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MPTitus

M Patricia Titus

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Learning Irish from English

Level 25 · 58879 XP

Skills: 64

Lessons: 292

Lexemes: 1711

Strength: 50%

Created: 2014-01-28
Last Goal: 2023-07-06
Timezone: UTC-4

Last update: 2023-07-07 19:39:51 GMT+3 (cached)


23128462

Irish Skills by StrengthCrownsNameOriginal Order

  • ••• -16 Basics 112 @ 100% 0
    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

    Fáilte | Welcome!

    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!


    Intro

    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


    Word Order

    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 (he), and the object is bia (food).

    In summary: Irish sentences start with their verbs!

    • Ithim bia | I eat food
    • Itheann an fear bia | The man eats food
    • Ólannbainne | She drinks milk

    To be, or not to be...

    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 and an chopail.

    • is Irish for to be, and is one of only eleven irregular verbs in the whole language. That's handy!
    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.

    • An chopail (the copula) is a defective verb with its own funky grammar. It doesn't even follow the normal word order rules! The word you are talking about goes in the middle.
    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!

  • ••• -16 Basics 221 @ 100% 0
    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

    Buntús 2 | Basics 2

    You're still here. That's wonderful! We'll start with a strange but important little rule:

    "Caol le caol agus leathan le leathan."

    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.


    A bit about Verbs

    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.


    1. The first conjugation

    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:

    • dúnaim I close
    • dúnann sé he closes
    • brisim I break
    • briseann sé he breaks
    • ólaimid we drink

    Notice how sometimes it takes two words, and sometimes just one. In present tense verbs, and muid are often not used; they can be incorporated into their verb to make the 'synthetic form'.


    2. The second conjugation

    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:

    • bailíonn tú you collect
    • ceannaímid we buy
    • insím I tell
    • osclaíonn sibh you open

    3. Irregular verbs

    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:

    • abair say
    • beir bear/carry/bring
    • be
    • clois hear
    • déan do/make
    • feic see
    • faigh get
    • ith eat
    • tabhair give
    • tar come
    • téigh go

    But seriously, they're not that bad.


    See you in the next skill!

  • ••• -16 Common Phrases23 @ 100% 0
    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

    Welcome to Phrases!

    Hello!

    The formal way to greet someone is by saying Dia duit. Literally this means God to you. Here is something to note:

    • Dia duit is used when greeting one person.
    • Dia daoibh is used when greeting more than one person.

    The proper response is Dia is Muire duit, which literally means God and Mary to you.

    • Dia is Muire duit is used when replying to one person.
    • Dia is Muire daoibh is used when replying to more than one person.

    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? –


    To have

    We don't say "have" in Irish, that's way too simple and direct. Instead the verb (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 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 + ag:

    • Tá oráiste agam I have an orange
    • Tá pláta acu They have a plate
    • Tá cailín ag Pól Paul has a girl/girlfriend

    To speak or to have?

    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!

  • ••• 05 Food31 @ 75% 25
    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

    Bain sult as do bhéile!

    Let’s dig into the food skill! In this (very important) skill, you will learn all about how to talk about food.

    ——

    Language Feature

    An saghas...

    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.

    ——

    Language Feature

    I’m at the eating of the food

    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!

  • ••• 05 Animals33 @ 75% 25
    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
  • ••• 05 Plurals42 @ 50% 50
    ainmhithe · béir · cait · capaill · ceapairí · eilifintí · iad · lachan · leabhair · lucha · madraí · muid · nuachtáin · plátaí · turtair · úlla
    16 words
    Definite and Indefinite Articles

    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 AnNa: 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.

  • ••• 05 Eclipsis51 @ 75% 25
    ag · ar · dtrioblóid · gcónaí · i · roimh
    6 words

    Welcome to Eclipsis!

    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:


    1. Possessive Adjectives

    Eclipsis occurs where a word comes after ár our, bhur your (plural), and a their.

    Examples:

    • ár gcailín our girl
    • a mbuachaill their boy

    2. Numbers

    Eclipsis occurs after the numbers seven to 10.

    Examples:

    • seacht gcapall seven horses
    • naoi dteach nine houses

    3. Preposition + Definite Article

    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:

    • ar an mbord on the table
    • thar an bhfuinneog over the window

    An exception to this rule is that the word should not be eclipsed if it begins with d or t.

    Examples:

    • ag an doras at the door
    • roimh an teach before the house

    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:

    • leis an tseanbhean with the old woman

    If the word begins with s and is masculine, no change occurs.

    Example:

    • leis an salann with the salt

    4. Other Words

    Eclipsis is also added after the words i in, if, mura if/unless.

    Example:

    • i mbosca in a box

    Words starting with a vowel

    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:

    • úll apple
    • ár n-úll our apple
    • seacht n-úll seven apples
    • ar an úll on the apple

    A dash is placed between the letter n and the vowel — unless that vowel is a capital letter.

    Examples:

    • Uachtarán President
    • ár nUachtarán our President

    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:

    • an t-ollmhargadh the supermarket
    • ag an ollmhargadh at the supermarket

    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

  • ••• 05 Lenition52 @ 50% 50
    chuisneoir · cuisneoir · den · mhilseán · milseáin · phéitseog · phéitseoga · péitseog · péitseoga · sa
    10 words

    Welcome to the Lenition skill!

    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.


    1. Feminine Nouns

    Feminine nouns are lenited after the definite article an in the nominative case.

    Examples:

    • mairteoil beef, an mhairteoil the beef
    • bean woman, an bhean the woman

    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:

    • an deasc the desk
    • an traein the train
    • an tsubh the jam
    • an tsláinte the health
    • an tsnaidhm the knot
    • an tsráid the street

    2. Feminine Adjectives

    Singular feminine nouns cause lenition of the following adjective.

    Examples:

    • bean mhaith a good woman
    • an mhairteoil dhearg the red beef

    Note: Only when the adjective directly follows its noun.


    3. Possessive Adjectives

    Lenition occurs after mo my, do your, a his.

    Examples:

    • mo chara my friend
    • do mhadra your dog
    • a mhac his son

    4. Numbers

    Lenition occurs after the numbers one to six.

    Examples:

    • sé chapall six horses
    • trí bhuidéal three bottles

    5. Vocative Case

    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.


    6. Prepositions

    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:

    • don bhuachaill to the boy
    • sa pháirc in the field

    An exception is that words beginning with d, t, s are not lenited after den, don, sa or san.

    Examples:

    • den doras off the door
    • sa teach in the house
    • don sú to the juice

    7. Other Words

    Lenition is also used after the phrase nuair a when, the prefixes ró- too and an- very, and the word if (unless the next word is a version of or deir). Other special cases will be highlighted in other lessons.

    Examples:

    • nuair a bhrisim when I break
    • ró-mhór too big
    • an-mhaith very good
    • má dhúnann sé if he closes

    DeNTaLS-DoTS

    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:

    • den sagart off the priest
    • an-te very hot

    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

  • ••• 05 Clothing62 @ 75% 25
    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
  • ••• 05 Possessives63 @ 50% 50
    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.

    Words starting with a consonant

    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:

    • fón phone
    • m'fhón my phone
    • d'fhón your phone

    If the word begins with a consonant that does not undergo lenition (or eclipsis), the spelling remains unchanged.

    Examples:

    • léine shirt
    • mo léine my shirt
    • ár léine our shirt
    • a léine his/her/its/their shirt

    Words starting with a vowel

    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.

    • The h-prefix is used after the word a (when it means her). Note that there is no hyphen.
    • The n-prefix is used after ár, bhur, and a (when it means their). Note the hyphen between the n- and the word.

    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.

    A

    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.

  • ••• 05 Verbs: Present 172 @ 75% 25
    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.

    1. The first conjugation

    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, 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:

    • dúnaim I close
    • dúnann sé he closes
    • brisim I break
    • briseann sé he breaks

    2. The second conjugation

    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:

    • bailíonn tú you collect
    • ceannaímid / ceannaíonn muid we buy
    • insím I tell
    • osclaíonn sibh you open

    3. Irregular verbs

    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!

    The question form

    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:

    • Dúnann tú You close
    • An ndúnann tú? Do you close?
    • Briseann sí She breaks
    • An mbriseann sí? Does she break?

    The irregular verb be is an exception:

    • Tá tú You are
    • An bhfuil tú? Are you?
    • Táimid We are
    • An bhfuilimid? Are we?

    The negative form

    To put a verb in the present habitual tense into the negative form, you use the negation word and add a lenition (séimhiú) to the verb if possible.

    Examples:

    • Dúnann tú You close
    • Ní dhúnann tú You do not close
    • Briseann tú You break
    • Ní bhriseann sí She does not break

    Again, the verb is an exception in this tense, as well as the verb abair say:

    • Tá tú You are
    • Níl tú? You are not
    • Táimid We are
    • Nílimid? We are not
    Abair
    • Deir tú You say
    • Ní deir tú You do not say
    • Deirimid We say
    • Ní deirimid We do not say

    Yes or No?

    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)")

    • Ní dhúnaim (an doras) No, I do not close the door (literally just "I do not close (the door)")
  • ••• 05 Colors73 @ 50% 50
    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.

    Masculine singular nouns

    An adjective that follows a masculine singular noun does not change (for example, an bosca dubh the black box).

    Feminine singular nouns

    An adjective that follows a feminine singular noun is lenited if possible (for example, an eilifint dhubh the black elephant).

    Plural nouns

    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.

    Getting Descriptive

    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'!

  • ••• 05 Questions81 @ 75% 25
    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

    C question 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 , , cad.

    Here are some examples of C question words:

    English Irish
    who
    what cad / céard
    which cén
    where
    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

    Yes and no

    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:

    • Do you play soccer? Yes. = Do you play soccer? I play. = An imríonn tú sacar? Imrím.
    • Do you eat cheese? No. = Do you eat cheese? I do not eat. = An itheann tú cáis? Ní ithim.
    • Does she work in the city? Yes. = Does she work in the city? She works. = An oibríonn sí sa chathair? Oibríonn (sí).
    • Do the children listen to you? No. = Do the children listen to you? They do not listen. = An éisteann na páistí leat? Ní éisteann (siad).
  • ••• 05 Conjunctions83 @ 50% 50
    ach · mar · má · nuair · sin
    5 words
  • ••• 05 Prepositions 192 @ 50% 50
    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:

    • Tá an fear liom The man is with me
    • Ritheann an cailín chuici The girl runs to/toward/towards her

    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.


    Ar

    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 , 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".)

    • Tá ort snámh You must swim
    • Tá ar Phól éisteacht Paul must listen
    • Tá orthu siúl They must walk

    Ó

    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 , 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".)

    • An bhfuil léine uait? Do you want a shirt?
    • Tá madraí uaidh He wants dogs
    • Tá uathu siúl They want to walk
    • Tá úll ó Phól Paul wants an apple
    • Tá na páistí ó bhean A woman wants the children

    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".)

    • Teastaíonn na leabhair uaithi She wants/needs the books
    • Teastaíonn seacláid uainn We want/need chocolate
    • Teastaíonn uaim snámh I want/need to swim
    • Teastaíonn cáca ó chailín A girl wants/needs a cake
    • An dteastaíonn na hataí? Are the hats needed?
  • ••• 05 Ireland 1101 @ 50% 50
    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.

  • ••• 05 Dates and Time102 @ 50% 50
    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.

    Words beginning with vowels

    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.

    Words beginning with s

    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 Irish calendar

    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.

  • ••• 05 Family- @ 50% 50
  • ••• 05 Occupations113 @ 50% 50
    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
  • ••• 05 Adjectives121 @ 50% 50
    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
  • ••• 05 Verbs: Present 2122 @ 50% 50
    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

    Unusual First Conjugation Verbs

    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:

    • Tiomáinim (I drive) Note the short -im ending, as opposed to the longer -ím ending you might expect
    • Taispeánann sé (He shows) Note the short -ann ending, as opposed to the longer -aíonn ending you might expect. Also note how the second "i" was dropped from taispeáin to form the stem. This is another peculiarity of some of these verbs

    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.

  • ••• 05 Prepositions 2123 @ 50% 50
    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

    I

    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.

    • Ceannaím bia sa siopa I buy food in the shop
    • Tá an dochtúir san ospidéal The doctor is in the hospital
    • Tá an t-iasc san fharraige The fish is in the sea
    • Tá na dochtúirí sna nuachtáin The doctors are in the newspapers

    The preposition i also combines with the possessive adjectives a and ár to form ina and inár.

    • Tá an leabhar ina teach The book is in her house
    • Tá an madra inár dteach The dog is in our house

    When used with special forms of the verb , it is possible to use this preposition to describe what something is, instead of using the copula is.

    • Is dochtúir é = He is a doctor = "[It is] a doctor that is in him" = (Is) dochtúir atá ann
    • Is feirmeoirí muid = We are farmers = "[It is] farmers that are in us" = (Is) feirmeoirí atá ionainn
    • Is dlíodóir í = She is a lawyer = "[It is] a lawyer that is in her" = (Is) dlíodóir atá inti

    Faoi

    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 , 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".)

    • Tá fút snámh You intend to swim
    • Tá faoi Phól éisteacht Paul intends to listen
    • Tá fúthú siúl They intend to walk
  • ••• 05 Genitive Case131 @ 50% 50
    chait · comhair · fhir · fir · gcat · gcuid · madra · madraí · mhadra · mhic · mic · os · timpeall
    13 words

    Cases

    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

    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:

    • to express ownership ("the dog's bowl", "Paul's sandwich")
    • after the verbal noun
    • after some prepositions, like tar éis after or os comhair over
    • after some adverbs, like go leor lots or níos mó more

    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:

    • an hata the hat
    • an fear the man
    • hata an fhir the man's hat (literally, the hat of the man)

    This example highlights three separate features:

    1. The definite article (in this case an) is used only once in Irish, where it is used twice in English.
    2. The noun in the genitive case is lenited (an fhir), whereas it is not lenited in the nominative case (an fear). For singular nouns in the genitive, the rules of lenition in response to gender are reversed compared to the nominative case (in other words, masculine nouns are lenited and feminine nouns are not lenited).
    3. The genitive singular form of fear (fir) is the same as the plural (fir). It will be clear from context and/or from the associated article (an or na) which case is being used.

    Examples:

    • Tá hata ag na fir The men have a hat
    • Seo é hata an fhir This is the man's hat

    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

    Declensions

    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.

    The first declension

    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.

    The second declension

    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.

    The third declension

    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*.

    The fourth declension

    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.

    The fifth declension

    Most of these are feminine. The genitive singular is varied for these nouns; they can end in -ach, -n, -nn or -d.

  • ••• 05 Negatives141 @ 50% 50
    fuath · nach · nílim · ábalta
    4 words

    Níl

    You have already seen the present habitual tense of the verb 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
  • ••• 05 Comparison143 @ 50% 50
    is · níos
    2 words

    Comparative

    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.

    Superlative

    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.

    Forming the Comparative and Superlative Forms

    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)

    ComparativeSuperlative
    níos brónaíis brónaí
    níos neirbhísíis 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)

    ComparativeSuperlative
    níos leisciúlais 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)

    ComparativeSuperlative
    níos saibhreis saibhre
    níos óigeis óige

    Group 4

    The 4th group is made up of adjectives that end with a vowel. These usually do not change. Example: Cróga (brave)

    ComparativeSuperlative
    níos crógais cróga

    Group 5

    The 5th group is made up of adjectives that are irregular in the comparative and superlative forms.

    AdjectiveComparativeSuperlative
    fada (long)níos faideis faide
    gearr (short)níos giorrais giorra
    maith (good)níos fearris fearr
    mór (big)níos móis mó
    beag (small)níos lúis lú
    olc (bad)níos measais measa
    tapaidh (fast)níos tapúlais tapúla
    te (hot)níos teois teo

  • ••• 05 Adverbs151 @ 50% 50
    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
  • ••• 05 Places152 @ 50% 50
    cósta · dteach · dtí · foirgneamh · gcósta · gcúinne · isteach · margadh · oifig · ollmhargadh · phictiúrlann · príomhchathair · roinn · sheomra · suíomh · talamh · tábhairne · óstán
    18 words
  • ••• 05 Objects153 @ 50% 50
    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
  • ••• 05 Prepositions 3162 @ 50% 50
    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 - 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

    Idir

    This preposition normally means between. In this case, no lenition occurs:

    • Tá an cat idir éan agus madra The cat is between a bird and a dog
    • Ithim seacláid idir béilí I eat chocolate between meals

    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:

    • Tá idir chailíní agus bhuachaillí sa phictiúrlann Both girls and boys are in the cinema
    • Is maith léi úlla idir bheag agus mhór She likes both small and large apples
  • ••• 05 People171 @ 50% 50
    bhantiarna · chara · coiste · cultúr · daoine · duine · féin · gclub · leanbh · mbantiarna · namhaid · phatrún · pobal · saoránach · sráidbhaile · óg · óga
    17 words
  • ••• 05 Passive172 @ 50% 50
    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

    Passive in the First Conjugation

    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)

    Passive in the Second Conjugation

    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)

    Passive for Irregular Verbs

    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.

  • ••• 05 Language173 @ 50% 50
    chomharthaíochta · comhartha · dhearcadh · foclóir · teideal · treoracha
    6 words
  • ••• 05 Travel181 @ 50% 50
    casaim · eachtra · eoraip · euro · francach · gearmánach · ghearmáin · gluaisrothar · iodálach · lear · léarscáil · meiriceánach · meitreo · punt · rothar · sasana · spáinneach · tacsaí · thar · timpeall · éireannach
    21 words
  • ••• 05 Numbers182 @ 50% 50
    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.

    1. Disjunctive numbers

    These are known in Irish as maoluimhreacha. They are used when the number is not immediately followed by a noun, such as:

    • counting ("one, two, three")
    • arithmetic ("two plus two is four")
    • telling time ("it is a quarter to five")
    • phone numbers ("call me at 555-1234")
    • after nouns ("bus 13", "channel 6")

    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

    2. General conjunctive numbers

    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:

    1-6

    The number is placed before the noun, and the noun is lenited (for example, trí gheata three gates).

    7-10

    The number is placed before the noun, and the noun is eclipsed (for example, deich ngeata ten gates).

    11-19

    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.

    20+

    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

    3. Human conjunctive numbers

    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).

  • ••• 05 Feelings and Traits191 @ 50% 50
    cliste · cróga · díograiseach · díomá · feargach · greannmhar · leisciúil · mímhacánta · ocras · sceitimíní · sásta · tart · ádh · álainn · éad
    15 words

    Feelings

    There are several ways to express felling in Irish.

    Method 1

    This method uses a noun and the prepositional pronoun "ar" (on). Here is the prepositional pronoun in all its forms:

    EnglishIrish
    On meOrm
    On you (singular)Ort
    On him (it)Air
    On her (it)Uirthi
    On usOrainn
    On youOraibh
    On themOrthu
    Example: Tá ocras orm. ( I am hungry)

    Method 2

    This method uses the verb "bí" and and adjective. Example: Táim ocrasach (I am hungry)

  • ••• 05 Verbs: Present 3192 @ 50% 50
    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
  • ••• 05 Education193 @ 50% 50
    abairt · chúrsa · deacracht · gcúrsa · leabharlann · luaidhe · léacht · míniú · múineadh · oideachas · ollamh · spéis · staidéar · suim · traenáil
    15 words
  • ••• 05 Verbs: Past 1201 @ 50% 50
    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.

    First conjugation

    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:

    • D'ól mé I drank
    • D'ól muid/ D'ólamar We drank
    • Óladh an beoir The beer was drunk

    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

    Second conjugation

    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:

    • D'éalaigh mé I escaped
    • D'oscail muid/ D'osclaíomar We opened
    • Osclaíodh an buidéal The bottle was opened

    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

    Irregular Verbs

    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 and Negative Forms

    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?)

    • Exceptions:

    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)

    • Exceptions:

    Bí: Ní raibh...

    Téigh: Ní dheachaigh...

    Déan: Ní dhearna...

    Feic: Ní fhaca...

    Faigh: Ní bfuair...

    Abair: Ní dúirt...

  • ••• 05 Measurements202 @ 50% 50
    beagán · cheintiméadar · cileagram · gciliméadar · gram · iomlán · lítir · meánn · mhéadar · mhéid · péire · troithe
    12 words
  • ••• 05 The World211 @ 50% 50
    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
  • ••• 05 Characteristics212 @ 50% 50
    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)

  • ••• 05 Verbs: Past 2222 @ 50% 50
    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:

    First conjugation

    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:

    • D'ól mé I drank
    • D'ól muid/ D'ólamar We drank
    • Óladh an beoir The beer was drunk

    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

    Second conjugation

    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:

    • D'éalaigh mé I escaped
    • D'oscail muid/ D'osclaíomar We opened
    • Osclaíodh an buidéal The bottle was opened

    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

    Irregular Verbs

    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 and Negative Forms

    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?)

    • Exceptions:

    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)

    • Exceptions:

    Bí: Ní raibh...

    Téigh: Ní dheachaigh...

    Déan: Ní dhearna...

    Feic: Ní fhaca...

    Faigh: Ní bfuair...

    Abair: Ní dúirt...

  • ••• 05 Abstract Objects 1231 @ 50% 50
    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
  • ••• 05 Weather233 @ 50% 50
    aimsir · cur · droch · fhuar · griandó · réaltaí · réamhaisnéis · sneachta · the · tornádó
    10 words
  • ••• 05 Communication and Technology242 @ 50% 50
    cadhnraí · chlóscríobh · clúdaigh · dearmad · feidhmchlár · fógra · glúine · gréasáin · idirlíon · litreach · líonra · mhéarchlár · oibriúcháin · phasfhocal · ríomhphost · seolann · sonraí · stampaí · teicneolaíocht
    19 words
  • ••• 05 Nature251 @ 50% 50
    abhainn · adhmad · aeráid · bláth · bolcán · deatach · duilleog · dúlra · leac · oighir · réaltbhuíon · rós · triomach · tuath · tírdhreach
    15 words
  • ••• 05 Adjectives 2252 @ 50% 50
    chúthail · cúthail · dochreidte · gránna · lofa · ollmhór · saibhir · simplí · stairiúil · éasca · úsáideach
    11 words
  • ••• 05 Verbal Noun262 @ 25% 75
    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:

    • Táim ag glanadh I am cleaning
    • Tá Pól ag ithe Paul is eating
    • Níl mo mhac ag siúl My son is not walking

    Objects after a verbal noun

    Nouns

    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:

    • Táim ag ithe úill I am eating an apple
    • Tá mé ag bailiú airgid sa bhaile I am collecting money in the town
    • An bhfuil Pól ag déanamh oibre? Is Paul doing work?
    • Táim ag lorg oibre i Londain I am looking for work in London
    • Tá síad ag díol na n-éadaí They are selling the clothes

    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.

    • Táimid ag caitheamh seachtaine i Londain We are spending a week in London
    • Táim ag lorg oibre sa Rialtas I am looking for work in the Government
    Pronouns

    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.

    Verbal nouns starting with a consonant

    To illustrate this, we will use:

    • Tá Pól ag glanadh Paul is cleaning
    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
    Verbal nouns starting with a vowel

    To illustrate this, we will use:

    • Tá sé ag aistriú He is transferring/moving
    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
  • ••• 05 Ireland 2271 @ 50% 50
    an · beatha · ceannais · chrócaigh · faoil · fhéile · gorta · leipreachán · luimneach · pádraig · rua
    11 words

    Welcome back to Ireland!

    On this visit to the Land of Saints and Scholars, you will learn about Irish inventions, traditions and symbols.

    Have fun!

  • ••• 05 Abstract Objects 2272 @ 50% 50
    aird · arm · dabht · iarracht · iompar · leictreachas · meangadh · reiligiún · spraoi · taithí · tromluí
    11 words
  • ••• 05 Pronouns Reflexive273 @ 50% 50
    féin · sinn
    2 words

    Pronouns Reflexive

    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:

    • Ním mé féin (I wash myself)
    • Ghortaigh sé é féin (He hurt himself)
  • ••• 05 Directions281 @ 50% 50
    aduaidh · anall · aneas · aniar · anoir · anonn · anuas · aníos · sall · siar · soir · suas · síos · thall · theas · thiar · thoir · thuaidh · thuas · thíos
    20 words

    Position vs Direction

    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.

  • ••• 05 Sport- @ 50% 50
  • ••• 05 Arts293 @ 50% 50
    litríocht
    1 words
  • ••• 05 Medical301 @ 50% 50
  • ••• 05 Verbs: Future 1302 @ 50% 50

    The future tense is a very common tense in Irish and is easy to form.

    The first conjugation

    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:

    • Dúnfaimid / Dúnfaidh muid We will close
    • Ólfaidh sí She will drink

    The second conjugation

    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:

    • Imeoidh sé He will leave
    • Ceannóidh mé I will buy

    Irregular verbs

    The irregular verbs do not all follow the above conjugation rules, though you will notice some similarities.

    Question form

    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:

    • An dtuigfidh sí? Will she understand?
    • An ceannófar an leabhar? Will the book be bought?

    Exceptions include the verb faigh get:

    • An bhfaighidh sé? Will he get?

    Negative form

    To make the negative form in the future tense, you use the negation word , which causes the verb that comes after it to be lenited (if possible).

    Examples:

    • Ní bhaileoidh mé I will not collect
    • Ní ólfaimid / Ní ólfaidh muid We will not drink

    Exceptions include the verbs abair say and faigh get:

    • Ní déarfaidh sé He will not say (note: no lenition)
    • Ní bhfaighidh mé I will not get
  • ••• 05 Politics311 @ 50% 50
    náisiúnta · teachta
    2 words
  • ••• 05 Verbs: Future 2321 @ 50% 50
  • ••• 05 Science322 @ 50% 50
  • ••• 05 Imperative323 @ 50% 50
    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.

    Second Person Singular

    If you are ordering one person, you use this form. It simply uses the verb root.

    Examples: Dún! (Close!), Bí ciúin! (Be quiet)

    Second Person Plural

    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!)

    Negative

    To turn an imperative phrase negative, you use the imperative negative particle (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 .

    Example: Ná dúnaigí! (Don't close!), Ná hól alcól! (Don't drink alcohol!)

  • ••• 05 Verbs: Imperfect331 @ 50% 50
    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)

    First Conjugation

    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
    -ainn -inn Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
    -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
    • The pronoun is not used in the imperfect tense, except with the sé/sí/sibh form.

    Examples: Mholainn (I used to praise), Thuigteá (You used to understand)

    Second Conjugation

    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)

    PronounBroad EndingSlender EndingOther Changes
    -aínn-ínnConsonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
    -aíteá-íteáConsonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
    Sé/Sí/Sibh-aíodh-íodhConsonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
    Muid-aímis-ímisConsonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
    Siad-aídís-ídísConsonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
    Passive-aítí-ítíConsonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
    • The pronoun is not used in the imperfect, except with the sé/sí/sibh form.

    Examples: Cheannaíodh sé (He used to buy), D'insídís (They used to tell)

    Question and Negative Forms

    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)

  • ••• 05 Spiritual341 @ 50% 50
    aifreann · anam · choinsias · cháisc · coinsias · dia · eaglais · laoch · machnamh · naomh · nollaig · paidir · phaidir · phaidreacha · reilig · sagart · taibhse · taifreann · tsochraid
    19 words
  • ••• 05 Verbs: Conditional342 @ 25% 75
    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.

    First Conjugation

    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
    -fainn -finn Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
    -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
    • The pronoun is not used in the conditional, except with the sé/sí/sibh form.

    Examples: Thuigfinn (I would understand), D'éistfeadh sí (She would listen)

    Second Conjugation

    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
    -óinn -eoinn Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
    -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
    • The pronoun is not used in the conditional, except with the sé/sí/sibh form.

    Examples: Chabhrófá (You would help), D'éalódh sibh (You would escape)

    Irregular Verbs

    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 and Negative Forms

    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?)

    • Exceptions:

    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)

    • Exceptions:

    Faigh: Ní bhfaighinn...

    If

    When using the conditional mood (yes, this form is technically a mood and not a tense), we use the word to mean if.

    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)).

    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) (mura could be translated as if not)

    Mura causes the same changes as

    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.

  • ••• 05 Business343 @ 50% 50
    airgeadra · branda · domhanda · gnó · sladmhargadh · táirge · árachas
    7 words
Cached // 2023-06-070.075

Basics 1 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Fáilte | Welcome!

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!


Intro

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


Word Order

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 (he), and the object is bia (food).

In summary: Irish sentences start with their verbs!

  • Ithim bia | I eat food
  • Itheann an fear bia | The man eats food
  • Ólannbainne | She drinks milk

To be, or not to be...

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 and an chopail.

  • is Irish for to be, and is one of only eleven irregular verbs in the whole language. That's handy!
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.

  • An chopail (the copula) is a defective verb with its own funky grammar. It doesn't even follow the normal word order rules! The word you are talking about goes in the middle.
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!

Basics 2 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Buntús 2 | Basics 2

You're still here. That's wonderful! We'll start with a strange but important little rule:

"Caol le caol agus leathan le leathan."

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.


A bit about Verbs

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.


1. The first conjugation

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:

  • dúnaim I close
  • dúnann sé he closes
  • brisim I break
  • briseann sé he breaks
  • ólaimid we drink

Notice how sometimes it takes two words, and sometimes just one. In present tense verbs, and muid are often not used; they can be incorporated into their verb to make the 'synthetic form'.


2. The second conjugation

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:

  • bailíonn tú you collect
  • ceannaímid we buy
  • insím I tell
  • osclaíonn sibh you open

3. Irregular verbs

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:

  • abair say
  • beir bear/carry/bring
  • be
  • clois hear
  • déan do/make
  • feic see
  • faigh get
  • ith eat
  • tabhair give
  • tar come
  • téigh go

But seriously, they're not that bad.


See you in the next skill!

Common Phrases 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Welcome to Phrases!

Hello!

The formal way to greet someone is by saying Dia duit. Literally this means God to you. Here is something to note:

  • Dia duit is used when greeting one person.
  • Dia daoibh is used when greeting more than one person.

The proper response is Dia is Muire duit, which literally means God and Mary to you.

  • Dia is Muire duit is used when replying to one person.
  • Dia is Muire daoibh is used when replying to more than one person.

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? –


To have

We don't say "have" in Irish, that's way too simple and direct. Instead the verb (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 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 + ag:

  • Tá oráiste agam I have an orange
  • Tá pláta acu They have a plate
  • Tá cailín ag Pól Paul has a girl/girlfriend

To speak or to have?

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!

Food 3 · 2020-06-23 ^

Bain sult as do bhéile!

Let’s dig into the food skill! In this (very important) skill, you will learn all about how to talk about food.

——

Language Feature

An saghas...

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.

——

Language Feature

I’m at the eating of the food

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!

Plurals 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Definite and Indefinite Articles

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 AnNa: 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.

Eclipsis 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Welcome to Eclipsis!

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:


1. Possessive Adjectives

Eclipsis occurs where a word comes after ár our, bhur your (plural), and a their.

Examples:

  • ár gcailín our girl
  • a mbuachaill their boy

2. Numbers

Eclipsis occurs after the numbers seven to 10.

Examples:

  • seacht gcapall seven horses
  • naoi dteach nine houses

3. Preposition + Definite Article

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:

  • ar an mbord on the table
  • thar an bhfuinneog over the window

An exception to this rule is that the word should not be eclipsed if it begins with d or t.

Examples:

  • ag an doras at the door
  • roimh an teach before the house

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:

  • leis an tseanbhean with the old woman

If the word begins with s and is masculine, no change occurs.

Example:

  • leis an salann with the salt

4. Other Words

Eclipsis is also added after the words i in, if, mura if/unless.

Example:

  • i mbosca in a box

Words starting with a vowel

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:

  • úll apple
  • ár n-úll our apple
  • seacht n-úll seven apples
  • ar an úll on the apple

A dash is placed between the letter n and the vowel — unless that vowel is a capital letter.

Examples:

  • Uachtarán President
  • ár nUachtarán our President

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:

  • an t-ollmhargadh the supermarket
  • ag an ollmhargadh at the supermarket

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

Lenition 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Welcome to the Lenition skill!

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.


1. Feminine Nouns

Feminine nouns are lenited after the definite article an in the nominative case.

Examples:

  • mairteoil beef, an mhairteoil the beef
  • bean woman, an bhean the woman

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:

  • an deasc the desk
  • an traein the train
  • an tsubh the jam
  • an tsláinte the health
  • an tsnaidhm the knot
  • an tsráid the street

2. Feminine Adjectives

Singular feminine nouns cause lenition of the following adjective.

Examples:

  • bean mhaith a good woman
  • an mhairteoil dhearg the red beef

Note: Only when the adjective directly follows its noun.


3. Possessive Adjectives

Lenition occurs after mo my, do your, a his.

Examples:

  • mo chara my friend
  • do mhadra your dog
  • a mhac his son

4. Numbers

Lenition occurs after the numbers one to six.

Examples:

  • sé chapall six horses
  • trí bhuidéal three bottles

5. Vocative Case

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.


6. Prepositions

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:

  • don bhuachaill to the boy
  • sa pháirc in the field

An exception is that words beginning with d, t, s are not lenited after den, don, sa or san.

Examples:

  • den doras off the door
  • sa teach in the house
  • don sú to the juice

7. Other Words

Lenition is also used after the phrase nuair a when, the prefixes ró- too and an- very, and the word if (unless the next word is a version of or deir). Other special cases will be highlighted in other lessons.

Examples:

  • nuair a bhrisim when I break
  • ró-mhór too big
  • an-mhaith very good
  • má dhúnann sé if he closes

DeNTaLS-DoTS

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:

  • den sagart off the priest
  • an-te very hot

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

Possessives 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

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.

Words starting with a consonant

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:

  • fón phone
  • m'fhón my phone
  • d'fhón your phone

If the word begins with a consonant that does not undergo lenition (or eclipsis), the spelling remains unchanged.

Examples:

  • léine shirt
  • mo léine my shirt
  • ár léine our shirt
  • a léine his/her/its/their shirt

Words starting with a vowel

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.

  • The h-prefix is used after the word a (when it means her). Note that there is no hyphen.
  • The n-prefix is used after ár, bhur, and a (when it means their). Note the hyphen between the n- and the word.

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.

A

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.

Verbs: Present 1 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

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.

1. The first conjugation

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, 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:

  • dúnaim I close
  • dúnann sé he closes
  • brisim I break
  • briseann sé he breaks

2. The second conjugation

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:

  • bailíonn tú you collect
  • ceannaímid / ceannaíonn muid we buy
  • insím I tell
  • osclaíonn sibh you open

3. Irregular verbs

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!

The question form

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:

  • Dúnann tú You close
  • An ndúnann tú? Do you close?
  • Briseann sí She breaks
  • An mbriseann sí? Does she break?

The irregular verb be is an exception:

  • Tá tú You are
  • An bhfuil tú? Are you?
  • Táimid We are
  • An bhfuilimid? Are we?

The negative form

To put a verb in the present habitual tense into the negative form, you use the negation word and add a lenition (séimhiú) to the verb if possible.

Examples:

  • Dúnann tú You close
  • Ní dhúnann tú You do not close
  • Briseann tú You break
  • Ní bhriseann sí She does not break

Again, the verb is an exception in this tense, as well as the verb abair say:

  • Tá tú You are
  • Níl tú? You are not
  • Táimid We are
  • Nílimid? We are not
Abair
  • Deir tú You say
  • Ní deir tú You do not say
  • Deirimid We say
  • Ní deirimid We do not say

Yes or No?

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)")

  • Ní dhúnaim (an doras) No, I do not close the door (literally just "I do not close (the door)")

Colors 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

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.

Masculine singular nouns

An adjective that follows a masculine singular noun does not change (for example, an bosca dubh the black box).

Feminine singular nouns

An adjective that follows a feminine singular noun is lenited if possible (for example, an eilifint dhubh the black elephant).

Plural nouns

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.

Getting Descriptive

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'!

Questions 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

C question 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 , , cad.

Here are some examples of C question words:

English Irish
who
what cad / céard
which cén
where
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

Yes and no

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:

  • Do you play soccer? Yes. = Do you play soccer? I play. = An imríonn tú sacar? Imrím.
  • Do you eat cheese? No. = Do you eat cheese? I do not eat. = An itheann tú cáis? Ní ithim.
  • Does she work in the city? Yes. = Does she work in the city? She works. = An oibríonn sí sa chathair? Oibríonn (sí).
  • Do the children listen to you? No. = Do the children listen to you? They do not listen. = An éisteann na páistí leat? Ní éisteann (siad).

Prepositions 1 1 · 2018-12-30 ^

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:

  • Tá an fear liom The man is with me
  • Ritheann an cailín chuici The girl runs to/toward/towards her

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.


Ar

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 , 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".)

  • Tá ort snámh You must swim
  • Tá ar Phól éisteacht Paul must listen
  • Tá orthu siúl They must walk

Ó

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 , 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".)

  • An bhfuil léine uait? Do you want a shirt?
  • Tá madraí uaidh He wants dogs
  • Tá uathu siúl They want to walk
  • Tá úll ó Phól Paul wants an apple
  • Tá na páistí ó bhean A woman wants the children

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".)

  • Teastaíonn na leabhair uaithi She wants/needs the books
  • Teastaíonn seacláid uainn We want/need chocolate
  • Teastaíonn uaim snámh I want/need to swim
  • Teastaíonn cáca ó chailín A girl wants/needs a cake
  • An dteastaíonn na hataí? Are the hats needed?

Ireland 1 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Voccab and topics specificially related to Ireland craic, gardaí, taoiseach, eachtarán etc... Can be used to explain things about Ireland.

Dates and Time 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

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.

Words beginning with vowels

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.

Words beginning with s

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 Irish calendar

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.

Family 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Muintir, teaghlach, clann

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.

Verbs: Present 2 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Unusual First Conjugation Verbs

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:

  • Tiomáinim (I drive) Note the short -im ending, as opposed to the longer -ím ending you might expect
  • Taispeánann sé (He shows) Note the short -ann ending, as opposed to the longer -aíonn ending you might expect. Also note how the second "i" was dropped from taispeáin to form the stem. This is another peculiarity of some of these verbs

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.

Prepositions 2 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

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

I

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.

  • Ceannaím bia sa siopa I buy food in the shop
  • Tá an dochtúir san ospidéal The doctor is in the hospital
  • Tá an t-iasc san fharraige The fish is in the sea
  • Tá na dochtúirí sna nuachtáin The doctors are in the newspapers

The preposition i also combines with the possessive adjectives a and ár to form ina and inár.

  • Tá an leabhar ina teach The book is in her house
  • Tá an madra inár dteach The dog is in our house

When used with special forms of the verb , it is possible to use this preposition to describe what something is, instead of using the copula is.

  • Is dochtúir é = He is a doctor = "[It is] a doctor that is in him" = (Is) dochtúir atá ann
  • Is feirmeoirí muid = We are farmers = "[It is] farmers that are in us" = (Is) feirmeoirí atá ionainn
  • Is dlíodóir í = She is a lawyer = "[It is] a lawyer that is in her" = (Is) dlíodóir atá inti

Faoi

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 , 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".)

  • Tá fút snámh You intend to swim
  • Tá faoi Phól éisteacht Paul intends to listen
  • Tá fúthú siúl They intend to walk

Genitive Case 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Cases

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

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:

  • to express ownership ("the dog's bowl", "Paul's sandwich")
  • after the verbal noun
  • after some prepositions, like tar éis after or os comhair over
  • after some adverbs, like go leor lots or níos mó more

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:

  • an hata the hat
  • an fear the man
  • hata an fhir the man's hat (literally, the hat of the man)

This example highlights three separate features:

  1. The definite article (in this case an) is used only once in Irish, where it is used twice in English.
  2. The noun in the genitive case is lenited (an fhir), whereas it is not lenited in the nominative case (an fear). For singular nouns in the genitive, the rules of lenition in response to gender are reversed compared to the nominative case (in other words, masculine nouns are lenited and feminine nouns are not lenited).
  3. The genitive singular form of fear (fir) is the same as the plural (fir). It will be clear from context and/or from the associated article (an or na) which case is being used.

Examples:

  • Tá hata ag na fir The men have a hat
  • Seo é hata an fhir This is the man's hat

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

Declensions

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.

The first declension

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.

The second declension

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.

The third declension

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*.

The fourth declension

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.

The fifth declension

Most of these are feminine. The genitive singular is varied for these nouns; they can end in -ach, -n, -nn or -d.

Negatives 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Níl

You have already seen the present habitual tense of the verb 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

Comparison 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Comparative

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.

Superlative

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.

Forming the Comparative and Superlative Forms

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)

ComparativeSuperlative
níos brónaíis brónaí
níos neirbhísíis 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)

ComparativeSuperlative
níos leisciúlais 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)

ComparativeSuperlative
níos saibhreis saibhre
níos óigeis óige

Group 4

The 4th group is made up of adjectives that end with a vowel. These usually do not change. Example: Cróga (brave)

ComparativeSuperlative
níos crógais cróga

Group 5

The 5th group is made up of adjectives that are irregular in the comparative and superlative forms.

AdjectiveComparativeSuperlative
fada (long)níos faideis faide
gearr (short)níos giorrais giorra
maith (good)níos fearris fearr
mór (big)níos móis mó
beag (small)níos lúis lú
olc (bad)níos measais measa
tapaidh (fast)níos tapúlais tapúla
te (hot)níos teois teo

Places 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Position vs Direction

One note about what we teach in this lesson:

Prepositions 3 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

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 - 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

Idir

This preposition normally means between. In this case, no lenition occurs:

  • Tá an cat idir éan agus madra The cat is between a bird and a dog
  • Ithim seacláid idir béilí I eat chocolate between meals

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:

  • Tá idir chailíní agus bhuachaillí sa phictiúrlann Both girls and boys are in the cinema
  • Is maith léi úlla idir bheag agus mhór She likes both small and large apples

Passive 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

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

Passive in the First Conjugation

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)

Passive in the Second Conjugation

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)

Passive for Irregular Verbs

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.

Numbers 2 · 2021-04-03 ^

In Irish, there are three systems of numbers: disjunctive, general conjunctive, and human conjunctive.

1. Disjunctive numbers

These are known in Irish as maoluimhreacha. They are used when the number is not immediately followed by a noun, such as:

  • counting ("one, two, three")
  • arithmetic ("two plus two is four")
  • telling time ("it is a quarter to five")
  • phone numbers ("call me at 555-1234")
  • after nouns ("bus 13", "channel 6")

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

2. General conjunctive numbers

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:

1-6

The number is placed before the noun, and the noun is lenited (for example, trí gheata three gates).

7-10

The number is placed before the noun, and the noun is eclipsed (for example, deich ngeata ten gates).

11-19

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.

20+

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

3. Human conjunctive numbers

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).

Feelings and Traits 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Feelings

There are several ways to express felling in Irish.

Method 1

This method uses a noun and the prepositional pronoun "ar" (on). Here is the prepositional pronoun in all its forms:

EnglishIrish
On meOrm
On you (singular)Ort
On him (it)Air
On her (it)Uirthi
On usOrainn
On youOraibh
On themOrthu
Example: Tá ocras orm. ( I am hungry)

Method 2

This method uses the verb "bí" and and adjective. Example: Táim ocrasach (I am hungry)

Verbs: Past 1 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

In Irish, the past tense is used very often and is quite easy to form.

First conjugation

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:

  • D'ól mé I drank
  • D'ól muid/ D'ólamar We drank
  • Óladh an beoir The beer was drunk

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

Second conjugation

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:

  • D'éalaigh mé I escaped
  • D'oscail muid/ D'osclaíomar We opened
  • Osclaíodh an buidéal The bottle was opened

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

Irregular Verbs

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 and Negative Forms

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?)

  • Exceptions:

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)

  • Exceptions:

Bí: Ní raibh...

Téigh: Ní dheachaigh...

Déan: Ní dhearna...

Feic: Ní fhaca...

Faigh: Ní bfuair...

Abair: Ní dúirt...

Characteristics 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

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)

Verbs: Past 2 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

You should be familiar with the past tense by now, but here are the conjugation rules once again to refresh your memory:

First conjugation

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:

  • D'ól mé I drank
  • D'ól muid/ D'ólamar We drank
  • Óladh an beoir The beer was drunk

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

Second conjugation

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:

  • D'éalaigh mé I escaped
  • D'oscail muid/ D'osclaíomar We opened
  • Osclaíodh an buidéal The bottle was opened

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

Irregular Verbs

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 and Negative Forms

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?)

  • Exceptions:

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)

  • Exceptions:

Bí: Ní raibh...

Téigh: Ní dheachaigh...

Déan: Ní dhearna...

Feic: Ní fhaca...

Faigh: Ní bfuair...

Abair: Ní dúirt...

Verbal Noun 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

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:

  • Táim ag glanadh I am cleaning
  • Tá Pól ag ithe Paul is eating
  • Níl mo mhac ag siúl My son is not walking

Objects after a verbal noun

Nouns

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:

  • Táim ag ithe úill I am eating an apple
  • Tá mé ag bailiú airgid sa bhaile I am collecting money in the town
  • An bhfuil Pól ag déanamh oibre? Is Paul doing work?
  • Táim ag lorg oibre i Londain I am looking for work in London
  • Tá síad ag díol na n-éadaí They are selling the clothes

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.

  • Táimid ag caitheamh seachtaine i Londain We are spending a week in London
  • Táim ag lorg oibre sa Rialtas I am looking for work in the Government
Pronouns

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.

Verbal nouns starting with a consonant

To illustrate this, we will use:

  • Tá Pól ag glanadh Paul is cleaning
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
Verbal nouns starting with a vowel

To illustrate this, we will use:

  • Tá sé ag aistriú He is transferring/moving
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

Ireland 2 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Welcome back to Ireland!

On this visit to the Land of Saints and Scholars, you will learn about Irish inventions, traditions and symbols.

Have fun!

Pronouns Reflexive 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Pronouns Reflexive

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:

  • Ním mé féin (I wash myself)
  • Ghortaigh sé é féin (He hurt himself)

Directions 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

Position vs Direction

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.

Sport 1 · 2019-02-20 ^

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:

  • Cúilín is used for Gaelic games (hurling, Gaelic football, camogie) for the score obtained by hitting/kicking the ball over the crossbar of the goal and between the two posts. It is the diminuitive of the word for goal, cúl (in these sports one cúl is worth 3 points and one cúilín is just 1 point).
  • Pointe is used for other sports or games (including video games), or when discussing, for example, the number of points a team has on a league table.

Verbs: Future 1 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

The future tense is a very common tense in Irish and is easy to form.

The first conjugation

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:

  • Dúnfaimid / Dúnfaidh muid We will close
  • Ólfaidh sí She will drink

The second conjugation

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:

  • Imeoidh sé He will leave
  • Ceannóidh mé I will buy

Irregular verbs

The irregular verbs do not all follow the above conjugation rules, though you will notice some similarities.

Question form

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:

  • An dtuigfidh sí? Will she understand?
  • An ceannófar an leabhar? Will the book be bought?

Exceptions include the verb faigh get:

  • An bhfaighidh sé? Will he get?

Negative form

To make the negative form in the future tense, you use the negation word , which causes the verb that comes after it to be lenited (if possible).

Examples:

  • Ní bhaileoidh mé I will not collect
  • Ní ólfaimid / Ní ólfaidh muid We will not drink

Exceptions include the verbs abair say and faigh get:

  • Ní déarfaidh sé He will not say (note: no lenition)
  • Ní bhfaighidh mé I will not get

Imperative 2 · 2021-03-11 ^

To form the imperative in Irish, it is very simple.

Second Person Singular

If you are ordering one person, you use this form. It simply uses the verb root.

Examples: Dún! (Close!), Bí ciúin! (Be quiet)

Second Person Plural

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!)

Negative

To turn an imperative phrase negative, you use the imperative negative particle (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 .

Example: Ná dúnaigí! (Don't close!), Ná hól alcól! (Don't drink alcohol!)

Verbs: Imperfect 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

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)

First Conjugation

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
-ainn -inn Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
-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
  • The pronoun is not used in the imperfect tense, except with the sé/sí/sibh form.

Examples: Mholainn (I used to praise), Thuigteá (You used to understand)

Second Conjugation

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)

PronounBroad EndingSlender EndingOther Changes
-aínn-ínnConsonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
-aíteá-íteáConsonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
Sé/Sí/Sibh-aíodh-íodhConsonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
Muid-aímis-ímisConsonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
Siad-aídís-ídísConsonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
Passive-aítí-ítíConsonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
  • The pronoun is not used in the imperfect, except with the sé/sí/sibh form.

Examples: Cheannaíodh sé (He used to buy), D'insídís (They used to tell)

Question and Negative Forms

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)

Verbs: Conditional 1 · 2018-10-25 ^

The conditional is used to describe what one would do.

First Conjugation

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
-fainn -finn Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
-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
  • The pronoun is not used in the conditional, except with the sé/sí/sibh form.

Examples: Thuigfinn (I would understand), D'éistfeadh sí (She would listen)

Second Conjugation

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
-óinn -eoinn Consonant: Séimhiú, Vowel: D', F: D' and Séimhiú
-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
  • The pronoun is not used in the conditional, except with the sé/sí/sibh form.

Examples: Chabhrófá (You would help), D'éalódh sibh (You would escape)

Irregular Verbs

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 and Negative Forms

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?)

  • Exceptions:

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)

  • Exceptions:

Faigh: Ní bhfaighinn...

If

When using the conditional mood (yes, this form is technically a mood and not a tense), we use the word to mean if.

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)).

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) (mura could be translated as if not)

Mura causes the same changes as

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.


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