dentals and the word sna

mengele wrote: »

two questions
1. when do you use the word sna?
2. when do the dentals occur and when dont they?

1. Sna is used when you want to say in the (plural), or i na in Irish. You don't use/say i na in this context, as it could mean a number of different things in Irish and could cause confusion and sna is probably better for the flow of speech as well, I'd reckon.
So if you want to say In the houses, for instance, you'd say sna tithe rather than i na tithe (a person hearing i na tithe could interpret it to mean in her houses, as one example of potential confusion).
Sna only affects the spelling of the following noun if it begins with a vowel, in which case you put a h in front of it:
Sna héadaí, sna héisteachtaí, but sna tíortha, sna foirgnimh etc.

2. Could you be a bit more specific about what you mean by this? The question is very broad.

pog it wrote: »

Sna is used in modern Irish, ins na is older and better.

Please do expand.