Of the Agreement of an Adjective with a Noun.
Collocation.
When an Adjective and the Noun which it qualifies are in the same clause or member of a sentence, the Adjective is usually placed after its Noun; as, ceann liath, a hoary head; duine ro ghlic, a very wise man. If they be in different clauses, or if the one be in the subject, and the other in the predicate of a proposition, this rule does not apply; as, is glic an duine sin, that is a wise man; cha truagh leam do chor, I do not think your case unfortunate.
1. Numerals, whether Cardinal or Ordinal, to which add, iomadh many, gach every, are placed before their Nouns; as, tri lathan, three days; an treas latha, the third day; iomadh duine, many a man; gach eun g' a nead, every bird to its nest.—Except such instances as the following : Righ Tearlach a h-Aon, King Charles the First; Righ Seumas a Cuig, King James the Fifth.
2. The possessive pronouns mo, do, &c., are always placed before their nouns; as, mo lamh, my hand. The interrogatives co, cia, &c., are placed before their nouns, with the article intervening; as, cia am fear? which man?
3. Some adjectives of one syllable are usually placed before their Nouns; as, deadh dhuine, a good man; droch ghniomh, a bad action; seann sluagh, old people. Such Adjectives, placed before their Nouns, often combine with them, so as to represent one complex idea, rather than two distinct ones; and the adjective and noun, in that situation, may rather be considered as one complex term, than as two distinct words, and written accordingly; as, oigfhear, a young man; ogbhean, a young woman; garbhchriochan, rude regions[[97]].
Form.
Though a Gaelic Adjective possesses a variety of Forms, yet its Form is not always determined by the Noun whose signification it modifies. The Form of the Adjective depends on its Noun, when it immediately follows the Noun, or only with the intervention of an intensitive Particle, ro, gle, &c., and when both the Noun and the Adjective are in the Subject, or both in the Predicate, or in the same clause or member of a sentence. In all other situations, the form of the Adjective does in no respect depend on the Noun; or, in other words, the Adjective does not agree with the Noun[[98]].
To illustrate this rule, let the following examples be attentively considered:—Is beag orm a' ghaoth fhuar, I dislike the cold wind; is beag orm fuaim na gaoithe fuaire, I dislike the sound of the cold wind; is beag orm seasamh anns a' ghaoith fhuair, I dislike standing in the cold wind. In these examples, the Adjective and the Noun are both in the same clause or member of a sentence, and therefore they must agree together. In the following examples the Adjective and the Noun do not necessarily agree together:—Is fuar a' ghaoth á tuath, cold is the wind from the north; is tric leis a' ghaoith á tuath bhi fuar, it is usual for the wind from the north to be cold. In these examples, the Noun is in the Subject, and the Adjective in the Predicate of the proposition.