I've picked up a copy of Tolkien's The Hobbit translated to Irish by Nicholas Williams and I was wondering if someone could help me understand the grammar of this sentence. The sentence is

Níor pholl tirim, lom, gainmheach a bhí ann ach an oiread, gan aon rud ann le n-ithe ná le suí síos air; poll hobaid ab ea é agus is ionann sin agus compord.

which I know is supposed to mean the following in English

...nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.

So I understand all of this sentence and how it matches up with the English counterpart except for the initial part of the relative clause a bhí ann ach an oiread, gan aon rud ann My dictionary says ach oiread means no more (than) / either but how is its meaning changed when the definite article is included there? Also, doesn't gan mean without?

Thanks in advance.

"Ach an oiread" also means "either."

Literally, the sentence translates to:

It wasn't a dry, bare, sandy hole either, without anything in it to eat or to sit down on; it was a hobbit hole, and that equals comfort.

Redwolf

Yes, Redwolf has already given a good explanation, but can I add that maybe the "yet" in the English could be considered to mean something almost like "either" - and so is well translated by "ach an oiread" - this coudl also be "ach oiread" or "ach chomh beag" - which all mean "either".

Some dialects may say: le hithe, and not le n-ithe - but if so I don't know which ones.

I agree..."nor yet" is another way of saying "neither was it" (or, as translated, "it wasn't...either").

Redwolf

We have another thread somewhere about The Hobbit.
I think somebody made the point that not all of it is translated word for word from English.

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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.
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viewtopic.php?f=28&t=1120&hilit=hobad

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I knew all I had to do was mention it and Saoirse would get it for us.

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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.
___________________________________________________________

Thanks very much, everyone for the help on this. I didn't realize there was a whole thread on The Hobbit because I normally don't pay attention to the listing and just come here to post. Sorry about that. LOL Thanks Bríd Mhór and Saoirse for pointing it out and providing the link for easy access.

Redwolf, thanks for the literal translation. I guess I was confused about the a bhí ann part of the relative clause but should I see that as reading that was there either in English, as in It wasn't a dry, bare, sandy hole that was there either, without anything in it to eat or to sit down on; it was a hobbit hole, and that equals comfort.?

Basically, my goal here is to get through at least the first chapter, if not more of them, and to take sentences and swap out nouns, adjectives, etc. to practice constructing grammatically correct sentences and build my vocabulary. So perhaps for this sentence, I might try switching it up as Níor pholl tirim, dorcha, gainmheach a bhí ann ach an oiread, gan aon rud ann le n-ól ná le léamh; poll hobaid ab ea é agus is ionann sin agus compord. to get It wasn't a dry, dark, sandy hole either, without anything in it to drink or to read; it was a hobbit hole, and that equals comfort. Plus I love the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. LOL Anyhow, of course, if you guys have any other suggestions to practice, that's cool too.

Again, much appreciated, everyone.

I'll have to watch out for that strategy again!

Not a bother. The search button up at the top on the right can be very useful if you are wondering if there is a thread about anything. It is not foolproof, but it will usually get you there.

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You could read "a bhí ann" as "that was there" "that was in it" (which is what it says literally) if that helps you to get a grasp on the idiom, but the construction is such a common one that ultimately you'll want to start thinking of it as simply another way of saying "it was/wasn't."

I'm hugely in favor of using literary works you're familiar with to practice your Irish (when I was getting started, I used the psalms, since I sang a different one each week!).

Redwolf