Because it's so complex, this is a good example to anayse in detail; it may help others. For the moment, let's just focus on the grammar, and later we can worry about whether or not the sentence turns out a little awkward to say. My mental process goes something like this: What is the fundamental core of the sentence? It's:
I am the only person.All the other stuff in the setence is just a modifier for "person". This sentence is equating two things (I = person), so it's an
identification sentence requiring the copula. Let's consult the
WUCTWUCT wrote:
2. Identification sentences
a. If the predicate is a proper noun or emphatic pronoun, and subject is neither, the order is the reverse of English.
b. Otherwise, the order is the same as English.
Normally we would use "mise" for "I" in this kind of sentence, so the subject is emphatic, and it comes first.
Is mise an t-aon duine amháin. I am the only person.
Now we can think about the "who isn't French" part. This is a
relative clause, but before we worry about that, let's consider how we would say it as an independent sentence. I'm using
Francach as an adjective(French) rather than as a noun (French person) so that we don't have to use the copula in this part. Note that An Fear Gaelach and Lughaidh are using Francach as a noun, which is why their sentences are different!
Níl __ Francach. __ isn't French.The __ is a placeholder for
an t-aon duine amháin, or
sé if you prefer. So now we need to convert "__ isn't French" into "...who isn't French" This is a direct reative clause, because
who refers back to the subject. But for a
negative relative clause, it doesn't even matter whether the clause is direct or indirect; as you'll see from the chart in my discussion of the
relative clause, we eclipse in both cases.
...nach bhfuil Francach ...who isn't French
And as Franc suggested, we can use
i mo mhuintir for "in my (extended) family". So putting it all together, we have:
Is mise an t-aon duine amháin nach bhfuil Francach, i mo mhuintir. I am the only person in my family who isn't French.
Or we can make it flow a bit better:
I mo mhintir, is mise an t-aon duine amháin nach bhfuil Francach. In my family, I am the only person who isn't French.
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