Page:Graimear na Gaedhilge.djvu/27

Rh Rules for Aspirations.

We give here only the principal rules. Others will be given as occasion will require.

(a). The possessive adjectives, my; , thy; and , his, aspirate the first consonant of the following word, as , my cow; , thy mother; , his horse.

(b) The article aspirates a noun in the nominative and accusative feminine singular, and also in the genitive masculine singular unless the noun begins with, , or ; , the woman; , the meat is salt; , (the) son of the man.

(c) In compound words the initial consonant of the second word is aspirated, except when the second word begins with or, and the first ends in one of the letters , , , ,. These five letters will be easily remembered, as they are the consonants of the word "dentals";, a grandmother; , a helmet; , a halfpenny; but , an old person; , an old house.

The interjection, the sign of the vocative case, causes aspiration in nouns of both genders and both numbers: , O man; , O women; , O James.

(e) An adjective is aspirated when it agrees with a feminine noun in the nominative or accusative sin-