How to translate the English preposition "for" into Irish
Ó Gaelvicí.
As usual with simple prepositions, you cannot translate the English for into Irish in the same way in all contexts. Here are some hints:
Clár ábhair |
[athraigh] In return for
If for means "in return for", use as (a simple preposition) or as ucht, a compound preposition requiring genitive. In Ulster, however, ar son is possible: d'íoc mé dhá phunt as/ar a shon = "I paid two pounds for it".
[athraigh] Referring to the payment itself
If for refers to the payment itself, as in "I bought it for two pounds", then you should use ar: cheannaigh mé ar dhá phunt é
[athraigh] For the noble sake
When "for" means "for the sake of" or even "in favour of", we use ar son: Rinne an laoch éacht mór ar son na Gaeilge.
In Ulster, other expressions are favoured, because ar son usually means something else up there: ar mhaithe le and i bhfá[tha]ch le are the standard ones, I would say, but even mar gheall de/mar gheall ar/de gheall ar seems to be possible, cf. the title of the short story by Séamus Ó Grianna, Mar Gheall ar Mhnaoi. In other dialects, mar gheall ar has a sense more akin to maidir le.
[athraigh] He went to the shop for it
In this sense, we use fá dhéin:
Bhuail mé isteach i siopa Thaidhgín Thaigh Phádraig Rua fá dhéin caife agus siúcra.
[athraigh] She came there for me
Here, it is advisable to use fá choinne or in araicis: tháinig sí fá mo choinne/i m'araicis go dtí an t-aerfort nuair a thuirling m'eitleán.
[athraigh] For the purpose of
For the purpose of translating for in the sense of "for the purpose of", use le haghaidh or i gcomhair.
