Hi all,

I'm using Buntús Cainte, which I do enjoy, but keep coming across words and expressions that I don't understand. I can usually seek out an explanation, but haven't been able to do so for the following. I'm hoping someone will be able to help me out:

An cupán glan é sin? - Is that a clean cup?, but

An gúna deas sin. - That new dress.

Why not An gúna deas é sin. ?

A little bit of guidance on the use of 'é' in this kind of sentence would be very much appreciated.

I'll try and explain with a few examples

“é” means “it”
coupled with “sin”, é sin - it there = that

And two different “An”s
The first one is the question form of
Is cupán glan é sin - That’s a clean cup.
An cupán é? - Is it a cup?
Is cupán glan é - It’s a clean cup


In the second "an" is the article - "the"

Cupán glan - A clean cup
An cupán glan - The clean cup
An cupán glan sin - The clean cup there = That clean cup.

An bhfuil an cupán sin glan? - Is that cup clean?
Tá an cupán sin glan - That cup is clean
Tá an cupán glan sin ar an mbord - That clean cup is on the table

I hope this helps.

Thank you MacBoo,

I must be doing too much - it's obvious when it's pointed out.

Thanks again