Articles
The definite article has two forms in Irish: an and na. Their distribution depends on whether the noun is singular or plural, the case of the noun, and the initial sound of the noun. Each entry of the table gives an example of a noun starting with a consonant and one of a noun starting with a vowel.
| Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | both genders | |
| Nominative | an cat an t-éan |
an bhróg an eaglais |
(do) na cait (leis) na héin |
| Dative (i) | den chat san éan |
don bhróg den eaglais |
|
| Dative (ii) | ag an gcat ag an éan |
faoin mbróg tríd an eaglais |
|
| Genitive | an chait an éin |
na bróige na heaglaise |
na gcat na n-éin |
Dative (i) is used with all prepositions in Ulster usage; elsewhere it is used only with den "from the", don "to the", and sa(n) "in the". Dative (ii) is used outside Ulster with other prepositions.
The article never lenites a following t or d, and an s is lenited to ts (pronounced ) rather than the usual sh.
There is no indefinite article in Irish, so depending on context cat can mean "cat" or "a cat".
Read more about this topic: Irish Declension
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