Chapter XVIII: Section IV

OF THE AGREEMENT OF A VERB WITH ITS NOMINATIVE.

As the Verb has no variation of _form_ corresponding to the Person or Number of its Nominative, the connection between a Verb and its Nominative can be marked only by its _collocation_. Little variety therefore is allowed in this respect. The Nominative, whether Noun or Pronoun, is ordinarily placed after the Verb; as, ta mi _I am_, rugadh duine-cloinne _a man-child is born_[102]. The Article or an Adjective, is frequently {150} placed between the Verb and its Nominative; as, thainig an uair, _the hour is come_; aithrisear iomadh droch sgeul, _many an evil tale will be told_. Sometimes, but more rarely, circumstances are expressed beween the Verb and its Nominative; as, rugadh dhuinne, an diugh, ann am baile Dhaibhi, an Slanuighear, _there is born to us, this day, in David's town, the Saviour_.

The word denoting the object of the verbal action, can never, even in poetry, be placed between the Verb and its Nominative, without altering the sense. Hence the arrangement in the following passages is incorrect:--Ghabh domblas agus fiongeur iad, _they took gall and vinegar_. "Buch. Gael. Poems," Edin. 1767. p. 14. The collocation should have been ghabh iad domblas, &c. Do chual e 'n cruinne-c['e], _the world heard it_, id. p. 15, ought to have been, do chual an cruinne-c['e] e. So also, do ghabh truaighe, Iosa dhoibh, _Jesus took pity {151} on them_. Matt. xx. 34, Irish vers. It ought to have been, do ghabh Iosa truaighe, &c.[103].

The Relatives a _who_, nach _who not_, are always put before the verb; as, am fear a thuit, _the man who fell_; am fear nach dean beud, _the man who will not commit a fault_.

In poetry, or poetical style, where inversion is allowed, the Nominative is sometimes placed before the Verb; as doimhneachd na talmhain ta 'n a laimh, _in his hand is the depth of the earth_. Psal. xcv. 4.

Oigh cha tig le cl[`a]r 'n an comhdhail,
_No virgin with harp will come to meet them._
Smith's "Ant. Gal. Poems," p. 285.

Gach doire, gach coire, 's gach eas,
Bheir a' m' chuimhne cneas mo Ghraidh.

_Each grove, each dell, and each water-fall, will bring to my remembrance the form of my love._ Id. p. 30.

An la sin cha tigh gu br[`a]th,
A bheir dearrsa mo ghraidh gu tuath.

_That day shall never come, which shall bring the sun-beam of my love to the North._ Fingal II. 192.

Am focail geilleam do Mhorlamh;
Mo lann do neach beo cha gheill.

_In words I yield to Morla; my sword to no living man shall yield._ Fing. II. 203. This inversion is never admitted into plain discourse or unimpassioned narrative.

In those Persons of the Verb in which the terminations supply the place of the Personal Pronouns, no Nominative is expressed along with the Verb. In all the other Persons of the Verb, a Noun or a Pronoun is commonly expressed as its Nominative. In sentences of a poetical structure, the Nominative is sometimes, though rarely, omitted; as, am fear nach {152} gabh 'nuair gheibh, cha 'n fhaigh 'nuair 's aill, _the man who will not take when [he] can get, will not get when [he] wishes_.

A Gharna, cuim a sheas? a Ghuill, cuim a thuit?
_Garno, why stoodst? Gaul, why didst fall?_
Smith's "Ant. Gal. Poems," p. 153.

The Infinitive often takes before it the Nominative of the Agent; in which case the Preposition _do_ is either expressed or understood before the Infinitive; as, feuch, cia meud a mhaith, braithre do bhi 'n an comhnuidh ann sith! _behold how great a good it is, that brethren dwell in peace!_ Psal. cxxxiii, 1. Is e mi dh' fhantuinn 's an fheoil, a 's feumaile dhuibhse, _my abiding in the flesh is more needful for you_, Phil. i. 24, Cha n'eil e iomchuidh sinne dh' fhagail focail D['e], agus a fhrithealadh do bhordaibh, _it is not meet that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables_, Acts vi. 2. The Preposition _do_, being softened as usual into _a_, readily disappears after a Vowel; as, air son mi bhi a r[`i]s a lath[`a]ir maille ribh, _by my being again present with you_, Phil. i. 26[104].