verbal forms.

241. Fiad, oc, ís, ós, la, cen, echtar, ol, amal of the above prepositions (§ 237-239) do not occur in composition with Co ad and ó, úa from, are not completely ascertained. The following are only preserved in composition: adLatin ad; aith-, aid- (ath-, ad-) again, Latin re-, iterum; ind-, inn- Gothic and-, od- Gothic ut-.

242. Some prepositions have in composition an additional form in m: com- beside co n-; íarm- beside íar n-; rem for re n-; tairm-, tarm- for tar; tremi-, trimi-, trem- for tri; sechm- for sech. The extended form interchanges with the simple form: conaitecht (con-aith-techt) petivit, comtachtmar petivimus. Cf. iarom postea, riam antea.

Of fri there appears in composition beside the older form frith an augmented form friss-, fress-: frescsiu expectation, for fres-acsiu (§ 54), fris-racacha speravi (fris-ro-ad-cacha).

243. In Old Irish as in the older periods of other languages the verbs were often compounded with more than one preposition: ad-chon-darc conspexi (aith-con); im-di-bnim circumcido; adoparar offertur (aith-od-berar, § 73). In many cases these prepositions are blended with one another, and are commonly only distinguishable when a pronominal object (§ 201) or one of the particles ro and do (§ 251) has intervened between them. In case of blending the preposition do has an initial t. The following frequently occur: e.g.

244. These blended forms may again be compounded with other prepositions: túarascbat proferunt from túar (do-for)-asgabat; teccomnocuir accidit, from ted (do-aith)-com-nacuir.

245. In composition and union other phonetic occurrences are to be noticed.

(a) Assimilation of contiguous consonants: ad-chiu, atchiu video (aith or ad?), perf. always acca; at-bail and epil interit; frecart respondit for frith-gart beside fris-gart; adgládur appello, beside the inf. accaldam; atreba habitat, for adtreba; cunutgim, architector, for con-ud-tegim; forócrad indicatus est, for fo-ro-od-garad; tuasulcud resolutio, for do-fo-odsalciud; teccomnocuir accidit, for do-aith-com-nacuir; éirge surrectio, for ess-rige.

(b) Dropping of vowels: aisndís exponere, for as-indís; tecmallad colligere, for do-aith-com-allad; frecndirc præsens, for frith-con-dirc.

(c) Dropping of consonants: tairngert promisit, for do aircon-gert; coimthecht convoy, protection, for com-im-thecht; dochoimmarraig spoliavit, for do-chom-imm-ar-raig.

246. Sometimes that preposition of a double composite which is especially important for the sense, is placed once again at the beginning: comtherchomrac congregatio, for com-do-aircom-rac, húatuasailethe absolutum, for úad-do-fo-od-sailethæ; asréracht surrexit, for ass-ro-ess-racht; so also ess-éirge resurrectio, besides éirge (i.e. ess-rige) with obscured preposition.

247. The preposition do receives the tenuis in initial sound not only in union with other prepositions, but also in close association with a radical syllable: toimlim, tomlim consumo, besides domelat consumunt; tabur, tabraim, taibrim I give, besides dobiur; tarat dedit, besides dorat; tic venit, for do-ic; tanac veni, for do-anac. In the infinitive, where the union of preposition and verb is irresolvable, the tenuis also appears invariably: tomailt consumere, tabairt give, tochimm stride (cf. § 77, doching he strides).

247. The same occurs often with the particle do in its union with pronominal suffixes (§ 251), especially when preceded by the preposition (not the conjunction) co n- which then loses its n before the following tenuis: cotob sechaim I hinder you, for con-do-b-sechaim, coscuim I blame; cotagart convocavit cos, for con-da-gart, pres. congairim; cutanméla he will grind us up, for con-do-n-méla, pres. comlim I grind up.

IX.

VERB.

248. The Old Irish has three conjugations ("series" in the Grammatica Celtica) the forms of which correspond severally to the Latin third, first and fourth conjugation. The distinction between the conjugations fades in the onward course of time more and more.

249. Paradigms of fourteen distinct forms of tense and mood can be set forth all of which however are not formed in any single verb.

1 Present Indicative

2 Present Conjunctive
3 Imperative
4 Second Present

5 Present of habit

6 T-Preterite

7 S-Preterite

8 Reduplicated Future 9 Reduplicated Second Future 10 B-Future

11 B-Second Future

12 S-Future

13 S-Second Future

14 Perfect

In addition some less well established forms are found which are exhibited § 304 et seq.

250. The second present answers in use to the Latin imperfect indicative and imperfect conjunctive. The second future answers to the French conditional. The perfect has a

preterite signification. Most verbs form only one preterite and a future, derivative verbs (in the II. and III. conjugations) only the S-preterite and the B-future. These two tenses have, in Old Irish, also made their appearance in radical verbs by the side of other forms of their kind.

251. An untranslatable particle no, ro frequently stands before the verbal form. The verbal particle no precedes the present indicative, the second present, the present of habit, and the future. Ro precedes the preterite, the conjunctive present, the future, the second present when it is used as imperfect conjunctive. Ro further gives a preterite signification to the present indicative, and to the present of habit and sometimes gives the signification of the Latin futurum exactum to the present conjunctive in subordinate sentences. The verbal particle do is used less precisely. In the older language it is often used merely as a support for an enclitically affixed pronominal object (§ 202), and in this function it must be distinguished from the preposition do which forms compound verbs.

252. The particle ro is in Old Irish very often placed between the prepositions or between the preposition and the verbal form of the compound verb, but this is not done when a negative (ni, ná, nád) or the interrogative particle in precedes the verb: for-ro-chon-gart præcepit, present for-con-gur; durairngert he prophesied, for do-ro-air-con-gert, cf. tairngire prophecy; fodaraithmine (qui) id memoret, for fo-(for-?)da-roaith-mine, cf. for-aith-minedar deponent memorat, for-aith-met memoria; as-ru-bartatar dixerunt, beside asbert dixit; at-rothreb habitavit, later ro aittreb; dorolgetha remissa sunt, for doro-lugetha, present doluigim remitto; doreilced for do-ro-léced (preterite passive), present dolécim I leave, relinquish; torchair he killed, for do-ro-chair; foracab reliquit, for fo-ro-aith-gab, present fácbaim relinquo, arna ærbarthar ne dicatur, for ess-roberthar, present asbiur dico; atraracht surrexit, for aith-ro-assracht beside asréracht, § 246.