Prepositional Phrases

When the complement is indefinite

le	peann.
with	pen
'WIth a pen.' (Adger 2000)

Do	taigh.
to	house
'To a house.' (Adger 2000)

When the complement is definite

• prepositions appear in their definite forms

leis	a'	pheann.
with.def	the	pen
'WIth the pen.' (Adger 2000)

Dhan	an	taigh.
to.def	the	house
'To a house.' (Adger 2000)

When the complement is a demonstrative or a possessive NP

• prepositions do not appear in their definite forms

ri	seo.
to	this
'To this.' (Adger 2000)

*ris	seo.
to.def	this (Adger 2000)

ri	mo	bhràthair.
to	1sg.poss	brother
'To my brother.' (Adger 2000)

*ris	mo	bhràthair.
to.def	1sg.poss	brother (Adger 2000)

When the definite DP complement is extracted out of the PP

• prepositions do not appear in their definite forms

'S

e

an

duine

a

bha

an seo

an-dè

a

dh'fheuch

mi

ri

mharbhadh.

cop.pres

3sg.m

the

man

wh-C

be.pres

here

yesterday

wh-C

try.pst

1sg

to

kill.vn

'It was the man that was here yesterday that I tried to kill.' (Adger 2000)

*'S

e

an

duine

a

bha

an seo

an-dè

a

dh'fheuch

mi

ris

mharbhadh.

cop.pres

3sg.m

the

man

wh-C

be.pres

here

yesterday

wh-C

try.pst

1sg

to.def

kill.vn (Adger 2000)

See Also

• Preposition (definition)
• Phrase (definition)
• Prepositional Inflection