Nó and ná

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  • #37055
    Rosie
    Participant

    From what I understand, “nó” is used as “or” and “ná” as “nor;” but on the audio and workbook of “Irish On Your Own,” they used the sentence, “Níl aon Fraincis nó Spáinnis agam.” So, according to what I know, that seems wrong. And later when watching a “Now You’re Talking” video, someone said something like, “Is é sin ná dada.”…again, seeming to use it in the opposite way from the definition. Does anyone know why? Like are there exceptions to the rule, or maybe it’s just an Ulster thing? Thanks!

    #46348
    Labhrás
    Participant

    From what I understand, “nó” is used as “or” and “ná” as “nor;”

    I can’t tell for your examples but in general this is not correct.
    The usage of ná/nó in Irish differs to some degree from no/nor in English.
    So you can’t say ná = nor, nó = or.

    It is probably due to thought brackets:
    ní … [X] [Y]
    but
    ní … [[X] [Y]].

    #46349
    Rosie
    Participant

    Thank you for your time! Your help made it mostly all click into place, plus I realized I misheard the second phrase on my video, which ended up explaining a lot. 🤦🏻‍♀️

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