When I started learning German to a reasonable level, I was puzzled by 2 oddities in how modal verbs work. I’ll start by giving some background. In German main clauses, the finite verb appears in 2nd position (example 1). A finite verb is a verb form that marks the person and number of the subject—…… Continue reading Odd word order for German modal verbs
Tag: Word order
Irish challenge (7)
This post is the 7th instalment of the Irish leg of my current Celtic challenge. It covers chapter 6 of Teach Yourself Irish. For previous instalments, please see https://languagemiscellany.com/tag/irish/ It covers: past, present and future of tá time expressions adjectives weather nouns other words and phrases Mutation is indicated below using bold type. Past, present,…… Continue reading Irish challenge (7)
Welsh challenge (7)
This post is the 7th instalment of the Welsh leg of my current Celtic challenge. It covers chapter 6 of Colloquial Welsh. For earlier instalments, please see Welsh Archives – Language Miscellany I’ve used bold type below to highlight words affected by mutations and an asterisk * to mark words followed by mutation. Numbers I show below…… Continue reading Welsh challenge (7)
Welsh challenge (6)
This post is the 6th instalment of the Welsh leg of my current Celtic challenge. It covers chapter 5 of Colloquial Welsh. For earlier instalments, please see Welsh Archives – Language Miscellany For a few words and phrases, there are differences between north (N) and south (S) Wales.I’ve used bold type below to highlight words…… Continue reading Welsh challenge (6)
The Italian Language Today
The Italian Language Today, by Anna Laura Lepschy and Giulio Lepschy (2nd edition, 1988) is a useful guide for anyone who has been through a basic to intermediate Italian course. The book has 2 parts: part one The Linguistic Situation in Italy has 4 sections: Italian today; a historical view; Italian dialects; varieties of…… Continue reading The Italian Language Today
Irish challenge (4)
This post is the 4th instalment of the Irish leg of my current Celtic challenge. It covers chapter 3 of Teach Yourself Irish. For previous instalments, please see https://languagemiscellany.com/tag/irish/ Possession, and personal forms of ag Irish has no transitive verb meaning ‘have’. Instead, use the preposition ag (‘at’), see example 1.(1) Ta clann ag Síle …… Continue reading Irish challenge (4)
Welsh challenge (4)
This post is the 4th instalment of the Welsh leg of my current Celtic challenge. It covers chapter 3 of Colloquial Welsh. For earlier instalments, please see Welsh Archives – Language Miscellany Possession Welsh has no transitive verb meaning have. Instead, the verb mae is used with the preposition gyda (‘with’), or in speech often…… Continue reading Welsh challenge (4)
Welsh challenge (3)
This post is the 3rd instalment of the Welsh leg of my current Celtic challenge. It covers chapters 2a and 2b of Colloquial Welsh. For earlier instalments, please see Welsh Archives – Language Miscellany Present tense of bod Table 1 shows the present tense of the verb bod (‘be’), giving the forms used in positive,…… Continue reading Welsh challenge (3)
Irish challenge (2)
This post is the 2nd instalment of the Irish leg of my current Celtic challenge. It covers parts of chapters 1 and 2 of Teach Yourself Irish (and part of appendix 2) . I will cover the rest of chapters 1 and 2 in the next post. The 1st instalment covered Irish spelling and pronunciation.…… Continue reading Irish challenge (2)
Welsh challenge (2)
This post is the 2nd instalment of the Welsh leg of my current Celtic challenge. It covers chapters 1a and 1b of Colloquial Welsh. The 1st instalment covered Welsh spelling and pronunciation, and mentioned the important process of consonant mutation. Learning Welsh and Irish – Language Miscellany In some places, I mention differences between northern…… Continue reading Welsh challenge (2)