Plurals shmurals and how to predict them - Eachdraidh nam mùthaidhean

Akerbeltz: /* -air/-(e)adair/-(a)iche/-(e)ar */

2020-11-20T20:30:26Z

-air/-(e)adair/-(a)iche/-(e)ar

Akerbeltz: /* Being exclusive */

2019-07-29T17:43:17Z

Being exclusive

Akerbeltz 11:35, 17 dhen Iuchar 2019

2019-07-17T11:35:26Z

Akerbeltz: /* -ach */

2013-09-11T10:02:05Z

-ach

Akerbeltz: /* -(e)ag */

2013-09-11T09:30:57Z

-(e)ag

Akerbeltz: /* -(e)ag */

2013-09-11T09:30:32Z

-(e)ag

Akerbeltz: /* -ach */

2013-09-11T09:27:46Z

-ach

Akerbeltz: /* -ach */

2013-09-11T09:26:04Z

-ach

Susanharris: /* -(e)ag */

2013-09-11T08:40:03Z

-(e)ag

Susanharris: /* -(e)ag */

2013-09-11T08:38:40Z

-(e)ag

@@ Loidhne 61: / Loidhne 61: @@
 * <span style="color: #008000;">mara » maraiche » maraiche'''an'''</span>
-Careful, this only works if the noun is made up of a noun plus an ending. There are some feminine nouns which aren't "composed" like that which behave differently. As a general rule, if you take away the ending, and what you're left with doesn't make sense, then it's not one of these. For example, with <span style="color: #008000;">cathair</span> and <span style="color: #008000;">nathair</span>, if you remove the <span style="color: #008000;">-air</span>, you're left with <span style="color: #008000;">cath</span> and <span style="color: #008000;">nath</span> and which don't make sense because <span style="color: #008000;">cath</span> and <span style="color: #008000;">nath</span> don't mean anything on their own. So, it's not <span style="color: #008000;">nath+air</span>, but just one word. See the next section for more examples.
+Careful, this only works if the noun is made up of a noun plus an ending. There are some feminine nouns which aren't "composed" like that which behave differently. As a general rule, if you take away the ending, and what you're left with doesn't make sense, then it's not one of these. For example, with <span style="color: #008000;">cathair</span> and <span style="color: #008000;">nathair</span>, if you remove the <span style="color: #008000;">-air</span>, you're left with <span style="color: #008000;">cath</span> and <span style="color: #008000;">nath</span> and which don't make sense because <span style="color: #008000;">cath</span> and <span style="color: #008000;">nath</span> don't carry any related meaning on their own. So, it's not <span style="color: #008000;">nath+air</span>, but just one word. See the next section for more examples.
 ===-air and -ir===

@@ Loidhne 97: / Loidhne 97: @@
 ==Being exclusive==
-If the noun in question is sipping Singapore Sling, you need to step away from the screen, take a deep breath and do something else for a while. OK, OK. What I meant to say is that some plurals can be excluded on the basis of gender. For example, almost all nouns which slenderise for plural (e.g. <span style="color: #008000;">balach » balaich, bòrd » bùird</span>) are masculine. So, if you have a noun and you're pretty sure it's feminine, then in almost all cases you must stick an ending on to show the plural.
+If the noun in question is sipping Singapore Sling, you need to step away from the screen, take a deep breath and do something else for a while. OK, OK. What I meant to say is that some plurals can be excluded on the basis of gender. For example, almost all nouns which slenderise for plural without adding a suffix (e.g. <span style="color: #008000;">balach » balaich, bòrd » bùird</span>) are masculine. So, if you have a noun and you're pretty sure it's feminine, then in almost all cases you must stick an ending on to show the plural.
 ==Loans==

@@ Loidhne 5: / Loidhne 5: @@
 And if anyone starts talking at you about first declension, second declension, and so on, just nod politely and - unless you're aiming for a degree in historical linguistics - run. Though technically useful, working off the basis of these old categories requires in-depth knowledge of Old Irish... see what I mean?
-Irregular nouns are just that, irregular, so you need to learn those. The ones you should learn off as soon as possible are: <span style="color: #008000;">Alba, athair, bean, bó, bràthair, brù, cù, deoch, Dia, druim, duine, Éirinn, fear, fuil, leabaidh, mac, muir, piuthar, sgian, taigh, talamh</span>. There are lots more, but those will do for starters.
+Irregular nouns are just that, irregular, so you need to learn those. The ones you should learn off as soon as possible are: <span style="color: #008000;">athair, bean, bó, bràthair, brù, cù, deoch, Dia, druim, duine, Éirinn, fear, fuil, leabaidh, mac, muir, piuthar, sgian, taigh, talamh</span>. There are lots more, but those will do for starters.
 ==Best bets==

@@ Loidhne 14: / Loidhne 14: @@
 * <span style="color: #008000;">boireannach » boireann'''aich'''</span>
-Watch out for some masculine nouns like <span style="color: #008000;">cladach</span> which break that pattern and have a plural like <span style="color: #008000;">clad'''aichean'''</span>. But on the whole, it's relatively safe to assume (except if you know the next paragraph applies) that a noun in <span style="color: #008000;">-ach</span> is a) masculine and b) will have an <span style="color: #008000;">-aich</span> plural.
+Watch out for some masculine nouns like <span style="color: #008000;">cladach</span> which break that pattern and have a plural like <span style="color: #008000;">clad'''aichean'''</span>. But on the whole, it's relatively safe to assume (bearing in mind the next paragraph applies) that a noun in <span style="color: #008000;">-ach</span> is a) masculine and b) will have an <span style="color: #008000;">-aich</span> plural.
-You must watch out for a number (small-ish) of feminine nouns though which end in <span style="color: #008000;">-ach</span>, for example, <span style="color: #008000;">làrach » làr'''aichean'''</span>. On the bright side, their plural forms are fairly regular so if you know the gender, it's fairly safe to go for <span style="color: #008000;">-aichean</span> if the noun is feminine:
+You must watch out for a small number of feminine nouns which end in <span style="color: #008000;">-ach</span>, for example, <span style="color: #008000;">làrach » làr'''aichean'''</span>. On the bright side, their plural forms are fairly regular so if you know the gender, it's fairly safe to go for <span style="color: #008000;">-aichean</span> if the noun is feminine:
 * <span style="color: #008000;">làrach » làr'''aichean'''</span>
 * <span style="color: #008000;">gruagach » gruag'''aichean'''</span>

@@ Loidhne 44: / Loidhne 44: @@
 * <span style="color: #008000;">cuileag » cuileag'''an'''</span>
-Careful, there are some masculine nouns which look like they have a diminutive ending <span style="color: #008000;">-(e)ag</span> at the end, in particular <span style="color: #008000;">aiseag</span>, but that's not a diminutive ending. Usually, the plural is still <span style="color: #008000;">-(e)an</span> (<span style="color: #008000;">» aiseag'''an'''</span>) but the other cases will obviously be different, so you have feminine <span style="color: #008000;">a' chaileag, air a' chaileig, aois na caileige</span> versus masculine <span style="color: #008000;">an t-aiseag, air an aiseag, aois an aiseig</span>.
+Careful, there are some masculine nouns which look like they have a diminutive ending <span style="color: #008000;">-(e)ag</span> at the end, in particular <span style="color: #008000;">aiseag</span>, but that's not a diminutive ending. Usually, the plural is still <span style="color: #008000;">-(e)an</span> (<span style="color: #008000;">» aiseag'''an'''</span>) but the other case markings will obviously be different, so you have feminine <span style="color: #008000;">a' chaileag, air a' chaileig, aois na caileige</span> versus masculine <span style="color: #008000;">an t-aiseag, air an aiseag, aois an aiseig</span>.
 ===-eal===

@@ Loidhne 42: / Loidhne 42: @@
 * <span style="color: #008000;">cuileag » cuileag'''an'''</span>
-Careful, there are some masculine nouns which look like they have a diminutive ending <span style="color: #008000;">-(e)ag</span> at the end, in particular <span style="color: #008000;">aiseag</span>, but that's not a diminutive. Usually, the plural is still <span style="color: #008000;">-(e)an</span> (<span style="color: #008000;">» aiseag'''an'''</span>) but the other cases will obviously be different, e.g. <span style="color: #008000;">an t-aiseag</span>.
+Careful, there are some masculine nouns which look like they have a diminutive ending <span style="color: #008000;">-(e)ag</span> at the end, in particular <span style="color: #008000;">aiseag</span>, but that's not a diminutive ending. Usually, the plural is still <span style="color: #008000;">-(e)an</span> (<span style="color: #008000;">» aiseag'''an'''</span>) but the other cases will obviously be different, e.g. <span style="color: #008000;">an t-aiseag</span>.
 ===-eal===