Faoi Sheanfhear A Fheicim Gach Maidin Ag Starbucks
Seo an fear a bhíonn cairdiúil liomsa agus le mo dheartháir Jake gach maidin. Adam is ainm dó agus tá sé ina chónaí in Amherst, Massachusetts ar nós mise ach is as Boston é. Tagann sé chuig an Starbucks seo ar rothar gach maidin le caife a cheannach ach ní thagann sé anseo go dtí a hocht a chlog. Taigaimidne [it's better to add an emphatic suffix here because you're contrasting "tagaimid" with "tagann sé"] anseo ar a seacht a chlog lenár n-athair. Táim ar bís le caint leis amárach mar cheannaigh m'athair capall eile dom inniu agus is maith le hAdam capaill freisin. Dúirt sé gur mhaith leis capall a dul ag mharcaíocht liom am éigin. Ní maith le Jake capaill ach ba maith leis rothar Adam a mharcaíocht.
Question:
1. How do you say "to go horseback riding with me" or "to ride horses with me" correctly in Irish?
A. "Dul ag marcaíocht liom". The verb "marcaigh" (vn "marcaíocht") comes from "marc", another word for "horse", so there's no need to say "capall a mharcaíocht", it's taken for granted that it's a horse you're riding. For riding a bike, you can use "marcaíocht", but I think it's more usual just to say "dul ar rothar".
2. Is there another Irish verb which means "to arrive" or does "tar" mean both to come and to arrive?
A. Generally "tar" covers most meanings of English "come" and "arrive". There are a couple of other verbs which can often be translated as "arrive": "sroich" and "bain amach", but their range of meanings extend to "achieve", "attain", "succeed", etc. so they aren't suitable for all contexts in which you would use "arrive" in English. "Tar" is your best bet most of the time.
3. How do you say "Adam's bike" correctly? Genitive forms of names... Ugh.
A. Foreign names usually don't change in the genitive, except that they are lenited, but even this isn't applied consistently. So "rothar Adam" is correct. Irish names form their genitive according to which declension they belong to, just like common nouns, and are lenited as well. "Ádhamh" (the Irish form of "Adam") and "Seán", for example, are 1st declension, so you would have "rothar Ádhaimh", "capall Sheáin".
