Syntax treats of the connection of words with each other in a sentence; and teaches the proper method of expressing their connection by the _Collection_ and the _Form_ of the words. Gaelic Syntax may be conveniently enough explained under the common divisions of Concord and Government.
Under Concord is to be considered the agreement of the Article with its Noun;--of an Adjective with its Noun;--of a Pronoun with its Antecedent;--of a Verb with its Nominative;--and of one Noun with another.
OF THE AGREEMENT OF THE ARTICLE WITH A NOUN.
The article is always placed before its Noun, and next to it, unless when an Adjective intervenes.
The article agrees with its Noun in Gender, Number, and Case. Final _n_ is changed into _m_ before a plain Labial; as, am baile _the town_, am fear _the man_. It is usually cut off before an aspirated Palatal, or Labial, excepting _fh_; as, a' chaora _the sheep_, a' mhuc _the sow_, a' choin _of the dog_. In the Dat. Sing. initial _a_ is cut off after a Preposition ending in a Vowel; as, do 'n chloich _to the stone_[94].
A Noun, when immediately preceded by the Article, suffers some changes in Initial Form:--1. With regard to Nouns beginning with a Consonant, the _aspirated_ form is assumed by a mas. Noun in the gen. and dat. singular; by a fem. noun in the nom. and dat. singular. If the Noun begins with _s_ followed by a vowel or by a Liquid, instead of having the _s_ aspirated, _t_ is inserted between the Article and the Noun, in the foresaid cases; and the _s_ becomes entirely quiescent[95]. 2. With regard to Nouns beginning with a Vowel, _t_ or _h_ is inserted between the Article and the Noun in certain Cases, viz. _t_ in the Nom. sing. of mas. Nouns, _h_ in the gen. sing. of fem. Nouns, and _h_ in the nom. and dat. plur. of Nouns of either gender. Throughout the other sing. and plur. Cases, all Nouns retain their Primary form.
The following examples show all the varieties that take place in declining a Noun with the Article.
_Nouns beginning with a Labial or a Palatal._
_Sing._ _Plur._ _N._ am Bard, na Baird, _G._ a' Bhaird, nam Bard, _D._ a', 'n Bhard[96]. na Bardaibh.
_Sing._ _Plur._ _N._ a' Chluas, na Cluasan, _G._ na Cluaise, nan Cluas, _D._ a', 'n Chluais. na Cluasaibh.