Hi,
I don't think the English translations help here – they're a little limiting.
Lughaidh wrote:
Is maith liom is simply "I like".
I don't think it's so simple, Lughaidh – in the Donegal Gaeltacht (at least)
is maith liom can also mean 'I want' or 'I'm glad', amongst other things.
m.sh. Is maith liom tú cuidiú liom leis an obair sin.
I'm not sure but this might only be used to evoke a 'want' in the present.
Having said that, I agree that
is mian liom rud inteacht a dhéanamh amárach is probably ok (I'm not presenting myself as an expert but it sounds right to me).
Rossaí wrote:
For example one cannot say" An maith leat dul amach amárach?" meaning "will you like to go out tmrw?"...one has to say" ar mhaith leat dul amach amárach?"...Ba mhaith liom....I don't know why the tenses work like this, but they do. Also, nothing extra is required for the above sentence.
.
Is maith liom and
is mian liom might sometimes carry the same meaning but when you isolate the adjectives, maith and mian, they clearly mean different things, and therefore, as Lughaidh implies, can't really be compared like as like.
For me, when
is maith liom means 'I want', it's an idiomatic usage that evokes immediacy, like the example above.
Mian means desire, and desire always implies the future in some way, so
is mian liom rud inteacht a dhéanamh amárach makes sense and is certainly to be heard, in the Donegal Gaeltacht at least. I think I would use
tá mé ag iarraidh, however.
I hope I made sense!
Domhnall