Lenition of "fear" to "fhear

[u/satanstits999]

Is this correct on duo's part? I did not think fear got lenited, like ever, so i type fear every time, and every time I get this correction.

[u/DoisMaosEsquerdos]

Lenition depends on the preceding word.

When the singular definite article (an) is preceded by a preposition, it inflicts a different lenition on the following noun from what it usually does.

If the preposition is sa(n), don or den (note that these are all contractions that already include the definite article: i + an, do + an and de + an respectively, such that "don an" would be "to the the"), then lenition is applied:

san fhear, don fhear, den fhear

If the preposition is anything else, eclipsis applies in the standard language, though some dialects use lenition here also:

leis an bhfear, roimh an bhfear, ag an bhfear etc.

Dialectal alternative: leis an fhear, roimh an fhear, ag an fhear etc.

In any case, "leis an fear" is not correct: the second dialectal alternative "leis an fhear" is what Duolingo corrected it to as it is only one letter away.

This preposition + article thing as a whole is often called the "dative case": if you come across that term in the context of Irish grammar, that's what it refers to.

Look at the relevant Wikipedia article on Irish grammar for more details.

[u/xL3afyyx]

Someone else in the Gaeilge course!! It's so hard to find others on here.

[u/satanstits999]

Also happened with "don an fhear". Does it have to do with "with" and "for"?

[u/Fear_mor → u/satanstits999]

It’d be don fhear, since don is from do + an