Genitive

A small group of simple prepositions in Irish must be followed by the genitive case. Many of these words were originally nouns, which explains why they behave differently from other prepositions. For example, timpeall originally meant “a round” or “a circuit”.

Chun (to, towards)

This preposition indicates motion towards a person, place, or thing. It is one of the most common prepositions that requires the genitive case.

Trasna (across, opposite)

The preposition trasna has several related meanings, including “across”, “through”, and “opposite”.

• Across or through: trasna an gharraí - across the field
• Opposite: trasna na habhann - opposite the river
• Adverbial (measurement): cúig troithe trasna - five feet across
• Adverbial (figurative): teacht trasna ar dhuine - to contradict someone
• Adjectival: barra trasna - a crossbar

Timpeall (around, approximately)

Timpeall is used for both physical location and for approximations of time or number.

• Spatial: timpeall an tí - around the house
• Spatial: inár dtimpeall - around us, in our vicinity
• Temporal: timpeall na Nollag - around Christmas
• Approximation: timpeall fiche bliain - approximately 20 years

Fearacht (like)

This preposition means “like” or “in the manner of”.

• fearacht an fhir seo - like this man
• a fhearacht sin - like that

Tar éis (after)

This is a very common compound preposition used to talk about time. It is formed from the preposition tar and the noun éis (trace). Although written as two words, it is often pronounced as one.

• Temporal: tar éis an chogaidh - after the war
• Telling time: ceathrú tar éis a dó - a quarter past two
• Perfect aspect: When used with a verbal noun, it expresses a recently completed action. Tá mé tar éis imeacht - I have just left.
• Subordinate clause: The structure tar éis do + subject + verbal noun creates a clause meaning “after…”.

Cois (beside, at the foot of)

This preposition is typically used to describe a location next to a natural feature like a hill or river.

• cois cnoic - at the foot of the hill
• cois abhann - beside the river

Tigh (at someone’s place)

Tigh is used to mean “at the house of” or “at the premises of”, similar to the French “chez”. It is often used with personal names or the names of businesses.

• tigh Sheáin - at Seán’s (place)
• tigh Mhic Dhonaill - at McDonald’s
• Cheannigh mé tigh Woolworth é - I bought it at Woolworth’s

dála (like, regarding)

This preposition means “like” or can be used to mean “as for” or “regarding”.

• mo dhála féin - like myself
• dála an scéil - by the way (literally “like the story”)

Toisc (because of)

Toisc is used to give a reason or cause for something.

• toisc a hiníne - because of her daughter