Books and other items printed in Gaelic from 1841 to 1870 > Stéidhean a' Ghràmair Ghaëlig

CO-'RIANACHADH FHOCAL.
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Tha sìnn a' dol a òhualadh, we are going to strihe. Thainig
ìad a c?/*-ionnsachadh, they came to learn.
L — Auxiliary verbs, and verbs requiring a preposition after
them, govern the Infinitive without anobject, in its plain form ;
as, Fèumaidh mì èualadh, / must strike. Abair ri Tòmas
òualadh.
2. — When the Infinitive has a noun or an emphatic personal
pronoun for its object, it is aspirated with its sign before it ; as,
Fèumar an t-aodach a ^Aasgadh. Is urrainn * è mis' a cAiùr-
radh, he can hurt me. Chaidh ìad a JA-ìarraidh na sprèidhe,
they went to seek the cattle.
3, — Brath,f Chum, Gu, Gus, Los, Air ti, are used before the
Infinitive, to express purpose, design, or intention. ' An comh-
air, or 'an coinneamh, 'an impis, before the Infinitive, denote
nearness of action or effect ; as,
Am beil thu brath faibh ? do you intend to depart ?
Chum furtachd a dhe&namh òrm, in order to help me.
Claidheamh gèur gu sgoltadh cheànn, a sharp sword (for)
to cleave heads. — S. D.
Dol 'n àn èideadh los na rèubalaich a thilleadh, putting on
their armour (in order) to turn back the rebels. — D. M'Int.
Tha è air tì am marbhadh, he designs to kill them.
Tha 'n ròp 'an comhair or 'an coinneamh briseadh, the rope is
like to break, nearly broken.
Bha è '» impis sgàineadh, it was like to burst, — nearly burst-
* Lamh, a hand, is often used instead of the auxiliary is urrainn, in manj' parts
of the JNorth, and pronounced short ; as, cha làmli mì sgrìobhadh, / cannot write,
i. e. I am not a liand to write. Lamhaidh è do phàidheadh, he can pay you.
Lamhainn a' chlach a thogail, I could lìft the stone. In this sense, lamh has all
the inflections oifaodaklh or fèumaidh. — See page 122.
f The Intìnitive in Latin and English is also governed by nouns and adjectives ;
as, " tempus sohere co\\à."—Virg. " Cupiens cognosce?-e." " A time to kill and
a time to heal." — Bib. " Desirous to learn." The Gaelic Infinitive preceded by
Brath, chum, &c. is dependent on these words, and governed by them as it is by
a single verb ; as, a' brath mo bhualadh, intending to strike me. (Jhum àm marbh-
adh, to kill them. Chum an sluagh a mharbhadh, to kill the people. But when
the Infinitive expresses no objective or transitive action, and is employed simply
as a substantive noun denoting the act or etìect of its verb, it falls under the or-
dinary government of nouns and prepositions ; as, àm lèughatàh, tempus legendi,
time of reading. Mar chaoraich chum marbhatdh, sicut ovcs occisionis, as sheep
for the slaughter. — Rom. viii. 36. Dr Stewart and the learned Editor of the
transcript of his grammar prefixed to the Highland Society's Dictionarium
Scoto-Cjelticum, must have either overlooked or mistaken the government of the
Infinitive as a noun, when they state that " the Infinitive is not put in the genitive
when it is preceded by a possessive pronoun," but this is not the case ; as, " chum
mo phòsai'dh or a dh-ionnsuidh mo phòsad'dh," to my marriage. ' ' Eirich chum mo
chuideachai'dhj stand upfor mine help."—Ps. xxxv. 2.— Vkle p. 107.