For a complete list of wombat explanations, see: viewforum.php?f=34

Note: This practice thread assumes you know how to guess the declension of a noun and how to perform the semi-ancient art of caolú agus leathnú.

Forming the Genitive Singular

To form the genitive singular of a noun, figure out what declension it is, and apply the rules below. caolaítear means "one makes the final consonant slender", and leathnaítear means "one makes the final consonant broad. You learned how to do that in an earlier thread.

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m1: caolaítear
-(e)adh, -(e)ach -> (a)igh

f2: caolaítear, add -e
-(e)ach -> (a)í

m3, f3: leathnaítear, add -a
-áint -> -ána
-úint -> -úna
-irt -> -rtha

m4, f4: No change
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That's all there is to it! (There are nouns that don't follow the rules, but they tend to be very common nouns, and you probably already know their genitive forms.)

I'll work through a few examples:

aerfort is m1 (ends in a broad consonant)
To form the genitive, make the ending slender: aerfoirt

aimsir is f2 (ends in a slender consonant)
To form the genitive, make the ending slender (which it already is) and add -e: aimsire

canúint is f3 (ends in -úint)
To form the genitive, we would normally make the ending broad and add -a, but there's a special change that applies here, -úint -> -úna: canúna

cailín is m4 (ends in -ín)
No change in the genitive: cailín

To practice, select a few of these nouns at random and try to form the genitive. Highlight to see the declension and the genitive form.

aidiacht f3 aidiachta
aiste (hint: abstract noun) f4 aiste
anáil f3 anála
bacach m1 bacaigh
bád m1 báid
bádóir m3 bádóra
báicéir m3 báiceára
baincéir m3 baincéara
bainis f2 bainise
béal m1 béil
buidéal m1 buidéil
caint f2 cainte
cat m1 cait
céad m1 céid
ceadúnas m1 ceadúnais
ceann m1 cinn
ceart m1 cirt
cinniúint f3 cinniúna
cléireach m1 cléirigh
cliabh m1 cléibh
cogadh m1 cogaidh
coileach m1 coiligh
coláiste m4 coláiste
comhairle (hint abstract noun) f4 comhairle
deis f2 deise
dochtúir m3 dochtúra

To the extent possible under law, Amy de Buitléir has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work.

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