First-declension nouns are all masculine and end in a broad consonant, with "a, o, u" before the consonant. The plural form of these nouns often is the same as the genitive singular that we have studied in the last two lessons. Examples are:
bád (baw*d), an bháid (uh VWAW*-id), na báid (nuh BAW*-id); boat, of the boat, the boats.
cuntas (KOON-tuhs), an chuntais (uh K*OON-tish), na cuntais (nuh KOON-tish), account, of the account, the accounts.
Here, "na" means "the" in the plural. Use the plural forms given above in sentences like:
Téann (TAY*-uhn) na báid amach; the boats go out.
Téann báid amach; boats go out.
Feiceann sé(FEK-uhn shay*) na báid; he sees the boats
Feiceann sébáid; he sees boats.
Note that this plural form is the same whether the word is the subject or the object.
Other first-declension nouns form the plural differently. Here are examples:
úll (ool), apple; becomes "úlla" (OOL-uh), apples, and "na húlla" (nuh HOOL-uh), the apples. Note that an "h" is added here in front of the vowel.
dán (daw*n), poem; becomes "dánta" (DAW*N-tuh), poems, and "na dánta", the poems.
bealach (BAL-uhk*), road; becomes "bealaí" (BAL-ee), roads, and "na bealaí", the roads.
carr (kahr), car; becomes "carranna" (KAHR-uh-nuh), cars, and "na carranna", the cars.
Learn the plural for each new noun in the vocabulary lists.