Blair Collection > Elements of Gaelic grammar

152 OF SYNTAX. [Part III.
SECTION II.
OF THE AGREEMENT OF AN ADJECTIVE WITH A NOUN.
Collocation.
When an Adjective and the Noun which it qualifies are
in the same clause or member of a sentence, the Adjective
is usually placed after its Noun ; as 'ceann liath' a hoary
head^ 'duine ro ghlic' a very wise man. If they be in dif-
ferent clauses, or if the one be in the subject, and the other
in the predicate of a proposition, this rule does not apply ;
as 'is glic an duine sin' that is a ivise man., 'cha truagh learn.
' do chor' / do fiot think your case unfortunate.
1. Numerals, whether Cardinal or Ordinal, to which
add 'iomadh' many, 'gach' eiiery., are placed before their
Nouns ; as 'tri lathan' three days., 'an treas latha' the third
day ; 'iomadh duine' many a man, 'gach eun g' a nead' every
bird to its nest. — Except such instances as the following ;
'Righ Tcarlach a h-aon' King Charles the First, *Righ
' Seumas a cuig' King James the Fifth.
2. The possessive pronouns *mo, do,' &c. are always
placed before their nouns ; as *mo lamh' my hand. — The
interrogatives 'co, cia,' &c. are placed before their nouns,
with the article interv^ening ; as * cia am fear ?' which man?
3. Some adjectives of one syllable are usually placed be-
fore their Nouns ; as *deadh dhuine' a good man., 'droch
* ghniomh' a had action., 'seann sluagh, old people. Such
Adjectives, placed before their Nouns, often combine with
them, so as to represent one complex idea, rather than two
distinct ones; and the adjective and noun, in that situation,
may rather be considered as one complex term, than as two
distinct words, and written accordingly j as 'oigf hear' a young
man
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