Page:Graimear na Gaedhilge.djvu/28

Rh gular, or with a masculine noun in the genitive singular, and in the dative and vocative singular of both genders; also in the nominative plural when the noun ends in a slender consonant: as, a white cow; , (the) son of the big man; , from the good woman; , three big horses.

When a noun is immediately followed by an indefinite noun in the genitive case, singular or plural, the initial of the noun in the genitive is usually subject to precisely the same rules as if it were the initial of an adjective: e.g., a hen-egg (lit. an egg of a hen); , of a hen-egg; , a stone of meal; , oaten meal. The letters and  are not aspirated after, , , , ; and  is often excepted, as the change in sound is so great.

The initial of a verb is aspirated—(1) in the imperfect, the simple past, and the conditional, active voice; (2) after the particles, not; , if; , as; and , before; (3) after the simple relative particle, expressed or understood: , he was; , she stood; , I am not; , he will not be; or , he (or the person) who strikes; , I would strike.