Dative/Genitive Summary

Summary of Dative and Genitive Changes in Singular Nouns

This lesson summarises the changes associated with the dative and genitive changes in singular masculine and feminine nouns.

Masculine Nouns
There is no indefinite article in any of the cases.

1. The Nominative Case:
The definite article is an except for nouns beginning with b, f, m & p when it is am
A t- is placed before definite nouns beginning with a vowel

2. The Dative Case:
The definite article is otherwise an except for nouns beginning with b, m, p, c & g when it is a'
Definite nouns beginning with b, f, m, p, c & g lenite the initial consonant
A t- is placed before definite nouns beginning with sl, sn, sr & s+vowel
After prepositions ending in a vowel the definite article remains an and fuses with the preposition e.g. dha + an >> dhan

3. The Genitive Case:.
The definite article is an except for nouns beginning with b, m, p, c & g when it is a'
Definite nouns beginning with b, f, m, p, c & g lenite the initial consonant
A t- is placed before definite nouns beginning with sl, sn, sr & s+vowel
The nouns undergo internal vowel modifications: with the general trend of narrowing the final internal vowel to i

The following is a brief summary of singular nouns from nominative through dative to genitive cases. The examples are with the article to illustrate initial consonant changes :
Nominative	Dative	Genitive	Internal Vowel Changes
am bàrd - the poet	dhan bhàrd - to the poet	a' bhàird - of the poet	addition of i a >> ai o >> oi u >> ui ao >> aoi
an ròn - the seal	bhon ròn - from the seal	an ròin - of the seal
an dùn - the fort	anns an dùn - in the fort	an dùin - of the fort
an gaol - the love	leis a' ghaol - with the love	a' ghaoil - of the love
an t-allt - the stream	anns an allt - in the stream	an uillt - of the stream	a & o >> ui
an corp - the body	fon chorp - under the body	a' chuirp - of the body
am port - the port	ris a' phort - at the port	a' phuirt - of the port
am mac - the son	leis a' mhac - with the son	a' mhic - of the son	a, ea & io >> i
an coileach - the cock	fon choileach - under the cock	a' choilich - of the cock
am fear - the man	ris an fhear - to the man	an fhir - of the man
an sìol - seed	anns an t-sìol - in the seed	an t-sìl - of the seed
an coibhneas - the kindness	leis a' choibhneas - with the kindness	a' choibhneis - of the kindness	ea, eu & ia >> ei
an ceum - the step	anns a' cheum - in the step	a' chèim - of the step
am fiadh - the deer	fon fhiadh - under the deer	an fhèidh - of the deer
an t-iasg - the fish	air an iasg - on the fish	an èisg - of the fish
an dall - blindman	ris an dall - to the blindman	an doill - of the blindman	a >> oi
am beul - the mouth	air a' bheul - on the mouth	a' bheòil - of the mouth	eu >> eoi
an t-eun - bird	don eun - to the bird	an eòin - of the bird
am feur - grass	anns an fheur - in the grass	an fheòir - of the grass
an ceòl - the music	tron cheòl - through the music	a' chiùil - of the music	eo >> iui
an seòl - the sail	fon t-seòl - under the sail	an t-siùil - of the sail	eo >> iui

Feminine Nouns
There is no indefinite article in any of the cases

1. The Nominative Case:
The definite article is otherwise an except for nouns beginning with b, m, p, c & g when it is a'
Definite nouns beginning with b, f, m, p, c & g lenite the initial consonant
A t- is placed before definite nouns beginning with sl, sn, sr & s+vowel

2. The Dative Case:
The definite article is otherwise an except for nouns beginning with b, m, p, c & g when it is a'
Definite nouns beginning with b, f, m, p, c & g lenite the initial consonant
A t- is placed before definite nouns beginning with sl, sn, sr & s+vowel
After prepositions ending in a vowel the definite article remains an and fuses with the preposition e.g. dha + an >> dhan
The nouns undergo internal vowel modifications ‡ : with the general trend of narrowing the final internal vowel to i

‡ These internal vowel changes are less frequently heard in the spoken language, but still appear in literature

3. The Genitive Case:
The definite article is always na (na h- before vowels)
The nouns undergo internal vowel modifications: with the general trend of narrowing the final internal vowel to i
A terminal e is added to monosyllabic nouns. Polysyllabic nouns exhibit this to a lesser degree and it is considered optional in both the spoken and written language

The following is a brief summary of the changes experienced from nominative to dative to genitive singular cases. The examples are with the article to illustrate any initial consonant changes. Internal vowel changes are for the most part identical in the dative and genitive cases :
Nominative	Dative	Genitive	Internal Vowel Changes
a' mharag - the pudding	anns a' mharaig - in the pudding	na maraig(e) - of the pudding	addition of i a >> ai o >> oi
an tòn - the rump	air an tòin - on the rump	na tòine - of the rump	addition of i a >> ai o >> oi
an long - the ship	air an luing - on the ship	na luinge - of the ship	o >> ui
an tonn - the wave	fon tuinn - under the wave	na tuinne - of the wave	o >> ui
a' chearc - hen	dhan chirc - to the hen	na circe - of the hen	ea & io >> i
a' chrìoch - the boundary	aig a' chrìch - at the boundary	na crìche - of the boundary	ea & io >> i
a' bhas - palm	air a' bhois - on the palm	na boise - of the palm	a >> oi
a' chlann - the children	dhan chloinn - to the children	na cloinne - of the children
an fhras - the shower	fon fhrois - under the shower	na froise - of the shower
a' bhreug - the lie	leis a' bhrèig - with the lie	na brèige - of the lie	ea, eu & ia >> ei
a' chaileag - the girl	dhan chaileig - to the girl	na caileig(e) - of the girl
a' chreach - the plunder	anns a' chreich - in the plunder	na creiche - of the plunder
a' ghrian - the sun	ris a' ghrèin - to the sun	na grèine - of the sun
an iall - the strap	air an èill - on the strap	na h-èille - of the strap
an t-sealg - the hunt	anns an t-seilg - in the hunt	na seilge - of the hunt

NEW WORDS

**Nouns** (with genitive singular and nominative plural)
allt, g. & pl. uillt (m) - stream	ball, g.& pl. buill (m) - member
beul, g. & pl. beòil (m) - mouth	car, g. cuir, pl. caran (m) - twist
càirdeas, g. càirdeis (m) - friendship	càrn, g. & pl. càirn & cùirn (m) - carn
ceum, g. cèim, pl. ceumannan (m) -step, pace	clag, g. & pl. cluig (m) - bell
cliabh, g. & pl. clèibh (m) - creel	coibhneas, g. coibhneis (m) - kindness
coileach, g. & pl. coilich (m) - cockerel	corp, g. & pl. cuirp (m) - body
dall, g. & pl. doill (m) - blindman	deur, g. & pl. deòir (m) - tear
dùn, g. & pl. dùin (m) - fort	eun, g.& pl. eòin (m) - bird
lìon, g. & pl. lìn (m) - net	mac, g. & pl. mic (m) - son
meur, g. pl. meòir (m) - finger	nèamh, g. nèimh, pl. nèamhan (m) - heaven
neul, g. & pl. neòil (m) - cloud	olc, g. uilc (m) - evil
òrd, g. & pl. ùird (m) - hammer	sìol, g. & pl. sìl (m) - seed
sliabh, g. slèibh, pl. slèibhtean (m) - hill, hillside	toll, g. & pl. tuill (m) - hole
tonn, g. & pl. tuinn (m) - wave
breug, g. brèige, pl. breugan (f) - lie	cealg, g. ceilge, pl. cealgan (f) - deceit
ciall, g. cèille, pl. cialltan (f) - sense	creach, g. creiche, pl. creachan (f) - plunder, raid
creag, g. creige, pl. creagan (f) - cliff, crag, rock	crìoch, g. crìche, pl. crìochan (f) - limit, boundary
fras, g. froise, pl. frasan (f) - shower	geug, g. gèige, pl. geugan (f) - branch, bough
iall, g. èille, pl. ialltan (f) - strap, leash	leac, g. lice, pl. leacan (f) - slab, tile, flagstone
lorg, g. luirge, pl. lorgan (f) - trace, track	sealg, g. seilge, pl. sealgan (f) - hunt
sgeul, g. & pl. sgeòil (m & f) - story	tonn, g. tuinne, pl. tonnan (f) - wave

**EXERCISE 1 Translate into English**
1.òrain a' bhàird; ad a' bhoireannaich; clachan a' chùirn;
2.fuaim a' chluig; ceann fir; cas coilich; làmh a' mhic;
3.meud an lìn; ceann an èisg, earball fèidh; seinn eòin;
4.sruth deòir; drochaid na luinge; ruith tuinne; callaid crìche;
5.gob circe; dèideagan cloinne; là na seilge; fear na creiche

**EXERCISE 2 Translate into Gàidhlig**
1.the taste of bread; a boy's hand; the water of the burn; grazing of cattle;
2.the glen road; a trout head; my son's house; the kindness of friendship;
3.the grass of the slope; the story's end; the colour of the cloud;
4.the movement of the sail; the leg pain; the size of the stone;
5.a woman of deceit; window glass; the sense of the story

**ANSWERS - EXERCISE 1**
1.the poet's songs; the woman's hat; the stones of the cairn;
2.the sound of the bell; a man's head; the cockerel's leg; the son's hand;
3.the size of the net; the head of the fish; a deer's tail; the singing of a bird;
4.the flow of a tear; the ship's bridge; a run of a wave; a boundary fence;
5.a hen's beak; children's toys; the day of the hunt; the man of the raid

**ANSWERS - EXERCISE 2**
1.blas arain; làmh balaich; uisge an uillt; ionaltradh cruidh;
2.rathad a' ghlinn; ceann bric; taigh mo mhic; coibhneas càirdeis;
3.feur an t-slèibh; crìoch an sgeòil; dath an neòil;
4.gluasad an t-siùil; pian na coise; meud na cloiche;
5.boireannach ceilge; glainne uinneig; ciall na sgeòil

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