The sentence structure is perfect with its two relative clauses, but the second should be direct as well:
Cé a theastaíonn uaim a bhí tú ... or conditional (which is rather the sense of "were" here, not past tense) Cé a theastíonn uaim a bheifeá ...

But there's another, even more important problem:
You can't say "Cé a bhí tú" for "Who you were" or "Cé a bheifeá" for "Who you would/should be."
It's like "Tá sé fear", a very common error by learners.
Irish has two forms for "to be", the copula "is" and the verb "bí" (with its forms tá, bhí, bheadh, etc.).
In such basic sentences, usually the copula is used: Is fear mé. = I'm a man. (or: Fear is ea mé.)
You cannot use "tá" instead and just add a noun or pronoun.
But you could use the preposition "i":
Fear atá ionam. = I'm a man., Cé atá ionat? = Who are you?.

So, back to your sentence:
Cé a theastaíonn uaim a bheadh ionat? = Who do I wish you would be?
an té a theataíonn uaim a bheadh ionat = the person I wish you would be

Awesome, thanks!



Oh that's right! You have to use the copula as a sort of identifier, not bí.



Oh man, I'm really going to have to remember that last bit there especially. I think I've read even about this before, but my brain threw it out because I couldn't think of a particular application for it. This is great.


[/quote]
Huh, I don't ever recall learning about "an té" before, but I think I have a feeling of where it might be used. A question about it: While it's grammatically correct to say "don té", I think meaning "to the person", does this operate in--for lack of better words--a demonstrative manner? Is it interchangeable with duine in certain cases, or not at all given different implications? I don't think Nualeargais has anything on it but I'm not sure.

Thanks again!

-Jon

Wait, I just found something on Nualeargais, saying that "an té" means "the one", so "don té" probably means "to the one". This makes a bit more sense now, but I might still be wrong.

Mise atá ann!

I have have attempted more titles. Perhaps one day I'll attempt some kind of essay. (Actually, I really should do that.)

As Béarla / As Gaeilge

"Gold Does not Compare" / "Ní Óir a Chur i gComparáid"
"When You Were Sleeping Here" / "Nuair a Raibh Tu i do Chodlata Anseo"
"Rain on the Chapel" / "Báisteach ar an Séipéal"
"Mary's Mantle" / "Casal Mhuire"
"Carrageen between the Rocks / "Carraigín idir na Clocha"
"The Clear Sky" / "An Spéir Glan"
"The Whiskey Passers" / "Na Mhuintir atá Fuisce a Thug"

Agh, sorry, wanted to preview but hit submit mindlessly.

What I was going to say next in the previous post: Could someone please verify my attempts? I'm hoping one day I can do this with more confidence, but right now I'm still in the budding stage, I fear.

Thanks a million!

-Jon

There's something missing. Ní alone can't introduce verbal noun phrases, óir is genitive, here ór should be used
Perhaps: Ní Féidir Ór a Chur i gComparáid = Gold cannot be compared.



Nuair a Raibh Tú i do Chodladh Anseo



Muire = Jesus' mother,
Máire = any other Mary



muintir is a singular noun, so an mhuintir

I don't understand exactly what "whiskey passers" are, but ...

... atá fuisce a thug doesn't make sense, atá ag tabhairt fuisce = who are giving Whiskey, perhaps?
As a general noun for people doing something lucht is often used, followed by a simple verbal noun phrase:
Lucht Fuisce a Thabhairt or followed by a genitive of the verbal noun: Lucht Tugtha Fuisce

Thanks again, Labhrás!



Alright, thanks for this bit: your phrase reads well, too. Would it, in some way, equate to a phrase like "Not even gold (compares to [something implied but unsaid])"? It seems like a big stretch, but I don't know how to parse something like that. That might just be too much implication without proper context.

I was also kind of wondering about ór; óir didn't seem correct somehow. Thanks!




D'oh, simple misspelling. I even knew that.



Awesome, got it right. I'll assume the previous one was correct as well.




Oh, right you are, thanks!




A very brief, contorted way of suggesting camaraderie among friends, sharing the bottle, hopefully with their own glasses. It's not a clear way of saying it, though. Think "bread winners", "game players", or "ring bearers".



To tach other is implied, so I'm going to guess le chéile would be required. I was wondering if I should omit it or not, the initial goal being to form the sentence with some English brevity. I'm finding that to be much harder every time I try.



Oh, okay! I will have to remember lucht instead for groups, etc. I suppose I could also use "dream". Was also wondering if I should have used thabhairt. I always seem to work against my intuition.

I feel I still need to learn more about the second method, the genitive of verbal nouns. But given this information, and suggesting that the folks in question are passing the bottle of whiskey around (to each other), would "Lucht Fuisce a Thabhairt le Chéile" and/or "Lucht Tugtha Fuisce le Chéile" (or "Lucht Tugtha le Chéile Fuisce ", not totally certain about the order) be correct?

Thanks again,

-Jon

At long last, my first real exercises!

Over the past month or so, I've been reading Nancy Stenson's Irish grammar and workbooks. The first was great, but I have a feeling I'm going to love the second.

I'm on caibidil a hAon, "Relative Clauses I".

On exercise 3, the instructions are:


And below are the provided sentences, many of which I have tried to order by subject or something close, though there is minor scattering:



And here are my attempts:

Feicim an cailín atá Gaeilge aici – I see the girl who speaks Irish
Is maith liom an cailn a bheidh ag an scoil - I like the girl who will be at the school
Ní aithním an cailín a éisteann leis an gceol – I don’t recognize the girl who listens to the music
Cheannaigh an cailín a fheiceann an doras nuachtán – The girl who sees the door bought a newspaper
Léim an nuachtán a léann an cailín – I read the newspaper the girl reads.
Ní fheicim an nuachtán a cheannaigh an cailín – I don’t see the newspaper the girl bought.
Feiceann an cailín an doras atá gorm – The girl sees the blue door
Feiceann an cailín an doras ghorm - The girl sees the blue door
Feicim an bád a d’imigh go Sasana – I saw the boat that left for England
Ní fheicim an bád a théann go sciobtha – I don’t see the boat that is going fast
Ní chloisim an ceoltóir óg a bhí ag seinm an veidhlín – I didn’t listen to the young musician who was playing the violin

I'm hoping I could please get some verification on my attempts, as I the answer key only gives possible solutions, a few of which I've seen and tried not to imitate too closely, for the sake of branching out.

Could someone please take the time and examine these?

Sláinte,

-Jon

What a coincidence -- we just did this chapter (and chapters three and four as well) in a grammar class I just helped run


These two are wrong. When you get to chapter four, you will see why the first one is wrong. The second one is just a gender problem.
I won't tell you the correct versions unless you ask, as I am guessing you want to think about them yourself.

_________________
ЯГОН ТОҶИК НЕСТ ИНҶО???

unless I am mistaken this should be

Nuair a Bhí Tú i Do Chodladh Anseo

_________________
ЯГОН ТОҶИК НЕСТ ИНҶО???