(no subject)

[kittydesade]

Okay, I was wrong, copula is specifically for linking two nouns, I fail grammar and go sit in the corner now.

Anyway, this is the copula. It is never conjugated for different subjects. It has only two tense forms: Is for present/future, and Ba for past and conditional (with lenition of a following consonant)

Is múinteoir mé. I am a teacher.
Ba múinteoir é. He was/would be a teacher.

When it is crucial to distinguish time reference, a special construction consisting of bí and a prepositional phrase can be used (and will be discussed more in the next lesson)

Tá mé i mo mhúinteoir. I am a teacher. (lit. I am in my teacher)
Beidh siad ina múinteoirí. They will be teachers.

Most standard question and negative particles used with the copula are the same in form as the particles for all verbs, but instead of preceding the copula, they replace or include it. Thus, ní means 'is not', an means 'is?', nach means 'isn't?'. To introduce a subordinate clause with a copula, gur is used instead of go. The copula forms of these particles do not cause lenition or eclipses (which is how you can tell them apart, I guess.)

Ní feirmeoir é. He is not a farmer.
Ní iascaire é ach oiread. He's not a fisherman either.
An dochtúir thú? Are you a doctor?
Nach múinteoir í do mháthair? Isn't your mother a teacher?
Deir sí gur múinteoir í. She says that she's a teacher.

In spoken Irish there is a good deal of variation in the forms of the copula particles. Because goddamn dialects. For example, in Connacht dialects, the question particle may take the form ar, before a vowel it appears as ab, and gur appears as gurb.
Ab innealtóir thú? Are you an engineer?
Deir Pádraig gurb innealtóir é. Pádraigh says he's an engineer.

With ba, the official standard forms of the negative, question, and subordinate copula are níor, ar, nár, and gur, and before vowels níorbh, arbh, nárbh, and gurbh. In some spoken varieties they may also appear as ní ba, an mba nach mba, and go mba instead.

Ar mhaith leat tae? Would you like tea?
An mba mhaith leat tae? Would you like tea?
Deir sé gur/Deir sé go mba mhaith leis caife. He says he'd like coffee.


Ow. Ow ow. Ow ow ow ow. Fucking planks. Fucking morning exercise. Fucking everything.

Aunt is in DC. Have had no news since. Not entirely sure whether or not to be worried by this, my family has the bad habit of not telling people things in the interest of not worrying them when there's nothing they can do, despite the fact that sometimes people would like to know things even if things suck. It's not just me, we do this to everyone. Sometimes I end up complicit because bad habits are contagious. Blegh.

The better part of Saturday was spent doing taxes and playing Baldur's Gate, but Sunday there was a fair bit of picking up and laundry done, and weeding the front walk, because it's that time again. And, you know, it might have gotten some sun on my skin. Shock! Amaze! I think between now and Portland there will be all the garden prep you can shake a stick at, so if there's more warm days I might get even MORE sun on my skin. Be astounded! Going out into the daylight! Of my own volition!

Line edits on this story for this anthology are turning out to be a bigger pain in my ass than previously thought, and not for the initial reasons I thought. But because MS Word is a pain, as my grandmother said, where no pill can reach.

But if I'm very, very lucky I can get that done today, the virtues post done today, and get a couple scenes in WL done today. And not frazzle myself into a coma. I even remembered not only to bring in my new, more functional water bottle, I remembered to mail off my damn taxes! Yesterday's productivity spree seems to be holding. I could get to like this. Until the next hit comes.