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"B'in an méid" meaning

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  • 07-02-2013 1:20am
    #1
    ammd
    Registered Users Posts: 4 ✭


    I'm reading a novel in Irish (or trying to, anyway!) and I've come across the phrase "B'in an méid" a few times. I can't for the life of me decipher it. I know that "méid" means "size" or "amount" but it seems kind of idiomatic. Google translate isn't really helping so if anybody can shed some light, that'd be great. Thanks in advance!


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    #2
    Insect Overlord
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,857 Mod ✭✭✭✭Insect Overlord


    b'in => "that was"

    an méid, as you said, is "the size/amount/number"

    That was all/ That was it/ That was the amount/ That was the size of it


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    #3
    ammd
    Registered Users Posts: 4 ✭ammd


    Insect Overlord wrote: »
    b'in => "that was"

    an méid, as you said, is "the size/amount/number"

    That was all/ That was it/ That was the amount/ That was the size of it

    Thanks for that. Out of interest, if you wanted to say "that is all" would you combine the "tá" and "in" in the same way? Would it be "t'in an méid"? Or something else altogether?


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    #4
    Insect Overlord
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,857 Mod ✭✭✭✭Insect Overlord


    "Sin an méid" would work for that. :)

    Out of interest, what's the novel?


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    #5
    Aard
    Registered Users Posts: 4,905 ✭✭✭Aard


    I imagine that the super accurate way of writing that would be "B'shin an méid", from "Ba shin an méid".


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    #6
    ammd
    Registered Users Posts: 4 ✭ammd


    Thanks all! I learnt Irish in school back in the day, but I was never massively brilliant at it. I figure reading something that's enjoyable will get me into the swing of things. It's "Tromluí" by Áine Ní Ghlinn. It's a mystery/thriller type for teenagers published by Cois Life. It's a really nicely put together book so it's a shame that I'm scribbling English translations all over it!


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    #7
    An Sionnach Glic
    Registered Users Posts: 134 ✭✭An Sionnach Glic


    Just to add that B'in (or often spelt as B'shin) is just a past tense version of Sin.

    Sin é - That's it.

    B'in/B'shin é - That was it.

    Sin can also be expressed as a negative. I remember for instance a Connemara character in TG4 drama 'Na Cloigne' saying "Ní shin atá uait?" (That's not what you want?"). I'm not sure if that form is acknowledged in the 'Caighdeán Oifigiúil', but it's certainly in the spoken language.


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    #8
    pog it
    Registered Users Posts: 2,912 ✭✭✭pog it


    An Sionnach Glic wrote: »
    Just to add that B'in (or often spelt as B'shin) is just a past tense version of Sin.

    Sin é - That's it.

    B'in/B'shin é - That was it.

    Sin can also be expressed as a negative. I remember for instance a Connemara character in TG4 drama 'Na Cloigne' saying "Ní shin atá uait?" (That's not what you want?"). I'm not sure if that form is acknowledged in the 'Caighdeán Oifigiúil', but it's certainly in the spoken language.

    Exactly.

    Sin an méid --- Present tense
    Ba shin an méid ---- Past Tense. Pronounced 'B'in' hence the spelling.

    It's frequently used in normal natural native speaker speech.


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    #9
    ammd
    Registered Users Posts: 4 ✭ammd


    Can anybody round it off with a future tense version? "That will be all"?

    Are you all native Irish speakers, or did learn what you know from study?


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    #10
    P. Breathnach
    Registered Users Posts: 12,089 ✭✭✭✭P. Breathnach


    pog it wrote: »
    ...
    Sin an méid --- Present tense
    Not quite. You can't have a tense unless you have a verb. To make it clear that you want to express it in the present tense, you need to use the copula is, which is a verb of a special class. You might say or write Is sin an méid. If you have no real need to emphasise that it is in the present, you can omit is, leaving it to be implicit.
    Ba shin an méid ---- Past Tense.
    Specifically, ba is the past tense of is.
    Pronounced 'B'in' hence the spelling.
    Hate that spelling! I wish people would agree that it is wrong, and settle for b'shin.
    ammd wrote: »
    Can anybody round it off with a future tense version? "That will be all"?
    There isn't a future form of the copula, so you would need to approach it from a different direction.


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    #11
    pog it
    Registered Users Posts: 2,912 ✭✭✭pog it


    P. Breathnach wrote: »
    Specifically, ba is the past tense of is.

    Hate that spelling! I wish people would agree that it is wrong, and settle for b'shin.

    Really? I don't have a problem with this one being shortened like that. I see these as little rewards. Likewise with 7rl and others.

    Thanks for pointing out how sin an méid is not technically present tense! But you know what I meant anyway.


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