An Tuiseal Ginideach – The Genitive Case

What does the genitive case mean? What are the differences between nominative and genitive? Good questions! In this article, we’re looking at the genitive. The genitive means “relating to or denoting a case of nouns and pronouns (and words in grammatical agreement with them) indicating possession or close association”. That seems rather complicated but let’s break it all down so it’s not.

Essentially, the genitive is broken into common categories that include:

• possession
• turning a noun into an adjective
• indefinite quantity
• with certain prepositions
• after the verbal noun
• Periods of time

Possession

When it comes to Irish, we put the word that represents the owner(s) into the genitive case and put it after the word for the thing that is owned.

Exploring Irish surnames.

Let’s take the word ‘Mac’. This means ‘son’. But you may not know that the ‘Ó’ (usually Anglicised to O’) means grandson or descendant.

Originally, native Gaelic surnames referred to the ‘son’ / ‘descendant’ of a man’s given name, nickname or even occupation.

Instead of using a word for ‘of,’ though like ‘son of’, Irish uses the genitive case to reflect this. Some examples

You can explore more Irish surnames on Gaois.ie. The above also applies to titles and occupations.

Turning a noun into an adjective (Two nouns together)

We use nouns as adjectives all the time in English, but in Irish, we can’t just put one noun in front of another. Instead, we take the first noun, put it in the genitive case, and then move it after the word it describes. This is where adjectives are placed in Irish.

TL;DR:  When a noun modifies another noun, the adjective takes on the genitive case.

When two nouns come together that don’t mean the same thing, then the second noun is put into the genitive. Other examples:

Indefinite quantity

This is pretty straightforward. When the noun cannot be measured, it takes the genitive case.

With certain prepositions

For example: chun, cois, timpeall, trasna and fearacht

Note on chun:

When using it to mean in order to or so that, Chun can sometimes be interchangeable with the preposition le. For example, Tá mé ag dul amach chun pionta a ól / le pionta a ól. Interesting to point out that chun is typically used as a preposition in West Munster, whereas you will find chuig is used in Connacht and Donegal Irish. (you do also get chuig said as ag) “chun” is found in Ulster too, but it’s reduced. The “ch” isn’t said. Without the ‘ch’, it’s pronounced more like /əN/ but chun an and chun na in their entirety are simply pronounced /Nə/.

Chuig does not take the genitive after it but does lenite or eclipse the word that follows if it has the article e.g. chuig an mbus / chuig an bhus (depending on dialect).

However, you can’t switch out chun for le all the time, e.g. you wouldn’t change ‘le’ to ‘chun’ in “Tá an teilifís le cloisteáil’.

A compound preposition usually governs a genitive:

After the verbal noun

The word after the verbal noun (basically ag + verb) takes the genitive.

Periods of time

Phrases such as the ones below take the genitive (but not when a number is specified, e.g. ar feadh trí mhí

How the genitive applies to masculine and feminine nouns

Masculine words

The genitive declension depends on the gender of the second thing mentioned.

When it’s a masculine noun, the general rule to follow is to add a séimhiú (h) and
make the noun slender (add an “i” to the end,) e.g. oifig an phoist, gúna an chailín* But of course, there are exceptions for masculine nouns. For professions that end in “ir” (which are nearly always masculine), like dochtúir, feirmeoir, pluimbéir, you instead remove the last i and add an a.

*cailín is a masculine noun

There are masculine nouns that end in -(e)ach (there are also feminine nouns with this ending, e.g. an ghealach), but for masculine nouns with this ending, you change it to aigh.

TIMS (Exceptions)

Teach, Im, Sliabh are all masculine nouns but are in the 2nd declension and thus follow the 2nd declension rules.

Im (An t-im) e.g. blas an time
Teach (and teach) e.g., luach an tí
Sliabh (an sliabh) e.g. radharc na sléibhe

Feminine words

The general rule for feminine nouns is that the definite article “an” changes to “na”, you drop the h (séimhiú), and you make the noun slender, e.g. biachlár na bialainne. But this is not always the case and there are exceptions, e.g. an bhean (the woman) = mala na mná (the woman’s bag).

Words ending in (a)íocht are nearly always feminine but when in the genitive, the end of the noun changes to ‘a’, e.g. an club dramaíochta

Feminine nouns ending in ‘(e)ach’, change to ‘(a)í’ e.g. solas na gealaí

Other examples of feminine nouns in the genitive:

Lenition and indefinite nouns in the genitive

The following is taken from Graiméar Gaeilge na mBráithre Críostaí. I’ve provided the English explanation here as GGnaBC is written in Irish. Just a note, in linguistics, a grammatical ‘agent’ is the thematic relation of the cause or initiator to an event.

4.14 A verbal noun or an indefinite noun in the genitive case is lenited when it is governed by a noun whose plural ends in a slender consonant: buidéil bhainne; éisc mhara; faochain chapaill, or when the last consonant of the previous word (in the singular) is made slender through inflection: toirtín aráin choirce; sárú gealltanais phósta.*

*N.B. Graiméar Gaeilge na mBráithre Críostaí differs slightly from the Caighdeán Oifigiúil when it comes to certain genitive things (See 10.2.8 (d) (ii) and 10.2.9 in the Caighdeán to see the conflicts). For example, we see ‘faochain chapaill’ above. This doesn’t work according to 10.2.8 (d) (ii), because capall is an animal and faochain is a plural noun with a slender ending. The lenition would not be there in Standard Irish.

Meanwhile, toirtín aráin choirce” and “sárú gealltanais phósta should not have the lenition either because the final noun in each case is indefinite and modifying a noun that is itself in the genitive (See the Caighdeán 10.2.9).

Just something to bear in mind…

4.15 A verbal noun or an indefinite noun in the genitive case is lenited when the previous word by which it is governed is a feminine singular noun (not in the genitive)

• following a word that expresses quantity: cloch phrátaí; glac thairní; trí
  splaideog chéille
• when the genitive is a verbal noun: cloch cheangail; léim sheachanta; bean chaointe
• when the genitive is in apposition in the case of an animal or thing: púróg chloiche; stail chapaill; cráin mhuice; ach óinseach mná; baintreach fir
• when the genitive is a material noun: súil ghloine; tine mhóna; coinneal chéarach
• after beirt, dís: beirt bhuachaillí; dís bhan

4.16 In contrast to 4.14 (scroll up), the genitive of an indefinite noun or verbal noun that is governed by another noun is generally not lenited in the following cases:

• for d, s, t following d, n, t, l, s except in occasional circumstances: bean siúil; cos deiridh; slat tiomána; tonn tuile; min seagail; beirt sagart but maidin shamhraidh (sheaca); nor is the initial f lenited, since leniting it (in speech) could obscure its meaning: deoir fola [fhola nó ola], but an ghlóir fhlaithiúnais
• following an abstract noun when a genitive of a verbal noun or appositional genitive is not in question: aois gadhair; airde fir; intleacht mná; acmhainn grinn; ach cúis gháire (ghearáin, mhagaidh), cabaireacht chainte
• following a noun that means cuid, easpa, or iomarca: ailp feola; roinnt bagúin; easpa taithí; breis bainne; an iomarca moille; mo chuid cainte
• following a word that means a part of a person or animal or bird: lámh duine; adharc bó; crúb coiligh; gualainn cnoic
• following a verbal noun preceded by a preposition: ag tógáil potaí; a iarraidh comhairle; ar chosaint cathracha; except for long-established versions such as ag fáil bháis (bhisigh)*
• following an indefinite noun that has the same form as a verbal noun: cosaint cúise; fulaingt péine; tiomáint gluaisteáin
• following a collective noun if the genitive is in the plural: saithe beach; scaoth cuileog; buíon fear; BUT dís fhear; clann mhac; buíon cheoil (chosanta)
• if the genitive is an agent: seitreach capaill; géimneach bó; coiscéim coiligh
• if the genitive is in personal apposition**: óinseach mná; baintreach fir; a Thiarna Breithimh
• if the personal genitive conveys who owns it or what it’s for: clann feirmeora; bróg mná; culaith fir
• if the genitive is qualified: oíche gaoithe móire; scian coise adhairce; bean baile mhóir

* Exceptions to the rule are found in the language here and there, especially in very common phrases: ag cur choirce, ag baint mhóna, etc., but again, they don’t change the substance of the rule.

** When two noun phrases are next to each other in a clause, and they refer to the same person or thing, we call this apposition.

Lenition and definite nouns in the genitive

Again the below is taken from Graiméar Gaeilge na mBráithre Críostaí (which is in Irish) but below is the English explanation of it.

4.17 A definite noun is lenited that has a genitive function as long as it is not the agent or object of a verbal noun that follows it.

• foireann Dhoire; muintir Sheáin; Coláiste Cholmáin; Cuan Bhaile Átha Cliath; oibrithe Bhéal Feirste
• mac fhear an tí; obair bhean an tábhairne; díon shiopa an bhúistéara; Oíche Fhéile Eoin; asal Sheáin nó Mháire
• ar aghaidh dhoras an tséipéil; os comhair Sheáin; in aice Chill Airne; faoi choinne pháistí na Gaeltachta; fearacht mhuintir na hAlban; dála Chonradh na Gaeilge; timpeall chósta na hEorpa; trasna Bhá an Daingin
• ag cáineadh mhuintir Shligigh; ag moladh chlann an fhir oibre; ag meabhrú theideal gach leabhair; tiománaí bhus a seacht; de réir chaibidil a trí; ach in éadan muintir na hÉireann a bheith sa chogadh; le linn cú m’athar a dhíol; ar tí Ciarán a phósadh; tar éis Gaillimh a fhágáil.

4.18 The following are not lenited:

• Dé (in every sense), Déardaoin, San, purgadóra, parthais, nor some of the words that have the prefixes Moroinnt ainmneacha dar tús na réimíreanna Mo, Do, Mao(i)l: lámh Dé; oíche Dé Luain; oíche Déardaoin; teacht San Nioclás; anamacha purgadóra (parthais); Scoil Mobhí; Cill Mocheallóg; bachall Dochiaróg; Coláiste Maolmhaodhóg
• following Féile (in the genitive), Naomh, San, Dé (= lá), chun: Lá Fhéile Pádraig; Oíche na Féile Bríde; litreacha Naomh Pól; dúnmharú San Tomás; oíche Dé Máirt; chun bean an tí; chun Pádraig
• certain proper nouns that follow old historical rules: Lia (Fianna) Fáil; Tobar Bríde; Cúige Mumhan

4.19 According to the rules of 4.14—15, the following are lenited:

• the names of days, months, and languages: Oíche Shamhna; maidin Mháirt; amhráin Ghearmáinise; but Lá Samhna; tráthnóna Sathairn; leabhar Béarla
• a verbal noun in the genitive that governs a definite or indefinite object: bean chasta an tuirne; bean chardála olla; seachtain bhailithe na rátaí; fir bhuailte an arbhair; fir mhúchta tinte; but lucht múchta tinte; lá buailte an arbhair
• the first genitive of a pair of genitives that are both governed by a word that precedes the pair: bean choimhdeachta na banríona; misneach phobal Latharna; triomú mhóin Eoin; costas bhainne an naíonáin BUT teach pobail Latharna; cliabh móna Eoin; buidéal bainne an naíonáin. Note: In the last three examples, the last word is governed by the first one, not by the second one.

4.20 A noun is lenited following the historical form of the copula: ba dhuine mór é; ní leis ab fhaillí é; ar shagart é? nár chapall maith é? cheap sé gur ghadaí é; níor thaibhse é; níorbh fheirmeoir é; murar bhád é; fear dar shloinne Ó Néill.

For further reading for comparison notes between Graiméar Gaeilge na mBráithre Críostaía and C.O. read 3.3 (all subsections), 10.2.6 and 10.2.10 in the Caighdeán Oifigiúil.

Tuiseal Ginideach Iolra (The Genitive Plural)

Always na + urú (eclipses where possible)

• If it ends in a consonant in the plural form in the nominative, in the Tuiseal Ginideach Iolra we use the singular form to form it. e.g. Dath na gcrann. Crann ends in ‘n’
• If the word ends in a guta in the plural form in the nominative, in the Tuiseal Ginideach Iolra we use the plural form to form it. e.g. cótaí na gcailíní (plural is cailíní) (tréaniolra)
• However, if the plural has an ‘a’ at the end of it in the nominative e.g. bróga, we use the singular version of the word in the iolra e.g. dath na mbróg (lagiolra)

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