NiallBeag wrote:
franc 91 wrote:
By the way when you say
Óladh sé
Ólaimís
Ólaidís
for me that would be the equivalent of the subjunctive in French
que tu boives
que nous buvions
que vous buviez
Yes. The point here as I understand it is that you have to use
ólaimis in Irish as a translation of
Buvons!, as well as a translation of "que nous buvions".
I think I may have sown confusion by stating that buvons and que nous buvions are both equivalents of ólaimís(t).
This was because, in French, the 3rd-psn singular imperative is formed using the subjunctive - qu'il fasse.
But Irish has a full range of imperatives and present subjunctives. So technically speaking, buvons = ólaimís, whereas que nous buvions is: go n-ólaimíd. It seems the French imperative is only 1st person plural, 2nd person singular and 2nd person plural - in which cases there is a difference between the imperative and the subjunctive. For the other persons there isn't.
So you have:
Imperative:
ólaim
ól
óladh sé
ólaimís(t)
ólaidh (and ólaigí in some dialects)
ólaidís
ólt(h)ar
Present subjunctive:
go n-ólaim
go n-ólair
go n-ólaidh sé
go n-ólaimíd
go n-ólaidh sibh
go n-ólaid siad
go n-ólt(h)ar
The difference is slight.
Don't drink (ne buvez pas): ná hólaidh
May you not drink (que vous ne buviez pas): nár ólaidh sibh
I must admit real examples of some of these are somewhat lacking. Take for example the verb bheith:
Imperative:
*bím
bí
bíodh sé
bímís
bídh
bídís
bít(e)ar
Present subjunctive:
*go rabhad
go rabhair
go raibh sé
*go rabhaimíd
go raibh sibh
*go rabhaid siad
go rabhthar
The asterisked forms are very hard indeed to find.