77 Relative Sentences
77 Relative Sentences
Grammar
The simplest way to extend the basic sentence is to join two sentences with ‘and’, ‘but’, etc.
E.g. I gave him the book but it was torn.
The two parts of the sentence are of equal strength: either could stand alone as a complete sentence:
I gave him the book. It was torn.
We can make the sentence more interesting by using a ‘relative’ clause.
I gave him the book that was torn.
Relative clauses in English are introduced by ‘that’, ‘who’, ‘whose’, ‘which’ etc.
E.g. I gave the pie to Fionn, who was hungry.
Seán, who is kind, gave him the book.
Seán gave him the book, which was kind.
There are three types of relative sentence in Irish.
Direct relative
Direct relative clauses in English begin with a relative pronoun
(‘that’, ‘who’, ‘whom,’ ‘which’ etc):-
I gave the pie to Fionn, who was hungry.
Catríona is the girl that he saw. (or)
Catríona is the girl whom he saw.
Seán, who is kind, gave him the book.
Seán gave him the book, which was kind.
Direct relative clauses in Irish begin with the relative pronoun a [+séimhiú] and the independent form of an irregular verb: atá, a bhí, a chuaigh, a rinne, a fuair, a chonaic, a gheobhaidh.
An cailín a dhéanann an obair … The girl who does the work ...
Na daoine a bhí míshásta … The people who were unhappy …
An gluaisteán a chonaic mé sa gharáiste … The car that I saw in the garage ...
An obair a rinne mé. … The work that I did ...
Tomás a chuaigh go Méiriceá … Tom who went to America ...
An chéad uair a bhí mé ann … The first time that I was there …
An dinnéar a ith sé … The dinner that he ate.
You can also say a d’ith sé … [All verbs beginning with a vowel can have either form.]
The word tá has a special relative form atá:
An leabhar atá ar an deasca … The book that is on the desk …
atá already begins with the letter a. The other verbs add the a as a separate word.
Notice that fuair does not take the séimhiú change:
An fear a fuair an t-airgead … The man who found the money …
We can make a long string of these direct relative clauses, in both English and Irish…
An fear a cheap mé a chonaic mé… The man I thought I saw…
The car that hit the tree that fell across the road…
An gluaisteán a bhuail an crann a thit trasna an bhóthair…
An tarbh a chonaic sé ‘The bull that he saw’.
An tarbh a chonaic é ‘The bull that saw him’.
But notice...
An tarbh a chonaic an feirmeoir can mean either
‘The bull that saw the farmer’ or
‘the farmer that saw the bull’.
Exercises
A. 1. An t-éan a bhí in airde sa chrann. 2. Na paisnéirí a tháinig ó Albain. 3. An tiománaí a chuaigh go Daru. 4. An súinéir a thóg an teach. 5. An búistéir a bhain de a hata. 6. An tEaspag a thug don sagart é. 7. An cócaire a chuir na miasa ar an mbord. 8. An dalta a rinne an dearmad. 9. An cat a fuair an luch. 10. An tseanbhean a chaill an mála.
B. 1. The dog that was in the house. 2. The girl who came to Galway. 3. The old man who went to Athlone. 4. The child that took the sweet from his Mammy. 5. The boy who took a pear from the tree. 6. The cobbler who gave the shoes to the beggar. 7. The farmer who planted the seed. 8. The craftsman who made the sculpture. 9. The sailor who saw the ocean. 10. This is the cow that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that killed the rat, that ate the malt, that lay in the house that Jack built.
Key to Exercises
A. 1. The bird that was up in the tree. 2. The passengers who came from Scotland. 3. The driver that went to Durrow. 4. The carpenter who built the house. 5. The butcher who took off his hat. 6. The bishop who gave it to the priest. 7. The cook who put the dishes on the table. 8. The pupil who made the mistake. 9. The cat that got the mouse. 10. The old woman who lost the bag.
B. 1. An madra a bhí sa teach. 2. An cailín a tháinig go Gaillimh. 3. An seanduine a chuaigh go hÁth Luain. 4. An páiste a thóg an milseán dá Mhamaí. 5. An garsún a bhain piorra den chrann. 6. An gréasaí a thug na brógaí don bhacach. 7. An feirmeoir a chuir an síol, 8. An saor a rinne an dealbh. 9. An mairnéalach a chonaic an t-aigéan. 10. Seo í an bhó a chaith an madra, a chuir isteach an cat, a mharaigh an francach, a ith an braich, a bhí ina luí sa teach a thóg Seán.
=
Now let us put these direct relative clauses into longer sentences:
“The people who were unhappy went overseas.”
[*D'imigh na daoine a bhí míshásta thar sáile.]
This would make sense, but it sounds ‘wrong’ in Irish. We phrase it like this:
Na daoine a bhí míshásta d'imigh siad thar sáile.
The people who were unhappy (they) went overseas.
It is considered bad style in English to repeat the pronoun, but good style in Irish.
An cailín a dhéanann an obair tá sí an-mhacánta.
The girl who does the work is very honest.
The boy who worked here on Monday finished on Wednesday.
An buachaill a d’oibrigh anseo Dé Luain críochnaigh sé Dé Céadaoin. Or
An buachaill a oibrigh anseo Dé Luain críochnaigh sé Dé Céadaoin.
That or which?
In careful English, there is a distinction between clauses beginning with that or which. Compare:
He sold the house that was falling down.
Here the relative clause (in Italics) simply gives more information about the house.
He sold the house, which was sensible.
Here the relative clause (in italics) adds a new line of thought to the entire sentence.
This distinction can be made in Irish:
Dhíol sé an teach a bhí ag titim. He sold the house that was falling down.
Dhíol sé an teach, rud a bhí ciallmhar. He sold the house, (a thing) which was sensible.
Emphasis
Tháinig sé inné - he came yesterday.
If we want to emphasize the word ‘yesterday’, we can bring it to the front by using the copula ‘is’ + a direct relative clause.
Is inné a tháinig sé - it is yesterday he came.
Also after the words for this & that…
Is í sin an obair a rinne mé / Sin í an obair a rinne mé. That's the work that I did.
Ba í sin an obair a rinne mé / B’shin í an obair a rinne mé That was the work that I did.
Áit an-álainn ab ea í sin / Áit an-álainn ba ea í sin A very beautiful place it was.
Uair
The direct relative is also used after the word uair “time”:
An chéad uair a bhí mé ann. The first time that I was there.
Indirect relative clauses
These sentences connect the second clause to the main clause using “whose”, “of which” “in which”, “on which” (etc) ...
These phrases are introduced by a [+urú] or go [+urú] with the dependent form of the verb (you have the choice of a or go):
a bhfuil, a raibh, a ndeachaigh, a ndearna, a ndúirt, a bhfuair, a bhfaca, a bhfaighaidh.
go bhfuil, go raibh, go ndeachaigh, go ndearna, go ndúirt, go bhfuair, go bhfaca,
go bhfaighaidh.
For regular verbs in the past tense, use: ar [+séimhiú] {or} gur [+séimhiú]:–
Is é seo an fear ar bhuail mé leis san oifig.
Is é seo an fear gur bhuail mé leis san oifig. This is the man that I met at the office.
Indirect relative clauses with ‘whose’
an fear go bhfuil a dheirfiúr san ospidéal “the man whose sister is in the hospital”
(lit. “the man of whom his sister is in the hospital”)
or for regular verbs:
an fear gur thug a iníon céad punt dó
“the man whose daughter gave him a hundred pounds” or “the man to whom his daughter gave a hundred pounds”
Indirect relative clauses with a preposition
Just as in English, there are two ways to phrase these sentences:
The house that I was in … An teach go raibh mé ann.
The house in which I was … An teach ina raibh mé.
In modh táite: An teach ina rabhas.
Which is the room she is in? … Cé acu seomra go bhfuil sí ann?
Cé acu seomra ina bhfuil sí?
In English, we would hardly say ‘Which is the room in which she is?’ It is clumsy in
English, but not in Irish; and it is heard more often than the alternative.
The room that I slept in … An seomra gur chodail mé ann
(lit. “the room that I slept in it”) Remember that in Irish we never have a ‘dangling
preposition’; we complete the sense with the inbuilt pronoun, eg. ionam, ionat, ann etc.
The room in which I slept … An seomra inar chodail mé.
In modh táite: An seomra inar chodlaíos.
But it is also correct Irish to say An seomra gur chodail mé ann.
And in a complete sentence:
The room [that] I slept in was warm and comfortable.
An seomra inar chodail mé, bhí sé te compórdach.
(Remember that we do not put agus between two adjectives.)
Exercises
A 1. An fear ag a bhfuil an t-airgead. 2. An seac gur thóg tú an carr leis. 3. An bata gur bhuail an robálaí fear an tí leis. 4. An radharc gur fhéach sé air. 5. An baile ina bhfaca Seán an bhean.
+++++
A 1. The man that has the money. 2. The jack that you raised the car with. 3. The stick that the robber hit the Man of the House with. 4. The view that he was looking at. 5. The town in which Seán saw the woman.
Now let us put these indirect relative clauses into full sentences:
B 1. An fear ag a bhfuil an t-airgead, tá sé mantach. 2. An seac gur thóg tú an carr leis, bhí sé meirgeach. 3. An bata gur bhuail an robálaí fear an tí leis, fuair na gardaí é. 4. An radharc gur fhéach sé air, tá sé suite i gContae an Chláir. . 5. An baile ina bhfaca Seán an bhean, tá sé in aice an aigéin..
+++++
B 1. The man that has the money is greedy. 2. The jack that you raised the car with was rusty. 3. The Guards found the stick that the robber hit the Man of the House with. 4. The view that he was looking at is situated in Co. Clare. 5. The town in which Seán saw the woman is near the ocean.
Questions and Negatives
The word cé (who) implies the copula is and is followed by
the direct relative a (+ seimhiú) with the independent form of irregular verbs.
The a may be left out, but the seimhiú remains:
Cé a dhúnann an doras? Cé dhúnann an doras?
Who [is it who] shut the door?
You can also use the whole phrase:
Cé hé a dhúnann an doras? Cé hé dhúnann an doras?
Who is it who shut the door?
Cé a ólann an bainne? Cé ólann an bainne?
Who drank the milk?
Cé a chuireann an glas air? Cé chuireann an glas air?
Who put the green on it?
Cé a fhágann an cupán ar an mbord? Cé fhágann an cupán ar an mbord?
Who put the cup on the table?
Cé atá ann? Who [is it that] is there?
Cé a bhí ann? Who [is it that] was there?
Cé rinne é? Who did it?
Cé dhein é? Who did it?
Cé ar labhair leat? Who spoke to you?
Cé a chasfaí orm ach pocán crón:
What should I meet but a black-haired goat
Cé agaibh a bhuail an madra? Which of you struck the dog?
Cé may be used with prepositions; in this case, as usual for the relative with a preposition, the indirect form is used, with the dependent form of irregular verbs (+ urú).
Some of these phrases are used very commonly.
Learn these phrases, and you will have the correct grammar:–
Cé aige a bhfuil sé? Who has it?
Cé aige a raibh sé? Who had it?
Cé air a bhfuil sé ag trácht? Who(m) is he talking about?
Cé air a raibh sé ag trácht? Whom was he talking about?
Cé ina choinne a bhfuil tú ag imirt? Whom are you playing against?
Cé ina choinne a raibh tú ag imirt? Whom were you playing against?
Cé acu fear a gceannaíonn tú uaidh na trátaí?
From which man do you buy the tomatoes?
Cé acu fear ar cheannaigh tú uaidh na trátaí?
From which man did you buy the tomatoes?
Direct relative wh-questions
Questions with “who, what, how many, which, when” are constructed as direct relative clauses.
Cén uair a tharla sé? “When did it happen?”
Cathain a tharla sé? “When did it happen?”
How to say when
'When' phrases take the direct relative (a + séimhiú)
If we are asking a question, we use cathain? or cén uair?
Cathain a bhí sé anseo? When was he here?
Or, Cén uair a bhí sé anseo? When was he here?
And the same for each tense: the two forms can be used interchangeably.
Cathain a thagann tú ar scoil? When do you come to school?
Cathain a bheidh sí ullamh? When will she be ready?
Cathain a bheadh sé oiriúnach? When would it be suitable?
Cathain a bhíodh sé ag snámh? When used he go swimming?
If we mean ‘at the time’ we use nuair (=an uair the time).
Nuair a bhím ag caint, bíonn Seán ag obair.
When I am singing, Seán is working.
Nuair a thigeann sé abhaile, itheann sé an dinnéar.
When he goes home, he eats dinner
Who, what, how much/how many, which?
These all take the direct relative.
Cé a rinne é? “Who did it?”
Cad a fuair tú? “What did you get?” Also
Cad a fuairis? Céard a fuair tú? “What did you get?”
Cé mhéad míle a shiúil tú? “How many miles did you walk?”
Cé acu is daoire, feoil nó iasc? “Which is more expensive, meat or fish?
Indirect relative wh-questions
Questions with “why?” and “where?” and those involving prepositions (i.e. “on what?, with whom?”) use the indirect relative.
Cé aige a bhfuil an t-airgead? “Who has the money?”
(lit. “who with him is the money?”)
Cad leis ar thóg tú an gluaisteán? “What did you lift the car with?”
(lit. “what with it did you lift the car”)
Cad chuige ar bhuail tú é? “Why did you hit him?”
Cén áit /cathain a bhfaca tú an bhean? “Where did you see the woman?”
Clauses introduced by “how”
There are two words for “how” in Irish:
the word conas takes the direct relative clause,
the phrase cén chaoi takes the indirect.
Conas atá tú? “How are you?”
Cé chaoi a bhfuil tú? “How are you?”
Conas a tharla sé? “How did it happen?”
Cén chaoi gur tharla sé? “How did it happen?”
Conas a bhaineann sé sin leat? _(“How does that concern you?” /
Cén chaoi go mbaineann sin leat? (“(hat business is that of yours?”
NB in this kind of sentence we can use sé sin or simply sin.
Examples from Exam papers
From Junior Cert, Higher Level
◇ Freagair na ceisteanna a ghabhann leis. Answer the questions that go with it.
◇ Luaigh dhá chúis a raibh máthair Pheadair buartha faoi.
Quote two things (reasons) that Peadar’s mother was troubled about.
◇ Breac sIos dhá phoine eolais faoin gceacht a mhúin an t-athair don mhac.
Jot down two points of information about the lesson that the father taught to the son.
◇ Luaigh dhá thréith a bhaineann le Peadar mar dhuine, dar leat.
Mention two qualities that relate to Peadar as a person, in your opinion.
◇ Ainmnigh gearrscéal Gaeilge a ndearna tú staidéar air le linn do chúrsa
Name a short story in Irish that you studied (on which you did study) during (in the running of) your course.
◇ Tabhair cuntas gairid ar a bhfuil sa saothar sin faoin gcineál sin ábhair.
Give a short account on (that) which is in that (literary) work [= in the short story that you studied] about that kind of subject.
◇ Déan comparáid ghairid idir bhfuil sa sliocht i gCeist 1 faoin ábhar úd...
Make a short comparision between what is in the excerpt [between that which is in the excerpt] in Question 1 about that subject…
… agus a bhfuil faoin ábhar céanna...
… and what is about the same subject...
… sa saothar atá ainmnithe agat.
… in the (literary) work that you have named (that is named by you).
From Leaving Cert Ordinary Level
Ceap scéal (leath leathanach nó mar sin) a mbeidh ceann amháin …
Think up a story (a half page or so) that will have with it one ...
...de na sleachta seo a leanas oiriúnach mar thús leis.
of the following passages suitable as a beginning.
The relative clause in this long sentence is
… a mbeidh ceann amháin mar thús leis.
… that will have one as a beginning. / with which one will be as a beginning.
NB the set phrase
na sleachta seo a leanas ‘the following passages/the passages that follow .
It uses an irregular form of leannan ‘follows’, that is used only in this phrase.
The Regular form is used at other times …
An té a leanann mise ní shiúlann sé sa dorchadas.
He that follows me will not walk in darkness.
Léigh an sliocht seo a leanas agus freagair na ceisteanna ar fad a ghabhann leis.
Read the following passage and answer all the questions that go with it.
From Leaving Cert Higher Level
Léigh an sliocht seo a leanas agus freagair na ceisteanna ar fad a ghabhann leis.
Read the following passage and answer all the questions that go with it.
[Bíodh na freagraí i d’fhocail féin, oiread agus is féidir leat]
[Let the answers be in your own words, as much as {that it} is possible with you]
Luaigh dhá chosúlacht a rianaítear sa dara halt...
Quote/Mention two similarities that are drawn in the second paragraph...
Cén chomparáid a dhéantar sa chúigiú halt…
What comparison is made in the fifth paragraph…
Cén fáth ar thug John McCain faoi George W. Bush ...
What cause did John McCain give concerning George W. Bush …
Conas a léirítear sa dán go bhfuil na daoine ag iarraidh …
How is it shown/indicated in the poem that the people are attempting ...