Irish emphasises a word by moving it to the front after "Is", with the rest of the sentence following as a relative clause introduced by "a" (which softens the verb). If the fronted element is a noun phrase defined by a clause, "ná" links it to what follows. This is the everyday way to stress a word, since Irish does not lean on stress like English.
Examples
- Is inné a tháinig sí abhaile.
- It was yesterday that she came home.
- Is í Máire a scríobh an litir.
- It was Máire who wrote the letter.
- Is é an rud a chuir isteach orm ná an tost.
- The thing that upset me was the silence.
The mistake to avoid
Using "go" instead of the relative "a" after the fronted word — clefts take "a", and it lenites the verb.
Where this fits in
Léiriú agus Caolchúis, Irish Gaelic C1: Master register, idiomatic expression, and emotional nuance.