Can somebody give me some examples? Ive just realised my lovely grammar book has taught me all the endings in the autonomous form, but i have just realised I dont know what that means!! Examples of use please...

They are used to express "one" or "someone" or what is passive in English in certain cases:

Briseadh 'n fhuinneog = One broke the window / someone broke the window / The window has been broken...

Chonacthas é = he was seen / one saw him.

It's used when you don't know who does the action.

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

or when you just don't want to own up that it was you......

_________________

It's also sort of like the abstract "they" in English (or at least Hiberno-English) as in

They speak Irish in that area = Labhraítear Gaelainn sa cheantar so.

Where the "they" isn't refering to any specific group.

I gCill Ghallagáin, bristear na clocha agus cuirtear píosaí desna clochaibh isteach sna cléibhíníbh a gheibhtear sa tsráidbhaile sin = In Kilgalligan, they break the stones and put the pieces of the stones into the little baskets which can be found in that village
(Made up sentences, people in Kilgalligan don't really do this.)

So here you can see it translates into "they" or a passive sentence in English, depending on its use.

_________________
The dialect I use is Cork Irish.
Ar sgáth a chéile a mhairid na daoine, lag agus láidir, uasal is íseal

While it's often translated with the passive in Engllsh, as Lughaidh says, it isn't the same as the passive.
You can't translate 'The window was broken by X/He was seen by X' into Irish as 'Briseadh an fhuinneog ag X/Chonacthas é ag X'. That would be a mortal sin - though one being committed by some native speakers and by some translators on official websites.

Cheers that cleared it up for me

I'm not sure it's that wrong. I think I've seen it in old books written by irreproachable native speakers...

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

Saorbhriathar + ag.... A Lughaidh, nach sin sampla den Bhéarlachas faoina mbíonn tú ag caitheamh anuas ar dhaoine? An úsáidfeá féin é? Chuir mé ceist ar bheirt chainteoirí dúchais cad é a mbarúil fá dtaobh dó. Dá gcluinfeá iad! ("Dia ár sábháil!" srl.) Cé hiad na irreproachable native speakers ar úsáidíodh 'saorbh.+ag' acu ? An cuimhneach leat sampla ar bith de 's.bh.+ag' a chonacthas agat ins na leabharthaí sin?

(Léigh mé áit inteacht go n-úsáidtí le ins an Ghaeilge chlasaiceach le "gníomhaí an shaorbhriathair" a chur in iúl, ach sin ceist eile.)

má úsáideann seanchainteoirí dúchais é, ní Béarlachas é, dar liom.



chan úsáideochainn nó níl mé cleachta leis... Deirim na rudaí ar dhóigh eile.



nárbh é sin S. Ó Grianna nó duine ineacht mar sin? Níl cuimhne agam. Caithfidh mé cuartú...

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

Briseadh an fhuinneog ag X - I don't see how that could finish correctly.

Chonacthas/Facas é ag X - That looks ok to me. He was seen.. breaking the window etc. But it doesn't say who saw him.

_________________
___________________________________________________________

It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
___________________________________________________________