Copulating with the Copula 3

The next major use of the copula is what we call fronting

Irish sentences have a pretty fixed word order. In each clause, the verb comes first, followed by the subject, usually then the direct object, and the other elements after that.

Thug mé an nóta do Shéamus ag an teach tábhairne aréir.
I gave the note to Séamus at the pub last night

If you wanted to place emphasis on any of these elements of the sentence–I gave the note, not you. I gave it to Séamus, not to Liam–you would use the copula to “front” that word element, bringing it to the front of the sentence and creating a relative clause. The fronted element then gets put into an identity or classification sentence depending on whether the element is a definite noun (identification) or anything else (classification). The only real difference is that definite nouns get a pronoun stuck between them and the copula.

Is mise a thug an nóta do Shéamus ag an teach tábhairne aréir.
I gave the note to Séamus at the pub last night.

Is é an nóta a thug mé do Shéamus ag an teach tábhaire aréir
I gave the note to Séamus at the pub last night

Is do Shéamus a thug mé an nóta ag an teach tábhaire aréir
I gave the note to Séamus at the pub last night

Is é Séamus ar thug mé an nóta dhó ag an teach tábhairne aréir
I gave the note to Séamus at the pub last night

(***note the slight change in structure!)

Is ag an teach tábhaire a thug mé an nóta do Shéamus aréir
I gave the note to Séamus at the pub last night

Is aréir a thug mé an nóta do Shéamus ag an teach tábhairne
I gave the note to Séamus at the pub [b]last night

Fronting is fun!