Plural Formation
From Scottish Gaelic Grammar Wiki
Revision as of 17:56, 24 June 2009 by AndrewCarnie (talk | contribs)
- for a definition of plural see Plural (definition)
- for an article on the inflection of adjectives in the plural see XXX
Contents
Plural type 1 Slenderization
Plural type 1.1 - Orthographic i
Make the final consonant slender orthographically by inserting an i before the final consonant. This sometimes shifts the pronunciation of the final vowel as well. /bor'əNəx/ --> /bor'əNiç/.
| Common singular | Common/Dative plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| an cat | na cait | cat |
| am boireannach | na boireannaich | woman |
| an t-òran | na h-òrain | song |
Plural type 1.2 - Orthographic vowel change
Make the final vowel slender by changing the orthographic vowel
| Common singular | Common/Dative plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| an t-iasg | na h-èisg | fish |
| am bòrd | na bùird | table |
Plural type 2 - suffix (e)an
Plural type 2.1 suffix -an
| Common singular | Common/Dative Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| an gille | an gillean | boy |
| a' nighean | na nigheanan | girl |
| a' chraobh | na chraobhan | tree |
| a' bhròg | na brògan | shoe |
| a' phòg | na pògan | kiss |
| a' sgian | na sgianan | knife |
2.2 suffix -ean
| Common singular | Common/Dative plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| an taigh | na taighean | house |
| an t-iasgadair | na hiasgadairan | fisherman |
2.3 make slender and suffix -ean
| Common singular | Common/Dative plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| an clàrsach | na clàrsaichean | harp |
| an rathad | na rathaidean | road |
| am monadh | na monaidhean | moor |
2.4 syncope and suffix -an
| Common singular | Common/Dative plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| an t-ubhal | na h-ubhlan | egg |
Suffix anan
rium riumanan room
Suffix tan
| Common singular | Common/Dative plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| a' bheinn | na beanntan | mountain |
Plural type 3, suffix (a)ichean
| singular | plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| an car | na càraichean | car |
| an bocsa | na bocsaichean | box |
| am bàta | na bàtaichean | boat |
irregular plurals
| singular | plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| a' chaora | na caoraich | sheep |
| an cù | na coin | |
| an duine | na daoine | husband/person |
| a' mhuir | na marannan | sea |
| a' bhò | na ba | cow |