Chapter III Of Adjectives
An adjective is a word used along with a noun, to express some quality of the person or thing signified by the noun.
Adjectives undergo changes which mark their relation to other words. These changes are made, like those on nouns, partly on the beginning, and partly on the termination, and may be fitly denominated by the same names. The changes on the beginning are made by aspirating an initial consonant. The numbers and cases, like those of nouns, are distinguished by changes on the termination. The gender is marked partly by the initial form, partly by the termination.
Adjectives whereof the characteristic vowel is broad, follow, in most of their inflections, the form of nouns of the first declension, and may be termed Adjectives of the first declension. Those adjectives whereof the characteristic vowel is small, may be called Adjectives of the second declension.
Example of Adjectives of the First Declension.
| Mòr, great. | |||
| Singular. | Plural | ||
| Mas. | Fem. | Com. Gend. | |
| Nom. | Mor, | Mhor, | Mora. |
| Gen. | Mhoir, | Moire, | Mora. |
| Dat. | Mor, | Mhoir, | Mora. |
| Voc. | Mhoir, | Mhor, | Mora. |
Formation of the Cases of Adjectives of the First Declension.
Singular.
Nominative. The feminine gender is, in termination, like the masculine.
The other cases, both mas. and fem., are formed from the nominative, according to the rules already given for forming the cases of nouns of the first declension. Take the following examples in adjectives:—
Genitive.—General rule. Marbh dead, g. s. m. mhairbh, f. mairbhe; dubh black, g. s. m. dhuibh, f. duibhe; fadalach tedious, g. s. m. fhadalaich, f. fadalaich.
Particular rules. 1. Sona happy, g. s. m. shona, f. sona; aosda aged, g. s. m. and f. aosda; beo alive, g. s. m. bheo, f. beo.
2. Bochd poor, g. s. m. bhochd, f. bochd; gearr short, g. s. m. ghearr, f. gearr.
3. Breagh fine, g. s. m. bhreagha, f. breagha.
4. Crion little, diminutive, g. s. m. chrìn, f. crìne.
5. Donn brown, g. s. m. dhuinn, f. duinne; gorm blue, g. s. m. ghuirm, f. guirme; lom bare, g. s. m. luim, f. luime. But dall blind, g. s. m. dhoill, f. doille; mall slow, g. s. m. mhoill, f. moille; like the nouns crann, clann.
6. Cinnteach certain, g. s. m. chinntich, f. cinntich; maiseach beautiful, g. s. m. mhaisich, f. maisich. Tearc rare, g. s. m, theirc, f. teirce; dearg red, g. s. m. dheirg, f. deirge; deas ready, g. s. m. dheis, f. deise. Breac speckled, g. s. m, bhric, f. brice; geal white, g. s. m. ghil, f. gile.
7. Geur sharp, g. s. m. ghéir, f. géire; like the nouns breug, geug.
8. Liath hoary, g. s. m. leith, f. léithe; dian keen, g. s. m. dhéin, f. déine.
Irregulars. Odhar pale, g. s. m. and f. uidhir; bodhar deaf, g. s. m. bhuidhir, f. buidhir.
Dative.—General rule. Uasal noble, d. s. m. uasal f. uasail; bodhar deaf, d. s. m. bodhar, f. bhuidhir.
Particular rule. 1. Trom heavy, d. s. m. trom, f. thruim.
Vocative. Beag small, v. s. m. bhig, f. bheag.
Plural.
In Monosyllables the plural, through all its cases, is formed by adding a to the nom. sing.; in Polysyllables, it is like the nom. sing.; as, crom crooked, pl. croma; tuirseach melancholy, pl. tuirseach.
A few Dissyllables form their Plural like Monosyllables, and suffer a contraction; as, reamhar fat, pl. reamhra, contracted for reamhara. Gen. xli. 20.
Adjectives of the Second Declension.
All the Cases of Adjectives of the Second Declension are formed according to the general rules for nouns of the second declension; that is, Monosyllables add e for the gen. sing. fem. and for the plural cases; Polysyllables are like the nom. sing. throughout.
In the Second Declension, as in the First, Dissyllables sometimes suffer a contraction in the plural; as, milis sweet, pl. milse contracted for milise.
Of the Initial Form of Adjectives.
Adjectives admit the aspirated form through all the Numbers and Cases. In Adjectives beginning with a Labial or a Palatal, the aspirated form alone is used in the gen. and voc. sing. masc. the nom. dat. and voc. sing. feminine.
Comparison of Adjectives.
There are in Gaelic two forms of Comparison, which may be called the First and the Second Comparative.
The First Comparative is formed from the gen. sing. mas. by adding e; as, geal white, g. s. m. gil, comp. gile, ghile; ciontach guilty, g. s. m. ciontaich, comp. ciontaiche. Some Adjectives suffer a contraction in the Comparative; as, bodhar deaf, comp. buidhre for buidhire; boidheach pretty, comp. boidhche for boidhiche.
If the last letter of the gen. be a, it is changed into e, and i inserted before the last consonant; as, fada long, g. s. m. fada, comp. faide; tana thin, g. s. m. tana, comp. taine.
The Second Comparative is formed from the first, by changing final e into id; as, trom heavy, 1. comp. truime, 2. comp. truimid; tiugh thick, 1. comp. tiuighe, 2. comp. tiuighid. Many Adjectives, especially Polysyllables, do not admit of the Second Comparative.
Both these forms of Comparison have an aspirated as well as a primary form, but are otherwise indeclinable.
The following Adjectives are compared irregularly.
| Positive. | 1. Comp. | 2. Comp. |
| Math, maith, good, | fearr, | feaird. |
| Olc, bad, evil, | miosa, | misd. |
| Mòr, great, | mò, | mòid. |
| Beag, small, | lugha, | lughaid. |
| Goirid, gearr, short, | giorra, | giorraid. |
| Duilich, difficult, | dorra. | |
| Teath, hot, | teoithe, | teoithid. |
| Leathan, broad, | leatha, lèithne. | |
| Fogus, near, | foisge. | |
| Càirdeach, akin, | càra. | |
| Furas, easy, | fhusa, | |
| Toigh, dear, | docha. | |
| Ionmhuinn, beloved, | annsa, ionnsa. |
To these may be added the nouns—
Moran a great number or quantity, and Tuilleadh more.
The Superlative, which is but a particular mode of expressing comparison, is the same in form with the First Comparative.
An eminent degree of any quality is expressed by putting one of the particles ro, glé, before the Positive; as, ro ghlic very wise, glé gheal very white. The same effect is produced by prefixing fior true, sàr exceeding, &c., which words are, in that case, used adverbially; as, fior mhaiseach truly beautiful, sàr mhaith exceedingly good.
Cardinal Numbers.
| 1 | Aon, a h-aon, one. | 40 | Dà fhichead. |
| 2 | Dà, a dhà | 50 | Deich is dà fhichead. |
| 3 | Tri. | 60 | Tri fichead. |
| 4 | Ceithir. | 100 | Ceud. |
| 5 | Cuig. | 200 | Dà cheud. |
| 6 | Sè, sia. | 300 | Tri ceud. |
| 7 | Seachd. | 400 | Ceithir cheud. |
| 8 | Ochd. | 500 | Cuig ceud. |
| 9 | Naoi. | 1,000 | Mìle. |
| 10 | Deich. | 2,000 | Dà mhìle. |
| 11 | Aon deug. | 3,000 | Tri mìle. |
| 12 | A dhà dheug. | 10,000 | Deich mìle. |
| 13 | Tri deug. | 20,000 | Fichead mìle. |
| 20 | Fichead. | 100,000 | Ceud mìle. |
| 21 | Aon thar fhichead. | 200,000 | Dà cheud mìle. |
| 22 | Dha ‘ar fhichead. | 1,000,000 | Deich ceud mìle, |
| 23 | Tri ‘ar fhichead. | Mìle de mhìltibh. | |
| 30 | Deich ‘ar fhichead. | &c. &c. | |
| 31 | Aon deug thar fhichead. |
Cardinal Numbers joined to a Noun.
| Of the mas. gender. | Of the fem. gender. | |
| 1 | Aon fhear, one man. | Aon chlach, one stone. |
| 2 | Dà fhear. | Dà chloich. |
| 3 | Tri fir. | Tri clachan. |
| 10 | Deich fir. | Deich clachan. |
| 11 | Aon fhear deug. | Aon chlach dheug. |
| 12 | Dà fhear dheug. | Dà chloich dheug. |
| 13 | Tri fir dheug. | Tri clachan deug. |
| 20 | Fichead fear. | Fichead clach. |
| 21 | Aon fhear thar fhichead. | Aon chlach thar fhichead. |
| 22 | Dà fhear thar fhichead. | Dà chloich thar fhichead. |
| 23 | Tri fir fhichead. | Tri clacha fichead. |
| 30 | Deich fir fhichead. | Deich clacha fichead. |
| 31 | Aon fhear deug ‘ar fhichead. | Aon chlach dheug thar fhichead. |
| 40 | Dà fhichead fear. | Dà fhichead clach. |
| 41 | Fear is dà fhichead. | Clach is dà fhichead. |
| 42 | Dà fhear is dà fhichead. | Dà chloich is da fhichead. |
| 50 | Deich is dà fhichead fear. | Deich is da fhichead clach. |
| 60 | Tri fichead fear. | Tri fichead clach. |
| 70 | Tri fichead fear agus deich. | Tri fichead clach agus deich. |
| 100 | Ceud fear. | Ceud clach. |
| 101 | Ceud fear agus a h-aon. | Ceud clach agus a h-aon. |
| 300 | Tri cheud fear. | Tri cheud clach. |
| 1,000 | Mìle fear. | Mìle clach. |
| 10,000 | Deich mìle fear, &c. | Deich mìle clach, &c. |
Ordinal Numbers.
1 An ceud fhear, the first man; a’ cheud chlach, the first stone.
2 An dara fear.
3 An treas fear, an tri-amh fear.
4 An ceathramh fear.
5 An cuigeamh fear.
6 An seathamh fear.
7 An seachdamh fear.
8 An t-ochdamh fear.
9 An naothamh fear.
10 An deicheamh fear.
11 An t-aon fear deug.
12 An dara fear deug.
20 Am ficheadamh fear.
21 An t-aon fhear fichead.
22 An dara fear fichead.
31 An t-aon fhear deug thar fhichead.
40 An dà fhicheadamh fear.
60 An tri ficheadamh fear.
100 An ceudamh fear.
101 An t-aon fhear thar cheud.
120 Am ficheadamh fear thar cheud.
200 An da cheudamh fear.
1000 Am mìleamh fear, &c.
The following numeral Nouns are applied only to persons:—
| 2. Dithis, two persons. | 7. Seachdnar. |
| 3. Triuir. | 8. Ochdnar. |
| 4. Ceathrar. | 9. Naoinar. |
| 5. Cuignear. | 10. Deichnar. |
| 6. Sèanar. |