attá

See also: Appendix:Variations of "atta"

Middle Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish at·tá.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /aˈtaː/

Verb

at·tá

  1. to be

Conjugation

  • Third-person singular preterite absolute/conjunct: boí, bui
  • Third-person singular perfect deuterotonic: ro·boí

Descendants

  • Classical Gaelic: a-tá
  • Irish:
  • Manx: ta
  • Scottish Gaelic: tha

Further reading

Old Irish

Alternative forms

  • ad·tá, a·tá, at·táa, a·táa

Etymology

From ad- +‎ ·tá. For forms in b- and f-, see and fil respectively.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /at̪ˈt̪aː/

Verb

at·tá (prototonic ·tá, verbal noun buith, buid)

  1. to be
  2. to have (in the construction at·tá X oc Y (Y has X) or with an affixed pronoun)
    Synonyms: táth-, techtaid

For quotations using this term, see Citations:attá.

Usage notes

This is the so-called "substantive verb", which takes an adverb, an adverbial phrase, or a prepositional phrase as the predicate. When the predicate is a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective, the copula is is used instead.

As in modern Irish, if there is no other predicate in an existential there is clause, the adverb and is used:

  • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 29a28
    Ní taibre grád for nech causa a pectha ꝉ a chaíngníma: ar bíit alaili and ro·finnatar a pecthe resíu do·coí grád forru; alaili is íarum ro·finnatar. Berir dano fri láa brátha.
    You sg should not confer orders on anyone because of his sin or of his good deed: for there are some whose sins are found out before their ordination, others whose [sins] are found out afterwards. Reference is made, then, to the day of judgment.
    (literally, “…before orders shall go upon them…”)

Conjugation

Irregular
1st sing. 2d sing. 3d sing. Impersonal
1st pl. 2d pl. 3d pl.
Pres.​indic.​prog.* at·tó ·tó at·taí, a·taí ·taí at·tá, a(d)·tá, a(t)·táa ·tá ·táthar
fil(e), feil, fail (relative)
daas (relative; found only in cid daas, indaas, oldaas)
at·taam ·taam at·taïd ·taïd a(t)·taat ·taat
Pres.​indic.​hab. bíuu ·bíu ·bí bíid; ro·bí (ro-form) ·bí; ·rubai (ro-form) bíthir; ro·bíther (ro-form) ·bíther; ·rubther (ro-form)
bís (relative)
bímmi ·biam bíit; ro·bïat (ro-form) ·bïat; ·rubat (ro-form) bíther (relative)
bímme (relative) bíte (relative)
Imperfect indicative ·bíinn ·bíth ·bíthe
·bímmis ·bítis
Preterite ·bá ·bá boí ·boí bothae ·both
boíe (relative)
bámmar ·bámmar ·baid bátar ·bátar
bátar (relative)
Perfect ro·bá ·roba ro·bá ro·boí ·robae, ·robæ, ·robe ro·both ·rabad
ro·bámmar ·robammar ro·baid ·robaid ro·bátar ·robatar
Future bia bie bieid ·bia bethir ·bether
bias (relative)
beimmi ·biam bethe ·bieid bieit ·bïat
beite (relative)
Conditional ·beinn ·biad
·bemmis ·betis
Present subjunctive béo ·béo bee; ro·bé (ro-form) ·bé beid, beith; ro·bé (ro-form) ·bé; ·roib (ro-form) bethir ·bether
bess (relative)
beimmi; ro·bem (ro-form) ·bem; ·robam (ro-form) beithe; ro·beid (ro-form) ·beid; ·robith (ro-form) beit; ro·bet (ro-form) ·bet; ·robat (ro-form) bether (relative)
Past subjunctive ·beinn ·betha ·beth ·bethe
ro·beth (ro-form) ·robad, ·rabad (ro-form)
·bemmis ·bethe ·betis
ro·betis (ro-form) ·roibtis (ro-form)
Imperative bíid, bíth
bíid, bíth bïat
verbal noun buith, buid
past participle
verbal of necessity buithi

*Certain conjunct forms of the present progressive are formed with fil, taking an infixed object pronoun as the logical subject, e.g. ní·ḟil "it is not", ní-n·fil "we are not", ní-s·fil "they are not" etc.

Third-person forms with affixed pronouns expressing 'to have'
Person of
aff.​pron.
singular plural
first second third first second third
m f
Pres.​ind. táthum, nom·thá
rod·mbí (relative, habitual, ro-form)
ním·tha (negative)
ním·that (negative; plural subject)
táthut táithi táthus táthunn, táithiunn
nín·tá (negative)
táthuib, nob·tá nís·ta (negative)
Preterite nís·mboí (negative)
Perfect ro·mbaí
Future rom·bia (ro-form) bethib bethus
ros·mbia (ro-form)
Conditional ronda·biad (relative, ro-form)
Pres.​subj. rom·bé rot·bé

The person of the affixed pronoun corresponds to the subject of 'have' in English; the number of the verb form corresponds to the number of the direct object of ‘have’ in English. All forms in the table above have a singular subject unless otherwise indicated.

Combinations expressing ‘than’ with al (beyond), ind (for which), a (which)
singular plural
first second third first second third
Pres.​indic.​prog. ol·dáu, ol·dó
a·doa
ol·daí, ol·taí
in·daí
a·taí
ol·daas, ol·doas
in·daas, in·dá(a)s
ol·dát(a)e, oldáta
in·dát(a)e
Pres.​indic.​hab. ol·mbí
Preterite ol·mboí
i·mboí
ol·mbátar
Future ola·mbieid

Descendants

Further reading