(no subject)

[kittydesade]

The progressive structures introduced in the last lesson (with object following verbal noun) also occur as dependents of other verbs, as below:

Feicim Pádraig ag obair. I see Pádraig working.
Cloisim Máirtín ag casadh amhráin. I hear Mártín singing a song.
Tá mé ag dul ag ithe anois. I'm going to eat now.
Thosaigh siad ag foghlaim Fraincise. They started learning French.
Coinnigh ort ag caint. Keep on talking.

In general, when a predicate is followed by a verbal noun phrase, only one of the two possibilities is found. One exception is given below, and the subtle difference in meaning between two structures suggests a semantic difference that can be a useful guideline.

Beidh siad sásta teach a thógáil in Éirinn. They'll be happy to build a house in Ireland.
Beidh siad sásta ag tógáil tí in Éirinn. They'll be happy building a house in Ireland.

The first sentence tells us that the prospect of house building will make them happy; there is no implication that they will or won't actually build the house. In the second case, it is the actual act of building that will make them happy, rather than just the idea or perhaps even the completed house. it could also be translated as, they will be happy while building a house in Ireland. This difference is reflected in the two translations: building implies a somewhat more immediate connection between the building and the happiness than 'to build' does.

As a rule of thumb, events that represent potential events that may or may not actually happen (and haven't yet) are most likely to use the inverted structure, while events that are ongoing at the time of the main verb use the progressive structure, although not every choice can be explained in this way. 'Going to' doesn't suggest simultaneity with the verbal noun, but is followed by the progressive structure anyway.

The list below includes common predicates taht are followed by each of the two main types of verbal noun phrases. One way to approach the choice of which form to use is to simply memorize the list. Other words with similar meanings can be assumed to fall into the same category.

an rud sin an dhéanamh
Ability, Permission: is féidir liom, tá mé in ann, tá mé ábalta, tig liom, tá cead agam
Necessity, Obligation: Tá orm, caithfidh mé, b'éigean dom, is gá, ní mór dom, ní foláir dom, ba cheart dom
Wishes, Desires: is maith liom, is fearr liom, ba mhaith liom, tá mé ag iarraidh, tá súil agam, is mian liom, níor mhiste liom
Attempt; Success, Failure: rinne mé iarracht, d'éirigh liom, theip orm, chinn orm, chlis orm
Evaluation of Situation: tá sé deacair, tá sé furasta
Commands, Promises, Plans: geallaim, deirim leat, tá fúm

ag déanamh an rud sin
Perceptions: feicim duine, cloisim duine, airím duine
Onsets and Finishes: tosaím, stopaim, críocchnaím, coinním, leanaim
Immediate Future: tá mé ag dul, tháinig mé
Skills: Tá mé go maith ag, tá mé go dona



And now my head hurts. I take it back, it's not prepositions, verbal nouns will be the death of me.

There's a gas leak outside my house. I can't begin to express how much I dislike this. They're fixing it now, but I still really dislike this, and it's making me very nervous, and ugh. There's not really much I can do about it, just, ugh. I'm now going to spend the entire day hoping my house doesn't explode.

Did the gardening this weekend! I would like not to have that catch fire. Planted marigolds, purple shamrock, dahlia bulbs (there are a fuckton of dahlia bulbs jesus christ Beej) and transplanted peppers. Did not have sufficient space for the tomatoes so those are going to have to sit for another week till we can get the raised beds done, hopefully this coming weekend while the boy's off. But things are getting planted! Seeds are getting started too. I keep feeling like it's late in the year to start seeds, like I missed something, and, no, it's not even May yet. The hell, self. Calm down.

And, you know, in the meantime I have a shitton of reading and writing to catch up on/do. God I can't wait till Grimm goes on hiatus. I love the blog, I love what we're doing for it, but it is time consuming. And if I could be assured of at least as much income writing as I have now in my current job, I probably would write full time and get a lot more done. Right now, not so much. Nothing to do but keep going, though.