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A [] : Amharc i gcomhthéacs

(AILM, elm, {et cetera}), the first letter of the Modern Irish Alphabet;
sometimes interchanges with O, EA, IO, U, {exempli gratia}, AMAR, IOMAR, OMAR, UMAR;
ASAIR, EASAIR;
AI, UI, EI also interchange, as do ÁI, AE, AO, AOI, ÓI, ADH;
sometimes initial A is dropped, as A(TÚRNAE) or has F prefixed, as (F)ÁSAIM;
sometimes both forms subsist, as ANAIM, FANAIM;
sometimes it is prefixed to CHOIDHCHE, RIAMH, {et cetera}, through analogy;
is sometimes separated incorrectly from verb of which it is a part, as ADEIR (A DEIR).

particle used before numerals when they do not qualify nouns, as A HAON, one, the number one;
A CÚIG, five;
BLIADHAIN A CÉAD, the year one hundred;
UIMHIR A SÉ, number six;
TRAEN A SEACHT, the seven o'clock train.

{interjection}, {aspirates}, precedes vocative case, (singular) and {plural}, often slurred over in pronunciation;
silent before vowel or FH and sometimes not written, being replaced by an apostrophe or simply omitted;
(sometimes) English O, though not an equivalent, represents it;
A FHIR AN FHÁINNE, O man of the ring;
A PHÁDRAIG, O Patrick;
ÉISTIDH, A DHAOINE, listen, O people;
A MHIC, my son;
the usage, A MH' ANAM, my son! is exceptional.

(possesive adjective} (1) her, its (feminine) prefixes H- to vowels;
(2) his, its (m), aspirates;
(3) their, eclipses, prefixes N- to vowels;
A CHEANN, his head;
A CEANN, her head;
A GCINN, their heads;
A H-OBAIR, her work;
A OBAIR, his work;
A N-OBAIR, their work;
it introduces the demonstrative, A LEITHÉID SIN DE DHUINE, such a person;
{often} used proleptically, (for example), AGUS A FHIOS AIGE GO RABHAS ANN, he knowing that I was there;
NÍ MAITH LIOM A RÁDH GO BHFUIL, {et cetera}, I do not like to say that, {et cetera};
IS DEACAIR A MHEAS GUR, it is hard to think that, {et cetera};
TÁ A LÁN (LIACHT) DAOINE ANN, there is a (its) large number of people there;
with abstracts, AGUS A LÍONMHAIRE IS MAR BHÍODAR, seeing these were so numerous;
NI BEAG LIOM A GHAINNE, I think it is scarce enough;
used with TRIÚR, CEATHRAR, {et cetera};
IAD A DTRIÚR, all three of them;
CHUADHADAR A DT. ANN, the three went there (now largely written in this sense and regarded as a {preposition});
in {phrase} like DEAMHAN (=DON DEAMHAN) A CHAOILE, nothing slenderer, no slenderer.

pseudo-relative particle, followed by aspiration which alone may represent the relativity;
AN FEAR (A) CHUIREANN, AN FEAR (A) CHUIREAS, he who puts;
better written DO, AN FEAR DO CHUIREANN;
confer DO CHUIR SÉ, he put, and ISÉ SEÁN A CHUIR AN LEABHAR CHUGHAM, It was John who sent me the book, where A should be DO.

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