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- Topic: Irish >
- "Tá an cat ar an turtar."
53 Comments
That's lovely! Agus, bog an cat an turtar? Does that work? (The cat kisses the turle.) Or would thug an bog an cat ar an turtar? also work? The cat gives the turtle a kiss.)
I am sure both those sentences are incorrect, and I'm only spelling 'kiss' from memory. Probably the second sentence is the worst. But if anyone can guide me on this I'd be glad.
There is an exception to the eclipsing rule here: you don't eclipse a d or t after a word that ends with n. It probably has something to do with how similarly these sounds are made with your mouth, so it's easier to say without eclipsing. I haven't been able to view any tips or explanations in the mobile app, but I hope they plan on adding them. Otherwise, this system will be as bad as Rosetta Stone. At least this is free, though! But remember, flash card type stuff is to reinforce things you've already learned elsewhere, so be mindful as you use this system.
2023
How does this sentence differ from "the cat has a turtle"? Just a different preposition in place of "ar"?
2100
The phrase "to have" in Irish literally translates to "is at." Your suggestion literally translates to "a cat is at the turtle," so the turtle has a cat. Lancet's version is "a turtle is at the cat," so the cat has a turtle. I hope that makes sense.
49
Russian does the same thing for the concept of "having" and with the same preposition "at" if I remember correctly.
But to stay in English, think of a somewhat similar example since possession is a type of "having" :
The shoes of John
John's shoes
While the first one isn't very grammatical, it is understandable ... and the nouns are in the opposite order.
The shoes are at John
John has the shoes.
I imagine that Irish, like Scots Gaelic, uses "le" (with) with another meaning of having or owning as well.
I was initially annoyed by the prevelance of elephants in the last lesson, but it dawned on me later that the lesson was predominately about plurals, and it's fair to say I remembered the rule. I also think I will never forget the image of a cat on a turtle, so this is likely to stick in my memory too.
Seeing the same sentence helps you memorize the words and how they act with certain other words. The sentences are structured to show grammar and going over similar sentences means that even if you don't remember the whole sentence (which usually isn't necessary) you might remember the important interaction between some of the words. that's really the point. And even though it can be odd, reusing the same animal, for example, (because we have all been through that) helps us focus on the rest of the sentence instead of being distracted by heaps of different animals when we are meant to be reinforcing something else. :)