Caibidil a hAon: The Noun(an tAinmfhocal)

abstract noun (ainmfhocal teibí)

Synonym:  substantivised adjective

Abstract nouns do not describe something concrete but something abstract. With this, there are a wide array of abstract nouns.
In a more specific sense, we're only discussing those which are derived from adjectives.
One subdivides these abstract nouns in common and gradiated.
By many of these, both will have the same form, but often they do differ from one another.

common abstract noun (ainmfhocal teibí gnách)

formation:

Many adjectives have more than one appropriate abstract noun (e.g.: maith - maith, maithe, maitheas)

The comparative of the adjective ending in -mhar or in a -vowel may not be used as the common abstract noun(beo, crua, grianmhar - grianmhaire) This refers also to the comparative ending in -a (fearúil - fearúla) as well as the irregular dócha - dóichí.
These comparatives are only used as the gradiated abstract noun.

use:

• general expressions of a quality without respect to a bearer (like in German or English, but mostly with the article)
  e.g. Ní maith liom an dorchadas = I don't like (the) darkness

gradiated abstract noun (ainmfhocal teibí céime)

formation:

• adjectives ending in -ach, -mhar and ending in a vowel form this via the comparative. e.g: dá chrua[cha] é (crua), dá aistí é (aisteach), dá dhóichí é (docha), dá ghreannmhaire é (greannmhar)
  as well as those adjectives, whose comparative ends in -a. e.g. dá dheacra é = however difficult, dá fhearúla é = however masculine he may be
• many adjectives use either the comparative form or comparative + -(e)acht/-íocht: e.g.: minic - minice, minicíocht, moch - moiche, moicheacht
• the following adjectives use in this case always the form in the following table e.g. maith - feabhas instead of: maitheas, maithe. Some of these only serve as the grad. abstr. noun.

use:

• if an extent or a certain degree of a quality is given.
  Especially:
• by the below mentioned special constructs.
• after the following words: méad ("size"), méid (masc., partitive: "amount, quantity, extent ") and méid (fem., "measure, size ") e.g.: méid na donachta = the dimension of poorness

syntax of the gradiated abstract noun (comhréir an ainmfhocail theibí chéime)

In German, one uses the adjective itself instead of a substantivised adjective in these uses.
In many of these uses, in German a comparison is made, often with an imaginary extent of a quality (this is why in German "how", is "wie auch immer"="however").
In Irish, the actual degree is viewed (hence the use of "a = his ", "cá = which of his " instead of "how") or it is included as part of an imaginary degree (this is the reason for the use of "dá = of his " instead of "however")

"wonderful, how big he is."

• The particle a ("like") is actually the masculine possessive pronoun of the 3rd person singular ("his"), therefore one could literally translate the above example as "it is wonderful his goodness, that he is". The masculine pronoun is always used.
• a  requires lenition.
• Because a is the possessive pronoun, combinations with prepositions are also possible:
  e.g.: Fuair sé ardmholadh trina fheabhas a rinne sé an obair = He received high praise through how well he did the work
• after agus, this construct takes on the meaning of a state of being :
  e.g.: Tá sé go han-mhaith agus a óige atá sé = He is very good considering how young he is.
• instead of this construct one can also use chomh + adjective (see equative).

"how big is he?"

Similar to the previous example, one can also form a question:
 

form	examples
cá + grad. abstr. noun + direct relative clause [ 2 ]	Cá fheabhas atá sé? = How good is he? Cá mhinice a bhí sé anseo? = How often was he hier?

• This cá (= how?) is a combination of the interrogative cé/cá and the possessive pronoun a (lit.: cá = "which his ")
• cá requires lenition

however big

• dá is a compound of preposition de + particle a (= how). Hence the approximate literal translation of the sentence "Dá dheacreacht é": "of which difficulty it may be ". Because a is the possessive pronoun of the 3rd person singular: "of his difficulty it may be"
  On the other hand, it does resemble the conjunction dá = if ("if it may be difficult"), which would cause eclipsis.
  The second dá in the second-to-last construct is a combination of de and one of the relative pronoun, lit. translation of this sentence: "of his goodness of which he did it "
• (The first) dá requires lenition.
• dá + abstr. noun can also follow a nound as an attribute, this is then often introduced throuhg gach
  e.g.: Chuir sé gach cóir dá fheabhas orm = He let me have every treatment, no matter how good it was (lit.: "he laid every justice of-his goodness on-me") or: Mhill sé gach aon ní dá bhreatha = He destroyed everything, no matter how beautiful

It also often appears in negations:
e.g.: Níl amhras dá laghad faoi = There is not even the smallest doubt about it/ no doubt about it, however small
• regional (Connemara) also: dhá instead of dá

"the bigger, the better"

• This is the same dá as in the previous construct.
  We then have the same variants in place of the named subject at our disposal:
  e.g.: Dá mhéad a rinne sé is ea is fearr = the more he did, the better.
  or: Dá laghad a gcím díot is amhlaidh is fearr dom = the less I see of you, the better it is for me
• amhlaidh is an adverb ( = so, exactly)[ 1 ]. is amhlaidh is also appears outside of this construct, meaning "the" as in "the bigger, the better".

Note the small difference between these constructs:
 Dá laghad é is ea is fearr é = The smaller he is, the better
 Dá laghad é is fearr é = However small he is, he is the better one

In Donegal, there is another way of forming it, without an abstr. noun:

form	examples
mas + comparative + ... + mas + comparative + ...	mas mó atá ann mas fearr é = the more that are here, the better

• instead of mas also mars, más.
  These stem from mar (= as, like) + is (= copula)

"it is getting bigger"

• téigh = go, i = in.
  (Tá sé ag dul i bhfeabhas = It is getting better. lit.: "It is at going in improvement")

[ 1 ] amlaidh etym. actually a prepositional pronoun of amhail + eadh (old form to ea) = "as it "
[ 2 ] Sometimes, agus/is is placed before the direct relative clause, possibly analogous to the expression with a similar meaning with chomh (see equative: chomh maith agus a bhí sé = as good as him ). As opposed to that, is es is actually unnecessary e.g.: a fheabhas [agus] a bhí sé = how good he is