Given a pool of concealed facts, encoded in the sentences:
Tá Seán ag siúl.
Tá Máire ag ithe aráin.
Tá Pól ag scríobh leabhair.
Tá Áine ag ól fíona.
what interrogative structures can be used to access specific content from the facts:
to find:
a. the perpetrator/actor
b. the specific action
c. the object of the action
1. a is straightforward. An interrogative pronoun can be used to referrence the subject of the sentence:
Fact: Tá Seán ag siúl
Required content: subject of the verb tá.
Place holder: Cé (equivalent of latin quis - nom sng)
Question: [Cé] atá ag siúl? The [cé] needs to be filled in once the actor becomes known.
These enquiries are not restricted by considerations of transitive or intransitive verbs or the objects of transitive verbs.
Foghlaim (Learn)
1. Cé atá ag ithe an aráin? Who is eating the bread?
2. Cé atá ag ól an fhíona? Who is drinking the wine?
3. Cé atá ag briseadh na bhfuinneog? Who is breaking the windows?
2. b. find a specific action. Irish has another place holder interrogative pronoun to do part of the job: Cad (equivalent of the Latin quid - accusative, neuter, interrogative/relative pronoun). But another place holder is required, a general action place holder, to stand in temporarily for any action - déanamh - equivalent of English doing. So we have Cad and Déanamh - not enough: [cad] atá Seán [déanamh]. How can we connect the two place holders?
We cannot use ag, because ag just connects Seán (subject) to the action in a spacial prepositional relationship. But Cad requires a direct object. Irish has no equivalent of Latin Cuius, a gentitive form of quid. If it did we could postulate [Cuius] atá Seán ag [déanamh]? Then [cuius] could be filled in once the action became known - tá sé ag [siúl]. Irish gets around the referencing problem, by using another preposition Do(equivalent of English To). The question is formed like this: [Cad] atá Seán [{do} dhéanamh]? < Rud do dhéanamh WITH [tá Seán] slotted in, like an insert, or embedded sentence. This seems a strange construction, until the usual Irish contruction for dealing with objects is brought to mind - bia do ithe, teach do thógáil, doras do oscailt. So with place holder [cad] do ithe, [cad] do thógáil. In the modern language Do has been contracted to A - teach a thógáil, bia a ithe. From this the illogical proposed use of Cad atá sé [ag] déanamh? becomes obvious - teach ag tógáil ( the house is doing the work ), tae ag ól ( the tae is doing the drinking) amhrán ag ceol ( the song is doing the singing)
3. b. find the object of the action.
Nearly all of the explanation of 2. b. find a specific action applies also to 3. b. The difference is that the action is known and its object is what needs to be discovered. The following patterns can be followed:
Foghlaim (Learn)
1. tae a ól - Cad (é) atá Seán a ól?
2. arán a ithe - Cad é atá Seán a ithe?
3. teach a thógáil - Cad é atá Seán a thógáil?
4. fuinneog a bhriseadh - Cad é atá Seán a bhriseadh?
Léigh (Read)
1. Tá Feilim ag ithe an chait.
2. Tá Máire ag scríobh an fhocail.
3. Tá Pól ag ithe na cáise.
4. Tá Síle ag bualadh na gcat.
Aistrigh (Translate)
1. What is Feilim eating?
2. What is Síle beating?
3. What is Pól eating?
4. What is Máire writing?
Cad? and Cad é?
In the second version the additional pronoun, 3rd sing masc is in appostion to Cad.
This is the usual version preferred in Ulster.
Structures to commit to memory:
do = a
duine ag ceol - person (at) singing
amhrán a cheol - a song (to) singing
duine ag scríobh - person (at) writing
litir a scríobh - a letter (to) writing
múinteoir ag teagasc - a teacher (at) teaching
ceacht a theagasc - a lesson (to) teaching
Is maith liom x = X is good with me - I like x
Is maith liom tae a ól. tae ag ól would be ridiculous or very unusual
Is maith liom litir a scríobh. litir ag scríobh would be ridiculous or psychodelic
Is maith liom bia a ithe. bia ag ithe ..............