Elements of Gaelic Grammar

by Alexander Stewart

CHAPTER IV.

OF PRONOUNS.

The Pronouns are, for the most part, words used instead of nouns. They may be arranged under the following divisions: Personal, Possessive, Relative, Demonstrative, Interrogative, Indefinite, Compound.

The Personal Pronouns are those of the 1st, 2d, and 3d persons. They have a Singular and a Plural Number, a Simple and an Emphatic Form. They are declined thus:—

Singular.					Plural.
Simple Form.				Emphat. F.		Simple F.		Emphat.
1.		Mi, mhi, I, me,		Mise, mhise.		Sinn, we, us,		Sinne.
2.		Th, thu, thou,		Tusa, thusa.		Sibh, ye, you		Sibhse.
		Thu, thee,
3.		E, se, he,		Esan.
		E, him,
		I, si, she,		Ise.		Iad, siad, they		Iadsan[[40]]
		I, her,				Iad, them,

The Pronoun 'sibh' you, of the plural number is used almost universally in addressing a single person of superior rank or of greater age; while 'tu' thou, of the singular number is used in addressing an inferior or an equal. But the degree of seniority or of superiority, which is understood to entitle a person to this token of respect, varies in different parts of the Highlands[^[41]]. The Supreme Being is always addressed by the pronoun 'tu' thou, of the singular number.

The Possessive Pronouns correspond to the Personal Pronouns, and, like them, may be called those of the 1st, 2d, and 3d persons singular, and 1st, 2d, and 3d persons plural. They have an Emphatic Form, which is made by connecting the syllable sa with the possessive pronoun of the 1st, 2d,

and 3d persons singular, and 2d person plural; ne with that of the 1st person plural, and san with that of the 3d person plural. These syllables are placed immediately after the nouns to which the possessive pronouns are prefixed, and connected by a hyphen.

These Pronouns are as follow:—

Simple.			Emphatic.		Simple.	Emphatic.
Singular.					Plural.
1.		Mo, my,	mo mhac-sa		1. Ar, our,	ar mac-ne
2.		Do, thy,	do ——sa		2. Bhur, 'ur, your,	bhur ——sa
3.		A, his,	a mhac-sa, san		3. An, am, their,	an, am ——sa, san
		A, her,	a mac-sa, san

If the noun be followed by an adjective, the emphatic syllable is affixed to the adjective; as, do làmh gheal-sa thy white hand.

The possessive pronouns mo, do, when followed by a vowel, commonly lose the o, whose absence is marked by an apostrophe; as, m' aimn my name; d' athair[^[42]] thy father. The same pronouns when preceded by the preposition ann in, suffer a transposition of their letters, and are written am, ad, one broad vowel being substituted for another, as, ann ad chridhe in thy heart, 1 Sam. xiv. 7, ann am aire in my thoughts.

The possessive pronoun a his, is often suppressed altogether after a vowel; as, na sanntaich bean do choimhearsnaich, no oglach, no bhanoglach, no dhamh, no asal, covet not thy neighbour's wife, or his man-servant, or his maid-servant, &c., Exod. xx. 17. In these and similar instances, as the tense is but imperfectly expressed (especially when the noun begins with a vowel), and cannot be gathered with certainty from any other part of the sentence, perhaps it might

be an improvement to retain the pronoun, even at the expense of cutting off the final vowel of the preceding word; as, n' a oglach, n' a bhanoglaich, &c. In many cases, however, this appears hardly practicable; as, cha bheo athair his father is not alive, which could not with any propriety be written cha bheo a athair[^[43]].

The word fein corresponding to the English words self, own, is subjoined occasionally both to the personal and possessive pronouns: thus mi fein myself, mise fein I myself, thu fein thyself, thusa fein thou thyself, or thy own self, mo shluagh fein my own people.

The other Pronouns are as follow:—

	Relative.	Demonstrative.	Interrogative.
N.	A, who, which, that.	So, this, these.	Co? who?
G.&D.	An.	Sin, that, those.	Cia? which?
	Nach, who not, which not,	Sud[[44]], ud, yon.	Ciod, creud? what?
	Na, that which, what[[45]].

Indefinite.		Compound.
Eigin,	some.	E so, this one, m.	E sud, yon one, m.
Ge b'e, Cia b'e	whoever[[46]].	I so, this one, f.	I sud, yon one, f.
Eile,	other.	Iad so, these.	Iad sud, yon, pl.
Gach, Cach,	each, every[[47]].	E sin, that one, m.	Cach eile, the rest.
Cach,	others, the rest.	Iad sin, those.	Cach a chéile, each other[[48]].
Cuid,	some.