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- "He has shoes on."
"He has shoes on."
Translation:Tá bróga air.
9 Comments
Can someone explain the "air" part? I can guess is "ar" but don't really get it.
orm (from ar mé) - on me
ort (from ar tú) - on you
air - on him
uirthi - on her
orainn - on us
oraibh - on you (plural)
orthu - on them
why is there a different word order in a previous sentence, "tá air snámh" ( he must swim ) and this sentence here "tá bróga air" ?
Because Tá snámh air would mean "there is a swim (physically) on him". The construction Tá ar is not the same as Tá (rud éigin) ar. Tá ar means that there is a obligation, and the word following that phrase will be the verb (verbal noun?) that you are obliged to do - Tá orm dul abhaile means "I must go home" or "I am obliged to go home". Tá air snámh means "he must swim", or "he is obliged to swim"
Some people find that read it as "It is on me to go home" helps them remember the structure, but it is distinct from tá bróga air or tá cat ar an bosca - "there is a cat on the box". This structure has a noun or pronoun between the verb Tá and the preposition ar.
Thank you very much!! Your phrase "verbal noun" is a helpful reminder about the position of the unusual verb in this use. And I have heard people say "its on you" . It makes sense now in my old noggin.
Please accept a lingot. the word, Lingot is great combo of 2 words, lingo and ingot.. i learned of ingots in a book about Old Irish and the kennings or riddling speech of the poets. the ogham letter T ( is for tinne, which is said to suggest the Holly tree) . But I've read elsewhere that tinne means bar of gold, mass of molten metal. The writers say this is still compatible with the Holly tree letter of defense ( with its thorns), linked to the drama of the Oak and the Holly King, and thus to weapons made by the smith.
i would love to know the origin of duo-lingo's word Lingot!!
Verbal noun isn't my phrase - The verbal noun is used instead of the infinitive in Irish.
You'll see it listed under the Grammar section for verbs on teanglann.ie. I used a question mark in my comment because I'm not actually sure whether the Tá ar structure uses the verbal noun.
