"Tá an raidió le cloisteáil."

Translation: The radio is to be heard.

[FeargalMcGovern]

I don't see where "to be" comes into this. surely it should just be "the radio is heard".

[galaxyrocker]

I suggest reading this

[larryone]

So annoying that I can't click on links with the mobile app.

[CrowetryFont]

Yes, could you repost the URL without hyperlinking, for app users?

[galaxyrocker]

http://www.nualeargais.ie/gnag/verbnom1.htm#le

Really annoying app users can't use the hyperlinks

[CrowetryFont]

So it could be "will be heard"?

[Knocksedan]

The actual meaning of this sentence is "the radio is audible", or "the radio can be heard". Literal translations of either the Irish sentence into English, or of the English sentences into Irish, produce awkward sentences in the target languages.

[Knocksedan]

Some examples of le cloisteáil from the NEID show the different ways that you can express this in English:

"music played cheerfully in the background" - bhí ceol taitneamhach le cloisteáil sa chúlra (there was enjoyable music to be heard in the background)
"the bray of the trumpets could be heard" - bhí blosc na dtroimpéad le cloisteáil (the bray of the trumpets was to be heard)
"all he can hear is nothingness"- níl faic le cloisteáil aige (there is nothing to be heard by him)
"there were lots of bitchy comments" - bhí neart gangaide le cloisteáil (lots of bitchy comments were to be heard)

[DTSFF]

Thank you. I was confused about how to interpret this sentence at first, but then I saw that Duo accepts "The radio can be heard." in addition to "The radio is to be heard" (maybe it didn't before ?). After having a look at the more up-to-date German version of GnaG, it indeed really seems to be the correct interpretation (possibility ; not necessity) for this sentence. From what I read there, the meaning of such a sentence depends on the particular verbal noun used and on whether it's transitive or intransitive.

[Knocksedan]

"The radio is to be heard" might be a slightly old-fashioned construction, but it seems perfectly reasonable to me - maybe it just makes more sense in Hiberno English, though "the radio can be heard" might be more common nowadays, even though you might expect "the radio can ..." to be is féidir leis an raidió ...

[DTSFF]

Go raibh maith agat a Knocksedan, bíonn do chuid ráiteas an-úsáideach ! I’m not a native English speaker and I actually didn't know that this [be + to + infinitive] construction could be used in this sense (I am more familiar with those usages), but if you say that it’s somewhat old-fashioned, I guess that’s why

[exeisen]

Is "the radio is audible" an acceptable translation?

[Knocksedan]

That is what the sentence actually means, but the Irish for "audible" is inchloiste or inchluinte.

[clairelanc3]

Sorry but what does it.mean? I could understand :the radio is heard,or myst be listened to.. but this?

[AinePoilin]

How you one say "The radio is being heard"?

[19O492554]

What does "The radio is being heard" mean? Can you put a sentence or two before or after it to put it context?

[AinePoilin]

I imagines something like a stage direction "They are talking in the pub, the radio is being heard in the background" -- or is this bad English?

[19O492554]

That would be bad English. A Stage Direction is exactly where this type of construction is to be found.

(See what I did there?)

[AinePoilin]

;D ... on a related note, why does the sentence not have the a+lenited verbal noun form? Is that because there is no object in the sentence?