Nominative Case of Nouns

This is the basic form used when the noun is either the subject or the direct object in a sentence.
E.g. in English:
boy as subject	The boy is cold
boy as direct object	I saw the boy

There is no word for a or an in Gàidhlig. All indefinite nouns are simply entered without an article. Nouns are considered to be either masculine or feminine, you will see these in the *NEW WORDS* and *Vocabulary* sections as either (m) or (f) respectively:
doras (m) - door	eaglais (f) - church
balach (m) - boy	leabaidh (f) - bed
taigh (m) - house	caileag (f) - girl

**Masculine Nouns**
The masculine nominative nouns have the definite article as an t- before a vowel; am before words beginning with b, f, m, or p; and an in all other instances:
An t-òran ‡ - The song	An t-each ‡ - The horse
Am balach - The boy	Am peann - The pen
An duine - The man	An seòmar - The room

**Feminine Nouns**
Feminine nominative nouns beginning with b, f, m, p, c or g are all lenited with the definite article a' (or an with lenited f). Words beginning with sl, sn, sr or s+vowel have the definite article as **an t-**. In all other instances the definite article is an:
A' chaileag - The girl	An fhearg - The anger
An t-snàthad - The needle	An t-sìth - The peace
An abhainn - The river	An litir - The letter

The good news is that all nominative nouns, whether masculine or feminine, beginning with d, t, l, n, r, sg, sm, sp or st all have their definite articles as an:
An leabhar (m) - The book	An làmh (f) - The hand
An sgàthan (m) - The mirror	An sgian (f) - The knife
An nead (m) - The nest	An nighean (f) - The daughter

**Plurals**
The nominative plural definite article in all cases is na:
Na taighean (m) - The houses	Na caileagan (f) - The girls

Don't worry too much just now about the plurals. Remember you can find the other forms of the nouns in the

section

**Adjectives**
falamh - empty	geur - sharp
glan - clean	ìosal - low
salach - dirty	teth - hot

**Nouns**
balach (m) - boy	bàta (m) - boat
doras (m) - door	duine (m) - person, husband
each (m) - horse	gille (m) - lad
làr (m) - floor	leabhar (m) - book
loch (m) - loch	nead (m) - nest
òran (m) - song	peann (m) - pen
rathad (m) - road	seòmar (m) - room
sgàthan (m) - mirror	taigh (m) - house
teine (m) - fire

abhainn (f) - river	caileag (f) - girl
eaglais (f)- church	fearg (f) - anger
làmh (f) - hand	leabaidh (f) - bed
litir (f) - letter	nighean (f) - girl, daughter
oidhche (f) - night	sgian (f) - knife
sgoil (f) - school	sìth (f) - peace
snàthad (f) - needle

**EXERCISE 1 Translate into English**
1.Chan eil an sgoil glè ghlan	2.Tha an eaglais fuar
3.An robh an sgian geur? Cha robh	4.A bheil an litir mòr? Chan eil
5.Tha am peann tioram	6.Nach eil an loch ìosal? Tha
7.Tha an t-snàthad glè gheur	8.Bha an nead falamh
9.A bheil an seòmar blàth? Chan eil	10.Cha robh an t-òran snog

**EXERCISE 2 Translate into Gàidhlig**
1.Was the book small? No	2.The lad is terribly tired
3.Is the door dry?	4.The floor wasn't wet
5.The mirror isn't clean	6.The peace was nice (good)
7.Wasn't the house empty? Yes	8.The fire was hot
9.The hand was wet	10.Isn't the night cold? Yes
11.The bed wasn't clean	12.The girl wasn't too happy
13.The anger was great

**ANSWERS EXERCISE 1**
1.The school isn't very clean	2.The church is cold
3.Was the knife sharp? No	4.Is the letter big? No
5.The pen is dry	6.Isn't the loch low? Yes
7.The needle is very sharp	8.The nest was empty
9.Is the room warm? No	10.The song wasn't nice

**ANSWERS EXERCISE 2**
1.An robh an leabhar beag? Cha robh	2.Tha an gille uabhasach sgìth
3.A bheil an doras tioram?	4.Cha robh an làr fliuch
5.Chan eil an sgàthan glan	6.Bha an t-sìth math
7.Nach robh an taigh falamh? Bha	8.Bha an teine teth
9.Bha an làmh fliuch	10.Nach eil an oidhche fuar? Tha
11.Cha robh an leabaidh glan	12.Cha robh a' chaileag ro thoilichte
13.Bha an fhearg mòr

dm©lelland - Faodar na leasanan seo ath-riochdachadh le aithneachadh dhan ùghdar
dm©lelland - These lessons may be reproduced with credit to the author