Chapter I Of the Article
The Gaelic article an corresponds to the English definite article the. There is in Gaelic no indefinite article corresponding to the English a or an. The inflections of the article are but few. They depend on the gender, the number, and the case, of the noun to which it is prefixed. Hence the article is declined by gender, number, and case, as follows:
| Singular. | Plural. | |||
| Masc. | Fem. | Masc. & Fem. | ||
| Nom. | an, am | an, a’ | na | |
| Gen. | an, a’ | na | nan, nam | |
| Dat. | an, a’, n’ | an, a’, n’ | na | |
In the singular, final n of the article is sometimes cut off, and its absence marked by an apostrophe. The same happens to the initial a of the dative singular.