Irish/Introduction to Studies in Modern Irish/Lesson I: Classification Clauses with Masculine Nouns

Key: ⟨copula⟩, ⟨predicate⟩, ⟨subpredicate⟩, ⟨subject⟩, ⟨subsubject⟩.

The copula is the element that links the subject to a predicate. Here, the affirmative form of the copula in the present tense is is.

The predicate is the element that describes the subject. In classification clauses, the predicate is always indefinite; it cannot be a definite noun nor a personal pronoun. Here, the predicate is the masculine noun leabhar – “(a) book” – which is the description being used to classify the subject. In copular classification clauses, it is the predicate that carries the syntactical stress.

The subject is the element that is being classified. Unless a specific noun is being used to refer to the subject, it is generally referred to with a pronoun. The pronoun itself conforms to the grammatical gender and number of the predicate, being a direct reference to the predicate itself. Where the predicate consists of a singular masculine noun, the singular masculine disjunctive pronoun é is used for the subject.