Learning Irish from English
Created: 2016-03-31
Streak Extended: 2023-11-05
Timezone: UTC-4
Last update: 2024-07-15 19:00:42 GMT+3
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agam · aici · aige · bainne · buachaillí · cailíní · ceapaire · fir · ithimid · leabhar · léann · léim · léimid · mná · na · nuachtán · páiste · páistí · rís · siad · sibh · táimid · tú · ólaimid
24 words
You're still here. That's wonderful! We'll start with a strange but important little rule:
This is the golden rule of Irish spelling and it is important for all sorts of things all the time. It's actually quite a consistent and well-observed rule across Irish, which is very rare. You should get very used to it, to the point that a word which doesn't follow the rule will stand out to you.
The phrase literally means "slender with slender and broad with broad", and it refers to vowels in a word.
Slender vs broad is a way to group the vowels in two distinct groups:
| leathan broad | caol slender |
|---|---|
| a | e |
| o | i |
| u |
The rule says that the vowels on either side of any consonant should match: they should both be slender, or both be broad. It's actually an important rule, because certain consonants, especially s and t will change their sound appreciably depending on whether they are slender or broad.
To see if the stem of a verb is broad or slender, look at the last vowel in that stem.
For example, take the verbs dún and bris. The last vowel in dún is broad, so you would use broad endings when conjugating this verb. Similarly you would use slender endings when conjugating bris.
We do have two present tenses in Irish, which function just like in English. Let's start with the present habitual. This describes what one does on a regular basis, not what one is doing right now. Verbs in Irish are split into three main groups: the first conjugation, the second conjugation and the irregular verbs.
Basically, these verbs have only one syllable. In the present tense the ending is, generally, added directly onto the stem. Examples are dún ("close"), ól ("drink"), bris ("break")
Examples:
Notice how sometimes it takes two words, and sometimes just one. In present tense verbs, mé and muid are often not used; they can be incorporated into their verb to make the 'synthetic form'.
These verbs have more than one syllable. To conjugate and use them correctly takes a bit more intuition, but you'll be grand!
The words come in two halves for you to identify. They will have a root and a stem. To conjugate them, you will remove the stem and replace it with an appropriate ending. There aren't too many endings to learn.
Examples of 2nd-conjugation verbs are bailigh, ceannaigh, oscail, and inis. Watch how their stems are removed/altered to take the ending:
Oh no, a different beast altogether... No hassle, there are only 11 of these! Some of them appear quite regular most of the time, but all of them have at least one tense in which they don't obey the standard rules, so it is necessary to memorise these 11 verbs in all their forms and tenses! Just to warn you, they are:
But seriously, they're not that bad.
See you in the next skill!
agat · agus · an · arán · bean · bhean · biachlár · buachaill · cailín · fear · is · itheann · ithim · mé · pól · sé · sí · tá · táim · uisce · é · í · ólaim · ólann · úll
25 words
Welcome to Duolingo's Irish course! In this course you will learn the official standard (an Caighdeán Oifigiúil) of Irish. But note, this is a written, and not a spoken standard. Irish is spoken in three main dialects, corresponding to three Irish provinces of Munster (south), Ulster (north), and Connacht (west). The audio in this course was recorded by a native speaker of the Connacht dialect.
So what makes Irish different? What might challenge you as you try to learn? Well, tonnes of things! To be honest, even the basics of Irish are very different from what you're probably used to.
The best advice we can give is that with Irish, learning things off by heart and trying to base your learning on grammar will only get you so far. It's a very irregular language, and most rules that try to generalise come with many exceptions.
Just take it as slowly as you need to, and nothing should challenge you very much. There is a really good article about some of the more fascinating peculiarities here: https://multikulti.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/10-reasons-why-irish-is-an-absolutely-awesome-language/
We'll also address a couple below. So let's get started then!
The Irish alphabet is short and sweet:
a b c d e f g h i l m n o p r s t u
The vowels can take an added accent, the fada (pronounced 'foddah'):
á é í ó ú
The fada lengthens and alters the sound on the vowel.
The rest of the English alphabet, j k q v w x y z, especially v, is gradually being naturalised into Irish due to the many loanwords we take in.
Learn how to type accented letters here: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/4278237
Most English sentences use the "Subject-Verb-Object" word order. For example, in the sentence He eats food, he is the subject, eats is the verb, and food is the object.
In Irish, a slightly different word order is used: "V-S-O". Here is the same sentence in Irish: Itheann sé bia. The verb in this sentence is itheann (a form of the verb to eat), the subject is sé (he), and the object is bia (food).
In summary: Irish sentences start with their verbs!
Irish makes it interesting when you want to say what something "is", because you need to choose the right version of the verb "to be"! There are two versions. called bí and an chopail.
| bí | to be |
|---|---|
| tá mé/táim | I am |
| tá tú | you (sing.) are |
| tá sé | he/it is |
| tá sí | she/it is |
| tá muid/táimid | we are |
| tá sibh | you (pl.) are |
| tá siad | they are |
Notes: tá + mé (I) = táim, tá + muid (we) = táimid. These contractions are called the synthetic form.
| copail | copula |
|---|---|
| is ... mé | I am |
| is ... tú | you (sing.) are |
| is ... é | he/it is |
| is ... í | she/it is |
| is ... sinn/muid | we are |
| is ... sibh | you (pl.) are |
| is ... iad | they are |
The copula is for when you're introducing something or someone, like "Is bean í" (She is a woman) or "Is úll é" (It is an apple). Bí is for when you're describing something or someone, like "Tá sí ard" (She is tall) or "Tá sé blasta" (It is tasty). You'll learn the basics of both here, and later you'll learn some more about each of them!
atá · brón · béarla · comhghairdeas · conas · daoibh · dia · do · duit · fáilte · gaeilge · go · labhraím · labhraímid · labhraíonn · le · maidin · maith · mhaith · muire · ní · orm · raibh · romhat · slán · thoil
26 words
The formal way to greet someone is by saying Dia duit. Literally this means God to you. Here is something to note:
The proper response is Dia is Muire duit, which literally means God and Mary to you.
Note on the Sociology of Ireland: These forms are old, formal, and in sharp decline. There is a complicated relationship between Ireland and the Catholic church in recent history, and many younger speakers consciously avoid the nearly-obsolete religious constructions of yore. We don't officially teach you this here, because we decided to stick with The Standard so we have to teach you "dia duit" and so on. Just be aware you're more likely to hear somebody greet you with a typical English greeting like "hiya", or even by avoiding a "hello" and just asking how you are – Conas atá tú? –
We don't say "have" in Irish, that's way too simple and direct. Instead the verb bí (be) is used together with the preposition ag (at).
To express that you have something, you say that it is "at you" - implying that it is close by you, in your possession. If you want to say Paul has a book, think of this as meaning A book is at Paul, or There is a book at Paul . The Irish for this is Tá leabhar ag Pól.
When you want to write at followed by a pronoun, the two words join together to make a "prepositional pronoun". For example, ag and mé combine to form agam (at me). Here is ag in all its forms:
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| at | ag |
| at me | agam |
| at you (singular) | agat |
| at him | aige |
| at her | aici |
| at us | againn |
| at you (plural) | agaibh |
| at them | acu |
Examples of bí + ag:
When talking about languages in Irish there are distinct ways to translate the two meanings of the English "speak".
1) "I speak Irish" would translate as "Labhraím Gaeilge" if "speak" was referring to the act of speaking the language ("I speak Irish every day")
2) "I speak Irish" would translate as "Tá Gaeilge agam" (literally "I have Irish") if "speak" was referring to the ability to speak, or the knowledge of, the language.
So when you say "I (can) speak [language]", in Irish you literally say "I have [language]"
See you in the next skill!
chúthail · cúthail · dochreidte · gránna · lofa · ollmhór · saibhir · simplí · stairiúil · éasca · úsáideach
11 words
abhainn · adhmad · aeráid · bláth · bolcán · deatach · duilleog · dúlra · leac · oighir · réaltbhuíon · rós · triomach · tuath · tírdhreach
15 words
litríocht
1 words
aclaíocht · bhonn · bonn · báire · camán · chiceáil · chúl · cispheil · cluichí · corn · cosán · cúl · eitpheil · ghiomnáisiam · giomnáisiam · halla · imreoir · leanúna · lucht · léim · lúthchleasaithe · lúthchleasaí · maratón · mharatón · oilimpeacha · peil · peileadóir · phointe · pointe · rug · rugbaí · réiteoir · sacar · scóráil · sliotar · spórt · staid · traenálaí · tsiúlóid · tóir
40 words
Cúilín or Pointe
In this skill, you will learn two words for point, cúilín and pointe. These words are sometimes used interchangeably, but in general:
is · níos
2 words
The comparative form of the adjective is used to describe something that is more than the other (e.g. bigger, smaller, louder). The word "níos" is used in Irish when using the comparative form.
The superlative form of the adjective is used to describe something that is the most (e.g. biggest, smallest, loudest). The word "is" is used in Irish when using the superlative form.
There are 5 groups of adjectives when forming the comparative and superlative forms in Irish. They may seem intimidating at first, but the patterns are quite simple.
Group 1
The 1st group is made up of adjectives that end with -ach or -each. To form the comparative/superlative in this group, remove the ending and add -aí (in place of -ach) or -í (in place of -each). Examples: Brónach (sad) and Neirbhíseach (nervous)
| Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|
| níos brónaí | is brónaí |
| níos neirbhísí | is neirbhísí |
Group 2
The 2nd group is made up of adjectives that end with -úil. To form the comparative/superlative in this group, remove the ending and add -úla. Example: Leisciúil (lazy)
| Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|
| níos leisciúla | is leisciúla |
Group 3
The 3rd group is made up of other adjectives that end with a consonant. To form the comparative/superlative in this group, make the adjective slender (if necessary) and add -e. Examples: Saibhir (rich) and Óg (young)
| Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|
| níos saibhre | is saibhre |
| níos óige | is óige |
Group 4
The 4th group is made up of adjectives that end with a vowel. These usually do not change. Example: Cróga (brave)
| Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|
| níos cróga | is cróga |
Group 5
The 5th group is made up of adjectives that are irregular in the comparative and superlative forms.
| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| fada (long) | níos faide | is faide |
| gearr (short) | níos giorra | is giorra |
| maith (good) | níos fearr | is fearr |
| mór (big) | níos mó | is mó |
| beag (small) | níos lú | is lú |
| olc (bad) | níos measa | is measa |
| tapaidh (fast) | níos tapúla | is tapúla |
| te (hot) | níos teo | is teo |
fuath · nach · nílim · ábalta
4 words
You have already seen the present habitual tense of the verb bí conjugated (tá mé/táim, tá tú, and so on). When this is put into the negative, it is conjugated differently.
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| I am not | níl mé / nílim |
| you are not (singular) | níl tú |
| he is not / it is not | níl sé |
| she is not / it is not | níl sí |
| we are not | níl muid / nílimid |
| you are not (plural) | níl sibh |
| they are not | níl siad |
aisti · ann · as · asaibh · asainn · asam · asat · astu · bródúil · de · di · díbh · dínn · díobh · díom · díot · faoi · faoin · fúibh · fúinn · fúithi · fúm · fút · inti · ionaibh · ionainn · ionam · ionat · iontu · muinín · roimhe · roimpi · romhaibh · romhainn · romham · rompu · sa · san · sna
39 words
Here are five more prepositional pronouns in all their forms:
| Pronoun | in | before | out of | under, about | off, of, from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (none) | i, in | roimh | as | faoi | de, d' |
| me | ionam | romham | asam | fúm | díom |
| you (singular) | ionat | romhat | asat | fút | díot |
| he, it | ann | roimhe | as | faoi | de |
| she, it | inti | roimpi | aisti | fúithi | di |
| us | ionainn | romhainn | asainn | fúinn | dínn |
| you (plural) | ionaibh | romhaibh | asaibh | fúibh | díbh |
| them | iontu | rompu | astu | fúthú | díobh |
The basic meaning of this word is in. When the next word begins with a vowel, you write in instead of i. For example, Ritheann sé i bpáirc means He runs in a field, and Oibríonn sé in ospidéal means He works in a hospital.
When i is followed by the singular definite article an, the two words combine to form sa (before a consonant) or san (before a vowel or f followed by a vowel). Similarly, i + na becomes sna.
The preposition i also combines with the possessive adjectives a and ár to form ina and inár.
When used with special forms of the verb bí, it is possible to use this preposition to describe what something is, instead of using the copula is.
The basic meaning of this word is under or about. For example, Ritheann sé faoi dhroichead means He runs under a bridge, and Léann sé faoi eolaíocht means He reads about science.
When used with the verb bí, it conveys the idea of intention to do something, or planning to do something. For example, Tá fúm rith means I intend to run. (The literal translation of the phrase would be "It is about me to run".)
airgead · athraím · athraíonn · bhfilleann · bhfágann · bhfásann · buailim · buailimid · buann · béiceann · béicim · bím · bíonn · cabhraímid · cabhraíonn · cailleann · caillim · ceannaím · ceannaíonn · ceapaim · cuireann · cuirimid · dtiomáineann · dtroideann · dtuigeann · dtuilleann · duaiseanna · díolaimid · díolann · dúnaim · dúnann · fanann · filleann · fillim · fágaim · fágaimid · fásaimid · fásann · gcabhraíonn · gcailleann · gceapann · gearraim · gearraimid · glanaimid · glanann · glaoim · glaonn · imím · imímid · imíonn · mbuaileann · mbuann · mbéiceann · ndúnann · ngearrann · nglanann · ním · níonn · sábhálaim · sábhálann · tiomáineann · tiomáinim · troideann · tuigeann · tuigim · tuilleann · tuillim
67 words
In this skill, you will also be introduced to some...peculiar first conjugation verbs such as tiomáin (to drive), taispeáin (to show) and sábháil (to save). These verbs clearly have 2 syllables, not the usual 1 syllable you've come to expect of first conjugation verbs. These verbs are not considered irregular...they're just a bit odd. Even though they are not monosyllabic, they are conjugated like other verbs in the first conjugation.
Examples:
Exception: The Habitual Present Bím/Bíonn
The Habitual Present is used for actions that occur regularly (normally, generally, often, sometimes, seldom, never). The only verb conjugated in the habitual present tense in Irish is the verb Bí (to be) which becomes Bím (first person singular) or Bíonn sé/sí/muid etc.... In Hiberno-English (the English that is spoken in Ireland) the Irish present habitual has be incorporated into the language using the English verb 'do' as an auxiliary verb followed by a verb in the present continuous tense. This structure is commonly used throughout Ireland.
Examples:
Bím ag rith - I do be running. In standard English this would be written: 'I run often or I usually run' etc....
Bíonn sé ag ól - He does be drinking. In standard English this would be written: 'He drinks often or he regularly drinks' etc...
Bíonn sé ag cur báistí in Éirinn - It does be raining in Ireland . Standard English: 'It rains often in Ireland, in Ireland it regularly rains, it usually rains in Ireland' etc...
Ní bhíonn airgead againn - We don't be having money. In standard English this would be written: 'We don't often have money, we regularly don't have money.
aimseartha · amaideach · beag · beo · bheag · ceolmhar · chostasach · coitianta · costasach · cáiliúil · cáiliúla · cáiliúla · daonna · deacair · dearfach · deas · deireanach · dheacair · dheacra · dhifriúil · dhleathach · difriúil · dleathach · dodhéanta · dona · dátheangach · foirfe · freagrach · fáil · fíor · ghlan · glan · idirnáisiúnta · iontach · iontacha · marbh · minic · mícheart · míleata · mór · neamhspleách · nua · oifigiúil · oscailte · pearsanta · phroifisiúnta · praghas · proifisiúnta · príobháideach · riachtanach · salach · scanraithe · speisialta · spéisiúil · traidisiúnta · tuirseach · tábhachtach · áitiúil · áitiúla · éifeachtach · éifeachtacha
61 words
chuisneoir · cuisneoir · den · mhilseán · milseáin · phéitseog · phéitseoga · péitseog · péitseoga · sa
10 words
Séimhiú (lenition) is where an extra h is added between the first and second letters of a word in certain situations. This changes the spelling and pronunciation of the word, but not the meaning. Only some initial letters can be lenited: b, c, d, f, g, m, p, s, and t. Words that begin with other letters do not undergo lenition at all.
Here are examples of words being lenited:
| Initial letter | Example | Lenition | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | buachaill | bh | bhuachaill |
| c | cailín | ch | chailín |
| d | doras | dh | dhoras |
| f | fuinneog | fh | fhuinneog |
| g | geata | gh | gheata |
| m | mála | mh | mhála |
| p | poll | ph | pholl |
| s | seomra | sh | sheomra |
| t | teach | th | theach |
Lenition is used in the following situations.
Feminine nouns are lenited after the definite article an in the nominative case.
Examples:
An exception to this rule is that feminine nouns beginning with d or t are not lenited. Another exception is that nouns beginning with s becomes ts if the s precedes a vowel, l, n or r.
Examples:
Singular feminine nouns cause lenition of the following adjective.
Examples:
Note: Only when the adjective directly follows its noun.
Lenition occurs after mo my, do your, a his.
Examples:
Lenition occurs after the numbers one to six.
Examples:
The vocative case is used when directly addressing someone or something, as in Cá bhfuil tú, a chailín? Where are you, girl? Lenition is used after the vocative particle a.
(Note that masculine nouns and names are also slenderised after the vocative particle: fear becomes a fhir, and Pól becomes a Phóil.)
More on this case in a later skill.
Lenition occurs after the words ar on, de off, den off the, do to/for, don to the, faoi under/about, ó from, roimh before, sa/san in the, trí through, um around/about.
Examples:
An exception is that words beginning with d, t, s are not lenited after den, don, sa or san.
Examples:
Lenition is also used after the phrase nuair a when, the prefixes ró- too and an- very, and the word má if (unless the next word is a version of tá or deir). Other special cases will be highlighted in other lessons.
Examples:
This is a handy mnemonic! If a word begins with d, t or s and it would normally be lenited according to the above rules, but the word that came before it in the sentence ends with d, n, t, l or s, then the word is not lenited.
Examples:
Phew! I hope that wasn't too complicated. It will start to make sense when you see some more examples! Good luck and see you in the next skill :D
ag · ar · dtrioblóid · gcónaí · i · roimh
6 words
It's time to learn a very peculiarly Celtic feature; initial mutation!
Urú (eclipsis) is where one or two letters are added before a word in certain situations. This changes the spelling and pronunciation of the word, but not the meaning. Only some initial letters can be eclipsed: b, c, d, f, g, p, and t. Words that begin with other letters do not undergo eclipsis at all.
Here are the extra letters that are added before the word:
| Initial letter | Example | Eclipsis | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | baile | m | mbaile |
| c | cailín | g | gcailín |
| d | doras | n | ndoras |
| f | fuinneog | bh | bhfuinneog |
| g | geata | n | ngeata |
| p | poll | b | bpoll |
| t | teach | d | dteach |
Different dialects of Irish have different rules about when eclipsis should be used. It would be extremely confusing to list them all here! It is more important to pick a single system and to stick with it for consistency - so in this course, we will teach the system traditionally used in Standard Irish.
Eclipsis is used in the following situations:
Eclipsis occurs where a word comes after ár our, bhur your (plural), and a their.
Examples:
Eclipsis occurs after the numbers seven to 10.
Examples:
Eclipsis occurs after certain prepositions where they are joined by the singular definite article an:
| Preposition + singular definite article | English translation |
|---|---|
| ag an | at the |
| ar an | on the |
| faoin (faoi + an) | under/about the |
| leis an | with the |
| ón (ó + an) | from the |
| roimh an | before the |
| thar an | over the |
| tríd an | through the |
| um an | about/around the |
Other prepositions used with an (for example, idir an between the) do not cause eclipsis.
Examples:
An exception to this rule is that the word should not be eclipsed if it begins with d or t.
Examples:
If the word begins with s and is feminine, a t is placed in front of it — except for nouns beginning with sc, sf, sm, sp, st or sv.
Example:
If the word begins with s and is masculine, no change occurs.
Example:
Eclipsis is also added after the words i in, dá if, mura if/unless.
Example:
Words that start with a vowel do not technically undergo eclipsis, but they do get the letter n- added to them wherever other words would be eclipsed — unless they come after a word that finishes with the letter n.
Examples:
A dash is placed between the letter n and the vowel — unless that vowel is a capital letter.
Examples:
Some words that start with a vowel are normally preceded by t- when they follow the word an the. For these words, after preposition + definite article combinations the t- is left out.
Examples:
That might be a lot of information to process, but it should make sense once you see it in action. Good luck and see you in the next skill :D
bí · bígí · ceannaigh · ciúin · déan · déanaigí · dún · hól · imir · insígí · ith · tabhair · tar · téigh · ól
15 words
To form the imperative in Irish, it is very simple.
If you are ordering one person, you use this form. It simply uses the verb root.
Examples: Dún! (Close!), Bí ciúin! (Be quiet)
If you are ordering several people, you use this form.
In the first conjugation, you add -aigí (broad) or -ígí (slender) to the stem of the verb.
In the second conjugation, first form the stem (if a verb ends in -aigh/-igh, just remove this part of the verb, e.g. ceannaigh -> ceann (stem), if a verb ends in -ail/-il, -ais/-is, -air/-ir, etc., remove this part of the verb but keep the last letter, e.g. cosain -> cosn (stem), imir -> imr (stem)), then just add -aígí (broad) or -ígí (slender) to the stem of the verb.
Example: Dúnaigí (Close!), Imrígí! (Play!), Ceannaígí nuachtáin! (Buy newspapers!)
To turn an imperative phrase negative, you use the imperative negative particle ná (this serves the purpose of English don't with relation to the imperative). If the verb starts with a vowel, add a h to the verb after ná.
Example: Ná dúnaigí! (Don't close!), Ná hól alcól! (Don't drink alcohol!)
ainm · ainmneacha · aintín · aintíní · aithreacha · athair · bpósadh · chlann · chéile · clann · céile · daidí · deartháir · deartháireacha · deirfiúr · dhaidí · dheartháir · dheartháireacha · dheirfiúr · dheirfiúracha · dom · ghaol · ghaolta · hainm · hathair · iníon · iníonacha · mac · mhac · mhamaí · mhic · mhuintir · mháithreacha · mháthair · mic · ngaolta · pósadh · póstaí · seanaithreacha · seanmháthair · sheanathair · sheanmháithreacha · sheanmháthair · shiblín · shiblíní · siblíní · teaghlach · theaghlach · thuismitheoir · thuismitheoirí · tuismitheoir · tuismitheoirí · uncail · uncailí
54 words
If you look up family in an English-Irish dictionary, you could be presented with all of the above as potential translations - but each has a different meaning!
Muintir is probably the closest to the English word family or kinsfolk, and in its broadest sense it can include parents, children and siblings as well as extended relations.
Teaghlach means family in the sense of household, a group of people living together under the same roof - most commonly parents and children.
Clann refers to the group of children that belong to a set of parents. For example, mo chlann could mean my own children, or my siblings and I. If a girl says that there are five people in her clann, it means that she has four other brothers or sisters.
baile · bhlarna · blarnan · caisleán · chloch · cliath · cloch · corcaigh · cumann · eorpach · gaeilgeoir · gael · gcorcaigh · gcumann · héireann · iománaíocht · lúthchleas · mbaile · poblacht · portach · portaigh · taoiseach · taontas · tuaisceart · uachtarán · átha · éire · éireann
28 words
Voccab and topics specificially related to Ireland craic, gardaí, taoiseach, eachtarán etc... Can be used to explain things about Ireland.
aibreáin · aibreán · aláram · am · amárach · anocht · aois · bealtaine · bhfeabhra · bhliain · bhreith · bhreithlá · bliana · blianta · chlog · chóisir · clog · coicís · céadaoin · deireadh · dheireadh · domhnach · domhnaigh · domhnaí · dáta · dátaí · dé · déardaoin · eanáir · earrach · feabhra · feadh · fhómhair · féilire · fómhair · fómhar · gclog · gcéadaoin · gcóisir · geimhreadh · haoine · inniu · iúil · laethanta · luain · luan · lá · lúnasa · meitheamh · meán · mheithimh · mheán · mhárta · mhí · máirt · márta · mí · míonna · nollag · nollaig · nóiméad · nóiméid · oíche · samhain · samhna · samhradh · samhraidh · sathairn · satharn · seachtain · seachtainí · seo · shamhna · soicind · soicindí · séasúr · t · thú · tráthnóna · uaireadóir
80 words
In previous skills you will already have met lenition and eclipsis, the two most important initial mutations that can occur to words in Irish. Here are some other more minor changes that can occur.
If a masculine singular noun starts with a vowel, a t- is added at the start of the word after the definite article an (for example, am time, an t-am the time; uisce water, an t-uisce the water). A hyphen is placed between the letter t and the vowel —unless that vowel is a capital letter (for example, an tUachtarán the President).
Exceptions include euro euro, iomad a great number, and oiread amount. These are written as an euro, an iomad and an oiread respectively. Other exceptions include the following number words: aon one, aonú first, ochtó eighty, ochtú eighth, ochtódú eightieth.
If a plural noun starts with a vowel, a h is added at the start of the word after the definite article na (for example, ainmneacha names, na hainmneacha the names). No hyphen is used.
If a feminine singular noun starts with s, AND the s is itself followed by a vowel, l, n or r, then a t is added at the start of the word after the definite article an (for example, seanbhean old woman, an tseanbhean the old woman). No hyphen is used.
The names of the seasons and months in the Irish calendar reflect ancient Gaelic culture and tradition.
The seasons of the year are:
| English | Irish | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Earrach | February to April |
| Summer | Samhradh | May to July |
| Autumn, Fall | Fómhar | August to October |
| Winter | Geimhreadh | November to January |
The seasons are based around the summer and winter solstices (the longest and shortest days of the year, which take place around 21 June and 21 December respectively in the northern hemisphere) and the equinoxes (the days in spring and autumn on which night and day are of equal length, around 20 March and 22 September in the northern hemisphere). The summer solstice in June is deemed to be the high point of summer and the months of summer are May, June and July accordingly. The other seasons are similarly centred around the winter solstice in December, and the vernal and autumnal equinoxes in March and September.
The months of the year are:
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| January | Eanáir |
| February | Feabhra |
| March | Márta |
| April | Aibreán |
| May | Bealtaine |
| June | Meitheamh |
| July | Iúil |
| August | Lúnasa |
| September | Mean Fómhair |
| October | Deireadh Fómhair |
| November | Samhain, Mí na Samhna |
| December | Nollaig, Mí na Nollag |
Bealtaine, Lúnasa and Samhain were all originally pagan festivals occuring around these times. Meán Fómhair and Deireadh Fómhair literally mean middle of the harvest and end of the harvest. Nollaig also means Christmas.
déantar · dúntar · itear · óltar
4 words
The passive is a form of a verb that uses no pronoun. An action is done but no person is given (e.g. apples are eaten every Friday)
In Irish, this form of the verb is known as an briathar saor or an saorbhriathar, meaning free verb or autonomous verb
Here are the endings that are added on to the root in the present tense of first conjugation verbs to form the passive.
| Broad | Slender | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -tar | -tear | dúntar (is/are closed), tuigtear (is/are understood) |
You might notice that in English, you use a different form of the verb for singular and plural (an apple is eaten, but apples are eaten). In Irish, the same form is used for both (Itear úll an apple is eaten, Itear úlla apples are eaten)
Here are the endings that are added on to the root in the present tense of second conjugation verbs to form the passive.
| Broad | Slender | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -aítear | -ítear | ceannaítear (is/are bought), insítear (is/are told) |
Though these verbs are irregular, in the passive they generally use the endings -tar and -tear, with some exceptions that should be learned by heart.
chomharthaíochta · comhartha · dhearcadh · foclóir · teideal · treoracha
6 words
bhantiarna · chara · coiste · cultúr · daoine · duine · féin · gclub · leanbh · mbantiarna · namhaid · phatrún · pobal · saoránach · sráidbhaile · óg · óga
17 words
féin · sinn
2 words
Reflexive pronouns are very easy in Irish. To make a reflexive pronoun, all you have to do is add "féin" after the pronoun.
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| myself | mé féin |
| yourself | tú féin |
| himself/itself | é féin |
| herself/itself | í féin |
| ourselves | muid féin/sinn féin |
| yourselves | sibh féin |
| themselves | iad féin |
These are then added after the verb and pronoun. For example:
an · beatha · ceannais · chrócaigh · faoil · fhéile · gorta · leipreachán · luimneach · pádraig · rua
11 words
Vocabulary and topics specifically related to Ireland craic, gardaí, taoiseach, eachtarán etc... Can be used to explain things about Ireland.
aird · arm · dabht · iarracht · iompar · leictreachas · meangadh · reiligiún · spraoi · taithí · tromluí
11 words
aimsir · cur · droch · fhuar · griandó · réaltaí · réamhaisnéis · sneachta · the · tornádó
10 words
achainí · aer · bhrionglóid · chatagóir · cuntas · céim · deiseanna · dorchadas · eisceacht · fhadhb · gaineamh · gcás · glaoch · grá · gráid · imeall · intinn · leibhéal · liosta · léirmheas · ngrúpa · ordú · radharc · ról · smacht · sos · taifead · taispeántas · tionchar · tseirbhís · táillí · tógáil · tús · ábhar · íomhá
35 words
aifreann · anam · choinsias · cháisc · coinsias · dia · eaglais · laoch · machnamh · naomh · nollaig · paidir · phaidir · phaidreacha · reilig · sagart · taibhse · taifreann · tsochraid
19 words
ar · ba · bheadh · bheinn · cheannódh · chuirfeadh · chuirfinn · dhéanfadh · dhéanfainn · dhéanfá · fheicfeadh · fheicfeá · fheicfinn · imreoinn · labhróinn · mbeadh · rachadh · rachainn · thabharfadh · thabharfainn · thiocfadh · thiocfaidís · thiocfainn · íosfainn · ólfainn · ólfá
26 words
The conditional is used to describe what one would do.
Here are the endings that are added to the root of single syllable (monosyllabic) verbs in the conditional. (i.e. the first conjugation)
| Pronoun | Broad Ending | Slender Ending | Other Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mé | -fainn | -finn | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Tú | -fá | -feá | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Sé/Sí | -fadh | -feadh | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Muid | -faimis | -fimis | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Sibh | -fadh | -feadh | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Siad | -faidís | -fidís | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Autonomous | -faí | -fí | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
Examples: Thuigfinn (I would understand), D'éistfeadh sí (She would listen)
Here are the endings that are added to the stem (i.e. last part of the verb's root is removed) of multi-syllable (polysyllabic) verbs in the conditional. (i.e. the second conjugation)
| Pronoun | Broad Ending | Slender Ending | Other Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mé | -óinn | -eoinn | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Tú | -ófá | -eofá | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Sé/Sí | -ódh | -eodh | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Muid | -óimis | -eoimis | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Sibh | -ódh | -eodh | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Siad | -óidís | -eoidís | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Autonomous | -ófaí | -eofaí | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
Examples: Chabhrófá (You would help), D'éalódh sibh (You would escape)
Though these 11 verbs are irregular, some are conjugated similarly to regular verbs in the conditional.
It is hard to give any meaningful rule or pattern for this group as a whole, so you will just have to learn these exceptions by heart.
Question Form
To make the question form in the conditional, you use the question word "an" and add an urú to the verb. Example: An gcodlófá? (Would you sleep?)
Faigh: An bhfaighinn?
Negative Form
To make the negative form in the conditional, you use the word "ní". The verb is lenited. Example: Ní chodlóinn (I would not sleep)
Faigh: Ní bhfaighinn...
If
When using the conditional mood (yes, this form is technically a mood and not a tense), we use the word dá to mean if.
Dá causes eclipsis if possible (remember: you can't have move eclipsis and lenition at the same time, so it would be dá mbeadh and never dá mbheadh (which is a monster to pronounce)).
Dá adds an n- ("n fleiscín") before verbs starting with a vowel (e.g. dá n-ólfá (if you would drink/if you drank)
Then, the word mura is used as the negative of (or, opposite of) dá (mura could be translated as if not)
Mura causes the same changes as dá
e.g. Mura mbeadh sí tinn (If she were not sick)
Translating the Conditional Mood
You will quickly learn that Irish and English treat the conditional quite differently. In this Irish conditional, the conditional mood is used throughout. For example:
Ólfainn uisce dá mbeadh tart orm.
A literal translation would be: I would drink water if I would be thirsty
This seems a bit unnatural in English. A more common translation would be I would drink water if I were thirsty (using the past subjunctive) or, common in some dialects, I would drink water if I was thirsty (using the preterite).
This is an example where tenses and moods don't match up perfectly between two languages.
airgeadra · branda · domhanda · gnó · sladmhargadh · táirge · árachas
7 words
cadhnraí · chlóscríobh · clúdaigh · dearmad · feidhmchlár · fógra · glúine · gréasáin · idirlíon · litreach · líonra · mhéarchlár · oibriúcháin · phasfhocal · ríomhphost · seolann · sonraí · stampaí · teicneolaíocht
19 words
ar · b' · ba · caint · chan · cheannaigh · d'fhiafraigh · d'inis · dhúnamar · ghlanamar · gur · lean · léigh · rugadh · shnámh · shínigh · shíníomar · sular · thuill · tuilleadh
20 words
You should be familiar with the past tense by now, but here are the conjugation rules once again to refresh your memory:
Here are the changes that occur to single syllable (monosyllabic) verbs in the past tense.
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Example | Slender ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | lenition + mé | dhún mé | lenition + mé | bhris mé |
| you (singular) | lenition + tú | dhún tú | lenition + tú | bhris tú |
| he/it | lenition + sé | dhún sé | lenition + sé | bhris sé |
| she/it | lenition + sí | dhún sí | lenition + sí | bhris sí |
| we | lenition + muid / lenition + -amar¹ | dhún muid / dhúnamar | lenition + muid / lenition + -eamar¹ | bhris muid / bhriseamar |
| you (plural) | lenition + sibh | dhún sibh | lenition + sibh | bhris sibh |
| they | lenition + siad | dhún siad | lenition + siad | bhris siad |
| (autonomous) | -adh | dúnadh | -eadh | briseadh |
¹In the past tense, muid is often not used; it can be incorporated into the verb that precedes it instead, to make what is known as the "synthetic form".
If the verb begins with a vowel, then it is prefixed with d' (instead of a lenition), with no space between d' and the verb. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples:
If the verb begins with the letter f, then not only does it undergo lenition, but it is also prefixed with d'. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples: D'fhág mé I left * D'fhág muid / D'fhágamar We left * Fágadh an carr ar oscailt The car was left open
Here are the changes that occur to multiple syllable (polysyllabic) verbs in the past tense.
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Example | Slender ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | lenition + mé | cheannaigh mé | lenition + mé | bhailigh mé |
| you (singular) | lenition + tú | cheannaigh tú | lenition + tú | bhailigh tú |
| he/it | lenition + sé | cheannaigh sé | lenition + sé | bhailigh sé |
| she/it | lenition + sí | cheannaigh sí | lenition + sí | bhailigh sí |
| we | lenition + muid / lenition + -aíomar | cheannaigh muid / cheannaíomar | lenition + muid / lenition + -íomar | bhailigh muid / bhailíomar |
| you (plural) | lenition + sibh | cheannaigh sibh | lenition + sibh | bhailigh sibh |
| they | lenition + siad | cheannaigh siad | lenition + siad | bhailigh siad |
| (autonomous) | -aíodh | ceannaíodh | -íodh | bailíodh |
If the verb begins with a vowel, then it is prefixed with d'. No change applies to the autonomous form.
Examples:
If the verb begins with the letter f, then it undergoes lenition and is prefixed with d'. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples: D'fhreagair sé He answered Freagraíodh an cheist The question was answered
Although some of them look very similar in their conjugation, the 11 irregular verbs do not always follow these rules, so it is necessary to learn these off by heart.
Question Form To ask a question using a verb in this tense, you use the question word "ar" and the verb is lenited (séimhiú) if possible. Example: Ar dhún sí? (Did she close?)
Bí: An raibh...?
Téigh: An ndeachaigh...?
Déan: An ndearna...?
Feic: An bhfaca...?
Faigh: An bhfuair...?
Abair: An ndúirt...?
Negative Form To make a verb in this tense negative, you use the word "níor" and the verb in lenited (séimhiú) if possible: Example: Níor dhún mé (I did not close), Níor ól sí (She did not drink), Níor fhág sé (He did not leave)
Bí: Ní raibh...
Téigh: Ní dheachaigh...
Déan: Ní dhearna...
Feic: Ní fhaca...
Faigh: Ní bfuair...
Abair: Ní dúirt...
bhuí · bhándearg · buí · bán · bándearg · bándearga · corcra · dath · dathanna · dearg · dhearg · dhonn · donn · dorcha · dubh · dubha · geal · gheal · glas · gorm · liath · nó
22 words
Adjectives (such as colors) generally come after the noun in Irish. Their spelling is modified so that they agree with the noun, in number and in gender.
An adjective that follows a masculine singular noun does not change (for example, an bosca dubh the black box).
An adjective that follows a feminine singular noun is lenited if possible (for example, an eilifint dhubh the black elephant).
An adjective that follows a plural noun has its spelling changed to the plural form of that adjective. If the noun ends with a slender consonant, the adjective is also lenited.
What is a slender consonant? A slender consonant is a consonant with a slender vowel (e é or i í) next to it. For example, in the word beoir, r is a slender consonant.
In this skill, we give you the basic vocabulary to describe most of the colours. One fun quirk in Irish is that there aren't of lots of words for all the different shades on the spectrum. Instead, you describe a particular colour by naming something that has that colour, or adding some detail (such as another colour!). So for example, you could distinguish something that is spéirghorm sky-blue from something that is gormghlas blue-green, or contrast dearg red with bándearg pink (literally white-red). Use the vocabulary you learn and get creative to think of how you could say things like 'blood-red', and 'forest green'!
bailím · bailímid · bailíonn · briseann · brisim · chodladh · cloiseann · cloisim · cloisimid · codlaím · codlaímid · codlaíonn · deir · don · déanaim · déanaimid · déanann · faigheann · faighim · faighimid · feiceann · feicim · feicimid · freagraím · freagraímid · freagraíonn · féachaint · gach · imrím · imrímid · imríonn · insím · insímid · insíonn · leis · oibrím · oibrímid · oibríonn · osclaím · osclaímid · osclaíonn · ritheann · rithim · rithimid · rud · scríobhaim · scríobhaimid · scríobhann · scéal · siúlaim · siúlann · snámhaim · snámhaimid · snámhann · tagaim · tagaimid · tagann · taitníonn · thaitním · tugaim · tugaimid · tugann · téann · téimid · tógaim · tógaimid · tógann · éisteann · éistim · éistimid · íocaim · íocaimid · íocann · úsáideann · úsáidim
75 words
In Irish, it is important to note that there are two present tenses: the present, and the present habitual. The present describes what one is doing (right now) and the present habitual is used to describe what one does (every day, every week, and so on).
In this skill you will learn verbs in the present habitual. You previously met the endings for conjugating regular verbs in the present habitual tense in Basics 2. But, lets revisit them here.
These verbs have only one syllable¹, and the root form seen in the dictionary is identical to the stem used for verb conjugation. In the present tense the ending is, generally, added directly onto the stem. Examples are dún ("close"), ól ("drink"), bris ("break")
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Example | Slender ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | -aim¹ | dúnaim | -im² | brisim |
| you (singular) | -ann tú | dúnann tú | -eann tú | briseann tú |
| he/it | -ann sé | dúnann sé | -eann sé | briseann sé |
| she/it | -ann sí | dúnann sí | -eann sí | briseann sí |
| we | -aimid¹ | dúnaimid | -imid² | brisimid |
| you (plural) | -ann sibh | dúnann sibh | -eann sibh | briseann sibh |
| they | -ann siad | dúnann siad | -eann siad | briseann siad |
¹There is a small handful of first conjugation verbs that have more than one syllable. They aren't considered irregular- just a bit odd. These will be dealt with later.
²In present tense verbs, mé and muid are generally not used; instead, they are incorporated into the verb that precedes it, to make what is known as the "synthetic form".
Examples:
These verbs have more than one syllable.
Many end in -aigh and -igh in the root form seen in the dictionary; to get the stem used for conjugation, the last syllable of the root is removed (i.e. remove the -aigh/-igh). The endings are then added to that stem. Examples include ceannaigh buy, bailigh collect. The stems for these would be ceann- and bail-.
Others end in -ail/-il, -ain/-in, -ais/-is or -air/-ir. To get the stem, the last syllable of the root is removed but the very last letter is kept, and then the appropriate ending is added. Examples include inis tell and oscail open. The stems for these would be ins- and oscl-.
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Example | Slender ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | -aím | osclaím | -ím | bailím |
| you (singular) | -aíonn tú | osclaíonn tú | -íonn tú | bailíonn tú |
| he/it | -aíonn sé | osclaíonn sé | -íonn sé | bailíonn sé |
| she/it | -aíonn sí | osclaíonn sí | -íonn sí | bailíonn sí |
| we | -aímid | osclaímid | -ímid | bailímid |
| you (plural) | -aíonn sibh | osclaíonn sibh | -íonn sibh | bailíonn sibh |
| they | -aíonn siad | osclaíonn siad | -íonn siad | bailíonn siad |
Examples:
The last group of verbs in Irish are the irregular verbs. There are only 11 of these. Some of them appear quite regular most of the time, but all of them have at least one tense in which they don't obey the standard rules, so it is necessary to memorise these 11 verbs in all their forms and tenses!
To ask a question in this tense using a verb, you use the question word an and add an eclipsis (urú) to the verb if possible.
Examples:
The irregular verb bí be is an exception:
To put a verb in the present habitual tense into the negative form, you use the negation word ní and add a lenition (séimhiú) to the verb if possible.
Examples:
Again, the verb bí is an exception in this tense, as well as the verb abair say:
Irish has no word for "yes" or "no". That means when someone asks a questions using a verb like those above, you either answer with the positive form of the verb (the standard conjugated form) or the negative form (as seen above)
Example:
An ndúnann tú an doras? Do you close the door?
Dúnaim (an doras) Yes, I close the door. (literally just "I close (the door)")
ainmhí · alla · béar · capall · cat · coinín · damhán · eilifint · fia · féileacán · lacha · leon · luch · madra · moncaí · peata · portán · rón · sionnach · turtar · tíogar · ulchabhán · éan
23 words
anlann · anraith · banana · beoir · bia · bricfeasta · brocailí · bágún · béile · caife · cairéad · cáca · cáis · dhinnéar · dinnéar · fearr · feoil · fíon · glasraí · iasc · im · leat · liom · líomóid · lón · mairteoil · muiceoil · ndinnéar · ola · oráiste · pasta · piobar · pláta · salann · seacláid · sicín · siúcra · stobhach · stéig · sú · tae · talún · toradh · torthaí · tráta · ubh · veigeatóir
47 words
Let’s dig into the food skill! In this (very important) skill, you will learn all about how to talk about food.
——
Saghas means ‘sort’, ‘type’ or ‘kind’.
As you might guess, to say ‘sort of’, ‘type of’ or ‘kind of’, we need to use the genitive case (the ‘of’ form) to say what kind of food we’re talking about.
——
In Irish, this would be Táim ag ithe an bhia. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering hang on, isn’t bia masculine? Why is there lenition??. Don’t fret we’re here to explain!
ainmhithe · béir · cait · capaill · ceapairí · eilifintí · iad · lachan · leabhair · lucha · madraí · muid · nuachtáin · plátaí · turtair · úlla
16 words
Let's review Irish articles so you know how to apply your existing knowledge to plurals.
Indefinite Articles
There are no indefinite articles in Irish. Where in English you would say a or an before a noun, in Irish you just say the noun itself. For example, buachaill can mean either boy or a boy.
When it comes to plurals, the Irish system is similar to that in English. Buachaillí means boys, so no definite article is used in either language.
Definite Articles
There are two forms of the definite article in Irish.
An is used for singular nouns and is translated as the in English. For example, an buachaill means the boy*.✝
Na is used for plural nouns and is also translated as the in English. For example, na buachaillí means the boys.✝
Note
There are two things you should note!
An vs. An: The Irish an (definite article, singluar) should never be confused with the English an (indefinite article, before vowels, sometimes the letter h). Be careful with these two!
An = The, Na = The, but An ≠ Na: The two Irish definite articles an and na both mean the in English, but remember that they have different uses in Irish.
✝: In the nominative case. The way these articles are used change a bit in the other cases, but we will deal with these later when we come to them.
bríste · brístí · bróga · caitheann · caithim · caithimid · chulaith · culaith · cóta · gculaith · geansaí · gúna · gúnaí · hata · hataí · héadaí · léine · léinte · pitseámaí · sciorta · sciortaí · seaicéad · éadaí
23 words
a · bhur · d' · do · húll · leatsa · linne · liomsa · m' · mo · n · ár · úll
13 words
When possessives are used in Irish, certain changes occur to the following word. There are two systems: one for words starting with a consonant, and one for word starting with a vowel.
Here are the possessive adjectives and changes that occur when a word begins with a consonant:
| English | Irish | Change | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | mo | lenition | mo chóta |
| your (singular) | do | lenition | do chóta |
| his/its | a | lenition | a chóta |
| her/its | a | no change | a cóta |
| our | ár | eclipsis | ár gcóta |
| your (plural) | bhur | eclipsis | bhur gcóta |
| their | a | eclipsis | a gcóta |
Before words starting with fh + a vowel, mo and do are abbreviated to m' and d', with no space before the next word.
Examples:
If the word begins with a consonant that does not undergo lenition (or eclipsis), the spelling remains unchanged.
Examples:
Here are the possessive adjectives and changes that occur when a word begins with a vowel:
| English | Irish | Change | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | m' | no change | m'oráiste |
| your (singular) | d' | no change | d'oráiste |
| his/its | a | no change | a oráiste |
| her/its | a | h | a horáiste |
| our | ár | n- | ár n-oráiste |
| your (plural) | bhur | n- | bhur n-oráiste |
| their | a | n- | a n-oráiste |
Instead of lenition or eclipsis, here you can see two other initial letter mutations used in Irish: the h-prefix and the n-prefix.
You can also see from the examples above that m' and d are used instead of mo or do, with no space before the next word.
The possessive adjective a can mean his, her, its or their. If you look at the tables above, you can see how to identify which one is used. It is usually clear from context, and from the word that follows the possessive.
airde · ard · chatach · chomhfhiosach · cosúil · dhaite · fhionn · ghruaig · gruaig · mheabhair · ramhar · shúile · súil · súile · tanaí · veigeán
16 words
In Irish, when talking about hair, you use the prepositional pronoun "ar" (orm, ort, etc.) when discussing the hair someone has. (E.g. Tá gruaig fhada orm, I have long hair)
airgintín · albain · amstardam · aontaithe · araibis · astráil · bhrasaíl · daonra · eabhrac · feirste · fraincis · gceanada · gearmáinis · india · labhraítear · londain · mbéal · ollainnis · phortaingéil · polainne · rúisis · spáinn · stáit · theas · thuaidh · tsualainn
26 words
bheith · chun · dul · dár · gá · rith · rá · á · éirí · úsáid
10 words
Each verb in Irish has its own verbal noun (ainm briathartha). The verbal noun is used in similar ways to the infinitive and the gerund in other languages. There is no absolute way to predict what the verbal noun will look like for a given verb, so you should learn them off by heart when learning new verbs.
Examples:
When the object of a sentence comes after a verbal noun, and those two words form a complete concept by themselves, the object goes into the genitive case.
Examples:
However, if the verbal noun clause needs to be followed by a prepositional phrase in order for it to make complete sense, then the genitive case is not used.
There are special systems to write things when a pronoun is used as the object of a verbal noun. One system applies when the verbal noun starts with a consonant, and another system is used when it starts with a vowel.
To illustrate this, we will use:
| Object pronoun | Change | Irish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| me | do mo + lenition | Tá Pól do mo ghlanadh | Paul is cleaning me |
| you (singular) | do do + lenition | Tá Pól do do ghlanadh | Paul is cleaning you |
| him (it) | á + lenition | Tá Pól á ghlanadh | Paul is cleaning him |
| her (it) | á | Tá Pól á glanadh | Paul is cleaning her |
| us | dár + eclipsis | Tá Pól dár nglanadh | Paul is cleaning us |
| you (plural) | do bhur + eclipsis | Tá Pól do bhur nglanadh | Paul is cleaning you |
| them | á + eclipsis | Tá Pól á nglanadh | Paul is cleaning them |
To illustrate this, we will use:
| Object pronoun | Change | Irish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| me | do m' | Tá sé do m'aistriú | He is transferring me |
| you (singular) | do d' | Tá sé do d'aistriú | He is transferring you |
| him (it) | á | Tá sé á aistriú | He is transferring him |
| her (it) | á + h-prefix | Tá sé á haistriú | He is transferring her |
| us | dár + n-prefix | Tá sé dár n-aistriú | He is transferring us |
| you (plural) | do bhur + n-prefix | Tá sé do bhur n-aistriú | He is transferring you |
| them | á + n-prefix | Tá sé á n-aistriú | He is transferring them |
ais · anois · anseo · ansin · arís · beagnach · ceachtar · chomh · cinnte · dhó · dála · díreach · eile · fad · fiú · foirfe · féidir · fírinneach · fóill · fós · ghnáth · háirithe · héasca · laghad · luath · láthair · mall · mó · mór · ndeireadh · ná · níos · riamh · ró · soiléir · uaireanta · áfach
37 words
cósta · dteach · dtí · foirgneamh · gcósta · gcúinne · isteach · margadh · oifig · ollmhargadh · phictiúrlann · príomhchathair · roinn · sheomra · suíomh · talamh · tábhairne · óstán
18 words
amach · aoibhinn · babhlaí · balla · bhforc · bhfuinneog · bhosca · bhraillín · bhuidéal · bord · bosca · bpáipéar · brat · buidéal · carr · chathaoir · chiseán · chíor · cupán · doirse · doras · díon · eochair · eochracha · fhuinneog · fhón · fiacla · forc · fáinne · fón · gcarr · gcíor · ghallúnach · ghloine · gloine · inneall · irisleabhar · lampa · leaba · liathróid · linn · litreacha · mbord · mbrat · meaisín · mála · peann · pheann · prátaí · páipéar · píosa · póca · púdar · raidió · roth · rásúr · ríomhaire · sceana · scian · scuab · snámha · spúnóga · taos · teilifís · thicéad · ticéad · úrscéalta
67 words
cliste · cróga · díograiseach · díomá · feargach · greannmhar · leisciúil · mímhacánta · ocras · sceitimíní · sásta · tart · ádh · álainn · éad
15 words
There are several ways to express felling in Irish.
Method 1This method uses a noun and the prepositional pronoun "ar" (on). Here is the prepositional pronoun in all its forms:
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| On me | Orm |
| On you (singular) | Ort |
| On him (it) | Air |
| On her (it) | Uirthi |
| On us | Orainn |
| On you | Oraibh |
| On them | Orthu |
Method 2
This method uses the verb "bí" and and adjective. Example: Táim ocrasach (I am hungry)
abairt · chúrsa · deacracht · gcúrsa · leabharlann · luaidhe · léacht · míniú · múineadh · oideachas · ollamh · spéis · staidéar · suim · traenáil
15 words
aimsíonn · aimsítear · aithníonn · aontaíonn · bagraíonn · bhfreastalaíonn · bpáirceálann · bronnaim · ceistíonn · comhaireann · comhairimid · creideann · cruthaímid · cuardaíonn · dtiteann · dtriaileann · eitlímid · fhios · fógraítear · gcomhaireann · gcreideann · gortaíonn · in · leagann · ligeann · mhothaíonn · mothaíonn · míním · míníonn · mínítear · phléann · pléim · pléitear · pógaim · riarann · roghnaíonn · scarann · seachadann · seachadtar · stadann · thosaíonn · tosaíonn · ullmhaímid · áirithe · éileamh · éilímid
46 words
acu · agaibh · againn · air · amháin · chucu · chugaibh · chugainn · chugam · chugat · chuici · chuig · chuige · dteastaíonn · gan · lena · leo · libh · linn · léi · oraibh · orainn · ort · orthu · teastaíonn · thart · theastaíonn · uaibh · uaidh · uaim · uainn · uait · uaithi · uathu · uirthi · áthas · ó · ón
38 words
Prepositions (réamhfhocail) are short words that express relationships between things, like to, for, with, on, between.
In Irish most prepositions are usually written on their own, but when you use them together with a pronoun (me, you, he, she, it, us, them), the two words get contracted together to make what are known as prepositional pronouns (forainmneacha réamhfhoclacha).
Here are five prepositional pronouns in all their forms:
| Pronoun | on | with | at | from | to, toward/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (none) | ar | le | ag | ó | chun (chuig) |
| me | orm | liom | agam | uaim | chugam |
| you (singular) | ort | leat | agat | uait | chugat |
| he, it | air | leis | aige | uaidh | chuige |
| she, it | uirthi | léi | aici | uaithi | chuici |
| us | orainn | linn | againn | uainn | chugainn |
| you (plural) | oraibh | libh | agaibh | uaibh | chugaibh |
| them | orthu | leo | acu | uathu | chucu |
Examples:
When used in specific ways, some prepositions have special idiomatic meanings in Irish. You already met the idiomatic use of ag to mean have in Basics 2; here are some other examples.
The basic meaning of this word is on. For example, Ritheann sé ar bhóthar means He runs on a road.
When used with the verb bí, it conveys the idea of obligation to do something. For example, Tá orm rith means I must run. (The literal translation of the phrase would be "It is on me to run".)
The basic meaning of this word is from. For example, Ritheann sé ó theach means He runs from a house.
When used with the verb bí, it conveys the idea of wanting something. For example, Tá bia uaim means I want food. (The literal translation of the phrase would be "food is from me".)
Another way to express wanting something is to use the verb teastaigh (to be wanted/needed), followed by a version of ó. Written this way, Teastaíonn bia uaim is the alternative way to say I want food; it can also mean I need food. (A literal translation would be "food is needed from me".)
The future tense is a very common tense in Irish and is easy to form.
These verbs have only one syllable. In the future tense the ending is, for the most part, added directly onto the root of the verb. Here are the endings that are added:
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Slender ending |
|---|---|---|
| I | -faidh mé | -fidh mé |
| you (singular) | -faidh tú | -fidh tú |
| he/it | -faidh sé | -fidh sé |
| she/it | -faidh sí | -fidh sí |
| we | -faimid / faidh muid | -fimid / fidh muid |
| you (plural) | -faidh sibh | -fidh sibh |
| they | -faidh siad | -fidh siad |
| (passive voice) | -far | -fear |
Examples:
These verbs have more than one syllable. The pattern for forming the future tense is very similar to forming the present tense. For verbs ending in -gh, the last syllable of the word is removed to get a root and the endings are then added to that root. For verbs ending in -il, -in, -is or -ir, the last syllable is removed except for the very last letter, and then the appropriate ending is added.
Here are the endings that are added to the stem:
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Slender ending |
|---|---|---|
| I | -óidh mé | -eoidh mé |
| you (singular) | -óidh tú | -eoidh tú |
| he/it | -óidh sé | -eoidh sé |
| she/it | -óidh sí | -eoidh sí |
| we | -óimid / óidh muid | -eoimid / eoidh muid |
| you (plural) | -óidh sibh | -eoidh sibh |
| they | -óidh siad | -eoidh siad |
| (passive voice) | -ófar | -eofar |
Examples:
The irregular verbs do not all follow the above conjugation rules, though you will notice some similarities.
To make the question form in the future tense, you use the question word an, which causes the verb that comes after it to be eclipsed (if possible).
Examples:
Exceptions include the verb faigh get:
To make the negative form in the future tense, you use the negation word ní, which causes the verb that comes after it to be lenited (if possible).
Examples:
Exceptions include the verbs abair say and faigh get:
náisiúnta · teachta
2 words
ach · mar · má · nuair · sin
5 words
an · bhfuil · cad · cathain · ceist · ceisteanna · cheist · cá · cé · céard · cén · ea · freagra · freagraí · fáth · hea · huair · háit · ina · mhéad · níl · uair · áit
23 words
When asking a question in English, you generally use a W question word such as who, where, what. Similarly, in Irish you generally use a C question word such as cé, cá, cad.
Here are some examples of C question words:
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| who | cé |
| what | cad / céard |
| which | cén |
| where | cá |
| when | cathain |
| what time | cén uair / cá huair / cén t-am |
| whose | cé leis |
| what place | cá háit / cén áit |
| why | cén fáth |
| how | conas / cad é mar |
| how many / how much | cé mhéad / cá mhéad |
There is no direct translation for the words yes and no in Irish. Where in English you would use these words to answer a question, in Irish you repeat the verb from the original question in either the positive or the negative form. (You can choose to omit the pronoun if you like - unless you are using a synthetic form of the verb.)
Examples:
aduaidh · anall · aneas · aniar · anoir · anonn · anuas · aníos · sall · siar · soir · suas · síos · thall · theas · thiar · thoir · thuaidh · thuas · thíos
20 words
In Irish, there are different words for the same place depending on whether something is there already, or moving relative to it. English kind of has this, with words like in (being there) vs into (going there).
Irish takes this idea much further. As one example, there are different words for up, depending on whether something is going up, already up, or coming back having been up. Let's see it in action:
| en | ga |
|---|---|
| I'm going up. | Táim ag dul suas. |
| I'm up. | Táim thuas. |
| I'm coming down (from above). | Táim ag teacht anuas. |
You may not be too familiar with such a feature, but don't be discouraged! It's actually quite useful. In fact, the very cool thing is that because the word itself indicates relative movement and postion, you can sometimes drop the verb! Example:
Tá sé anuas. He's (on his way) down (having been above).
Go learn all the words, and tell your friends easily and in great detail how things are situated relative to each other!
One more fun fact: the cardinal directions have the features we just learned, plus one more. They have a noun name. Here's an example to explain:
| en | ga |
|---|---|
| going towards east | soir |
| situated east | thoir |
| coming from the east | anoir |
| the east | an t-oirthear |
If this seems slightly out there, don't fret. Enjoy this skill and learn by example, it will make much more sense in context.
chait · comhair · fhir · fir · gcat · gcuid · madra · madraí · mhadra · mhic · mic · os · timpeall
13 words
Nouns in Irish have different forms depending on their gender (masculine or feminine), number (singular or plural), and case. Irish has several cases, and each one has a specific grammatical function. The case you will have used in previous lessons is called the nominative case (tuiseal ainmneach), which is used for the subjects and objects of sentences.
The genitive case (tuiseal ginideach) is used to demonstrate a relationship between two nouns. It can often be translated literally as "of". For example, in the phrase "noun A of noun B", noun A would be written in the nominative, and noun B would be in the genitive.
It is used:
Just as when forming a plural, the ending of a noun may change when writing the genitive form, and most nouns obey a regular pattern. For some words the genitive spelling is the same as the nominative singular spelling (or even the plural spelling), but it is always clear from the context which case is being used.
Here is an example of the genitive:
This example highlights three separate features:
Examples:
The plural form in the genitive is eclipsed where this is possible. For example, the men's hats is hata na bhfear.
It is helpful to think of the forms in a table like this:
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | an fear | na fir |
| Genitive | an fhir | na bhfear |
As for the genitive plural, there are many rules to how it is formed and these are best learned by observing patterns. In the example above, the vowel groups change from broad to slender and vice versa [ea] to [i].
For feminine nouns, the definite article na is used in both the genitive singular and genitive plural, as in the following example:
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | an bhialann | na bialanna |
| Genitive | na bialainne | na mbialann |
All nouns in Irish belong to one of five groups called declensions (díochlaontaí). Nouns in each declension follow similar rules for the way they form the genitive and the plural, although there are often exceptions. Most dictionaries indicate the declension to which a given noun belongs.
These nouns are all masculine and end with broad consonants. In the genitive singular, the last consonant is slenderised by swapping the vowels or adding an extra -i-. Some of these nouns end in -ach; the genitive singular for these nouns will change this to -aigh.
These nouns are all feminine. Some end in broad consonants and some end in slender consonants. The genitive singular will usually end in -e. Some of these nouns end in -ach; the genitive singular for these nouns will change this to -aí.
Some end in -óir, -éir or -úir; these are masculine. Others end in -íocht, -acht or -int; these are feminine (with the exception of some short words like acht or ceacht which are masculine). The genitive singular ends in -a*.
These end in -ín or with a vowel. They can be either masculine or feminine. For these nouns, the genitive is identical to the nominative.
Most of these are feminine. The genitive singular is varied for these nouns; they can end in -ach, -n, -nn or -d.
cionn · di · dó · dóibh · dúinn · eadraibh · eadrainn · eatarthu · idir · taobh · tharam · tharat · thiar · umam
14 words
Here are five more prepositional pronouns in all their forms:
| Pronoun | between | to | about, around | through | over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (none) | idir | do | um | trí | thar |
| me | - | dom | umam | tríom | tharam |
| you (singular) | - | duit | umat | tríot | tharat |
| he, it | - | dó | uime | tríd | thairis |
| she, it | - | di | uimpi | tríthi | thairsti |
| us | eadrainn | dúinn | umainn | trínn | tharainn |
| you (plural) | eadraibh | daoibh | umaibh | tríbh | tharaibh |
| them | eatarthu | dóibh | umpu | tríothu | tharstu |
This preposition normally means between. In this case, no lenition occurs:
When used in the construction idir ... agus ..., it has the special meaning of both ... and ..., or partly ... and .... In this case, the words are lenited:
aisteoir · aisteoirí · bhfeirmeoir · bhfoireann · bhfreastalaí · bpost · bproifisiún · breitheamh · breithiúna · captaen · ceannasaithe · cheannasaí · cócaire · cócairí · dalta · daltaí · dhaltaí · dhlíodóir · dlíodóir · dlíodóirí · dochtúir · ealaíontóir · feirmeoir · foireann · foirne · freastalaí · gceannasaithe · gceannasaí · gcócaire · hiriseoirí · hoibrithe · innealtóir · innealtóirí · iriseoir · iriseoirí · léi · mbreitheamh · mhúinteoir · múinteoir · múinteoirí · oibrí · phost · phroifisiún · post · proifisiún · póilín · póilíní · rúnaí · scríbhneoir · údar
50 words
casaim · eachtra · eoraip · euro · francach · gearmánach · ghearmáin · gluaisrothar · iodálach · lear · léarscáil · meiriceánach · meitreo · punt · rothar · sasana · spáinneach · tacsaí · thar · timpeall · éireannach
21 words
beirt · bhformhór · caoga · ceathair · ceathrar · ceathrú · cheann · col · cúig · cúigear · daichead · dara · deich · deichniúr · dhá · dháréag · dhéag · déag · dó · dóthain · fhormhór · fiche · haon · leath · lán · lú · míle · naoi · naonúr · ndiaidh · nócha · ocht · ochtar · ochtó · roinnt · seacht · seachtar · seachtó · seasca · seisear · sé · tar · triúr · trí · tríocha · tríú · uimhir · uimhreacha · éis
49 words
In Irish, there are three systems of numbers: disjunctive, general conjunctive, and human conjunctive.
These are known in Irish as maoluimhreacha. They are used when the number is not immediately followed by a noun, such as:
If the number is less than 20, the root word is preceded by the word a (for example, a dó two). Numbers beginning with a vowel have a h added to them after a (for example, a haon one).
For the numbers 11 to 19, the unit (one to nine) is written first, followed by déag (-teen) (for example, a trí déag thirteen). The number 12 is an exception: déag should be lenited (a dó dhéag twelve).
| Number | Irish |
|---|---|
| 0 | a náid |
| 1 | a haon |
| 2 | a dó |
| 3 | a trí |
| 4 | a ceathair |
| 5 | a cúig |
| 6 | a sé |
| 7 | a seacht |
| 8 | a hocht |
| 9 | a naoi |
| 10 | a deich |
| 11 | a haon déag |
| 12 | a dó dhéag |
| 13 | a trí déag |
| 14 | a ceathair déag |
| ... | ... |
| 20 | fiche |
| 21 | fiche a haon |
| 22 | fiche a dó |
| ... | ... |
| 30 | tríocha |
| 40 | daichead |
| 50 | caoga |
| 60 | seasca |
| 70 | seachtó |
| 80 | ochtó |
| 90 | nócha |
| 100 | céad |
| 1000 | míle |
These are known in Irish as bunuimhreacha. These numbers come before a noun and are used to count the amount of things that are present. In almost all situations, you use the singular version of the noun and not the plural version when counting with bunuimhreacha (for example, to count dogs you use the singular madra instead of the plural madraí). They are used as follows:
The number is placed before the noun, and the noun is lenited (for example, trí gheata three gates).
The number is placed before the noun, and the noun is eclipsed (for example, deich ngeata ten gates).
The unit (one to nine) is placed before the noun, with the noun being lenited or eclipsed as above, and déag (-teen) is placed after the noun (for example, aon bhuachaill déag eleven boys, ocht mbuachaill déag eighteen boys). If the noun ends with a vowel, déag should be lenited (for example, trí oráiste dhéag thirteen oranges.
The unit (one to nine) is placed before the noun, with the noun being lenited or eclipsed as above. The noun is followed by the word is (and), plus the appropriate multiple of ten such as 20, 30, 40 or similar (for example, ceithre chat is fiche twenty-four cats, naoi gcat is tríocha thirty-nine cats). If the number is a multiple of ten (20, 30, 40 or similar), the number is simply placed before the noun with no change of spelling (for example, caoga madra fifty dogs).
| Number | Irish |
|---|---|
| 1 | aon chat amháin |
| 2 | dhá chat |
| 3 | trí chat |
| 4 | ceithre chat |
| 5 | cúig chat |
| 6 | sé chat |
| 7 | seacht gcat |
| 8 | ocht gcat |
| 9 | naoi gcat |
| 10 | deich gcat |
| 11 | aon chat déag |
| 12 | dhá chat déag |
| ... | ... |
| 19 | naoi gcat déag |
| 20 | fiche cat |
| 21 | cat is fiche / aon chat is fiche |
An exception applies for nine particular nouns: they use special plural forms instead of the singular form when they are counted with bunuimhreacha. They are:
| English | Irish | Special plural form for counting |
|---|---|---|
| year | bliain | bliana |
| head/end/one | ceann | cinn |
| skull | cloigeann | cloiginn |
| twenty | fiche | fichid |
| penny | pingin | pingine |
| week | seachtain | seachtaine |
| third | trian | treana |
| foot (measurement) | troigh | troithe |
| hour/time | uair | uaire |
These are called uimhreacha pearsanta. They are used to count people from two up to 12.
| Number | Irish |
|---|---|
| 1 | duine / aon duine amháin |
| 2 | beirt |
| 3 | triúr |
| 4 | ceathrar |
| 5 | cúigear |
| 6 | seisear |
| 7 | seachtar |
| 8 | ochtar |
| 9 | naonúr |
| 10 | deichniúr |
| 11 | aon duine dhéag |
| 12 | dháréag |
Note that duine in 1 and 11 is not lenited. For all other numbers of people you use the general conjunctive numbers as before (for example, trí dhuine dhéag thirteen people).
In fact, these numbers are nouns themselves. If they are followed by the word that is being counted, that word goes into the genitive plural. The number used for two people, beirt, is feminine so it causes the following noun to be lenited, except when the noun begins with d, t or s (for example, beirt bhuachaillí two boys, a couple of boys; beirt déagóirí two teenagers, a couple of teenagers). All the others are masculine and do not cause lenition (for example, cúigear fear five men).
These numbers are used on their own when referring to people in the generic sense (for example, Bhí triúr ann Three people were there). Thus, it is incorrect to refer to triúr daoine.
The word duine used alone has the meaning of one person/a person, but this can be emphasised by adding amháin to it (for example, Bhí duine [amháin] ann There was one person there).
bhínn · chabhraíteá · cheannaínn · d'fhaigheadh · d'fhaighinn · d'imrínn · d'insínn · d'ithinn · d'ólaimis · dhéanadh · dhéanaimis · dhíoladh · dtagtá · fheiceadh · fheicinn · ghoideadh · ghoidtí · insíteá · léinn · thagadh · théadh
21 words
The imperfect tense (or the past habitual tense) is used to describe what one used to do (e.g. I used to run every Wednesday)
Here are the endings that are added to the root of single syllable (monosyllabic) verbs in the imperfect tense. (i.e. the first conjugation)
| Pronoun | Broad Ending | Slender Ending | Other Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mé | -ainn | -inn | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Tú | -tá | -teá | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Sé/Sí/Sibh | -adh | -eadh | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Muid | -aimis | -imis | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Siad | -aidís | -idís | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Passive | -taí | -tí | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
Examples: Mholainn (I used to praise), Thuigteá (You used to understand)
Here are the endings that are added to the stem (i.e. last part of the verb's root is removed) of multi-syllable (polysyllabic) verbs in the imperfect. (i.e. the second conjugation)
| Pronoun | Broad Ending | Slender Ending | Other Changes |
| Mé | -aínn | -ínn | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Tú | -aíteá | -íteá | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Sé/Sí/Sibh | -aíodh | -íodh | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Muid | -aímis | -ímis | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Siad | -aídís | -ídís | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Passive | -aítí | -ítí | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
Examples: Cheannaíodh sé (He used to buy), D'insídís (They used to tell)
Question Form
To make the question form in the imperfect tense, you use the question word "an" and add an urú to the verb. Example: An gceannaíteá? (Did you used to buy?)
Negative Form
To make the negative form in the conditional, you use the word "ní". The verb is lenited. Example: Ní cheannaínn(I did not used to buy)
beagán · cheintiméadar · cileagram · gciliméadar · gram · iomlán · lítir · meánn · mhéadar · mhéid · péire · troithe
12 words
abhaile · anuraidh · aréir · bhuaigh · bhuail · bhí · bás · chailleamar · chas · cheana · choimeád · chonaic · chríochnaigh · chuaigh · chuamar · chuir · d'fhan · d'fhill · d'fhreagair · d'fhágamar · d'fhéachamar · d'imigh · d'imíomar · d'ith · d'itheamar · d'ol · d'oscail · d'ól · d'ólamar · d'úsáid · d'úsáideamar · dúirt · fhreagair · fuair · inné · labhair · mhothaigh · ndearna · nár · níor · phléigh · rinneamar · rith · shiúil · shiúlamar · shroich · shroicheamar · stad · thaitin · tharla · thit · thosaigh · thug · tháinig · tháinig · thángamar · thóg
57 words
In Irish, the past tense is used very often and is quite easy to form.
Here are the changes that occur to single syllable (monosyllabic) verbs in the past tense.
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Example | Slender ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | lenition + mé | dhún mé | lenition + mé | bhris mé |
| you (singular) | lenition + tú | dhún tú | lenition + tú | bhris tú |
| he/it | lenition + sé | dhún sé | lenition + sé | bhris sé |
| she/it | lenition + sí | dhún sí | lenition + sí | bhris sí |
| we | lenition + muid / lenition + -amar¹ | dhún muid / dhúnamar | lenition + muid / lenition + -eamar¹ | bhris muid / bhriseamar |
| you (plural) | lenition + sibh | dhún sibh | lenition + sibh | bhris sibh |
| they | lenition + siad | dhún siad | lenition + siad | bhris siad |
| (autonomous) | -adh | dúnadh | -eadh | briseadh |
¹In the past tense, muid is often not used; it can be incorporated into the verb that precedes it instead, to make what is known as the "synthetic form".
If the verb begins with a vowel, then it is prefixed with d' (instead of a lenition), with no space between d' and the verb. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples:
If the verb begins with the letter f, then not only does it undergo lenition, but it is also prefixed with d'. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples: D'fhág mé I left * D'fhág muid / D'fhágamar We left * Fágadh an carr ar oscailt The car was left open
Here are the changes that occur to multiple syllable (polysyllabic) verbs in the past tense.
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Example | Slender ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | lenition + mé | cheannaigh mé | lenition + mé | bhailigh mé |
| you (singular) | lenition + tú | cheannaigh tú | lenition + tú | bhailigh tú |
| he/it | lenition + sé | cheannaigh sé | lenition + sé | bhailigh sé |
| she/it | lenition + sí | cheannaigh sí | lenition + sí | bhailigh sí |
| we | lenition + muid / lenition + -aíomar | cheannaigh muid / cheannaíomar | lenition + muid / lenition + -íomar | bhailigh muid / bhailíomar |
| you (plural) | lenition + sibh | cheannaigh sibh | lenition + sibh | bhailigh sibh |
| they | lenition + siad | cheannaigh siad | lenition + siad | bhailigh siad |
| (autonomous) | -aíodh | ceannaíodh | -íodh | bailíodh |
If the verb begins with a vowel, then it is prefixed with d'. No change applies to the autonomous form.
Examples:
If the verb begins with the letter f, then it undergoes lenition and is prefixed with d'. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples: D'fhreagair sé He answered Freagraíodh an cheist The question was answered
Although some of them look very similar in their conjugation, the 11 irregular verbs do not always follow these rules, so it is necessary to learn these off by heart.
Question Form To ask a question using a verb in this tense, you use the question word "ar" and the verb is lenited (séimhiú) if possible. Example: Ar dhún sí? (Did she close?)
Bí: An raibh...?
Téigh: An ndeachaigh...?
Déan: An ndearna...?
Feic: An bhfaca...?
Faigh: An bhfuair...?
Abair: An ndúirt...?
Negative Form To make a verb in this tense negative, you use the word "níor" and the verb in lenited (séimhiú) if possible: Example: Níor dhún mé (I did not close), Níor ól sí (She did not drink), Níor fhág sé (He did not leave)
Bí: Ní raibh...
Téigh: Ní dheachaigh...
Déan: Ní dhearna...
Feic: Ní fhaca...
Faigh: Ní bfuair...
Abair: Ní dúirt...
It's time to learn a very peculiarly Celtic feature; initial mutation!
Urú (eclipsis) is where one or two letters are added before a word in certain situations. This changes the spelling and pronunciation of the word, but not the meaning. Only some initial letters can be eclipsed: b, c, d, f, g, p, and t. Words that begin with other letters do not undergo eclipsis at all.
Here are the extra letters that are added before the word:
| Initial letter | Example | Eclipsis | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | baile | m | mbaile |
| c | cailín | g | gcailín |
| d | doras | n | ndoras |
| f | fuinneog | bh | bhfuinneog |
| g | geata | n | ngeata |
| p | poll | b | bpoll |
| t | teach | d | dteach |
Different dialects of Irish have different rules about when eclipsis should be used. It would be extremely confusing to list them all here! It is more important to pick a single system and to stick with it for consistency - so in this course, we will teach the system traditionally used in Standard Irish.
Eclipsis is used in the following situations:
Eclipsis occurs where a word comes after ár our, bhur your (plural), and a their.
Examples:
Eclipsis occurs after the numbers seven to 10.
Examples:
Eclipsis occurs after certain prepositions where they are joined by the singular definite article an:
| Preposition + singular definite article | English translation |
|---|---|
| ag an | at the |
| ar an | on the |
| faoin (faoi + an) | under/about the |
| leis an | with the |
| ón (ó + an) | from the |
| roimh an | before the |
| thar an | over the |
| tríd an | through the |
| um an | about/around the |
Other prepositions used with an (for example, idir an between the) do not cause eclipsis.
Examples:
An exception to this rule is that the word should not be eclipsed if it begins with d or t.
Examples:
If the word begins with s and is feminine, a t is placed in front of it — except for nouns beginning with sc, sf, sm, sp, st or sv.
Example:
If the word begins with s and is masculine, no change occurs.
Example:
Eclipsis is also added after the words i in, dá if, mura if/unless.
Example:
Words that start with a vowel do not technically undergo eclipsis, but they do get the letter n- added to them wherever other words would be eclipsed — unless they come after a word that finishes with the letter n.
Examples:
A dash is placed between the letter n and the vowel — unless that vowel is a capital letter.
Examples:
Some words that start with a vowel are normally preceded by t- when they follow the word an the. For these words, after preposition + definite article combinations the t- is left out.
Examples:
That might be a lot of information to process, but it should make sense once you see it in action. Good luck and see you in the next skill :D
Séimhiú (lenition) is where an extra h is added between the first and second letters of a word in certain situations. This changes the spelling and pronunciation of the word, but not the meaning. Only some initial letters can be lenited: b, c, d, f, g, m, p, s, and t. Words that begin with other letters do not undergo lenition at all.
Here are examples of words being lenited:
| Initial letter | Example | Lenition | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | buachaill | bh | bhuachaill |
| c | cailín | ch | chailín |
| d | doras | dh | dhoras |
| f | fuinneog | fh | fhuinneog |
| g | geata | gh | gheata |
| m | mála | mh | mhála |
| p | poll | ph | pholl |
| s | seomra | sh | sheomra |
| t | teach | th | theach |
Lenition is used in the following situations.
Feminine nouns are lenited after the definite article an in the nominative case.
Examples:
An exception to this rule is that feminine nouns beginning with d or t are not lenited. Another exception is that nouns beginning with s becomes ts if the s precedes a vowel, l, n or r.
Examples:
Singular feminine nouns cause lenition of the following adjective.
Examples:
Note: Only when the adjective directly follows its noun.
Lenition occurs after mo my, do your, a his.
Examples:
Lenition occurs after the numbers one to six.
Examples:
The vocative case is used when directly addressing someone or something, as in Cá bhfuil tú, a chailín? Where are you, girl? Lenition is used after the vocative particle a.
(Note that masculine nouns and names are also slenderised after the vocative particle: fear becomes a fhir, and Pól becomes a Phóil.)
More on this case in a later skill.
Lenition occurs after the words ar on, de off, den off the, do to/for, don to the, faoi under/about, ó from, roimh before, sa/san in the, trí through, um around/about.
Examples:
An exception is that words beginning with d, t, s are not lenited after den, don, sa or san.
Examples:
Lenition is also used after the phrase nuair a when, the prefixes ró- too and an- very, and the word má if (unless the next word is a version of tá or deir). Other special cases will be highlighted in other lessons.
Examples:
This is a handy mnemonic! If a word begins with d, t or s and it would normally be lenited according to the above rules, but the word that came before it in the sentence ends with d, n, t, l or s, then the word is not lenited.
Examples:
Phew! I hope that wasn't too complicated. It will start to make sense when you see some more examples! Good luck and see you in the next skill :D
When possessives are used in Irish, certain changes occur to the following word. There are two systems: one for words starting with a consonant, and one for word starting with a vowel.
Here are the possessive adjectives and changes that occur when a word begins with a consonant:
| English | Irish | Change | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | mo | lenition | mo chóta |
| your (singular) | do | lenition | do chóta |
| his/its | a | lenition | a chóta |
| her/its | a | no change | a cóta |
| our | ár | eclipsis | ár gcóta |
| your (plural) | bhur | eclipsis | bhur gcóta |
| their | a | eclipsis | a gcóta |
Before words starting with fh + a vowel, mo and do are abbreviated to m' and d', with no space before the next word.
Examples:
If the word begins with a consonant that does not undergo lenition (or eclipsis), the spelling remains unchanged.
Examples:
Here are the possessive adjectives and changes that occur when a word begins with a vowel:
| English | Irish | Change | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | m' | no change | m'oráiste |
| your (singular) | d' | no change | d'oráiste |
| his/its | a | no change | a oráiste |
| her/its | a | h | a horáiste |
| our | ár | n- | ár n-oráiste |
| your (plural) | bhur | n- | bhur n-oráiste |
| their | a | n- | a n-oráiste |
Instead of lenition or eclipsis, here you can see two other initial letter mutations used in Irish: the h-prefix and the n-prefix.
You can also see from the examples above that m' and d are used instead of mo or do, with no space before the next word.
The possessive adjective a can mean his, her, its or their. If you look at the tables above, you can see how to identify which one is used. It is usually clear from context, and from the word that follows the possessive.
Voccab and topics specificially related to Ireland craic, gardaí, taoiseach, eachtarán etc... Can be used to explain things about Ireland.
If you look up family in an English-Irish dictionary, you could be presented with all of the above as potential translations - but each has a different meaning!
Muintir is probably the closest to the English word family or kinsfolk, and in its broadest sense it can include parents, children and siblings as well as extended relations.
Teaghlach means family in the sense of household, a group of people living together under the same roof - most commonly parents and children.
Clann refers to the group of children that belong to a set of parents. For example, mo chlann could mean my own children, or my siblings and I. If a girl says that there are five people in her clann, it means that she has four other brothers or sisters.
Welcome to Duolingo's Irish course! In this course you will learn the official standard (an Caighdeán Oifigiúil) of Irish. But note, this is a written, and not a spoken standard. Irish is spoken in three main dialects, corresponding to three Irish provinces of Munster (south), Ulster (north), and Connacht (west). The audio in this course was recorded by a native speaker of the Connacht dialect.
So what makes Irish different? What might challenge you as you try to learn? Well, tonnes of things! To be honest, even the basics of Irish are very different from what you're probably used to.
The best advice we can give is that with Irish, learning things off by heart and trying to base your learning on grammar will only get you so far. It's a very irregular language, and most rules that try to generalise come with many exceptions.
Just take it as slowly as you need to, and nothing should challenge you very much. There is a really good article about some of the more fascinating peculiarities here: https://multikulti.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/10-reasons-why-irish-is-an-absolutely-awesome-language/
We'll also address a couple below. So let's get started then!
The Irish alphabet is short and sweet:
a b c d e f g h i l m n o p r s t u
The vowels can take an added accent, the fada (pronounced 'foddah'):
á é í ó ú
The fada lengthens and alters the sound on the vowel.
The rest of the English alphabet, j k q v w x y z, especially v, is gradually being naturalised into Irish due to the many loanwords we take in.
Learn how to type accented letters here: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/4278237
Most English sentences use the "Subject-Verb-Object" word order. For example, in the sentence He eats food, he is the subject, eats is the verb, and food is the object.
In Irish, a slightly different word order is used: "V-S-O". Here is the same sentence in Irish: Itheann sé bia. The verb in this sentence is itheann (a form of the verb to eat), the subject is sé (he), and the object is bia (food).
In summary: Irish sentences start with their verbs!
Irish makes it interesting when you want to say what something "is", because you need to choose the right version of the verb "to be"! There are two versions. called bí and an chopail.
| bí | to be |
|---|---|
| tá mé/táim | I am |
| tá tú | you (sing.) are |
| tá sé | he/it is |
| tá sí | she/it is |
| tá muid/táimid | we are |
| tá sibh | you (pl.) are |
| tá siad | they are |
Notes: tá + mé (I) = táim, tá + muid (we) = táimid. These contractions are called the synthetic form.
| copail | copula |
|---|---|
| is ... mé | I am |
| is ... tú | you (sing.) are |
| is ... é | he/it is |
| is ... í | she/it is |
| is ... sinn/muid | we are |
| is ... sibh | you (pl.) are |
| is ... iad | they are |
The copula is for when you're introducing something or someone, like "Is bean í" (She is a woman) or "Is úll é" (It is an apple). Bí is for when you're describing something or someone, like "Tá sí ard" (She is tall) or "Tá sé blasta" (It is tasty). You'll learn the basics of both here, and later you'll learn some more about each of them!
You're still here. That's wonderful! We'll start with a strange but important little rule:
This is the golden rule of Irish spelling and it is important for all sorts of things all the time. It's actually quite a consistent and well-observed rule across Irish, which is very rare. You should get very used to it, to the point that a word which doesn't follow the rule will stand out to you.
The phrase literally means "slender with slender and broad with broad", and it refers to vowels in a word.
Slender vs broad is a way to group the vowels in two distinct groups:
| leathan broad | caol slender |
|---|---|
| a | e |
| o | i |
| u |
The rule says that the vowels on either side of any consonant should match: they should both be slender, or both be broad. It's actually an important rule, because certain consonants, especially s and t will change their sound appreciably depending on whether they are slender or broad.
To see if the stem of a verb is broad or slender, look at the last vowel in that stem.
For example, take the verbs dún and bris. The last vowel in dún is broad, so you would use broad endings when conjugating this verb. Similarly you would use slender endings when conjugating bris.
We do have two present tenses in Irish, which function just like in English. Let's start with the present habitual. This describes what one does on a regular basis, not what one is doing right now. Verbs in Irish are split into three main groups: the first conjugation, the second conjugation and the irregular verbs.
Basically, these verbs have only one syllable. In the present tense the ending is, generally, added directly onto the stem. Examples are dún ("close"), ól ("drink"), bris ("break")
Examples:
Notice how sometimes it takes two words, and sometimes just one. In present tense verbs, mé and muid are often not used; they can be incorporated into their verb to make the 'synthetic form'.
These verbs have more than one syllable. To conjugate and use them correctly takes a bit more intuition, but you'll be grand!
The words come in two halves for you to identify. They will have a root and a stem. To conjugate them, you will remove the stem and replace it with an appropriate ending. There aren't too many endings to learn.
Examples of 2nd-conjugation verbs are bailigh, ceannaigh, oscail, and inis. Watch how their stems are removed/altered to take the ending:
Oh no, a different beast altogether... No hassle, there are only 11 of these! Some of them appear quite regular most of the time, but all of them have at least one tense in which they don't obey the standard rules, so it is necessary to memorise these 11 verbs in all their forms and tenses! Just to warn you, they are:
But seriously, they're not that bad.
See you in the next skill!
The formal way to greet someone is by saying Dia duit. Literally this means God to you. Here is something to note:
The proper response is Dia is Muire duit, which literally means God and Mary to you.
Note on the Sociology of Ireland: These forms are old, formal, and in sharp decline. There is a complicated relationship between Ireland and the Catholic church in recent history, and many younger speakers consciously avoid the nearly-obsolete religious constructions of yore. We don't officially teach you this here, because we decided to stick with The Standard so we have to teach you "dia duit" and so on. Just be aware you're more likely to hear somebody greet you with a typical English greeting like "hiya", or even by avoiding a "hello" and just asking how you are – Conas atá tú? –
We don't say "have" in Irish, that's way too simple and direct. Instead the verb bí (be) is used together with the preposition ag (at).
To express that you have something, you say that it is "at you" - implying that it is close by you, in your possession. If you want to say Paul has a book, think of this as meaning A book is at Paul, or There is a book at Paul . The Irish for this is Tá leabhar ag Pól.
When you want to write at followed by a pronoun, the two words join together to make a "prepositional pronoun". For example, ag and mé combine to form agam (at me). Here is ag in all its forms:
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| at | ag |
| at me | agam |
| at you (singular) | agat |
| at him | aige |
| at her | aici |
| at us | againn |
| at you (plural) | agaibh |
| at them | acu |
Examples of bí + ag:
When talking about languages in Irish there are distinct ways to translate the two meanings of the English "speak".
1) "I speak Irish" would translate as "Labhraím Gaeilge" if "speak" was referring to the act of speaking the language ("I speak Irish every day")
2) "I speak Irish" would translate as "Tá Gaeilge agam" (literally "I have Irish") if "speak" was referring to the ability to speak, or the knowledge of, the language.
So when you say "I (can) speak [language]", in Irish you literally say "I have [language]"
See you in the next skill!
Let’s dig into the food skill! In this (very important) skill, you will learn all about how to talk about food.
——
Saghas means ‘sort’, ‘type’ or ‘kind’.
As you might guess, to say ‘sort of’, ‘type of’ or ‘kind of’, we need to use the genitive case (the ‘of’ form) to say what kind of food we’re talking about.
——
In Irish, this would be Táim ag ithe an bhia. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering hang on, isn’t bia masculine? Why is there lenition??. Don’t fret we’re here to explain!
You have already seen the present habitual tense of the verb bí conjugated (tá mé/táim, tá tú, and so on). When this is put into the negative, it is conjugated differently.
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| I am not | níl mé / nílim |
| you are not (singular) | níl tú |
| he is not / it is not | níl sé |
| she is not / it is not | níl sí |
| we are not | níl muid / nílimid |
| you are not (plural) | níl sibh |
| they are not | níl siad |
Let's review Irish articles so you know how to apply your existing knowledge to plurals.
Indefinite Articles
There are no indefinite articles in Irish. Where in English you would say a or an before a noun, in Irish you just say the noun itself. For example, buachaill can mean either boy or a boy.
When it comes to plurals, the Irish system is similar to that in English. Buachaillí means boys, so no definite article is used in either language.
Definite Articles
There are two forms of the definite article in Irish.
An is used for singular nouns and is translated as the in English. For example, an buachaill means the boy*.✝
Na is used for plural nouns and is also translated as the in English. For example, na buachaillí means the boys.✝
Note
There are two things you should note!
An vs. An: The Irish an (definite article, singluar) should never be confused with the English an (indefinite article, before vowels, sometimes the letter h). Be careful with these two!
An = The, Na = The, but An ≠ Na: The two Irish definite articles an and na both mean the in English, but remember that they have different uses in Irish.
✝: In the nominative case. The way these articles are used change a bit in the other cases, but we will deal with these later when we come to them.
The comparative form of the adjective is used to describe something that is more than the other (e.g. bigger, smaller, louder). The word "níos" is used in Irish when using the comparative form.
The superlative form of the adjective is used to describe something that is the most (e.g. biggest, smallest, loudest). The word "is" is used in Irish when using the superlative form.
There are 5 groups of adjectives when forming the comparative and superlative forms in Irish. They may seem intimidating at first, but the patterns are quite simple.
Group 1
The 1st group is made up of adjectives that end with -ach or -each. To form the comparative/superlative in this group, remove the ending and add -aí (in place of -ach) or -í (in place of -each). Examples: Brónach (sad) and Neirbhíseach (nervous)
| Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|
| níos brónaí | is brónaí |
| níos neirbhísí | is neirbhísí |
Group 2
The 2nd group is made up of adjectives that end with -úil. To form the comparative/superlative in this group, remove the ending and add -úla. Example: Leisciúil (lazy)
| Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|
| níos leisciúla | is leisciúla |
Group 3
The 3rd group is made up of other adjectives that end with a consonant. To form the comparative/superlative in this group, make the adjective slender (if necessary) and add -e. Examples: Saibhir (rich) and Óg (young)
| Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|
| níos saibhre | is saibhre |
| níos óige | is óige |
Group 4
The 4th group is made up of adjectives that end with a vowel. These usually do not change. Example: Cróga (brave)
| Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|
| níos cróga | is cróga |
Group 5
The 5th group is made up of adjectives that are irregular in the comparative and superlative forms.
| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| fada (long) | níos faide | is faide |
| gearr (short) | níos giorra | is giorra |
| maith (good) | níos fearr | is fearr |
| mór (big) | níos mó | is mó |
| beag (small) | níos lú | is lú |
| olc (bad) | níos measa | is measa |
| tapaidh (fast) | níos tapúla | is tapúla |
| te (hot) | níos teo | is teo |
One note about what we teach in this lesson:
In Irish, it is important to note that there are two present tenses: the present, and the present habitual. The present describes what one is doing (right now) and the present habitual is used to describe what one does (every day, every week, and so on).
In this skill you will learn verbs in the present habitual. You previously met the endings for conjugating regular verbs in the present habitual tense in Basics 2. But, lets revisit them here.
These verbs have only one syllable¹, and the root form seen in the dictionary is identical to the stem used for verb conjugation. In the present tense the ending is, generally, added directly onto the stem. Examples are dún ("close"), ól ("drink"), bris ("break")
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Example | Slender ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | -aim¹ | dúnaim | -im² | brisim |
| you (singular) | -ann tú | dúnann tú | -eann tú | briseann tú |
| he/it | -ann sé | dúnann sé | -eann sé | briseann sé |
| she/it | -ann sí | dúnann sí | -eann sí | briseann sí |
| we | -aimid¹ | dúnaimid | -imid² | brisimid |
| you (plural) | -ann sibh | dúnann sibh | -eann sibh | briseann sibh |
| they | -ann siad | dúnann siad | -eann siad | briseann siad |
¹There is a small handful of first conjugation verbs that have more than one syllable. They aren't considered irregular- just a bit odd. These will be dealt with later.
²In present tense verbs, mé and muid are generally not used; instead, they are incorporated into the verb that precedes it, to make what is known as the "synthetic form".
Examples:
These verbs have more than one syllable.
Many end in -aigh and -igh in the root form seen in the dictionary; to get the stem used for conjugation, the last syllable of the root is removed (i.e. remove the -aigh/-igh). The endings are then added to that stem. Examples include ceannaigh buy, bailigh collect. The stems for these would be ceann- and bail-.
Others end in -ail/-il, -ain/-in, -ais/-is or -air/-ir. To get the stem, the last syllable of the root is removed but the very last letter is kept, and then the appropriate ending is added. Examples include inis tell and oscail open. The stems for these would be ins- and oscl-.
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Example | Slender ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | -aím | osclaím | -ím | bailím |
| you (singular) | -aíonn tú | osclaíonn tú | -íonn tú | bailíonn tú |
| he/it | -aíonn sé | osclaíonn sé | -íonn sé | bailíonn sé |
| she/it | -aíonn sí | osclaíonn sí | -íonn sí | bailíonn sí |
| we | -aímid | osclaímid | -ímid | bailímid |
| you (plural) | -aíonn sibh | osclaíonn sibh | -íonn sibh | bailíonn sibh |
| they | -aíonn siad | osclaíonn siad | -íonn siad | bailíonn siad |
Examples:
The last group of verbs in Irish are the irregular verbs. There are only 11 of these. Some of them appear quite regular most of the time, but all of them have at least one tense in which they don't obey the standard rules, so it is necessary to memorise these 11 verbs in all their forms and tenses!
To ask a question in this tense using a verb, you use the question word an and add an eclipsis (urú) to the verb if possible.
Examples:
The irregular verb bí be is an exception:
To put a verb in the present habitual tense into the negative form, you use the negation word ní and add a lenition (séimhiú) to the verb if possible.
Examples:
Again, the verb bí is an exception in this tense, as well as the verb abair say:
Irish has no word for "yes" or "no". That means when someone asks a questions using a verb like those above, you either answer with the positive form of the verb (the standard conjugated form) or the negative form (as seen above)
Example:
An ndúnann tú an doras? Do you close the door?
Dúnaim (an doras) Yes, I close the door. (literally just "I close (the door)")
Adjectives (such as colors) generally come after the noun in Irish. Their spelling is modified so that they agree with the noun, in number and in gender.
An adjective that follows a masculine singular noun does not change (for example, an bosca dubh the black box).
An adjective that follows a feminine singular noun is lenited if possible (for example, an eilifint dhubh the black elephant).
An adjective that follows a plural noun has its spelling changed to the plural form of that adjective. If the noun ends with a slender consonant, the adjective is also lenited.
What is a slender consonant? A slender consonant is a consonant with a slender vowel (e é or i í) next to it. For example, in the word beoir, r is a slender consonant.
In this skill, we give you the basic vocabulary to describe most of the colours. One fun quirk in Irish is that there aren't of lots of words for all the different shades on the spectrum. Instead, you describe a particular colour by naming something that has that colour, or adding some detail (such as another colour!). So for example, you could distinguish something that is spéirghorm sky-blue from something that is gormghlas blue-green, or contrast dearg red with bándearg pink (literally white-red). Use the vocabulary you learn and get creative to think of how you could say things like 'blood-red', and 'forest green'!
When asking a question in English, you generally use a W question word such as who, where, what. Similarly, in Irish you generally use a C question word such as cé, cá, cad.
Here are some examples of C question words:
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| who | cé |
| what | cad / céard |
| which | cén |
| where | cá |
| when | cathain |
| what time | cén uair / cá huair / cén t-am |
| whose | cé leis |
| what place | cá háit / cén áit |
| why | cén fáth |
| how | conas / cad é mar |
| how many / how much | cé mhéad / cá mhéad |
There is no direct translation for the words yes and no in Irish. Where in English you would use these words to answer a question, in Irish you repeat the verb from the original question in either the positive or the negative form. (You can choose to omit the pronoun if you like - unless you are using a synthetic form of the verb.)
Examples:
The passive is a form of a verb that uses no pronoun. An action is done but no person is given (e.g. apples are eaten every Friday)
In Irish, this form of the verb is known as an briathar saor or an saorbhriathar, meaning free verb or autonomous verb
Here are the endings that are added on to the root in the present tense of first conjugation verbs to form the passive.
| Broad | Slender | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -tar | -tear | dúntar (is/are closed), tuigtear (is/are understood) |
You might notice that in English, you use a different form of the verb for singular and plural (an apple is eaten, but apples are eaten). In Irish, the same form is used for both (Itear úll an apple is eaten, Itear úlla apples are eaten)
Here are the endings that are added on to the root in the present tense of second conjugation verbs to form the passive.
| Broad | Slender | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -aítear | -ítear | ceannaítear (is/are bought), insítear (is/are told) |
Though these verbs are irregular, in the passive they generally use the endings -tar and -tear, with some exceptions that should be learned by heart.
Prepositions (réamhfhocail) are short words that express relationships between things, like to, for, with, on, between.
In Irish most prepositions are usually written on their own, but when you use them together with a pronoun (me, you, he, she, it, us, them), the two words get contracted together to make what are known as prepositional pronouns (forainmneacha réamhfhoclacha).
Here are five prepositional pronouns in all their forms:
| Pronoun | on | with | at | from | to, toward/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (none) | ar | le | ag | ó | chun (chuig) |
| me | orm | liom | agam | uaim | chugam |
| you (singular) | ort | leat | agat | uait | chugat |
| he, it | air | leis | aige | uaidh | chuige |
| she, it | uirthi | léi | aici | uaithi | chuici |
| us | orainn | linn | againn | uainn | chugainn |
| you (plural) | oraibh | libh | agaibh | uaibh | chugaibh |
| them | orthu | leo | acu | uathu | chucu |
Examples:
When used in specific ways, some prepositions have special idiomatic meanings in Irish. You already met the idiomatic use of ag to mean have in Basics 2; here are some other examples.
The basic meaning of this word is on. For example, Ritheann sé ar bhóthar means He runs on a road.
When used with the verb bí, it conveys the idea of obligation to do something. For example, Tá orm rith means I must run. (The literal translation of the phrase would be "It is on me to run".)
The basic meaning of this word is from. For example, Ritheann sé ó theach means He runs from a house.
When used with the verb bí, it conveys the idea of wanting something. For example, Tá bia uaim means I want food. (The literal translation of the phrase would be "food is from me".)
Another way to express wanting something is to use the verb teastaigh (to be wanted/needed), followed by a version of ó. Written this way, Teastaíonn bia uaim is the alternative way to say I want food; it can also mean I need food. (A literal translation would be "food is needed from me".)
Vocabulary and topics specifically related to Ireland craic, gardaí, taoiseach, eachtarán etc... Can be used to explain things about Ireland.
In previous skills you will already have met lenition and eclipsis, the two most important initial mutations that can occur to words in Irish. Here are some other more minor changes that can occur.
If a masculine singular noun starts with a vowel, a t- is added at the start of the word after the definite article an (for example, am time, an t-am the time; uisce water, an t-uisce the water). A hyphen is placed between the letter t and the vowel —unless that vowel is a capital letter (for example, an tUachtarán the President).
Exceptions include euro euro, iomad a great number, and oiread amount. These are written as an euro, an iomad and an oiread respectively. Other exceptions include the following number words: aon one, aonú first, ochtó eighty, ochtú eighth, ochtódú eightieth.
If a plural noun starts with a vowel, a h is added at the start of the word after the definite article na (for example, ainmneacha names, na hainmneacha the names). No hyphen is used.
If a feminine singular noun starts with s, AND the s is itself followed by a vowel, l, n or r, then a t is added at the start of the word after the definite article an (for example, seanbhean old woman, an tseanbhean the old woman). No hyphen is used.
The names of the seasons and months in the Irish calendar reflect ancient Gaelic culture and tradition.
The seasons of the year are:
| English | Irish | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Earrach | February to April |
| Summer | Samhradh | May to July |
| Autumn, Fall | Fómhar | August to October |
| Winter | Geimhreadh | November to January |
The seasons are based around the summer and winter solstices (the longest and shortest days of the year, which take place around 21 June and 21 December respectively in the northern hemisphere) and the equinoxes (the days in spring and autumn on which night and day are of equal length, around 20 March and 22 September in the northern hemisphere). The summer solstice in June is deemed to be the high point of summer and the months of summer are May, June and July accordingly. The other seasons are similarly centred around the winter solstice in December, and the vernal and autumnal equinoxes in March and September.
The months of the year are:
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| January | Eanáir |
| February | Feabhra |
| March | Márta |
| April | Aibreán |
| May | Bealtaine |
| June | Meitheamh |
| July | Iúil |
| August | Lúnasa |
| September | Mean Fómhair |
| October | Deireadh Fómhair |
| November | Samhain, Mí na Samhna |
| December | Nollaig, Mí na Nollag |
Bealtaine, Lúnasa and Samhain were all originally pagan festivals occuring around these times. Meán Fómhair and Deireadh Fómhair literally mean middle of the harvest and end of the harvest. Nollaig also means Christmas.
In this skill, you will also be introduced to some...peculiar first conjugation verbs such as tiomáin (to drive), taispeáin (to show) and sábháil (to save). These verbs clearly have 2 syllables, not the usual 1 syllable you've come to expect of first conjugation verbs. These verbs are not considered irregular...they're just a bit odd. Even though they are not monosyllabic, they are conjugated like other verbs in the first conjugation.
Examples:
Exception: The Habitual Present Bím/Bíonn
The Habitual Present is used for actions that occur regularly (normally, generally, often, sometimes, seldom, never). The only verb conjugated in the habitual present tense in Irish is the verb Bí (to be) which becomes Bím (first person singular) or Bíonn sé/sí/muid etc.... In Hiberno-English (the English that is spoken in Ireland) the Irish present habitual has be incorporated into the language using the English verb 'do' as an auxiliary verb followed by a verb in the present continuous tense. This structure is commonly used throughout Ireland.
Examples:
Bím ag rith - I do be running. In standard English this would be written: 'I run often or I usually run' etc....
Bíonn sé ag ól - He does be drinking. In standard English this would be written: 'He drinks often or he regularly drinks' etc...
Bíonn sé ag cur báistí in Éirinn - It does be raining in Ireland . Standard English: 'It rains often in Ireland, in Ireland it regularly rains, it usually rains in Ireland' etc...
Ní bhíonn airgead againn - We don't be having money. In standard English this would be written: 'We don't often have money, we regularly don't have money.
Here are five more prepositional pronouns in all their forms:
| Pronoun | in | before | out of | under, about | off, of, from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (none) | i, in | roimh | as | faoi | de, d' |
| me | ionam | romham | asam | fúm | díom |
| you (singular) | ionat | romhat | asat | fút | díot |
| he, it | ann | roimhe | as | faoi | de |
| she, it | inti | roimpi | aisti | fúithi | di |
| us | ionainn | romhainn | asainn | fúinn | dínn |
| you (plural) | ionaibh | romhaibh | asaibh | fúibh | díbh |
| them | iontu | rompu | astu | fúthú | díobh |
The basic meaning of this word is in. When the next word begins with a vowel, you write in instead of i. For example, Ritheann sé i bpáirc means He runs in a field, and Oibríonn sé in ospidéal means He works in a hospital.
When i is followed by the singular definite article an, the two words combine to form sa (before a consonant) or san (before a vowel or f followed by a vowel). Similarly, i + na becomes sna.
The preposition i also combines with the possessive adjectives a and ár to form ina and inár.
When used with special forms of the verb bí, it is possible to use this preposition to describe what something is, instead of using the copula is.
The basic meaning of this word is under or about. For example, Ritheann sé faoi dhroichead means He runs under a bridge, and Léann sé faoi eolaíocht means He reads about science.
When used with the verb bí, it conveys the idea of intention to do something, or planning to do something. For example, Tá fúm rith means I intend to run. (The literal translation of the phrase would be "It is about me to run".)
Nouns in Irish have different forms depending on their gender (masculine or feminine), number (singular or plural), and case. Irish has several cases, and each one has a specific grammatical function. The case you will have used in previous lessons is called the nominative case (tuiseal ainmneach), which is used for the subjects and objects of sentences.
The genitive case (tuiseal ginideach) is used to demonstrate a relationship between two nouns. It can often be translated literally as "of". For example, in the phrase "noun A of noun B", noun A would be written in the nominative, and noun B would be in the genitive.
It is used:
Just as when forming a plural, the ending of a noun may change when writing the genitive form, and most nouns obey a regular pattern. For some words the genitive spelling is the same as the nominative singular spelling (or even the plural spelling), but it is always clear from the context which case is being used.
Here is an example of the genitive:
This example highlights three separate features:
Examples:
The plural form in the genitive is eclipsed where this is possible. For example, the men's hats is hata na bhfear.
It is helpful to think of the forms in a table like this:
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | an fear | na fir |
| Genitive | an fhir | na bhfear |
As for the genitive plural, there are many rules to how it is formed and these are best learned by observing patterns. In the example above, the vowel groups change from broad to slender and vice versa [ea] to [i].
For feminine nouns, the definite article na is used in both the genitive singular and genitive plural, as in the following example:
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | an bhialann | na bialanna |
| Genitive | na bialainne | na mbialann |
All nouns in Irish belong to one of five groups called declensions (díochlaontaí). Nouns in each declension follow similar rules for the way they form the genitive and the plural, although there are often exceptions. Most dictionaries indicate the declension to which a given noun belongs.
These nouns are all masculine and end with broad consonants. In the genitive singular, the last consonant is slenderised by swapping the vowels or adding an extra -i-. Some of these nouns end in -ach; the genitive singular for these nouns will change this to -aigh.
These nouns are all feminine. Some end in broad consonants and some end in slender consonants. The genitive singular will usually end in -e. Some of these nouns end in -ach; the genitive singular for these nouns will change this to -aí.
Some end in -óir, -éir or -úir; these are masculine. Others end in -íocht, -acht or -int; these are feminine (with the exception of some short words like acht or ceacht which are masculine). The genitive singular ends in -a*.
These end in -ín or with a vowel. They can be either masculine or feminine. For these nouns, the genitive is identical to the nominative.
Most of these are feminine. The genitive singular is varied for these nouns; they can end in -ach, -n, -nn or -d.
Here are five more prepositional pronouns in all their forms:
| Pronoun | between | to | about, around | through | over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (none) | idir | do | um | trí | thar |
| me | - | dom | umam | tríom | tharam |
| you (singular) | - | duit | umat | tríot | tharat |
| he, it | - | dó | uime | tríd | thairis |
| she, it | - | di | uimpi | tríthi | thairsti |
| us | eadrainn | dúinn | umainn | trínn | tharainn |
| you (plural) | eadraibh | daoibh | umaibh | tríbh | tharaibh |
| them | eatarthu | dóibh | umpu | tríothu | tharstu |
This preposition normally means between. In this case, no lenition occurs:
When used in the construction idir ... agus ..., it has the special meaning of both ... and ..., or partly ... and .... In this case, the words are lenited:
In Irish, there are three systems of numbers: disjunctive, general conjunctive, and human conjunctive.
These are known in Irish as maoluimhreacha. They are used when the number is not immediately followed by a noun, such as:
If the number is less than 20, the root word is preceded by the word a (for example, a dó two). Numbers beginning with a vowel have a h added to them after a (for example, a haon one).
For the numbers 11 to 19, the unit (one to nine) is written first, followed by déag (-teen) (for example, a trí déag thirteen). The number 12 is an exception: déag should be lenited (a dó dhéag twelve).
| Number | Irish |
|---|---|
| 0 | a náid |
| 1 | a haon |
| 2 | a dó |
| 3 | a trí |
| 4 | a ceathair |
| 5 | a cúig |
| 6 | a sé |
| 7 | a seacht |
| 8 | a hocht |
| 9 | a naoi |
| 10 | a deich |
| 11 | a haon déag |
| 12 | a dó dhéag |
| 13 | a trí déag |
| 14 | a ceathair déag |
| ... | ... |
| 20 | fiche |
| 21 | fiche a haon |
| 22 | fiche a dó |
| ... | ... |
| 30 | tríocha |
| 40 | daichead |
| 50 | caoga |
| 60 | seasca |
| 70 | seachtó |
| 80 | ochtó |
| 90 | nócha |
| 100 | céad |
| 1000 | míle |
These are known in Irish as bunuimhreacha. These numbers come before a noun and are used to count the amount of things that are present. In almost all situations, you use the singular version of the noun and not the plural version when counting with bunuimhreacha (for example, to count dogs you use the singular madra instead of the plural madraí). They are used as follows:
The number is placed before the noun, and the noun is lenited (for example, trí gheata three gates).
The number is placed before the noun, and the noun is eclipsed (for example, deich ngeata ten gates).
The unit (one to nine) is placed before the noun, with the noun being lenited or eclipsed as above, and déag (-teen) is placed after the noun (for example, aon bhuachaill déag eleven boys, ocht mbuachaill déag eighteen boys). If the noun ends with a vowel, déag should be lenited (for example, trí oráiste dhéag thirteen oranges.
The unit (one to nine) is placed before the noun, with the noun being lenited or eclipsed as above. The noun is followed by the word is (and), plus the appropriate multiple of ten such as 20, 30, 40 or similar (for example, ceithre chat is fiche twenty-four cats, naoi gcat is tríocha thirty-nine cats). If the number is a multiple of ten (20, 30, 40 or similar), the number is simply placed before the noun with no change of spelling (for example, caoga madra fifty dogs).
| Number | Irish |
|---|---|
| 1 | aon chat amháin |
| 2 | dhá chat |
| 3 | trí chat |
| 4 | ceithre chat |
| 5 | cúig chat |
| 6 | sé chat |
| 7 | seacht gcat |
| 8 | ocht gcat |
| 9 | naoi gcat |
| 10 | deich gcat |
| 11 | aon chat déag |
| 12 | dhá chat déag |
| ... | ... |
| 19 | naoi gcat déag |
| 20 | fiche cat |
| 21 | cat is fiche / aon chat is fiche |
An exception applies for nine particular nouns: they use special plural forms instead of the singular form when they are counted with bunuimhreacha. They are:
| English | Irish | Special plural form for counting |
|---|---|---|
| year | bliain | bliana |
| head/end/one | ceann | cinn |
| skull | cloigeann | cloiginn |
| twenty | fiche | fichid |
| penny | pingin | pingine |
| week | seachtain | seachtaine |
| third | trian | treana |
| foot (measurement) | troigh | troithe |
| hour/time | uair | uaire |
These are called uimhreacha pearsanta. They are used to count people from two up to 12.
| Number | Irish |
|---|---|
| 1 | duine / aon duine amháin |
| 2 | beirt |
| 3 | triúr |
| 4 | ceathrar |
| 5 | cúigear |
| 6 | seisear |
| 7 | seachtar |
| 8 | ochtar |
| 9 | naonúr |
| 10 | deichniúr |
| 11 | aon duine dhéag |
| 12 | dháréag |
Note that duine in 1 and 11 is not lenited. For all other numbers of people you use the general conjunctive numbers as before (for example, trí dhuine dhéag thirteen people).
In fact, these numbers are nouns themselves. If they are followed by the word that is being counted, that word goes into the genitive plural. The number used for two people, beirt, is feminine so it causes the following noun to be lenited, except when the noun begins with d, t or s (for example, beirt bhuachaillí two boys, a couple of boys; beirt déagóirí two teenagers, a couple of teenagers). All the others are masculine and do not cause lenition (for example, cúigear fear five men).
These numbers are used on their own when referring to people in the generic sense (for example, Bhí triúr ann Three people were there). Thus, it is incorrect to refer to triúr daoine.
The word duine used alone has the meaning of one person/a person, but this can be emphasised by adding amháin to it (for example, Bhí duine [amháin] ann There was one person there).
There are several ways to express felling in Irish.
Method 1This method uses a noun and the prepositional pronoun "ar" (on). Here is the prepositional pronoun in all its forms:
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| On me | Orm |
| On you (singular) | Ort |
| On him (it) | Air |
| On her (it) | Uirthi |
| On us | Orainn |
| On you | Oraibh |
| On them | Orthu |
Method 2
This method uses the verb "bí" and and adjective. Example: Táim ocrasach (I am hungry)
Reflexive pronouns are very easy in Irish. To make a reflexive pronoun, all you have to do is add "féin" after the pronoun.
| English | Irish |
|---|---|
| myself | mé féin |
| yourself | tú féin |
| himself/itself | é féin |
| herself/itself | í féin |
| ourselves | muid féin/sinn féin |
| yourselves | sibh féin |
| themselves | iad féin |
These are then added after the verb and pronoun. For example:
In Irish, the past tense is used very often and is quite easy to form.
Here are the changes that occur to single syllable (monosyllabic) verbs in the past tense.
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Example | Slender ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | lenition + mé | dhún mé | lenition + mé | bhris mé |
| you (singular) | lenition + tú | dhún tú | lenition + tú | bhris tú |
| he/it | lenition + sé | dhún sé | lenition + sé | bhris sé |
| she/it | lenition + sí | dhún sí | lenition + sí | bhris sí |
| we | lenition + muid / lenition + -amar¹ | dhún muid / dhúnamar | lenition + muid / lenition + -eamar¹ | bhris muid / bhriseamar |
| you (plural) | lenition + sibh | dhún sibh | lenition + sibh | bhris sibh |
| they | lenition + siad | dhún siad | lenition + siad | bhris siad |
| (autonomous) | -adh | dúnadh | -eadh | briseadh |
¹In the past tense, muid is often not used; it can be incorporated into the verb that precedes it instead, to make what is known as the "synthetic form".
If the verb begins with a vowel, then it is prefixed with d' (instead of a lenition), with no space between d' and the verb. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples:
If the verb begins with the letter f, then not only does it undergo lenition, but it is also prefixed with d'. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples: D'fhág mé I left * D'fhág muid / D'fhágamar We left * Fágadh an carr ar oscailt The car was left open
Here are the changes that occur to multiple syllable (polysyllabic) verbs in the past tense.
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Example | Slender ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | lenition + mé | cheannaigh mé | lenition + mé | bhailigh mé |
| you (singular) | lenition + tú | cheannaigh tú | lenition + tú | bhailigh tú |
| he/it | lenition + sé | cheannaigh sé | lenition + sé | bhailigh sé |
| she/it | lenition + sí | cheannaigh sí | lenition + sí | bhailigh sí |
| we | lenition + muid / lenition + -aíomar | cheannaigh muid / cheannaíomar | lenition + muid / lenition + -íomar | bhailigh muid / bhailíomar |
| you (plural) | lenition + sibh | cheannaigh sibh | lenition + sibh | bhailigh sibh |
| they | lenition + siad | cheannaigh siad | lenition + siad | bhailigh siad |
| (autonomous) | -aíodh | ceannaíodh | -íodh | bailíodh |
If the verb begins with a vowel, then it is prefixed with d'. No change applies to the autonomous form.
Examples:
If the verb begins with the letter f, then it undergoes lenition and is prefixed with d'. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples: D'fhreagair sé He answered Freagraíodh an cheist The question was answered
Although some of them look very similar in their conjugation, the 11 irregular verbs do not always follow these rules, so it is necessary to learn these off by heart.
Question Form To ask a question using a verb in this tense, you use the question word "ar" and the verb is lenited (séimhiú) if possible. Example: Ar dhún sí? (Did she close?)
Bí: An raibh...?
Téigh: An ndeachaigh...?
Déan: An ndearna...?
Feic: An bhfaca...?
Faigh: An bhfuair...?
Abair: An ndúirt...?
Negative Form To make a verb in this tense negative, you use the word "níor" and the verb in lenited (séimhiú) if possible: Example: Níor dhún mé (I did not close), Níor ól sí (She did not drink), Níor fhág sé (He did not leave)
Bí: Ní raibh...
Téigh: Ní dheachaigh...
Déan: Ní dhearna...
Feic: Ní fhaca...
Faigh: Ní bfuair...
Abair: Ní dúirt...
Cúilín or Pointe
In this skill, you will learn two words for point, cúilín and pointe. These words are sometimes used interchangeably, but in general:
In Irish, when talking about hair, you use the prepositional pronoun "ar" (orm, ort, etc.) when discussing the hair someone has. (E.g. Tá gruaig fhada orm, I have long hair)
You should be familiar with the past tense by now, but here are the conjugation rules once again to refresh your memory:
Here are the changes that occur to single syllable (monosyllabic) verbs in the past tense.
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Example | Slender ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | lenition + mé | dhún mé | lenition + mé | bhris mé |
| you (singular) | lenition + tú | dhún tú | lenition + tú | bhris tú |
| he/it | lenition + sé | dhún sé | lenition + sé | bhris sé |
| she/it | lenition + sí | dhún sí | lenition + sí | bhris sí |
| we | lenition + muid / lenition + -amar¹ | dhún muid / dhúnamar | lenition + muid / lenition + -eamar¹ | bhris muid / bhriseamar |
| you (plural) | lenition + sibh | dhún sibh | lenition + sibh | bhris sibh |
| they | lenition + siad | dhún siad | lenition + siad | bhris siad |
| (autonomous) | -adh | dúnadh | -eadh | briseadh |
¹In the past tense, muid is often not used; it can be incorporated into the verb that precedes it instead, to make what is known as the "synthetic form".
If the verb begins with a vowel, then it is prefixed with d' (instead of a lenition), with no space between d' and the verb. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples:
If the verb begins with the letter f, then not only does it undergo lenition, but it is also prefixed with d'. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples: D'fhág mé I left * D'fhág muid / D'fhágamar We left * Fágadh an carr ar oscailt The car was left open
Here are the changes that occur to multiple syllable (polysyllabic) verbs in the past tense.
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Example | Slender ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | lenition + mé | cheannaigh mé | lenition + mé | bhailigh mé |
| you (singular) | lenition + tú | cheannaigh tú | lenition + tú | bhailigh tú |
| he/it | lenition + sé | cheannaigh sé | lenition + sé | bhailigh sé |
| she/it | lenition + sí | cheannaigh sí | lenition + sí | bhailigh sí |
| we | lenition + muid / lenition + -aíomar | cheannaigh muid / cheannaíomar | lenition + muid / lenition + -íomar | bhailigh muid / bhailíomar |
| you (plural) | lenition + sibh | cheannaigh sibh | lenition + sibh | bhailigh sibh |
| they | lenition + siad | cheannaigh siad | lenition + siad | bhailigh siad |
| (autonomous) | -aíodh | ceannaíodh | -íodh | bailíodh |
If the verb begins with a vowel, then it is prefixed with d'. No change applies to the autonomous form.
Examples:
If the verb begins with the letter f, then it undergoes lenition and is prefixed with d'. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples: D'fhreagair sé He answered Freagraíodh an cheist The question was answered
Although some of them look very similar in their conjugation, the 11 irregular verbs do not always follow these rules, so it is necessary to learn these off by heart.
Question Form To ask a question using a verb in this tense, you use the question word "ar" and the verb is lenited (séimhiú) if possible. Example: Ar dhún sí? (Did she close?)
Bí: An raibh...?
Téigh: An ndeachaigh...?
Déan: An ndearna...?
Feic: An bhfaca...?
Faigh: An bhfuair...?
Abair: An ndúirt...?
Negative Form To make a verb in this tense negative, you use the word "níor" and the verb in lenited (séimhiú) if possible: Example: Níor dhún mé (I did not close), Níor ól sí (She did not drink), Níor fhág sé (He did not leave)
Bí: Ní raibh...
Téigh: Ní dheachaigh...
Déan: Ní dhearna...
Feic: Ní fhaca...
Faigh: Ní bfuair...
Abair: Ní dúirt...
Each verb in Irish has its own verbal noun (ainm briathartha). The verbal noun is used in similar ways to the infinitive and the gerund in other languages. There is no absolute way to predict what the verbal noun will look like for a given verb, so you should learn them off by heart when learning new verbs.
Examples:
When the object of a sentence comes after a verbal noun, and those two words form a complete concept by themselves, the object goes into the genitive case.
Examples:
However, if the verbal noun clause needs to be followed by a prepositional phrase in order for it to make complete sense, then the genitive case is not used.
There are special systems to write things when a pronoun is used as the object of a verbal noun. One system applies when the verbal noun starts with a consonant, and another system is used when it starts with a vowel.
To illustrate this, we will use:
| Object pronoun | Change | Irish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| me | do mo + lenition | Tá Pól do mo ghlanadh | Paul is cleaning me |
| you (singular) | do do + lenition | Tá Pól do do ghlanadh | Paul is cleaning you |
| him (it) | á + lenition | Tá Pól á ghlanadh | Paul is cleaning him |
| her (it) | á | Tá Pól á glanadh | Paul is cleaning her |
| us | dár + eclipsis | Tá Pól dár nglanadh | Paul is cleaning us |
| you (plural) | do bhur + eclipsis | Tá Pól do bhur nglanadh | Paul is cleaning you |
| them | á + eclipsis | Tá Pól á nglanadh | Paul is cleaning them |
To illustrate this, we will use:
| Object pronoun | Change | Irish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| me | do m' | Tá sé do m'aistriú | He is transferring me |
| you (singular) | do d' | Tá sé do d'aistriú | He is transferring you |
| him (it) | á | Tá sé á aistriú | He is transferring him |
| her (it) | á + h-prefix | Tá sé á haistriú | He is transferring her |
| us | dár + n-prefix | Tá sé dár n-aistriú | He is transferring us |
| you (plural) | do bhur + n-prefix | Tá sé do bhur n-aistriú | He is transferring you |
| them | á + n-prefix | Tá sé á n-aistriú | He is transferring them |
Welcome back to Ireland!
In this skill, you will learn more about Irish sport, food and ideals, as well as a very important word (more on that below).
Gardaí
In this skill, you will be introduced to the term Gardaí. In the Republic of Ireland, the police force is called An Garda Síochána, which means the guardians of peace (how poetic :P). In both Irish and English, the police (either plural or the force as a whole) is generally known as Gardaí (guards), which a single police officer is known as a Garda (in both languages). In English, the force and its members are sometimes referred to as "the guards" and "a guard" respectively, but the Irish name is more common. Police vehicles in Ireland all display the Irish name Garda. This is an interesting example of how Irish has influenced, and is used in, English. Earlier you learned póilíní and póilín to mean police and police officer, but these are used less often in the Republic of Ireland. These words are used for police forces in other countries (including the PSNI in Northern Ireland: Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann) and other minor police forces within Ireland (such as Airport Police: Póilíní an Aerfoirt).
Craic
Craic ([kɾˠac]) is a very important colloquial word in Ireland, and is used in both Irish and English. In English, in is spelt as both craic and crack. It is defined as being "fun, a conversation or chat, a good time, or an enjoyable social activity with good company". It is a word that is hard to capture the essence of without using the word itself. It is a great little word to use to blend in with the natives.
When using the word craic, remember that one has craic or has the craic. Here are some Irish examples:
Note how the noun craic can be exaggerated or intensified with the prefix an- (meaning very, over or excessive)
Also note the difference in meaning and emphasis between "an chraic" (the craic) and "an-chraic" (great craic)
For less intense instances of craic, say píosa craic, which means 'a piece/bit of craic.'
Sports
In this lesson, you will be introduced to three more Irish sports. Here's a brief explanation of each:
In Irish, there are different words for the same place depending on whether something is there already, or moving relative to it. English kind of has this, with words like in (being there) vs into (going there).
Irish takes this idea much further. As one example, there are different words for up, depending on whether something is going up, already up, or coming back having been up. Let's see it in action:
| en | ga |
|---|---|
| I'm going up. | Táim ag dul suas. |
| I'm up. | Táim thuas. |
| I'm coming down (from above). | Táim ag teacht anuas. |
You may not be too familiar with such a feature, but don't be discouraged! It's actually quite useful. In fact, the very cool thing is that because the word itself indicates relative movement and postion, you can sometimes drop the verb! Example:
Tá sé anuas. He's (on his way) down (having been above).
Go learn all the words, and tell your friends easily and in great detail how things are situated relative to each other!
One more fun fact: the cardinal directions have the features we just learned, plus one more. They have a noun name. Here's an example to explain:
| en | ga |
|---|---|
| going towards east | soir |
| situated east | thoir |
| coming from the east | anoir |
| the east | an t-oirthear |
If this seems slightly out there, don't fret. Enjoy this skill and learn by example, it will make much more sense in context.
The future tense is a very common tense in Irish and is easy to form.
These verbs have only one syllable. In the future tense the ending is, for the most part, added directly onto the root of the verb. Here are the endings that are added:
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Slender ending |
|---|---|---|
| I | -faidh mé | -fidh mé |
| you (singular) | -faidh tú | -fidh tú |
| he/it | -faidh sé | -fidh sé |
| she/it | -faidh sí | -fidh sí |
| we | -faimid / faidh muid | -fimid / fidh muid |
| you (plural) | -faidh sibh | -fidh sibh |
| they | -faidh siad | -fidh siad |
| (passive voice) | -far | -fear |
Examples:
These verbs have more than one syllable. The pattern for forming the future tense is very similar to forming the present tense. For verbs ending in -gh, the last syllable of the word is removed to get a root and the endings are then added to that root. For verbs ending in -il, -in, -is or -ir, the last syllable is removed except for the very last letter, and then the appropriate ending is added.
Here are the endings that are added to the stem:
| Pronoun | Broad ending | Slender ending |
|---|---|---|
| I | -óidh mé | -eoidh mé |
| you (singular) | -óidh tú | -eoidh tú |
| he/it | -óidh sé | -eoidh sé |
| she/it | -óidh sí | -eoidh sí |
| we | -óimid / óidh muid | -eoimid / eoidh muid |
| you (plural) | -óidh sibh | -eoidh sibh |
| they | -óidh siad | -eoidh siad |
| (passive voice) | -ófar | -eofar |
Examples:
The irregular verbs do not all follow the above conjugation rules, though you will notice some similarities.
To make the question form in the future tense, you use the question word an, which causes the verb that comes after it to be eclipsed (if possible).
Examples:
Exceptions include the verb faigh get:
To make the negative form in the future tense, you use the negation word ní, which causes the verb that comes after it to be lenited (if possible).
Examples:
Exceptions include the verbs abair say and faigh get:
To form the imperative in Irish, it is very simple.
If you are ordering one person, you use this form. It simply uses the verb root.
Examples: Dún! (Close!), Bí ciúin! (Be quiet)
If you are ordering several people, you use this form.
In the first conjugation, you add -aigí (broad) or -ígí (slender) to the stem of the verb.
In the second conjugation, first form the stem (if a verb ends in -aigh/-igh, just remove this part of the verb, e.g. ceannaigh -> ceann (stem), if a verb ends in -ail/-il, -ais/-is, -air/-ir, etc., remove this part of the verb but keep the last letter, e.g. cosain -> cosn (stem), imir -> imr (stem)), then just add -aígí (broad) or -ígí (slender) to the stem of the verb.
Example: Dúnaigí (Close!), Imrígí! (Play!), Ceannaígí nuachtáin! (Buy newspapers!)
To turn an imperative phrase negative, you use the imperative negative particle ná (this serves the purpose of English don't with relation to the imperative). If the verb starts with a vowel, add a h to the verb after ná.
Example: Ná dúnaigí! (Don't close!), Ná hól alcól! (Don't drink alcohol!)
The imperfect tense (or the past habitual tense) is used to describe what one used to do (e.g. I used to run every Wednesday)
Here are the endings that are added to the root of single syllable (monosyllabic) verbs in the imperfect tense. (i.e. the first conjugation)
| Pronoun | Broad Ending | Slender Ending | Other Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mé | -ainn | -inn | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Tú | -tá | -teá | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Sé/Sí/Sibh | -adh | -eadh | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Muid | -aimis | -imis | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Siad | -aidís | -idís | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Passive | -taí | -tí | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
Examples: Mholainn (I used to praise), Thuigteá (You used to understand)
Here are the endings that are added to the stem (i.e. last part of the verb's root is removed) of multi-syllable (polysyllabic) verbs in the imperfect. (i.e. the second conjugation)
| Pronoun | Broad Ending | Slender Ending | Other Changes |
| Mé | -aínn | -ínn | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Tú | -aíteá | -íteá | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Sé/Sí/Sibh | -aíodh | -íodh | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Muid | -aímis | -ímis | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Siad | -aídís | -ídís | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Passive | -aítí | -ítí | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
Examples: Cheannaíodh sé (He used to buy), D'insídís (They used to tell)
Question Form
To make the question form in the imperfect tense, you use the question word "an" and add an urú to the verb. Example: An gceannaíteá? (Did you used to buy?)
Negative Form
To make the negative form in the conditional, you use the word "ní". The verb is lenited. Example: Ní cheannaínn(I did not used to buy)
The conditional is used to describe what one would do.
Here are the endings that are added to the root of single syllable (monosyllabic) verbs in the conditional. (i.e. the first conjugation)
| Pronoun | Broad Ending | Slender Ending | Other Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mé | -fainn | -finn | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Tú | -fá | -feá | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Sé/Sí | -fadh | -feadh | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Muid | -faimis | -fimis | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Sibh | -fadh | -feadh | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Siad | -faidís | -fidís | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Autonomous | -faí | -fí | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
Examples: Thuigfinn (I would understand), D'éistfeadh sí (She would listen)
Here are the endings that are added to the stem (i.e. last part of the verb's root is removed) of multi-syllable (polysyllabic) verbs in the conditional. (i.e. the second conjugation)
| Pronoun | Broad Ending | Slender Ending | Other Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mé | -óinn | -eoinn | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Tú | -ófá | -eofá | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Sé/Sí | -ódh | -eodh | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Muid | -óimis | -eoimis | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Sibh | -ódh | -eodh | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Siad | -óidís | -eoidís | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
| Autonomous | -ófaí | -eofaí | Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú |
Examples: Chabhrófá (You would help), D'éalódh sibh (You would escape)
Though these 11 verbs are irregular, some are conjugated similarly to regular verbs in the conditional.
It is hard to give any meaningful rule or pattern for this group as a whole, so you will just have to learn these exceptions by heart.
Question Form
To make the question form in the conditional, you use the question word "an" and add an urú to the verb. Example: An gcodlófá? (Would you sleep?)
Faigh: An bhfaighinn?
Negative Form
To make the negative form in the conditional, you use the word "ní". The verb is lenited. Example: Ní chodlóinn (I would not sleep)
Faigh: Ní bhfaighinn...
If
When using the conditional mood (yes, this form is technically a mood and not a tense), we use the word dá to mean if.
Dá causes eclipsis if possible (remember: you can't have move eclipsis and lenition at the same time, so it would be dá mbeadh and never dá mbheadh (which is a monster to pronounce)).
Dá adds an n- ("n fleiscín") before verbs starting with a vowel (e.g. dá n-ólfá (if you would drink/if you drank)
Then, the word mura is used as the negative of (or, opposite of) dá (mura could be translated as if not)
Mura causes the same changes as dá
e.g. Mura mbeadh sí tinn (If she were not sick)
Translating the Conditional Mood
You will quickly learn that Irish and English treat the conditional quite differently. In this Irish conditional, the conditional mood is used throughout. For example:
Ólfainn uisce dá mbeadh tart orm.
A literal translation would be: I would drink water if I would be thirsty
This seems a bit unnatural in English. A more common translation would be I would drink water if I were thirsty (using the past subjunctive) or, common in some dialects, I would drink water if I was thirsty (using the preterite).
This is an example where tenses and moods don't match up perfectly between two languages.