NominativePrepositions

=0. Contents=


 * 1) General facts about nominative-governing prepositions
 * 2) //eadar//
 * 3) //gun//
 * 4) //mar//
 * 5) //seach//

This page is about the nominative-governing prepositions //eadar//, // gun //, //mar// and //seach//. Some of their properties are already described on the page about prepositions.

=1. General facts about nominative-governing prepositions=

a. The complement of all these prepositions must be must be in the nominative case, rather than the dative or genitive.

For example:
 * //mar làmh// (like a hand), rather than * //mar làimh// (dative) or * //mar làimhe// (genitive).
 * //gun am fear// (without the man), rather than * //gun an fhear// (dative) or * //gun an fhir// (genitive).

b. Unlike the default dative-governing prepositions, all of the nominative-governing prepositions can be immediately followed by a form of the definite article. Hence they need no special definite variant preposition.

For example:
 * //gun am bòrd// (without the table).
 * //eadar na caileagan// (between the girls).
 * //mar a' bhó// (like the cow).

c. Again in contrast to the dative-governing prepositions, the nominative-governing prepositions can take one of the personal pronouns (i.e. //mi//, //thu// , //e// , //i// , //sinn// , //sibh// , //iad// ) as their complement, and hence they generally have no conjugated prepositions.

For example :
 * //gun mi// (without me).
 * //mar iad// (like them).

d. Also, nominative-governing prepositions have no possessive prepositions with an incorporated possessive article. In other words, there is no shorter alternative to phrases like //gun mo chaileag// (without my girl) or //mar ar bùird// (like our table).

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=2. //eadar//=

a. The preposition //eadar// **does not lenite** the following noun or adjective [or numeral?].

For example:
 * //eadar taighean// (between houses), rather than * //eadar thaighean//.
 * //eadar seann bhùird// (between old tables), rather than * //eadar sheann bhùird//.

b. Unusually for a non-dative-governing preposition, //eadar// has three optional conjugated prepositions which may be used instead of a full preposition plus personal pronoun construction.

In other words:
 * //eadarainn// (between us) may be used instead of //eadar sinn//.
 * //eadaraibh// (between you) may be used instead of //eadar sibh//.
 * //eatorra// (between them) may be used instead of //eadar iad//.

c. There is also a set of emphatic conjugated personal pronouns for //eadar// :
 * ~  ||~ plural ||
 * ~ first ||= //eadarainne// ||
 * ~ second ||= //eadaraibhse// ||
 * ~ third ||= //eatorrasan// ||

d. [Say something about the complement needing to be dual or plural or conjoined?]

[Need to put in a lot of stuff here about the uses of this preposition.]

Examples:
 * eadar a' chlach agus a' chraobh (between the stone and the tree - CM)
 * eadar na ballachan (between the walls)
 * eadar mi fhìn is tu fhèin (between you and me - CM)
 * eadar fealla dhà is da-rìreadh (between joking and earnest - CM)
 * eadar e is an solas (between him and the light - CM)
 * eadar cadal is dùsgadh (between sleeping and waking - CM)
 * Bha mu chóig troighean eadar mi is am fear a bha romham. (There were about five feet between me and the man who was in front of me - CM).
 * eadar gach rud a tha/bha ann (between one thing and another - CM).
 * Bha tubaist anns a' mhadainn an-diugh air an A82 eadar Drochaid an Aonachain agus Inbhir Garadh. (There was an accident this morning on the A82 between Spean Bridge and Invergarry.)

Examples:
 * Bha balla cloiche eadarainn. (There was a stone wall between us - CM)
 * Leigibh leis a' phàiste suidhe eadaraibh. (Let the child sit between you! - CM)
 * Cha robh ach ochd troighean eatorra. (There was only eight feet between them - CM)

Eadar also means "both":
 * eadar bheag agus mhór (both great and small)
 * eadar mhath is olc (both good and evil)

And sometimes //whether//:
 * eadar gu bheil iad nan tidsearan, nan dotairean, nan luchd-lagha (whether they are teachers, doctors or lawyers - CM)
 * eadar gun robh no nach robh iad a' creidsinn seo (whether they believed this or not)
 * eadar gu bheil ag aideachadh an t-suidheachaidh o nach eil (whether they acknowledge the situation or not - CM)

It is used also as a derivational prefix.

Verbs:
 * eadar-atharraich (to differentiate), from atharraich (to change)
 * eadar-dhealaich (to differ), from dealaich?
 * eadar-fhigh (to interweave), from figh (to knit, weave)
 * eadar-ghuidh (to intercede), from guidh (to wish, beseech)
 * eadar-lìnich (to interline), from lìnich?
 * eadar-oibrich (to interact), from oibrich (to act, work)
 * eadar-sgaoil (to dissolve), from sgaoil (to disperse)
 * eadar-sgar (to dissociate), from sgar (to break, divide)
 * eadar-sgaraich (to analyse), from sgaraich?
 * eadar-theangaich (to translate), from teangaich?

etc. (there is more in CM)

Examples:
 * eadar a' chlach agus a' chraobh (between the stone and the tree - CM)
 * eadar na ballachan (between the walls)
 * eadar mi fhìn is tu fhèin (between you and me - CM)
 * eadar fealla dhà is da-rìreadh (between joking and earnest - CM)
 * eadar e is an solas (between him and the light - CM)
 * eadar cadal is dùsgadh (between sleeping and waking - CM)
 * Bha mu chóig troighean eadar mi is am fear a bha romham. (There were about five feet between me and the man who was in front of me - CM).
 * eadar gach rud a tha/bha ann (between one thing and another - CM).

Examples:
 * Bha balla cloiche eadarainn. (There was a stone wall between us - CM)
 * Leigibh leis a' phàiste suidhe eadaraibh. (Let the child sit between you! - CM)
 * Cha robh ach ochd troighean eatorra. (There was only eight feet between them - CM)

Eadar also means "both":
 * eadar bheag agus mhór (both great and small)
 * eadar mhath is olc (both good and evil)

And sometimes //whether//:
 * eadar gu bheil iad nan tidsearan, nan dotairean, nan luchd-lagha (whether they are teachers, doctors or lawyers - CM)
 * eadar gun robh no nach robh iad a' creidsinn seo (whether they believed this or not)
 * eadar gu bheil ag aideachadh an t-suidheachaidh o nach eil (whether they acknowledge the situation or not - CM)

It is used also as a derivational prefix.

Verbs:
 * eadar-atharraich (to differentiate), from atharraich (to change)
 * eadar-dhealaich (to differ), from dealaich?
 * eadar-fhigh (to interweave), from figh (to knit, weave)
 * eadar-ghuidh (to intercede), from guidh (to wish, beseech)
 * eadar-lìnich (to interline), from lìnich?
 * eadar-oibrich (to interact), from oibrich (to act, work)
 * eadar-sgaoil (to dissolve), from sgaoil (to disperse)
 * eadar-sgar (to dissociate), from sgar (to break, divide)
 * eadar-sgaraich (to analyse), from sgaraich?
 * eadar-theangaich (to translate), from teangaich?

etc. (there is more in CM)

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=3. //gun//=

a. The preposition //gun// **lenites** the following noun or adjective [or numeral?], with dental blocking.

For example:
 * //gun bhòrd// (without a table), rather than * //gun bòrd//.
 * //gun sheann bhòrd// (without an old table), rather than * //gun seann bhòrd//.
 * //gun taigh// (without a house), rather than * //gun thaigh//.

[Need to put in a lot of stuff here about the uses of this preposition.]

e.g. [used with relative clause] Tha cànan Innis Tìle beag gun a bhith bog. (The language of Iceland is small, without being soft.) gun fheum (useless); Tha an càr gun fheum. (The car is a write-off.);

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=4. //mar//=

a. The preposition //mar// **lenites** the following noun or adjective [or numeral?].

For example:
 * //mar bhòrd// (as a table), rather than * //mar bòrd//.
 * //mar sheann bhòrd// (as an old table), rather than * //mar seann bhòrd//.
 * //mar thaigh// (as a house), rather than * //mar taigh//.

[Need to put in a lot of stuff here about the uses of this preposition.]

Lewis variant: man (doesn't lenite)

Mar phàirt den chaismeachd, coisichidh na gaisgich còmhla ri 1,500 de dh’Albannaich a’ gabhail a-steach clann-sgoile, luchd-pàrlamaid, luchd-stiùiridh creideimh agus aoighean eile bhon t-saoghal phoblach. (As part of the march, the heroes will walk along with 1,500 Scots, including schoolchildren, parlamentarians, faith leaders and other visitors from the public world.)

'S e Willie Rennie, ball ùr Mheadhan Alba agus Fìobha, a thèid fhoillseachadh mar cheannard Albannach a' phàrtaidh an-diugh fhathast. (It is Willie Rennie, new member for Central Scotland and Fife who will be unveiled today as the party's Scottish leader today)

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=5. //seach//=

a. The preposition //seach// **does not lenite** the following noun or adjective [or numeral?].

For example:
 * //seach bòrd// (past a table), rather than * //seach bhòrd//.
 * //seach seann bhòrd// (past an old table), rather than * //seach sheann bhòrd//.

[Need to put in a lot of stuff here about the uses of this preposition.]

Instead of, rather than, compared to/with, in preference to, in contrast to/with
 * //seach iomadh eun eile// (compared to many other birds - CM)
 * //do dhuine seach duine// (to one man rather than another - CM)

May also mean "past":
 * //seach a' chlach// (past the stone - CM - more common nowadays is //seachad air a' chloich// )

Also used as a conjunction meaning "since/because". Also "seach gu + verb".

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