Ann (preposition)

• For other prepositions see prepositions

The preposition ann primarily means "in" although it has some secondary usages marking stative constructions, occupations and professions, as well as being used as the word meaning "there" in existentials, and the augment found with predicate clefts. Unlike most prepositions, ann does not lenite but takes the dative.

Forms

Simple forms

• bare form: ann 'on'
• indefinite form: ann an 'in a' (note that the an here is NOT the definite determiner. It's a reduplication of the "in" preposition)
• definite form: anns an 'in the' (also anns a', anns na etc.)

Basic inflected forms

Like most prepositions, ann can be inflected for person, number, and gender. For example, to say "in me", we use the single word annam.

		singular	plural
1st		annam	annainn
2nd		annad	annaibh
3rd	Masc	ann	annta
	Fem	innte

Emphatic Inflected forms

Special emphatic forms are used if we want to emphasize the pronoun in the inflected preposition. (e.g. ormsa "on ME")

		singular	plural
1st		annamsa	annainne
2nd		annadsa	annaibhsa
3rd	Masc	annsan	anntasan
	Fem	inntese

Possessive inflected forms:

Special forms are used for possessives. They are particularly frequently used in stative constructions (Mark 2004:20)

		singular	plural
1st		namL	narN
2nd		nadL	nurN
3rd	Masc	naL	nanN
	Fem	naH

nam is used instead of nan "their" in front of words beginning with the labial consonants <b>, <p>, <m>, and <f>

References

Mark, Colin (2004) The Gaelic-English Dictionary/Am Faclair Gàidhlig-Beurla. London: Routledge

Notes

In this document, as elsewhere, ^L indicates lenition and ^N indicates eclipsis, (prefixation of an n- before a word beginning with vowels, and a nasalization of the next consonant (not indicated in the orthography) and ^H indicates antilenition (the prefixation of h before words beginning with vowels).