No Indefinite Article

Level 1

Irish usually has no separate word for a or an: Tá cat anseo can mean There is a cat here. Context supplies definiteness where no article appears.

How It Works

Irish usually has no separate word for a or an: Tá cat anseo can mean There is a cat here. Context supplies definiteness where no article appears.

A bare count noun can have an indefinite meaning. In Tá cat anseo, the noun cat has no word corresponding to English a. Noun gender and the sound at the beginning do not create alternative Irish indefinite articles.

Examples (3)

  1. Tá cat anseo.

    There is a cat here.

  2. Tá madra sa ghairdín.

    There is a dog in the garden.

  3. Léim leabhar.

    I read a book.