Page 1 of 1
Ceist mu " a dh'ionnsaigh"
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:51 pm
by iolair
Madainn mhath,
If I want to say "toward me" using the preposition "a dh'ionnsaigh" would it be "dha mo ionnsaigh" or "dham ionnsaigh", or anything like that?
Mòran taing
Re: Ceist mu " a dh'ionnsaigh"
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 4:38 pm
by Gràisg
dham ionnsaigh seems fine to me but remember there's also a preposition thugam
's tu draibheadh dham ionnsaigh (poetry Meg Bateman)
Ach thàinig e thugam (BBC Alba)
no money back, no guarantee but I reckon dham ionnsaigh is better for the in my direction type of thing and thugam more for the to me rather than towards me but there may be some overlap. Better wait for a real grammar freak to pass by

Re: Ceist mu " a dh'ionnsaigh"
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 4:54 pm
by akerbeltz
Grammar freak passing through. Gràisg's advice is good, I'll only add that you can also use 'gam ionnsaigh, 'gad ionnsaigh etc
Overall, ionnsaigh is more vague in terms of direction than gu. Thàinig e gun taigh implies that he came right up. Thàinig e a dh'ionnsaigh an taighe is more vague, he may have stopped half-way, not come all that close etc.
Re: Ceist mu " a dh'ionnsaigh"
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 6:54 pm
by iolair
Mòran taing dhan dithis agaibh!
I was thinking of towards but not necessarily right up to (as in "he was walking towards me"), so "ionnsaigh" seems to fit better than "gu" in this case.