CHAPTER IV.
THE PRONOUN.
Personal Pronoun.
528. The personal pronouns agree with the nouns for which they stand in gender, number and person: as, He is a big man. Is mór an fear é. They are big men. Is mór na fir iad.
529. A personal pronoun which stands for a noun the gender of which is different from its sex, agrees in gender with the sex of the noun; as, Is maiṫ an cailín í. She is a good girl. Is olc an ċoṁursa é. He is a bad neighbour.
530. In Irish we have no neuter pronoun corresponding to the English “it;” hence, in translating “it,” we must determine the gender of the Irish noun (masculine or feminine) and then use sé (he) or sí (she) accordingly:[1] as, It is terrible weather. Is caillte an aimsir í. Is to-day Friday? An í an Aoine atá againn? Dob í an ḟírinne í. It was the truth. Tá an casúr agam, ní ḟuil sé trom. I have the hammer, it is not heavy.
- ↑ The word áit although feminine takes sometimes a masculine pronoun, as, Is deas an áit é. It is a nice place.
Notice also—
Is é or Is í mo ḃaraṁail, mo ṫuairim, &c. It is my opinion, &c., &c.
