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

CHAPTER XXVI.

OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF PREPOSITIONS.

OF PREPOSITIONS USED IN APPOSITION.

Prepositions used in apposition have always a radical initial after them: as marish dooinney, with man; lesh screeuyn, with a letter.

When the articles y or yn, the, are joined to prepositions, the radical initials of the nouns which follow them are changed into their secondary mutes, or softs: as marish y ghuilley, with the boy; rish y ven, to the woman; lesh y ghrian, towards the sun. But norms whose initials are the consonants d, j, and t, suffer no change: marish y dooinney, with the man; cooyl y dorrys, behind the door; lesh y jalloo, with the image; gys y thie, to the house.

Dy, of, or to, always aspirates, or changes into its secondary mute, the initial of the following mutable consonant: as goll dy valley, going home; kione dy phrash, a head of brass; dy ghoaill leagh, to take a fee.

Prepositions are compounded with adverbs of place: as veih-heose, from above; veih-heese, from beneath. They are also compounded with pronouns. (See the construction of pronouns.)

OF PREPOSITIONS USED IN COMPOSITION.

Aa is compounded with nouns, verbs, and participles, and changes their mutable initials into their soft or secondary mutes: as aa-chroo eh dooinney, he re-created man; aa-vioghee eh, he shall revive; aa-chooinaghtyn, recollection.

An is joined either to nouns, verbs, or participles, and changes their mutable initials into their secondary mutes: as t'an thie an-chashcrick, the house is impure; t'eh laadit lesh anghoo, he is loaded with infamy.

Co and cooyl, before the mutable initial c, cloth change it into its soft: as co-chorrym, equal; co-chiart, even. Otherwise it retaineth the radical initial: as co-trome, equally heavy; co-beayn, co-eternal; co-Jee, equally God; cooyl-chlea, an ambush; cooyl-dorrys, behind the door.

Fo, before s and th, is used with the aspirate or secondary mute: as fo-halloo, under the ground; fo-lieau, under the mountain; instead of fo thalloo and fo slieau.

Er is used with radical initials: as er-cannoo, wanton; er-gliee, brimming; er-finnue, passionate. Except when it is put for the English for, as er-phing, for a penny, where the aspirate is used. It is also used in composition with pronouns, as orrym, &c. (See the construction of pronouns.)

Orrym and its derivatives are most commonly used to betoken the passions of the body: as ta'n chadley orrym, I am asleep, or am sleepy; ta paays orrym, I am dry.

Lieh changes the radical initials of the words it is compounded with into their secondary mutes: as ta'n dooinney lieh-varroo, the man is half dead; yn ven lieh-valloo, the slow-speaking woman; moddey lieh-ghooghys, a mongrel.

Neu and mee signify privation, or not, and make the following consonant change into its secondary mute or aspirate: as neu-ghlen, unclean; mee-viallagh, disobedient.

Gyn is also a privative article, or article of the ablative case, and is sometimes joined to a soft or secondary mute: as gyn vioys, lifeless; gyn-vyghin, merciless, or without mercy. When we say gyn bioys, gyn myghin, and the like, gyn is set by itself, and myghin, bioys, &c., are put absolutely--q.d., gyn, bioys; gyn, myghin.

Da, to, rish., to, marish, with, harrish, over, voish, from, fo, under, liorish, by, ayns, in, lesh, with, roish, before, mastey, among, jeh, of, ass, out of, erskyn, above, fegooish, without, are all compounded with pronouns. (See the construction of pronouns.)