Cúmhaí wrote:
Irish is a language
Irish is the language
Is teanga í an Ghaeilge
Is í an Ghaeilge an teanga
The indirect moves before the í in the identification, but the "subject" stays in the same place either way (right after the í)
This is my layman's explanation, not being as familiar with the grammatical terms as Labhrás, for example
No, usually the predicate is always first.
Because Irish is a predicate-subject-object language.
But in identification sentences the predicate or subject can be first.
Cé hé an feirmeoir? Is é an t-amadán an feirmeoir. (an t-amadán = predicate)
Cé hé an t-amadán? Is é an t-amadán an feirmeoir. (an t-amadán = subject)
In case of an Ghaeilge ... Gaeilge is rather a
proper name than a normal noun.
Proper nouns* usually always come first in such sentences.
Is é Pól an t-amadán (usually not: Is é an t-amadán Pól)
and so
Is í an Ghaeilge an teanga.
*) as well as nouns with demonstrative adjectives, demonstrative pronouns and pronouns of 1st or 2nd person
Is é an feirmeor seo an t-amadán
Is é seo an t-amdán
Is mé/mise an t-amadán.