792. Anfwer to Q^SS' * ^^^ fheud luchd-
' hriieadh na h-aithne io dol as/ &c. id. 0^56. though the
tranfgrejfors of this commandment may efcape, &c. ' Cuis crath-
' adh cinn is cz.{adh beil,* Pfal. xxii 7. as it is in the older
editions of the Gaelic Pfalms. * An delgh \&\\^adh an
* lagha,' after the reading of the Laiv, Acts, xiii. 15. * luchd
* cnmadh uilc,' Rom. i. 30. (m)
The
(m) These examples suggest, and seem to autliorise a special
use of this idiom of Gaelic Syntax, which, if uniformly observed,
might contribute much to the perspicuity and precision of many
common expressions. When a compound term occurs, made up
of a Noun and an Infinitive governed by that Noun ; it often
happens that this term itself governs another Noun in the Ge-
nitive. Let the two parts of the compound term be viewed se-
parately. If it appear that the subsequent Noun is governed
by \\\i; former part of the compound word, then the latter part
should remain regularly in the Genitive Case. But if the sub-
sequent Noun be governed by the latter part of the compound
word j then, agreeably to the construction exemplified in the
above passages, that latter part, which is here supposed to be
an Infinitive, should fall back into the Nominative Case, Thus
'tigh-coimhfd an Righ' the King's store house, whpre the Noun
'Righ' is governed by 'tigh', the former term of the compound
word -y but *tigh-coim.hfcd an ionmhais', John viii. 20. the house
for keeping the treasure, where Monmhals' is governed by 'coimh-
* ead', which is therefore put in the Nominative instead of the
Genitive. So 'luchd-coimh/d', Matt, xxviii. 4. when no other
Noun is governed ; but 'fear-coirahd-wd a' phriosuin*. Acts, xvi.
27, 35. where the last Noun is governed in the Genitive by
'coinih^fld', which is therefore put in the Nominative. So also
* fear-coimh/d', Psal. cxxi. 3. but ' fear-coimhfad Israeli', Psal.
Y cxxi.