Errigal wrote:
I agree completely with Lughaidh on both counts.. Yes, 'Francach' etc can be adjective or noun, but while you can say 'Tá an carr/bia sin Francach' [adjective], with people you have to use the copula: 'Is Francach an fear sin' [noun], or 'Is duine/fear Francach é [adjective].
I think it's the same in French and Spanish: 'je suis francais/soy espanol', where francais and espanol may appear to be adjectives but are really nouns. It's just that the indefinite article is omitted in sentences of that type: 'soy estudiante/je suis professeur etc.
As for the direct relative clause '...who isn't French', while 'nach Francach' is perfectly fine, these are often turned unnecessarily into indirect relatives: 'nach Francach é'. However, in the case of an affirmative direct relative such as 'the only one in my family who is French', I think it's always converted to indirect: 'ar Francach é' rather than the direct 'is Francach'. I don't know why.
I will have to learn the terminology such as 'direct relative clause' etc. I am more familiar with my few terms in Irish, so forgive my lack of ability on definitions, etc.
Anyway, the way I would put
The only one in my family who is French is xx
would be
An t-aon Fhrancach atá sa teaghlach ná xx
xx is the only one in my family who is French
Is é xx an t-aon Fhrancach atá sa teaghlach
In both cases the 'my' would be understood