Ann (preposition)

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The preposition ann primarily means "in" although it has some secondary usages marking stative constructions, occupations and professions, as well as being used as the word meaning "there" in existentials, and the augment found with predicate clefts. Unlike most prepositions, ann does not lenite but takes the dative.


Forms

Simple forms

  • bare form: ann 'on'
  • indefinite form: ann an 'in a' (note that the an here is NOT the definite determiner. It's a reduplication of the "in" preposition)
  • definite form: anns an 'in the' (also anns a', anns na etc.)


Basic inflected forms

Like most prepositions, ann can be inflected for person, number, and gender. For example, to say "in me", we use the single word annam.

singularplural
1stannamannainn
2ndannadannaibh
3rdMascannannta
Feminnte


Emphatic Inflected forms

Special emphatic forms are used if we want to emphasize the pronoun in the inflected preposition. (e.g. ormsa "on ME")

singularplural
1stannamsaannainne
2ndannadsaannaibhsa
3rdMascannsananntasan
Feminntese


Possessive inflected forms:

Special forms are used for possessives. They are particularly frequently used in stative constructions (Mark 2004:20)

singularplural
1stnamLnarN
2ndnadLnurN
3rdMascnaLnanN
FemnaH

nam is used instead of nan "their" in front of words beginning with the labial consonants <b>, <p>, <m>, and <f>

Uses

References

Mark, Colin (2004) The Gaelic-English Dictionary/Am Faclair Gàidhlig-Beurla. London: Routledge


Notes

In this document, as elsewhere, L indicates lenition and N indicates eclipsis, (prefixation of an n- before a word beginning with vowels, and a nasalization of the next consonant (not indicated in the orthography) and H indicates antilenition (the prefixation of h before words beginning with vowels).