Hew Morrison Collection > Practical lessons in Gaelic

practical lessons in gaelic. 35
First Declension.
i. a. Singular — masculine.
1. The genitive singular inserts i after the last broad
vowel ; as, Bard, ???., a 2>oet ; gen. bài'rd, of a poet.
2. The dative is like the nominative plain or aspirated.
3. The vocative is like the genitive aspirated.
6. Plural — masculine.
4. The nominative plural masculine of monosyllables is
like the genitive singular.
a. Polysyllables make tlie plural by adding an to the gen. sing. ; as,
Aonach, a hill ; pi. aonazchcaw.
5. The genitive plural is like the nominative sing, aspir-
ated.
a. The genitive plural of polysyllables is often like the nom. plural.
6. The dative plur. is like the nom. plur., or is formed by-
adding ibh to the nom. singular.
a. Nouns in -bh, and -inh, have the dative plural like the nom. plural.
7. The vocative plural is like the nom. plural, or it ends
in a or e.
a. Monosyllables make the vocative plural in a or e.
a. a. Feminine — singular.
1 . The genitive singular feminine inserts i and adds e ; as,
Bròg, /. a shoe, gen. bròige.
a. In words of more than one syllable the addition of e is optional.
2. The dative is like the gen. without the final e.
3. When the last vowel of the nom. is i, the genitive is
formed by adding e only ; as, Cruit, /. a harp, cruite, of a
harp.
4. The vocative is like the nom. aspirated.
5. The nominative plural feminine adds ail.
6. The genitive plural is like the nom. singular or plural ;
but that of monosyllables whose last vowel is broad, is
oftener like the nominative singular.
a. The other cases are like the plural masculine.
7. Certain nouns masculine, and feminine, having a, a, ea,
eu, ia, io, change the vowel or diphthong before inserting i.
See 2nd table of Declensions.