Book 3:
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Preface
Phonetics

EXercise CXIX

§ 679. The past tense of is is ba (bo, almost like bu in but); as, ba linn an áit, the place was ours.

§ 680. This ba causes aspiration of the first consonant of the following adjective: as ba ḋeas (yas) an áit í, it was a nice place; ba ṁaiṫ (wah) liom sin, I like that. Words beginningw ith t are not usually aspirated.

§ 681. When the adjective following begins with a vowel or f (which, of course, becomes aspirated and thus silent), the a of ba is omitted, as b'olc (bŭlk) liom sin, I did not like that; b'ḟearr (baar) liom Cormac ná Seumas, I preferred Cormac to James.

§ 682. Is olc le Niall an fíon úd, Niall thinks that wine is bad, does not like it. Ní h-olc liom sin, I rather like that, I don't think it bad.

§ 683. Translate into English

• Ba ṁór (Wōr) an sgeul é sin.
• Ba mhór, go diemhin.
• Ní maith liom sgeul ró-fhada, is fearr liom sgeul gearr, deas.
• Ba ġeal (yal) an oiḋċe í sin; do ḃiḋeamar amuiġ.
• B bheag an áit í.
• Ba h-eaḋ (h-yah) go deiṁin.
• Ba tirim an áit í sin i gcomhnuidhe.
• Ní h-olc liom é, agus ní maith liom é.
• Is fearr an t-ocras ná an t-olc, is fearr an eagla ná an náire.
• An fearr leat an stól ná an chathaoir?
• Is maith an fear thú, a Sheamuis.
• Is fearr an fear thusa, a Dhiarmuid.
• Ní fearr liom sac ná mála.

§ 684. Is aoiḃinn (ee'-vin) duit, 'tis well for you, or is maiṫ ḋuit. So ní h-aoiḃinn dó, it is not well for him; b'aoiḃinn (bee'-vin) dóiḃ, it was well for them.

§ 685. Ba is also the conditional mood of is = would be; ba ḋeas an rud é, it would be a nice thing; ba ṁaiṫ liom dul a ḃaile, I should like to go home; b'ḟiú (bew) ḋuit dul go Baile-Áṫa-Cliaṫ, It would be worth your while (worthy for you) to go to Dublin.

This word is also spelled baḋ and buḋ in many books, etc.

§ 686. Translate into Irish

• I got a drink from you yesterday, it was a sweet drink.
• We got money from that man.
• It was well for you that he never gave me money.
• I'd rather go home than go to Scotland. I am not a scotchman.
• There was a man in Erin long ago, and he had a wife and a son, and a nice little house.
• I would rather hav ea little book than a big book.
• There is Irish and English in the little green book.
• Is this Irish or English? It is Irish.
• I'd rather have our own language (teanga taNG'-ă) than another language.
• Our own language is a sweet language—is milis an teanga ar dtí féin.

note that
phonetic
symbols
are not
necessarily pronounced
as in English

See § 13-16