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PostPosted: Sat 07 Jun 2025 11:44 pm 
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Hi! I was wondering if anyone could help me with something a bit puzzling…

In instances where cá is used as an adjective (Cá háit? C’ainm? Etc…), does any fixed or common phrase exist (besides cá fhad) where the noun starts with a consonant?

I found one example of “Cá taobh….?”
Would the past/conditional of that be “Cár taobh…?”

Thank you for any insight! :wave:


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PostPosted: Sun 08 Jun 2025 11:54 am 
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Cá huair? when?
It must be dialect-specific? I'm not aware of widespread use of this with general nouns.


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PostPosted: Sun 08 Jun 2025 3:05 pm 
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Rosie_Oleary wrote:
Hi! I was wondering if anyone could help me with something a bit puzzling…

In instances where cá is used as an adjective (Cá háit? C’ainm? Etc…), does any fixed or common phrase exist (besides cá fhad) where the noun starts with a consonant?

I found one example of “Cá taobh….?”
Would the past/conditional of that be “Cár taobh…?”

Thank you for any insight! :wave:


Cá háit, cá huair are the most common ones, cá hainm, cá haois, cá hionadh are already rarer.

Cá bith, cá bhfios are numerous, but different constructions, as well as cá mhéad, cá fhad.

Examples with nouns (starting with a consonant) are rare. I'd assume that this construction is no longer very productive.
Cá tairbhe duit é? What does it profit you? Cá locht orm é? What fault is it in me? (both FGB)
A Ghuill, cá slighe rachad?; Cá tír ins a' chruinne in ar hoileadh sibh (both Séamus Mac Grianna)

Yes, past tense is cár(bh).
Cár locht orm é? Cár thairbhe duit é? Cár chás dá mbeadh ciall aige? What matter if he had sense? Cárbh aois é? What age was he? (all FGB)


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PostPosted: Sun 08 Jun 2025 4:12 pm 
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You can find cá tír in Dónall Bán Ó Céileachair's Aodh de Róiste, but so many books were edited by An Gúm to include things that were not in the authors' manuscripts. DBÓC provided a list in the magazine An Músgraigheach of the passages in Aodh de Róiste that did not contain his Irish, and this was one, which he stated should have been cad é an tír (cad é an tír go mbeidís i gcogadh léi).


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PostPosted: Sun 08 Jun 2025 7:21 pm 
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Joined: Fri 22 Jan 2021 4:24 pm
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Thank you both so much for your help! :mrgreen: :clap:
It definitely seems like a rare-ish construction overall.


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