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Dictionaries and
grammars |
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Kentel pemp
Gwenn eo ar paper / Ar paper
zo gwenn. Ar renadenn-anv
== Lesson 5 == Eo / Zo. Possession
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Y1. Showing possession in noun complements
The possessor word follows the noun. No
article is used in these type of sentences.
Compare :
- Un ti eo
- Ti Yann eo
- Ti ar paotr eo
- Ti paotr Kallag eo
( It's a house. It's Yann's house.
It's the boy's house. It's the boy from Kallag's
house.)
Certain Breton place names sum up the rule neatly :
- Mor Breizh
- Penn ar Pont
- Douarnenez
(Douar-an-enez)
( Sea of Brittany i.e. the
Channel, Head of the Bridge, Land of the Isle)
If there is no article, there is no mutation :
- Ur c'hi eo
- Ki Yann eo
- Kafe Soaz eo
- Ar c'hafe eo
- Kafe eo
Y2. Mutations
Apart from the mutation of masculine nouns, the article
also causes the mutation of feminine nouns
( which are studied inKentel pemzek.)
In the new vocabulary for this lesson we have the example
:
- bag, ar vag
Y3. The plural of nouns
For most common nouns it is generally made :
- by -où, as in
- traoù
- bannieloù
- or by ioù, as in
- livioù
- levrioù
There are also plural nouns called collective
( which are studied in Kentel 16). Here :
- tomatez
- bananez
- orañjez
Y4. The verb bezañ
Zo is used instead of
eo when the subject comes
before the verb. Compare:
- Bras eo Yann :
Complement + verb EO + subject
- Yann zo bras :
Subject + verb ZO + complement
What is the difference between the two ? From the point
of view of information, they are roughly the same. The
difference in meaning is that they answer
different questions :
- Penaos eo Yann? - Bras eo Yann.
(N'eo ket bihan).
- Piv zo bras? -Yann zo bras. (N'eo
ket Paol).
( In English this difference in
meaning is made through intonation. What's Yann like?
He's TALL. (He's not SHORT). WHO's tall? YANN is. (not
Paol).) It's the first word of the
sentence which answers the question, and gives the
precise meaning.
Zo also has the meaning
there is/are ( See Kentel
eizh).
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