The article in Irish has a definite form only, `an' (`the'), e.g. ``An Life (`The (river) Liffey' -- The Irish form is the basis for Joyce's personification Anna Livia). It becomes `na' in the plural and in the genitive singular feminine. The masculine and feminine forms are distinguished only by the latter change and by initial mutations on the noun that follows.
| Singular | Plural | ||
| Masc. | Fem. | Masc./Fem. | |
| Nominative | an | an+L | na |
| Genitive | an+L | na | na+E |