Still making my way through Essential Irish Grammar by Éamonn Ó Dónaill. In the exercise I am working on, I was just asked to answer a series of questions with affirmative and negative responses.

One question was this:

An éiríonn sibh go luath ar maidin?

I answered Éirimid/ní éirimid. The book's answer key says Éiríonn/ní éiríonn.

That's just wrong, isn't it? Is my answer right?

_________________
Brand new Irish learner inclined to ask questions. Writer, Words & Worlds of New York, a website about language-learning. http://www.ellenjovin.com

Usually the pronouns are left off when answering a question:

An éirionn sé go luath ar maidin? Éirionn/Ní éirionn (not "éirionn sé/ní éirionn sé")

I don't know if that's the case when the pronoun is contained in the verb...I don't really use those forms for the most part (I'm a bit surprised that Éamonn did, as he's from Ulster). If I recall correctly from when I first started learning to work with verbs, you CAN use either (if that's so, both your answer and the one the book gave are correct), but wait for more input on that.

Redwolf

Redwolf, wait, I'm confused. He didn't use the pronoun in the answers - only in the question (sibh).

Neither the book's answer nor my answer contained the pronoun. It's just that his two verb forms were different from mine (see my message again?). But I think this was a proofreading mistake on the book's end, nothing more. I don't think his answer makes sense, but after looking at Irish for a while, I sometimes get a temporary brain freeze.

_________________
Brand new Irish learner inclined to ask questions. Writer, Words & Worlds of New York, a website about language-learning. http://www.ellenjovin.com

Ellen, to say "yes", you can answer as a single verb, in this case either éiríonn or éirímid, but you don't usually include a separate pronoun like muid in a "yes/no" answer. Similarly, the negative answer "no" would be ní éiríonn or ní éirímid.

An éiríonn sibh go luath ar maidin? Éiríonn/ní éiríonn or Éirímid/ní éirímid

(Combined forms like éirímid are sometimes used for some tenses in these kinds of "yes/no" answers even in dialects that don't use the combined forms elsewhere.)

_________________
Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

The answer you used contained the pronoun as part of the verb (Éirímid is a combination of "éiríonn" and "muid," just as "éirím" is a combination of "éirionn" and "mé"). The one the book offered didn't.

What's the name for that kind of verb, folks...the form that combines the pronoun with the verb? I never can remember.

Redwolf

An fhoirm tháite (the welded form) or Synthetic form

In Munster:

An éiríonn mé/tú/sé/sí sinn (muid)/sibh siad?

Ní éirím
Ní éirír (ní éiríonn/ ní éiríonn tú)
Ní éiríonn sí/sé (ní éiríonn)
Ní éirímíd
Ní éiríd (ní éiríonn/ ní éiríonn siad)

even when the forim scartha is used it is not uncommon to say ní éiríonn siad, its also common to say ní éiríonn though as well!

_________________

Please wait for corrections/ more input from other forum members before acting on advice

Ó Siadhail called them "combined forms" but I think they are also called "synthetic forms" (but I can never remember properly. )

(Crossed with Cian)

_________________
Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

in meaning yes, but not in their etymology.
As far as "muid" is concerned, it is a verbal ending that has been understood later as a pronoun (the original pronoun is "sinn", which is still used in certain dialects).
Same thing with the -ad of "siad", it's a verbal ending (the same thing happened in Welsh - hwynt - and certain dialects of Breton - int -)

Yes the verbs that contain a personal ending are called synthetic forms, and those who have a separate pronoun after the verb (with no personal ending) are analytic forms.

_________________
Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Thank you, everyone! Very helpful, as usual!

_________________
Brand new Irish learner inclined to ask questions. Writer, Words & Worlds of New York, a website about language-learning. http://www.ellenjovin.com

An Fhoirm Tháite is still used in the future tense down south. Are there historical forms or alternate forms up the country, or is the analytic always used?