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- "I am going to achieve that."
"I am going to achieve that."
Translation:Táim chun é sin a bhaint amach.
23 Comments
Thanks for weighing in, though I would say that my question still stands.
I accept that "I am going to achieve that" could be construed as a present progressive (or continuous, if you like). In that case, though, it would be the present progressive of the verb to "go" with an infinitive "to achieve" expressing intention, as if someone had asked "Why are you going?" "I am going (in order) to achieve that." I suppose then that "Táim ag dul chun é sin a bhaint amach" might also need to be accepted, though I wouldn't argue for it, because it feels somewhat contrived to me.
The going-to construction is one (not the only) standard way to express future in English, and I think that a future reading of "I am going to achieve that" is both likely and natural.
compare to "I will be going to"
it just so happens that "going to" implies it is yet to happen, so in meaning it might sound futuristic, but from a grammatical pov it is present tense: "i am"
take another phrase as an exmple, "eating" for example
i am eating - present continuous
i will be eating - future continous
but you are correct, in english, "going to" has that side effect, but alas this is the irish course
a4, prep. ( de1, do3). (Lenites) 1. (Used to connect a preceding noun or pron. with vn.) (a) Síol a chur, to sow seed. Uisce a ól, to drink water. Ba mhaith liom iad a bheith ann, I would like them to be there. (b) (In relative clause) An rud atá sé a scríobh, what he is writing. An fear atáthar a dhaoradh, the man who is being condemned. (c) (Denoting purpose) D’éirigh sé a chaint, he rose to speak. Téigh a chodladh, go to sleep. Tháinig sé a iarraidh iasachta orm, he came to ask me for a loan.
from here
The NEID entry for "achieve" differentiates between "achieve" meaning "accomplish" or "realize (baint amach or cuir i gcrích) and "succeed" or "gain" (gnóthaigh or tuill).
The examples of gnóthaigh in both the NEID and the FGB use it as a synonym for "earn" (tuill), whereas the implication here is that of reaching a goal, where bhaint amach is more appropriate than ghnóthú.
What do you think bain means?
(Hint - bain is s not the Irish for "achieve"](https://www.focloir.ie/en/dictionary/ei/achieve)).