Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- List of tables
- List of figures
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- 0 General introduction
- Part I Phonology
- Part II Morphology
- Part III Syntax
- 9 Introduction to Syntax
- 10 The copula
- 11 Complementation and modal and auxiliary verbs
- 12 Non-complemental subordination and marginal syntactic features
- Glossary
- References
- Index of Irish words
12 - Non-complemental subordination and marginal syntactic features
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- List of tables
- List of figures
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- 0 General introduction
- Part I Phonology
- Part II Morphology
- Part III Syntax
- 9 Introduction to Syntax
- 10 The copula
- 11 Complementation and modal and auxiliary verbs
- 12 Non-complemental subordination and marginal syntactic features
- Glossary
- References
- Index of Irish words
Summary
Non-complemental subordination
Subordination which requires either finite or verbal noun complementation was discussed in 11.1.2 and subordination involving agus ‘and’ in 11.1.8. Here other types of embedding processes are described. Inevitably matters of syntax and morphology intersect here as the embedding processes demand certain changes of mood, tense and aspect.
Relatives
Direct relatives
(1) D'imigh na daoine a bhí míshásta thar sáile (C)
‘The people who were dissatisfied went abroad’
(2) Feicim an fear a bhí ag péinteáil na fuinneoige (C)
‘I see the man who was painting the window’
Strictly speaking, a direct relative construction is where the subject [i.e. na daoine ‘the people’ in (1)] or object [i.e. an fear ‘the man’ in (2)] is explicitly represented by a noun phrase outside the embedded sentence or in other words when the relative clause functions as an attribute. However, the same construction is used (and traditionally referred to as a direct relative) following all fronting (see 10.3.5) and following agus/is ‘as’ (comparative), ná ‘than’, mar ‘as’. Furthermore, in the case of uair ‘hour, time’ and Erris an tan /tun/ ∼ /tən/ ‘when’, although we might expect an indirect relative [see 12.1.1(ii)], a direct relative is often (though not always) employed:
(3) Is i mBaile Átha Cliath atá sé
(lit. It is in Dublin that he is)
‘He is in Dublin’
(4) Máire a bhí sásta
‘It is Máire who was satisfied’
[…]
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- Modern IrishGrammatical Structure and Dialectal Variation, pp. 311 - 338Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1989