[From Manx Soc vol 2, Kelly's Manx Grammar]

CHAPTER XXI.

OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF ARTICLES.

These articles restrain or determine the sense of the word they are put before to some particular, in the same manner as the definite article the in English; but we have no article that answers the English a--as haink dooinney, a man came, haink y dooinney, the man came--yet.

The reflective article ny is used in construction for the English article a, and before nouns of the masculine gender it always changes their radical initials into their soft or secondary mutes; but nouns of the feminine gender retain their radical initials: as t'eh ny ghooinney mie, he is a good man; t'ee ny ben vie, she is a good woman.

When words of the masculine gender have an article set before them, their radical letters are not changed: as y dooinney, the man; yn guilley, the boy. But if they be feminines, their initials are changed into their soft: as yn ven, the woman; yn vooa, the cow.

Proper names have not the articles set before them, because they do of themselves, individually or particularly, distinguish the things or persons of which one speaks. So likewise the names of countries, cities, rivers, &c., have no article set before them, except these four­­Yn Spainey, Spain; yn Rank, France; yn Raue, Rome; yn thalloo Bretnagh, Wales; also, N'erin, Ireland, and N'alpin, Scotland, have the adventitious n, or article yn, before them.

An article is not put before the former of two substantives when they betoken divers things.