XPost: sci.lang, rec.puzzles, alt.usage.english   
   From: peter@pmoylan.org.invalid   
      
   On 24/05/24 05:15, Ruud Harmsen wrote:   
      
   > See Google Translate:   
   > Ar an tríú lá is fiche de mí Bealtaine, scríobh Ross Clark.   
   > On the twenty -third day of May, Ross Clark wrote.   
   >   
   > Word for word:   
   >   
   > On   
   > The   
   > Third   
   > day   
   > is   
   > twenty   
   > of   
   > Month   
   > May,   
   > Ross Clark wrote   
      
   It's true that the most common use of Irish "is" is as a copula, just as   
   in English. However, there is a second meaning of "is": it can mean "and".   
      
   I have no idea why three-and-twenty is expressed with "is" rather than   
   "agus". I would be interested to hear from anyone who knows.   
      
   --   
   Peter Moylan                         http://www.pmoylan.org   
   Newcastle, NSW   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)