IRISH GRAMMAR

1- IRISH ALPHABET

2- WORD ORDER

1 Basic S + V Codlaím. I sleep.

2 Direct object S + V + DO Léim an leabhar sin. I read that book.

3 Indirect object S + V + IO + DO Tugaim an leabhar dó. I give him the book.

4 Beneficiary S + V + DO + do + IO Ceannaím leabhar dó. I buy a book for him.

5 IO pronoun S + V + DO + prepositional pronoun Tugaim an leabhar dó. I give him the book.

6 Adjective S + bí + Adj Tá an leabhar mór. The book is big.

7 Adverb S + V + Adv Léann sé go tapa. He reads quickly.

8 Direct object + adverb S + V + DO + Adv Léim an leabhar sin go tapa. I read that book quickly.

9 Time adverb S + V + Adv(time) Oibrím inniu. I work today.

10 Place adverb S + V + Adv(place) Cónaíonn sé ann. He lives there.

11 Prepositional phrase S + bí + Prep + N Tá an leabhar ar an mbord. The book is on the table.

12 DO + preposition S + V + DO + Prep + N Cuirim an leabhar ar an mbord. I put the book on the table.

13 Determiner + noun Det + N Tá an leabhar seo nua. This book is new.

14 Determiner + adjective + noun Det + Adj + N Tá an leabhar mór seo nua. This big book is new.

15 Numeral + noun Num + N Tá dhá leabhar nua ann. There are two new books.

16 Conjunction Clause + Conj + Clause Léim agus scríobhann sé. I read and he writes.

17 Conjunction + objects S + V + DO + agus + S + V + DO Léim an leabhar agus scríobhann sé litir. I read the book and he writes a letter.

18 Present passive S + autonomous verb Léitear an leabhar. The book is read.

19 Passive + agent S + autonomous verb + ag + Agent Léitear an leabhar ag Seán. The book is read by Seán.

20 Passive + IO S + autonomous verb + do + IO Tugtar an leabhar dó. The book is given to him.

21 Passive + IO + agent S + autonomous verb + do + IO + ag + Agent Tugtar an leabhar dó ag an múinteoir. The book is given to him by the teacher.

22 Passive + adverb S + autonomous verb + Adv Léitear an leabhar inniu. The book is read today.

23 Passive + preposition S + autonomous verb + Prep + N Cuirtear an leabhar ar an mbord. The book is put on the table.

24 Passive + agent + adverb S + autonomous verb + Adv + ag + Agent Léitear an leabhar inniu ag Seán. The book is read today by Seán.

25 Passive + agent + IO + adverb S + autonomous verb + IO + Adv + ag + Agent Tugtar an leabhar don dalta inniu ag an múinteoir. The book is given to the student today by the teacher.

26 Perfect passive S + tá + verbal adjective Tá an leabhar léite. The book has been read / is read.

27 Perfect passive + agent S + tá + verbal adjective + ag + Agent Tá an leabhar léite ag Seán. Seán has read the book / the book has been read by Seán.

28 Future passive S + autonomous future Léifear an leabhar. The book will be read.

29 Future passive + agent S + autonomous future + ag + Agent Léifear an leabhar ag Seán. The book will be read by Seán.

30 Modal passive S + modal + passive construction Caithfear an leabhar a léamh. The book must be read.

31 Negative S + ní + V Ní léim an leabhar sin. I do not read that book.

32 Negative passive S + ní + autonomous V Ní léitear an leabhar ag Seán. The book is not read by Seán.

33 Yes/no question An + V + S + DO? An léann tú an leabhar sin? Do you read that book?

34 Passive question An + autonomous V + S? An léitear an leabhar? Is the book read?

35 Agent question Cé + autonomous passive? Cé a léann an leabhar? Who reads the book?

36 IO question Cé dó + S + V + DO? Cé dó a dtugann tú an leabhar? To whom do you give the book?

37 Imperative V + DO Léigh an leabhar! Read the book!

38 Imperative + IO V + DO + IO Tabhair an leabhar dó! Give him the book!

39 Passive imperative bí + verbal adjective / autonomous command Bíodh an leabhar léite! Let the book be read!

40 Infinitive / verbal noun Verbal noun léamh to read / reading

41 Infinitive + DO DO + a + verbal noun an leabhar a léamh to read the book

42 Passive infinitive le + verbal noun le léamh to be read

43 Purpose S + V + chun + verbal noun Ithim chun imirt. I eat to play / in order to play.

44 Relative clause N + a + clause Tá an leabhar a léim suimiúil. The book that I read is interesting.

45 Passive relative N + a + passive clause Tá an leabhar a léitear ag Seán suimiúil. The book that is read by Seán is interesting.

46 Conditional Má + clause, clause Má bhíonn am agam, léim. If I have time, I read.

47 Conditional + passive Má + passive clause, clause Má léitear an leabhar, foghlaimíonn sé. If the book is read, he learns.

48 Reported speech S + speech verb + go + clause Dúirt sé go raibh sé ag léamh. He said that he was reading.

49 Reported question S + fiafraigh + an + clause D'fhiafraigh sé an raibh mé ag léamh. He asked if I was reading.

50 Reported command/request S + iarr + ar + person + verbal noun D'iarr sé orm an leabhar a léamh. He asked me to read the book.

INDIRECT OBJECT:

1 Basic IO S + V + DO + do + IO Tugaim an leabhar dó. I give him the book.

2 IO — me S + V + DO + dom Tugann sé an leabhar dom. He gives me the book.

3 IO — you S + V + DO + duit Tugann sé an leabhar duit. He gives you the book.

4 IO — him S + V + DO + dó Tugaim an leabhar dó. I give him the book.

5 IO — her S + V + DO + di Tugaim an leabhar di. I give her the book.

6 IO — us S + V + DO + dúinn Tugann sé an leabhar dúinn. He gives us the book.

7 IO — you plural S + V + DO + daoibh Tugann sé an leabhar daoibh. He gives you the book.

8 IO — them S + V + DO + dóibh Tugann sé an leabhar dóibh. He gives them the book.

9 IO noun S + V + DO + do + N Tugaim an leabhar do Mháire. I give the book to Máire.

10 IO + definite noun S + V + DO + don + N Tugaim an leabhar don fhear. I give the book to the man.

11 Plural IO noun S + V + DO + do na + N Tugaim na leabhair do na daltaí. I give the books to the students.

12 Beneficiary S + V + DO + do + IO Ceannaím leabhar dó. I buy a book for him.

13 IO question Cé dó + a + V...? Cé dó a dtugann tú an leabhar? To whom do you give the book?

14 “For whom?” Cé dó + a + V...? Cé dó a cheannaigh tú an bronntanas? For whom did you buy the present?

15 Imperative + IO V + DO + IO Tabhair an leabhar dom! Give me the book!

GENITIVE:

1 Basic genitive Possessed N + Genitive N teach an fhir the man's house

2 “Of” relationship N + Genitive N doras an tí the door of the house

3 Possession with name N + Name (genitive) teach Sheáin Seán's house

4 Masculine singular N + an + Genitive teach an fhir the man's house

5 Feminine singular N + na + Genitive teach na mná the woman's house

6 Plural genitive N + na + Genitive plural hataí na bhfear the men's hats

7 Indefinite genitive N + Genitive noun teach fir a man's house

8 Noun relationship Main N + Genitive N ainm an chailín the girl's name

9 Time expression N + Genitive deireadh an lae the end of the day

10 Place expression N + Genitive lár na cathrach the center of the city

11 Possessive adjective Possessive + N mo leabhar my book

12 Possession with ag Tá + N + ag + possessor Tá carr ag Seán. Seán has a car.

13 Genitive question Cé leis + N? Cé leis an carr? Whose is the car?

14 Genitive plural Genitive plural form tithe na mban the women's houses

INDEPENDENT:

English Possessive adjective Independent possessive Example English

my mo mo cheann Is liomsa an ceann seo; is é mo cheann é. It is mine.

your (sing.) do do cheann Is é do cheann é. It is yours.

his a a cheann Is é a cheann é. It is his.

her a a ceann Is í a ceann í. It is hers.

our ár ár gceann Is é ár gceann é. It is ours.

your (plural) bhur bhur gceann Is é bhur gceann é. It is yours.

their a a gceann Is é a gceann é. It is theirs.

A more natural construction: is liom...

Irish very commonly expresses “mine/yours/his…” with the preposition le (“with/to/belonging to”).

English Irish Literal idea

mine liomsa with me

yours (sing.) leatsa with you

his leis with him

hers léis with her

ours linn with us

yours (plural) libhse with you

theirs leo with them

Is liomsa an leabhar.

= The book is mine.

Is leatsa an carr.

= The car is yours.

Is liomsa é. — It is mine.

Is leatsa é. — It is yours.

Is leis é. — It is his.

Is léi é. — It is hers.

Is linn é. — It is ours.

Is libh é. — It is yours (plural).

Is leo é. — It is theirs.

WAS GOING TO:

1. “Was going to” — bhí + ag dul chun + verbal noun

English Irish

I was going to eat Bhí mé ag dul chun ithe.

You were going to eat Bhí tú ag dul chun ithe.

He was going to eat Bhí sé ag dul chun ithe.

She was going to eat Bhí sí ag dul chun ithe.

We were going to eat Bhí muid ag dul chun ithe.

You were going to eat Bhí sibh ag dul chun ithe.

They were going to eat Bhí siad ag dul chun ithe.

Formation

Bhí + subject pronoun + ag dul chun + verbal noun

2. “Was intending to” — bhí sé i gceist + possessive form + verbal noun

English Irish

I was intending to eat Bhí sé i gceist agam ithe.

You were intending to eat Bhí sé i gceist agat ithe.

He was intending to eat Bhí sé i gceist aige ithe.

She was intending to eat Bhí sé i gceist aici ithe.

We were intending to eat Bhí sé i gceist againn ithe.

You were intending to eat Bhí sé i gceist agaibh ithe.

They were intending to eat Bhí sé i gceist acu ithe.

The important forms are:

Person Form

I agam

you agat

he aige

she aici

we againn

you plural agaibh

they acu

3. “Was planning to” — bhí sé beartaithe + possessive form + verbal noun

English Irish

I was planning to eat Bhí sé beartaithe agam ithe.

You were planning to eat Bhí sé beartaithe agat ithe.

He was planning to eat Bhí sé beartaithe aige ithe.

She was planning to eat Bhí sé beartaithe aici ithe.

We were planning to eat Bhí sé beartaithe againn ithe.

You were planning to eat Bhí sé beartaithe agaibh ithe.

They were planning to eat Bhí sé beartaithe acu ithe.

4. “Was about to” — bhí + subject + ar tí + verbal noun

English Irish

I was about to eat Bhí mé ar tí ithe.

You were about to eat Bhí tú ar tí ithe.

He was about to eat Bhí sé ar tí ithe.

She was about to eat Bhí sí ar tí ithe.

We were about to eat Bhí muid ar tí ithe.

You were about to eat Bhí sibh ar tí ithe.

They were about to eat Bhí siad ar tí ithe.

Formation

Bhí + subject pronoun + ar tí + verbal noun

5. “Was supposed to” — bhí + subject + ceaptha + verbal noun

English Irish

I was supposed to eat Bhí mé ceaptha ithe.

You were supposed to eat Bhí tú ceaptha ithe.

He was supposed to eat Bhí sé ceaptha ithe.

She was supposed to eat Bhí sí ceaptha ithe.

We were supposed to eat Bhí muid ceaptha ithe.

You were supposed to eat Bhí sibh ceaptha ithe.

They were supposed to eat Bhí siad ceaptha ithe.

6. Was going to viewed from a past viewpoint

Bhí -> raibh

I was going to eat Bhí mé ag dul chun ithe.

He said I was going to eat. Dúirt sé go raibh mé ag dul chun ithe.

You were going to leave. Bhí tú ag dul chun imeachta.

He said you were going to leave. Dúirt sé go raibh tú ag dul chun imeachta.

He was going to come. Bhí sé ag dul chun teacht.

She said he was going to come. Dúirt sí go raibh sé ag dul chun teacht.

I wasn't going to eat. Ní raibh mé ag dul chun ithe.

You weren't going to eat. Ní raibh tú ag dul chun ithe.

He wasn't going to eat. Ní raibh sé ag dul chun ithe.

She wasn't going to eat. Ní raibh sí ag dul chun ithe.

We weren't going to eat. Ní raibh muid ag dul chun ithe.

You weren't going to eat. Ní raibh sibh ag dul chun ithe.

They weren't going to eat. Ní raibh siad ag dul chun ithe.

2- NOUNS

PLURAL:

Pattern Formation Example

Slenderization Broad → slender bád → báid

-í Add -í cailín → cailíní

-a Add -a bróg → bróga

-anna Add -anna bus → busanna

-eacha Add -eacha athair → aithreacha

-taí Add -taí codladh → codlataí

No change Same form caora → caora

Stem change Internal vowel change fear → fir

Suppletive Different stem duine → daoine

CASES:

Quick Introduction: A case is something marks the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other elements in a sentence

Nominative/Subject is the noun/pronoun that does the action (Example: I eat the apple, "I" is the nomative)

Genitive is the noun/pronoun that has a possession, but the topic is the possession itself (Example: The boy's toy. "boy's" is genitive)

First Declension (Mostly Masculine)

Pattern 1A — Slenderized Genitive

Feature Pattern

Gender Masculine

Nominative Singular Broad consonant ending

Genitive Singular Slenderize final consonant (insert i/e before final broad consonant if needed)

Nominative Plural Usually -í or same as genitive

Genitive Plural Usually same as nominative singular

Example bád → báid (boat)

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. bád

Gen. sg. báid

Nom. pl. báid

Gen. pl. bád

Pattern 1B — Plural in -anna

Feature Pattern

Gender Masculine

Nominative Singular Broad ending

Genitive Singular Slenderized

Nominative Plural -anna

Genitive Plural Often same as nominative singular

Example bus → busanna

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. bus

Gen. sg. bus

Nom. pl. busanna

Gen. pl. bus

This pattern is especially common with modern loanwords.

Pattern 1C — Stem-Vowel Change

Feature Pattern

Gender Masculine

Nominative Singular Broad ending

Genitive Singular Internal vowel changes

Nominative Plural Same as genitive

Example fear → fir

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. fear

Gen. sg. fir

Nom. pl. fir

Gen. pl. fear

Second Declension (Mostly Feminine)

Pattern 2A — Genitive in -e

Feature Pattern

Gender Feminine

Nominative Singular Usually broad ending

Genitive Singular Add -e (often with slenderization)

Nominative Plural Usually -a

Example bróg → bróige → bróga

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. bróg

Gen. sg. bróige

Nom. pl. bróga

Gen. pl. bróg

Pattern 2B — Feminine -óg

Feature Pattern

Gender Feminine

Ending -óg

Genitive -óige

Plural -óga

Example fuinneog (window)

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. fuinneog

Gen. sg. fuinneoige

Nom. pl. fuinneoga

Gen. pl. fuinneog

Pattern 2C — Feminine -eog

Feature Pattern

Gender Feminine

Ending -eog

Genitive Add -e

Plural Usually -a

This behaves similarly to Pattern 2B.

Third Declension (Masculine & Feminine)

Pattern 3A — Verbal Nouns

Feature Pattern

Gender Usually Masculine

Characteristic Verbal noun

Genitive Often -a

Plural Often -taí or -í

Example codladh (sleep)

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. codladh

Gen. sg. codlata

Nom. pl. codlataí

Pattern 3B — Abstract Nouns

Feature Pattern

Gender Mixed

Characteristic Little stem change

Genitive Usually -is/-ais

Example eolas

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. eolas

Gen. sg. eolais

Nom. pl. eolais

Pattern 3C — Nouns ending in -acht

Feature Pattern

Ending -acht

Genitive -achta

Plural -achtaí

Example cumhacht (power)

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. cumhacht

Gen. sg. cumhachta

Nom. pl. cumhachtaí

Fourth Declension (Masculine & Feminine)

Pattern 4A — No Singular Change

Feature Pattern

Characteristic Nominative = Genitive

Plural Variable

Example bord

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. bord

Gen. sg. bord

Nom. pl. boird

Pattern 4B — Plural in -aí / -í

Feature Pattern

Characteristic Singular unchanged

Plural -aí or -í

Example rud → rudaí

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. rud

Gen. sg. rud

Nom. pl. rudaí

Pattern 4C — Collective Nouns

Feature Pattern

Characteristic Collective meaning

Singular Often unchanged

Plural May be identical or irregular

Example iasc (fish)

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. iasc

Gen. sg. éisc

Nom. pl. éisc

Fifth Declension (Mixed)

Pattern 5A — Strong Stem Change

Feature Pattern

Characteristic Major internal stem changes

Example bean → mná

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. bean

Gen. sg. mná

Nom. pl. mná

Gen. pl. ban

Pattern 5B — Irregular Animal Nouns

Feature Pattern

Characteristic Suppletive or irregular plural

Example bó → ba

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. bó

Gen. sg. bó

Nom. pl. ba

Pattern 5C — Suppletive Plural

Feature Pattern

Characteristic Completely different plural stem

Example duine → daoine

Examples:

Case Form

Nom. sg. duine

Gen. sg. duine

Nom. pl. daoine

Gen. pl. daoine

Pattern 6 — Masculine nouns ending in -án

Usually 1st Declension

Feature Pattern

Gender Masculine

Ending -án

Genitive Singular -áin (slenderization)

Nominative Plural -áin

Example bádán (small boat)

Case Form

Nom. sg. bádán

Gen. sg. bádáin

Nom. pl. bádáin

Gen. pl. bádán

Examples:

cailín (girl) → cailín (genitive singular unchanged; see Pattern 13)

caipteán (captain) → caipteáin

Pattern 7 — Masculine nouns ending in -óir

Usually agent nouns.

Feature Pattern

Gender Masculine

Ending -óir

Genitive Singular -óra

Plural -óirí

Example: múinteoir (teacher)

Case Form

Nom. sg. múinteoir

Gen. sg. múinteora

Nom. pl. múinteoirí

Gen. pl. múinteoirí

Other examples:

tiománaí (driver) follows a different pattern

scríbhneoir (writer)

iascaireoir (fisherman)

Pattern 8 — Nouns ending in -eoir

Feature Pattern

Ending -eoir

Genitive -eora

Plural -eoirí

Example: feirmeoir (farmer)

Case Form

Nom. sg. feirmeoir

Gen. sg. feirmeora

Nom. pl. feirmeoirí

Pattern 9 — Feminine nouns ending in -áil

Often borrowed words.

Feature Pattern

Ending -áil

Genitive Usually unchanged

Plural -álacha (varies)

Example:

cigireacht

eagraíocht (related patterns)

Pattern 10 — Feminine nouns ending in -íocht

Very productive for abstract nouns.

Feature Pattern

Ending -íocht

Genitive -íochta

Plural -íochtaí

Example: eolaíocht (science)

Case Form

Nom. sg. eolaíocht

Gen. sg. eolaíochta

Nom. pl. eolaíochtaí

Other examples:

polaitíocht (politics)

teicneolaíocht (technology)

Pattern 11 — Nouns ending in -acht

Feature Pattern

Ending -acht

Genitive -achta

Plural -achtaí

Examples:

cumhacht (power)

bochtaineacht (poverty, slightly different suffix)

Pattern 12 — Feminine nouns ending in -e

Feature Pattern

Gender Feminine

Ending -e

Genitive Often unchanged or -e retained

Plural Variable

Example: saoirse (freedom)

Case Form

Nom. sg. saoirse

Gen. sg. saoirse

Nom. pl. saoirsí (rare; usually used as an abstract noun without a plural)

Pattern 13 — Diminutives in -ín

Almost always masculine, regardless of the original noun's gender.

Feature Pattern

Ending -ín

Gender Masculine

Genitive Usually unchanged

Plural -íní

Example: cailín (girl)

Case Form

Nom. sg. cailín

Gen. sg. cailín

Nom. pl. cailíní

Other examples:

buachaillín (little boy)

éinín (little bird)

Pattern 14 — Nouns ending in -aire

Often professions or people.

Feature Pattern

Ending -aire

Genitive -aire or -ara (varies by noun)

Plural -airí

Example: iascaire (fisher)

Case Form

Nom. sg. iascaire

Gen. sg. iascaire

Nom. pl. iascairí

Other examples:

ceannaire

ceannaire (leader) → ceannairí

Pattern 15 — Foreign loanwords

Feature Pattern

Origin English/French/Latin loans

Genitive Often unchanged or lightly adapted

Plural -anna, -í, or borrowed plural

Examples:

Singular Plural

bus busanna

banc bainc

óstán óstáin

raidió raidiónna

Pattern 16 — Mass nouns

These normally have no plural.

Feature Pattern

Meaning Substance or abstract concept

Plural Usually absent

Examples:

uisce (water)

ór (gold)

airgead (money)

bainne (milk)

Pattern 17 — Collective nouns

These refer to groups and may have unusual plural behavior.

Examples:

muintir (family/people)

lucht (group of people)

slua (crowd)

Many are rarely pluralized.

Pattern 18 — Irregular kinship nouns

Family terms often have unique forms.

Examples:

Singular Genitive Plural

athair (father) athar aithreacha

máthair (mother) máthar máithreacha

deartháir (brother) dearthár deartháireacha

deirfiúr (sister) deirféar (dialectal variation exists) deirfiúracha

Pattern 19 — Masculine nouns ending in -ach

Many nouns ending in -ach follow the 1st or 3rd declension.

Feature Pattern

Gender Usually Masculine

Ending -ach

Genitive Singular Usually -aigh

Nominative Plural Often -aigh or -acha

Example marcach (rider)

Case Form

Nom. sg. marcach

Gen. sg. marcaigh

Nom. pl. marcaigh

Other examples:

ceannasach (leader, adjective used as noun in some contexts)

cailleach (old woman, irregular feminine)

Pattern 20 — Nouns ending in -ógán

Diminutive nouns.

Feature Pattern

Ending -ógán

Genitive -ógáin

Plural -ógáin

Example:

Case Form

Nom. sg. buachaillógán

Gen. sg. buachaillógáin

Nom. pl. buachaillógáin

Pattern 21 — Feminine nouns ending in -lann

Often denote buildings or places.

Feature Pattern

Ending -lann

Genitive -lainne

Plural -lanna

Example: leabharlann (library)

Case Form

Nom. sg. leabharlann

Gen. sg. leabharlainne

Nom. pl. leabharlanna

Other examples:

saotharlann (laboratory)

Pattern 22 — Nouns ending in -chas

Abstract nouns.

Feature Pattern

Ending -chas

Genitive -chais

Plural Rare

Example: Gaelachas (Irish culture)

Case Form

Nom. sg. Gaelachas

Gen. sg. Ghaelachais

Pattern 23 — Nouns ending in -úlacht

Abstract quality nouns.

Feature Pattern

Ending -úlacht

Genitive -úlachta

Plural -úlachtaí

Example:

nádúrúlacht (naturalness)

Pattern 24 — Feminine nouns ending in -int

Many verbal abstract nouns.

Feature Pattern

Ending -int

Genitive Usually unchanged or -inte

Plural Rare

Examples:

tuiscint (understanding)

smaointeoireacht belongs to another pattern

Pattern 25 — Nouns ending in -as

Usually abstract masculine nouns.

Feature Pattern

Ending -as

Genitive -ais

Plural Usually uncommon

Example: sonas (happiness)

Case Form

Nom. sg. sonas

Gen. sg. sonais

Other examples:

eolas (knowledge)

misneach (courage; different ending but similar behavior)

Pattern 26 — Nouns ending in -íochtóir / -eoir

Profession nouns derived from abstract nouns.

Feature Pattern

Ending -eoir, -óir

Genitive -óra / -eora

Plural -óirí / -eoirí

Examples:

múinteoir (teacher)

feirmeoir (farmer)

aistritheoir (translator)

Pattern 27 — Days and Months

Some names of days and months show fixed genitive forms.

Example:

Singular Genitive

Márta Márta

Bealtaine Bealtaine

Luan Luain

Pattern 28 — Place Names

Irish place names often have historical genitive forms.

Examples:

Nominative Genitive

Éire Éireann

Corcaigh Chorcaí

Gaillimh Ghaillimhe

These are important because they appear after prepositions and in possessive constructions.

Pattern 29 — Compound Nouns

Only the head noun usually declines.

Example:

seomra codlata (bedroom)

Genitive:

doras an tseomra codlata

("the door of the bedroom")

The modifier (codlata) remains unchanged.

Pattern 30 — Acronyms and Modern Abbreviations

Modern abbreviations generally take regular Irish plural endings when needed.

Examples:

DVD → DVDanna

SMS → SMSanna

Pattern 31 — Proper Names

Personal names often have traditional genitive forms.

Examples:

Nominative Genitive

Seán Sheáin

Pól Phóil

Máire Mháire

Pattern 32 — Foreign Proper Nouns

Modern foreign names are usually left unchanged or only lenited where Irish grammar requires.

Examples:

Nominative Genitive

Tom Thom

Sarah Sharah (rare in practice; many names remain unchanged)

Pattern 33 — Nouns with No Plural (Singulare Tantum)

These nouns are normally used only in the singular.

Feature Pattern

Number Singular only

Plural Usually none

Meaning Materials, substances, abstract ideas

Examples

Noun Meaning

uisce water

bainne milk

ór gold

airgead money

eolas knowledge

obair work

Pattern 34 — Nouns Used Only in the Plural (Pluralia Tantum)

These exist almost exclusively in the plural.

Feature Pattern

Number Plural only

Singular Rare or obsolete

Examples

Irish English

cluichí games

héadaí clothes

spéaclaí glasses

mionrudaí odds and ends

Pattern 35 — Double Plurals

Some nouns have two acceptable plural forms, often with different meanings or regional usage.

Singular Plural 1 Plural 2

bóthar bóithre bóthair (dialectal/limited)

focal focail focla (older/dialectal)

Pattern 36 — Different Plurals, Different Meanings

The plural can change the meaning.

Singular Plural Meaning

duine daoine people

pearsa pearsana persons (formal)

Pattern 37 — Historical Plurals

Older plural endings still survive in a few common nouns.

Singular Historical Plural

bean mná

fear fir

bó ba

These must simply be memorized.

Pattern 38 — Internal Vowel Mutation

The plural or genitive is formed mainly by changing the internal vowel.

Singular Genitive Plural

fear fir fir

cos coise cosa

ceann cinn cinn

Pattern 39 — Consonant Loss

Some nouns lose a consonant in the genitive or plural.

Singular Genitive

mac mic

leac leice

Pattern 40 — Prefix Changes

A few nouns change the beginning of the word due to historical sound changes.

Singular Genitive

bean mná

deirfiúr deirféar (historical/dialectal forms)

These are among the most irregular nouns in Irish.

Pattern 41 — Kinship Nouns

Family terms often preserve older declensional patterns.

Singular Genitive Plural

athair athar aithreacha

máthair máthar máithreacha

mac mic mic

iníon iníne iníonacha

Pattern 42 — Animal Nouns

Many common animal names have inherited irregular plurals.

Singular Plural

bó ba

capall capaill

caora caoirigh

muc muca

Pattern 43 — Body Parts

Many body-part nouns show stem alternations.

Singular Genitive Plural

lámh láimhe lámha

cos coise cosa

cluas cluaise cluasa

súil súl súile

Pattern 44 — Borrowed International Words

Modern borrowings are adapted to Irish plural patterns.

Singular Plural

ríomhaire ríomhairí

teilifís teilifíseáin

pizza píotsaí (varies by usage)

Pattern 45 — Mixed Plural Formation

Some nouns combine stem change + suffix.

Singular Plural

lámh lámha

cos cosa

cluas cluasa

Pattern 46 — Variable Gender

A small number of nouns vary in gender between dialects, which can affect their declension.

Noun Notes

farraige Usually feminine, but masculine in some dialects

sliabh Usually masculine, occasionally feminine regionally

Pattern 47 — Learned (Classical) Borrowings

Words borrowed from Latin or Greek often follow regular modern patterns despite their origin.

Singular Plural

coláiste coláistí

ollscoil ollscoileanna

Pattern 48 — Collective-to-Singular Derivation

Some collective nouns have derived singular forms.

Collective Singular

daoine duine

éanlaith éan

Irregular Class 1 — Kinship Nouns

These preserve very old Irish declensions.

Singular Genitive Singular Nominative Plural Genitive Plural Meaning

athair athar aithreacha aithreacha father

máthair máthar máithreacha máithreacha mother

deartháir dearthár deartháireacha deartháireacha brother

deirfiúr deirféar (older), deirféire (dialectal), or regularized forms deirfiúracha deirfiúracha sister

mac mic mic mac son

iníon iníne iníonacha iníonacha daughter

Irregular Class 2 — Body Parts

Many common body-part nouns have historical stem changes.

Singular Genitive Plural Meaning

lámh láimhe lámha hand

cos coise cosa foot, leg

súil súl súile eye

cluas cluaise cluasa ear

fiacail fiacaile fiacla tooth

Irregular Class 3 — Animal Nouns

Singular Genitive Plural Meaning

bó bó ba cow

caora caorach caoirigh sheep

muc muice muca pig

capall capaill capaill horse

madra madra madraí dog

Irregular Class 4 — Human Nouns

These often have suppletive plurals.

Singular Plural Meaning

duine daoine person → people

bean mná woman → women

fear fir man → men

These are among the most important irregular nouns in Irish.

Irregular Class 5 — Abstract Nouns

Many abstract nouns are uncountable and therefore usually lack plurals.

Noun Meaning

saoirse freedom

eolas knowledge

sonas happiness

dóchas hope

síocháin peace

Irregular Class 6 — Geographical Names

Many place names have special genitive forms.

Nominative Genitive

Éire Éireann

Gaillimh Ghaillimhe

Corcaigh Chorcaí

Uladh Uladh (often unchanged)

Irregular Class 7 — Days

Nominative Genitive

Luan Luain

Máirt Máirt

Céadaoin Céadaoine

Déardaoin Déardaoine

Irregular Class 8 — Months

Nominative Genitive

Eanáir Eanáir

Feabhra Feabhra

Márta Márta

Bealtaine Bealtaine

Most month names remain unchanged.

Irregular Class 9 — Foreign Words

Some loanwords have competing plural forms.

Singular Possible Plurals

pizza píotsaí / pizzaí

tacsaí tacsaithe / tacsaí

físeán físeáin

Irregular Class 10 — Historical Strong Nouns

These descend from Old Irish strong declensions and retain ancient vowel changes.

Singular Genitive Plural

fear fir fir

bean mná mná

bó bó ba

ceann cinn cinn

Stem Change Types

These are the historical processes behind many irregular nouns.

Type Example

Slenderization bád → báid

Broadening rare in noun inflection

Vowel mutation fear → fir

Initial consonant change bean → mná

Suppletion duine → daoine

No change bord → bord

Old Irish Pattern 1 — o-stems (Masculine)

This became the source of many 1st declension masculine nouns.

Feature Pattern

Gender Masculine

Original Proto-Celtic ending -os

Modern Irish outcome Usually broad-ending masculine nouns

Typical Modern Pattern Slenderized genitive

Examples:

Old Irish Modern Irish Meaning

fer fear man

ech each horse

mac mac son

Modern descendants:

fear → fir

mac → mic

each → eich

Old Irish Pattern 2 — ā-stems (Feminine)

Source of many 2nd declension feminine nouns.

Feature Pattern

Gender Feminine

Original ending -ā

Modern Irish Feminine nouns with genitive -e or related changes

Examples:

Old Irish Modern Irish

lám lámh

súil súil

Old Irish Pattern 3 — i-stems

These often developed irregular plurals.

Feature Pattern

Gender Mixed

Characteristic Frequent vowel mutation

Examples:

Old Irish Modern Irish

muir muir

cathair cathair

Old Irish Pattern 4 — u-stems

A small historical class.

Feature Pattern

Gender Masculine

Modern descendants Few

Examples:

fius

related fossilized forms

Most have merged into other declensions.

Old Irish Pattern 5 — n-stems

Very important historically.

These explain many modern irregular nouns.

Examples:

Old Irish Modern Irish

ben bean

bo bó

These often developed unusual plurals.

Old Irish Pattern 6 — Consonant Stems

These ended directly in consonants instead of vowels.

Examples:

Old Irish Modern Irish

tooth words

kinship words

body-part words

Many of today's irregular nouns descend from this class.

Old Irish Pattern 7 — r-stems

Almost entirely kinship terms.

Examples:

Old Irish Modern Irish

athir athair

máthir máthair

bráthir deartháir (historically related)

This explains why family words have unusual plurals like:

athair → aithreacha

máthair → máithreacha

Old Irish Pattern 8 — nt-stems

Participial nouns.

Many later became adjectives or agent nouns.

Old Irish Pattern 9 — s-stems

Abstract nouns.

Many survive as:

sonas

eolas

deontas

Old Irish Pattern 10 — io-stems

Produced many nouns ending in:

-e

-i

-ea

Modern descendants often belong to the 3rd or 4th declension.

Old Irish Pattern 11 — iā-stems

Mostly feminine nouns.

Many modern -eog and -óg nouns ultimately derive from this historical class.

Old Irish Pattern 12 — Compound Stem Nouns

Compounds often preserved only the head noun's inflection.

This rule survives in Modern Irish:

Only the head noun declines.

Example:

seomra codlata

→ doras an tseomra codlata

Historical Sound Changes

These explain many modern irregular forms.

Change Example

Syncope (loss of internal vowel) athair → athar

Apocope (loss of final vowel) many Old Irish nouns

Slenderization bád → báid

Lenition after certain grammatical environments

Vowel raising fear → fir

Suppletion duine → daoine

INDIRECT OBJECT:

Subject + Verb + Direct Object + do + Indirect Object

GENITIVE:

Possessed noun + genitive noun teach an fhir the man's house

Possessed noun + genitive name leabhar Sheáin Seán's book

Noun + material (genitive) bord adhmaid wooden table

Noun + purpose (genitive) cupán tae cup of tea

Chained genitives doras theach an fhir the door of the man's house

<h2>3- ADJECTIVES:</h2>

Attributive noun + adjective teach mór big house

Predicate Tá + noun + adjective Tá an teach mór. The house is big.

Feminine noun + lenited adjective bean mhór big woman

Plural plural noun + plural adjective fir mhóra big men

TO BE VERB:

1. Bí — “to be”

The basic verb is bí.

Its present-tense forms are:

Person Irish English

I tá mé I am

you (sg.) tá tú you are

he tá sé he is

she tá sí she is

we tá muid / táimid we are

you (pl.) tá sibh you are

they tá siad they are

Examples

Tá mé sásta.

I am happy.

Tá tú tuirseach.

You are tired.

Tá sé anseo.

He is here.

Tá sí sa teach.

She is in the house.

Táimid réidh.

We are ready.

2. When to use bí

Use bí for:

States

Tá mé sásta.

I am happy.

Tá sé tuirseach.

He is tired.

Locations

Tá sí sa bhaile.

She is at home.

Tá an leabhar ar an mbord.

The book is on the table.

Temporary conditions

Tá sé fuar.

It is cold.

Tá mé tinn.

I am sick.

Ongoing actions

Irish uses bí + ag + verbal noun for the progressive.

Tá + subject + ag + verbal noun

Tá mé ag ithe.

I am eating.

Tá sí ag scríobh.

She is writing.

Tá siad ag obair.

They are working.

3. Is — the Copula

Is is not simply another ordinary form of “to be.” It is the copula.

It is used for:

identity

profession

classification

definitions

permanent characteristics

emphasis

possession in certain constructions

Examples

Is múinteoir mé.

I am a teacher.

Is dochtúir é.

He is a doctor.

Is Éireannach í.

She is Irish.

Is é Seán an múinteoir.

Seán is the teacher.

4. Bí vs. Is

This is one of the most important distinctions to memorize.

English Irish Verb

I am happy Tá mé sásta bí

I am tired Tá mé tuirseach bí

I am at home Tá mé sa bhaile bí

I am a teacher Is múinteoir mé is

He is a doctor Is dochtúir é is

She is Mary Is Máire í is

The book is on the table Tá an leabhar ar an mbord bí

A useful rule:

Bí = state/location/condition

Is = identity/classification

5. Past of Bí

The past is based on bhí.

Person Irish English

I bhí mé I was

you (sg.) bhí tú you were

he bhí sé he was

she bhí sí she was

we bhí muid / bhíomar we were

you (pl.) bhí sibh you were

they bhí siad they were

Examples:

Bhí mé sásta.

I was happy.

Bhí sé sa bhaile.

He was at home.

Bhí siad ag obair.

They were working.

6. Future of Bí

The future is beidh.

Person Irish English

I beidh mé I will be

you (sg.) beidh tú you will be

he beidh sé he will be

she beidh sí she will be

we beimid we will be

you (pl.) beidh sibh you will be

they beidh siad they will be

Examples:

Beidh mé anseo.

I will be here.

Beidh sí sásta.

She will be happy.

Beimid sa bhaile.

We will be at home.

7. Conditional of Bí

The conditional is bheadh.

Person Irish English

I bheinn I would be

you (sg.) bheifeá you would be

he bheadh sé he would be

she bheadh sí she would be

we bheimis we would be

you (pl.) bheadh sibh you would be

they bheidís they would be

Examples:

Bheinn sásta.

I would be happy.

Bheadh sé anseo.

He would be here.

Bheimis réidh.

We would be ready.

8. Present Perfect Meaning

Irish does not have a simple English-style “have been” construction using bí.

A common construction is:

Tá + subject + tar éis + verbal noun

For example:

Tá mé tar éis a bheith anseo.

I have been here / I have just been here.

9. Imperative of Bí

The imperative means “be!”

Person Irish English

you (sg.) bí! be!

you (pl.) bígí! be!

let's bíimis! let's be!

Examples:

Bí cúramach!

Be careful!

Bígí ciúin!

Be quiet!

Bí cineálta!

Be kind!

10. Negative “Be”

For bí, use ná in the imperative and ní for ordinary present/past statements.

Present negative

Níl mé sásta.

I am not happy.

Formation:

ní + f- form of bí

The present form tá becomes níl.

Past negative

Ní raibh mé sásta.

I wasn't happy.

Future negative

Ní bheidh mé ann.

I won't be there.

Conditional negative

Ní bheinn sásta.

I wouldn't be happy.

11. Questions with Bí

Irish uses an to form ordinary yes/no questions.

Present

An bhfuil tú sásta?

Are you happy?

Notice:

tá → bhfuil

Past

An raibh tú sásta?

Were you happy?

Future

An mbeidh tú ann?

Will you be there?

Conditional

An mbeifeá sásta?

Would you be happy?

12. Negative Questions

English Irish

Aren't you happy? Nach bhfuil tú sásta?

Wasn't he here? Nach raibh sé anseo?

Won't she be there? Nach mbeidh sí ann?

Wouldn't you be happy? Nach mbeifeá sásta?

13. The Copula Is in the Present

The copula is much simpler than bí.

English Irish

I am a teacher Is múinteoir mé.

You are a teacher Is múinteoir tú.

He is a teacher Is múinteoir é.

She is a teacher Is múinteoir í.

We are teachers Is múinteoirí muid.

You are teachers Is múinteoirí sibh.

They are teachers Is múinteoirí iad.

Notice the word order:

Is + noun/adjective + subject

So:

Is dochtúir mé.

Literally:

Is doctor I.

Naturally:

I am a doctor.

14. Negative Copula

The negative of is is ní.

Ní múinteoir mé.

I am not a teacher.

Ní dochtúir é.

He isn't a doctor.

Ní Máire í.

She isn't Máire.

15. Copular Questions

Use an.

An múinteoir tú?

Are you a teacher?

An dochtúir é?

Is he a doctor?

An Máire í?

Is she Máire?

Negative questions use nach:

Nach múinteoir tú?

Aren't you a teacher?

16. Past Copula

The copula has a special past form:

ba

Examples:

Ba mhúinteoir mé.

I was a teacher.

Ba dhochtúir é.

He was a doctor.

Ba Mháire í.

She was Máire.

Before a consonant, ba is used and may trigger lenition.

17. Negative Past Copula

The negative is:

níorbh

Examples:

Níorbh mhúinteoir mé.

I wasn't a teacher.

Níorbh dhochtúir é.

He wasn't a doctor.

18. Future/Conditional Copula

Irish normally uses the copula + particles/constructions rather than a simple conjugated future copula equivalent to will be.

For example:

Beidh mé i mo mhúinteoir.

I will be a teacher.

Here:

beidh = will be

i mo = in my

mhúinteoir = teacher

19. “To Be” with Adjectives

This is especially important.

State

Tá + subject + adjective

Tá mé sásta.

I am happy.

Tá sé mór.

It is big.

Tá sí álainn.

She is beautiful.

Do not normally use is here.

❌ Is mé sásta.

✅ Tá mé sásta.

20. “To Be” with Nouns

Use the copula.

Is + noun + subject

Is mac léinn mé.

I am a student.

Is múinteoir í.

She is a teacher.

Is cara liom é.

He is a friend of mine.

<h2>4- PRONOUNS:</h2>

1. Subject (Nominative) Pronouns

Used as the subject of a sentence.

English Irish

I mé

you (singular) tú

he sé

she sí

it sé / sí (depends on the noun's grammatical gender)

we muid / sinn*

you (plural) sibh

they siad

* muid is commonly used as the subject with verbs, while sinn is often used for emphasis or after prepositions.

Examples

Tá mé anseo. — I am here.

Tá tú sásta. — You are happy.

Tá siad sa bhaile. — They are at home.

2. Direct Object Pronouns

Irish does not have separate accusative forms.

The same pronouns are generally used.

English Irish

me mé

you tú

him é

her í

it é / í

us sinn

you (plural) sibh

them iad

Examples

Feicim é. — I see him.

Feicim í. — I see her.

Chonaic siad iad. — They saw them.

3. Possessive Determiners

These come before a noun.

English Irish Mutation

my mo lenition

your (sg.) do lenition

his a lenition

her a no mutation

its a depends on grammatical gender and context

our ár eclipsis

your (pl.) bhur eclipsis

their a eclipsis

Examples

Irish Translation

mo theach my house

do chat your cat

a bhean his wife

a bean her wife

ár gcarr our car

bhur dteach your (plural) house

a dteach their house

4. Emphatic Pronouns

Used for emphasis ("myself", "you yourself", etc.).

English Irish

myself mise

yourself tusa

himself seisean

herself sise

ourselves sinne

yourselves sibhse

themselves siadsan

Examples

Mise a rinne é. — I did it.

Sinne a bhuaigh. — We won.

5. Reflexive Pronouns

Irish forms reflexives with féin ("self").

English Irish

myself mé féin

yourself tú féin

himself é féin

herself í féin

itself é féin / í féin

ourselves sinn féin

yourselves sibh féin

themselves iad féin

Examples

Chonaic mé mé féin sa scáthán. — I saw myself in the mirror.

Ghortaigh sé é féin. — He hurt himself.

6. Prepositional Pronouns

Instead of separate dative forms, Irish combines a preposition with a pronoun.

With do ("to, for")

English Irish

to me dom

to you duit

to him dó

to her di

to us dúinn

to you (pl.) daoibh

to them dóibh

Example:

Thug sí leabhar dom. — She gave me a book.

With ag ("at")

English Irish

at me agam

at you agat

at him aige

at her aici

at us againn

at you (pl.) agaibh

at them acu

Example:

Tá carr agam. — I have a car. (Literally: "A car is at me.")

With le ("with")

English Irish

with me liom

with you leat

with him leis

with her léi

with us linn

with you (pl.) libh

with them leo

Example:

Tá sí liom. — She is with me.

With ar ("on")

English Irish

on me orm

on you ort

on him air

on her uirthi

on us orainn

on you (pl.) oraibh

on them orthu

Example:

Tá an leabhar orm. — The book is on me.

With ó ("from")

English Irish

from me uaim

from you uait

from him uaidh

from her uaithi

from us uainn

from you (pl.) uaibh

from them uathu

With i ("in")

English Irish

in me ionam

in you ionat

in him ann

in her inti

in us ionainn

in you (pl.) ionaibh

in them iontu

DEMONSTRATIVE:

this seo noun + seo

that sin noun + sin

that over there siúd noun + siúd

these plural noun + seo na leabhair seo

those plural noun + sin na leabhair sin

those over there plural noun + siúd na leabhair siúd

POSSESSIVE INDEPENDENT:

Is liom é. It is mine. Is + liom + é

Is leat an carr. The car is yours. Is + leat + noun

Is leis an teach. The house is his. Is + leis + noun

Is léi an leabhar. The book is hers. Is + léi + noun

Is linn an madra. The dog is ours. Is + linn + noun

Is leo na tithe. The houses are theirs. Is + leo + noun

Basic Formation

Is + le + prepositional pronoun

or

Tá + noun + le + prepositional pronoun

<h2>5- VERB TENSES:</h2>

I praise Molaim mé*

You praise Molann tú

He praises Molann sé

She praises Molann sí

We praise Molaimid

You (pl.) praise Molann sibh

They praise Molann siad

I am praising Tá mé ag moladh

You are praising Tá tú ag moladh

He is praising Tá sé ag moladh

She is praising Tá sí ag moladh

We are praising Tá muid ag moladh

You (pl.) are praising Tá sibh ag moladh

They are praising Tá siad ag moladh

I praised Mhol mé

You praised Mhol tú

He praised Mhol sé

She praised Mhol sí

We praised Mholamar

You (pl.) praised Mhol sibh

They praised Mhol siad

I used to praise Mholainn

You used to praise Mholfá*

He used to praise Mholadh sé

She used to praise Mholadh sí

We used to praise Mholaimis

You (pl.) used to praise Mholadh sibh

They used to praise Mholaidís

I was praising Bhí mé ag moladh

You were praising Bhí tú ag moladh

He was praising Bhí sé ag moladh

She was praising Bhí sí ag moladh

We were praising Bhí muid ag moladh

You (pl.) were praising Bhí sibh ag moladh

They were praising Bhí siad ag moladh

I will praise Molfaidh mé

You will praise Molfaidh tú

He will praise Molfaidh sé

She will praise Molfaidh sí

We will praise Molfaimid

You (pl.) will praise Molfaidh sibh

They will praise Molfaidh siad

I will be praising Beidh mé ag moladh

You will be praising Beidh tú ag moladh

He will be praising Beidh sé ag moladh

She will be praising Beidh sí ag moladh

We will be praising Beidh muid ag moladh

You (pl.) will be praising Beidh sibh ag moladh

They will be praising Beidh siad ag moladh

I have praised Tá mé tar éis moladh

You have praised Tá tú tar éis moladh

He has praised Tá sé tar éis moladh

She has praised Tá sí tar éis moladh

We have praised Tá muid tar éis moladh

You (pl.) have praised Tá sibh tar éis moladh

They have praised Tá siad tar éis moladh

I had praised Bhí mé tar éis moladh

You had praised Bhí tú tar éis moladh

He had praised Bhí sé tar éis moladh

She had praised Bhí sí tar éis moladh

We had praised Bhí muid tar éis moladh

You (pl.) had praised Bhí sibh tar éis moladh

They had praised Bhí siad tar éis moladh

I will have praised Beidh mé tar éis moladh

You will have praised Beidh tú tar éis moladh

He will have praised Beidh sé tar éis moladh

She will have praised Beidh sí tar éis moladh

We will have praised Beidh muid tar éis moladh

You (pl.) will have praised Beidh sibh tar éis moladh

They will have praised Beidh siad tar éis moladh

<h2>6- PASSIVE TENSES:</h2>

I am praised moltar mé

You are praised moltar thú

He is praised moltar é

She is praised moltar í

We are praised moltar muid / sinn

You (plural) are praised moltar sibh

They are praised moltar iad

I am being praised Tá mé á mholadh

You are being praised Tá tú á mholadh

He is being praised Tá sé á mholadh

She is being praised Tá sí á mholadh

We are being praised Tá muid á moladh

You plural are being praised Tá sibh á moladh

They are being praised Tá siad á moladh

I was praised Moladh mé

You were praised Moladh thú

He was praised Moladh é

She was praised Moladh í

We were praised Moladh muid

You plural were praised Moladh sibh

They were praised Moladh iad

I was being praised Bhí mé á mholadh

You were being praised Bhí tú á mholadh

He was being praised Bhí sé á mholadh

She was being praised Bhí sí á mholadh

We were being praised Bhí muid á moladh

You plural were being praised Bhí sibh á moladh

They were being praised Bhí siad á moladh

I will be praised Molfar mé

You will be praised Molfar thú

He will be praised Molfar é

She will be praised Molfar í

We will be praised Molfar muid

You plural will be praised Molfar sibh

They will be praised Molfar iad

I will be being praised Beidh mé á mholadh

You will be being praised Beidh tú á mholadh

He will be being praised Beidh sé á mholadh

She will be being praised Beidh sí á mholadh

We will be being praised Beidh muid á moladh

You plural will be being praised Beidh sibh á moladh

They will be being praised Beidh siad á moladh

I have been praised Tá mé molta

You have been praised Tá tú molta

He has been praised Tá sé molta

She has been praised Tá sí molta

We have been praised Tá muid molta

You plural have been praised Tá sibh molta

They have been praised Tá siad molta

I had been praised Bhí mé molta

You had been praised Bhí tú molta

He had been praised Bhí sé molta

She had been praised Bhí sí molta

We had been praised Bhí muid molta

You plural had been praised Bhí sibh molta

They had been praised Bhí siad molta

I will have been praised Beidh mé molta

You will have been praised Beidh tú molta

He will have been praised Beidh sé molta

She will have been praised Beidh sí molta

We will have been praised Beidh muid molta

You plural will have been praised Beidh sibh molta

They will have been praised Beidh siad molta

Let me be praised Moltar mé

Let you be praised Moltar thú

Let him be praised Moltar é

Let her be praised Moltar í

Let us be praised Moltar muid

Let them be praised Moltar iad

<h2>7- NEGATION:</h2>

Molaim é -> Ní mholaim é

Ceannaím é -> Ní cheannaím é

Feicim é -> Ní fheicim é

Ithim é -> Ní ithim é

Tá sé anseo -> Níl sé anseo

Tá sí tinn -> Níl sí tinn

Tá muid réidh -> Níl muid réidh

Present Molaim -> Ní mholaim

Present continuous Tá mé ag moladh -> Níl mé ag moladh

Past Mhol mé -> Níor mhol mé

Past continuous Bhí mé ag moladh -> Ní raibh mé ag moladh

Future Molfaidh mé -> Ní mholfaidh mé

Future continuous Beidh mé ag moladh -> Ní bheidh mé ag moladh

Conditional Mholfainn -> Ní mholfainn

Passive present Moltar -> Ní mholtar

Passive past Moladh -> Níor moladh

Passive future Molfar -> Ní mholfar

Don't eat! Ná hith!

Don't go! Ná téigh!

Don't speak! Ná labhair!

Don't touch it! Ná déan teagmháil leis!

Ní dhéanfainn é. I would not do it.

<h2>8- QUESTIONS:</h2>

YES/NO QUESTIONS:

An + verb + subject + object

An labhraíonn tú Gaeilge? Do you speak Irish?

Ar chonaic sé an madra? Did he see the dog?

An bhfuil tú anseo? Are you here? (Tá becomes bhfuil in to be questions)

QUESTION WORDS:

Who? Cé?

What? Cad/Céard?

Where? Cá?

When? Cathain?

Why? Cén fáth?

How? Conas?

Who is he? Cé hé?

Cá mhéad duine? How many people?

How many? Cé mhéad?

<h2>9- ADVERBS:</h2>

Irish Transliteration English

anois a-nish now

ansin an-shin there; then

anseo an-sho here

ansin an-shin there

amuigh a-mwigh outside

istigh ish-tee inside

thuas hoo-us above; up there

thíos hee-us below; down there

os cionn us keen above

faoi fwee under; below

abhaile a-wal-ye homewards; home

romhat roh-ut ahead of you

ar ais er ash back

ar aghaidh er ay forward; ahead

i bhfad i wad far; a long way

gar gor near

timpeall chim-pal around

suas soo-us up

síos shee-us down

isteach ish-tyakh in; into

amach a-makh out

trasna trus-na across

anonn a-nun over; across

anall a-nul over here

thart hart around; past

thairis har-ish over; across

tall tahl over there; yonder

2. Time adverbs

Irish Transliteration English

anois a-nish now

inniu in-yoo today

inné in-yay yesterday

amárach a-ma-rakh tomorrow

aréir er-air last night

anocht a-nukht tonight

ar maidin er ma-din in the morning

ar maidin inniu er ma-din in-yoo this morning

ar maidin amárach er ma-din a-ma-rakh tomorrow morning

aréir er-air last night

anois a-nish now

go fóill go foal still; yet

cheana hyana already

fós fohs still; yet

díreach dee-rakh just; directly

díreach anois dee-rakh a-nish just now

tamall ó shin tamul oh shin a while ago

roimhe seo rev-ye sho before this; previously

roimhe sin rev-ye shin before that

ina dhiaidh sin in-a yee-uh shin afterwards; after that

ansin an-shin then

ar dtús er doosh at first; first

ar deireadh er der-id finally; at the end

faoi dheireadh fwee yeh-reh finally; eventually

faoi láthair fwee la-hir currently; at present

go luath go loo-uh soon; early

go déanach go day-nakh late

go luath ar maidin go loo-uh er ma-din early in the morning

láithreach lah-rakh immediately

láithreach bonn lah-rakh bun immediately

de ghnáth deh ynoh usually; normally

de shíor deh heer constantly; continually

i gcónaí i go-nee always

riamh ree-uv ever; ever before

riamh ree-uv never (with negative)

go minic go men-ik often

uaireanta oo-ir-an-ta sometimes

ó am go chéile oh um go hyay-leh occasionally

gach lá gakh law every day

gach oíche gakh ee-ha every night

gach seachtain gakh shakh-tin every week

gach bliain gakh blee-in every year

ó shin i leith oh shin i leh since then

ó shin oh shin since then

go dtí seo go jee sho until now; so far

go fóill go foal still; yet

3. Frequency adverbs

Irish Transliteration English

i gcónaí i go-nee always

de ghnáth deh ynoh usually

go minic go men-ik often

uaireanta oo-ir-an-ta sometimes

ó am go chéile oh um go hyay-leh occasionally

go hannamh go ha-nuv rarely

is annamh is a-nuv rarely

riamh ree-uv ever; never with negation

de shíor deh heer continually

de ghnáth deh ynoh normally

i gcónaí i go-nee constantly/always

go rialta go ree-al-ta regularly

go minic go men-ik frequently

go hannamh go ha-nuv seldom

arís agus arís eile er-ish ah-gus er-ish el-eh again and again

ó am go ham oh um go hum from time to time

Frequency scale

i gcónaí → de ghnáth → go minic → uaireanta → go hannamh → riamh

always → usually → often → sometimes → rarely → ever/never

4. Manner adverbs

Many Irish manner adverbs are formed with go + adjective.

Formation

go + adjective → adverb

Adjective Adverb English

mall go mall slowly

tapa go tapa quickly

maith go maith well

cúramach go cúramach carefully

simplí go simplí simply

soiléir go soiléir clearly

cruinn go cruinn accurately

foighneach go foighneach patiently

ciúin go ciúin quietly

glórach go glórach loudly

sona go sona happily

brónach go brónach sadly

dáiríre go dáiríre seriously

deas go deas nicely

héasca go héasca easily

crua go crua hard

dian go dian intensely; hard

foirmiúil go foirmiúil formally

neamhoifigiúil go neamhoifigiúil informally

praiticiúil go praiticiúil practically

poiblí go poiblí publicly

príobháideach go príobháideach privately

forleathan go forleathan widely

neamhspleách go neamhspleách independently

coitianta go coitianta commonly

speisialta go speisialta specially

beacht go beacht precisely

cinnte go cinnte certainly

dearfach go dearfach positively

diúltach go diúltach negatively

Examples

Labhraíonn sé go mall.

Lah-rin shay go mal.

He speaks slowly.

Léann sí go cúramach.

Layn shee go koo-ra-makh.

She reads carefully.

Oibríonn siad go crua.

I-breen shee-ad go kroo-a.

They work hard.

5. Degree adverbs

Irish Transliteration English

an- an- very

ró- roh- too

go leor go lyor enough; plenty

beagán byag-awn a little

mórán moh-rawn much; a lot

an iomarca an im-er-ka too much

iomarca im-er-ka too much

go hiomlán go hi-um-lawn completely

go mór go mohr greatly; much

go háirithe go haw-ri-ha especially

go hiomlán go hi-um-lawn completely

go hiomlán go hi-um-lawn entirely

beagnach byag-nakh almost

malairt mal-irt alternatively

róbheag roh-vyag too little

ró-mhór roh-vohr too much; too big

róluath roh-loo-uh too early/quickly

ródhéanach roh-yay-nakh too late

fíor- feer- very/really

go hiomlán go hi-um-lawn wholly

beag nó mór byag noh mohr more or less

Very important: an-

an- + adjective = very

Tá sé an-mhaith.

Taw shay an-wah.

He is very good.

Tá an teach an-mhór.

Taw un tyakh an-vohr.

The house is very big.

6. Intensifying adverbs

Irish Transliteration English

an- an- very

fíor- feer- very; truly

go mór go mohr greatly

go háirithe go haw-ri-ha especially

go deimhin go dem-in indeed

i ndáiríre in da-ree-reh really; actually

dáiríre da-ree-reh really; seriously

ar fad er fahd at all; completely

go hiomlán go hi-um-lawn completely

ar chor ar bith er khor er bih at all

ar ndóigh er noh of course

go háirithe go haw-ri-ha particularly

7. Negative and restrictive adverbial expressions

Irish has special grammatical negative particles. These are not ordinary adverbs, but they are essential to Irish grammar.

Irish Transliteration Function English

ní nee present/general negative not

nach nakh negative relative/question particle not; that ... not

níor neer past negative did not / was not

ná naw negative imperative/subjunctive don't / not

nár nawr negative past subjunctive/relative did not; may not

gan gun without without

ach akh but but

amháin ow-in only only

fiú fyoo even even

fiú amháin fyoo ow-in even just even

ach amháin akh ow-in only/except only; except

Example

Ní thuigim.

Nee hig-im.

I don't understand.

Níor chuaigh sé.

Neer khoo-ig shay.

He didn't go.

Ná téigh!

Naw chayg!

Don't go!

8. Certainty and probability

Irish Transliteration English

cinnte kin-cheh certainly; definitely

go cinnte go kin-cheh certainly

gan amhras gun ow-rus without doubt

gan dabht gun dowt without doubt

ar ndóigh er noh of course

go deimhin go dem-in indeed; certainly

is dócha is doh-kha probably

b’fhéidir bay-dyir perhaps; maybe

b’fhéidir go bay-dyir go perhaps that

is dócha go is doh-kha go probably

gan dabht gun dowt undoubtedly

gan amhras gun ow-rus undoubtedly

de réir dealraimh deh rayr dyal-reh apparently

Very important

b'fhéidir = perhaps/maybe

B'fhéidir go dtiocfaidh sé.

Bay-dyir go JUK-ee shay.

Perhaps he will come.

is dócha = probably

Is dócha go dtiocfaidh sé.

Is doh-kha go JUK-ee shay.

He will probably come.

9. Sentence adverbs

These modify the whole sentence, rather than merely the verb.

Irish Transliteration English

ar ndóigh er noh of course

i ndáiríre in da-ree-reh really; actually

dáiríre da-ree-reh really

go deimhin go dem-in indeed

go cinnte go kin-cheh certainly

b’fhéidir bay-dyir perhaps

is dócha is doh-kha probably

ar an drochuair er un druh-khoor unfortunately

ar ámharaí an tsaoil er aw-ra-ree un teel fortunately

i ndáiríre in da-ree-reh actually

go háirithe go haw-ri-ha especially

go ginearálta go gen-er-al-ta generally

go bunúsach go bun-oo-sakh basically

go nádúrtha go naw-door-ha naturally

go pearsanta go pyar-san-ta personally

go teoiriciúil go tyoh-ir-kyool theoretically

go praiticiúil go pratch-kyool practically

go hiondúil go hin-doo-lee generally; usually

ar dtús er doosh firstly; at first

ansin an-shin then

ar deireadh er der-id finally

sa deireadh sa der-id eventually; in the end

10. Question adverbs

These are extremely important in Irish.

Irish Transliteration English

cá kaw where?

cathain ka-hin when?

conas kun-us how?

cad chuige kod khig-eh why?; for what purpose?

cén fáth kayn fawh why?

cén chaoi kayn khee how?

cá mhéad kaw wayd how many/much?

cé mhéad kay wayd how many/much?

cá fhad kaw ahd how long?

cá minic kaw men-ik how often?

cá háit kaw haw-it where?

cá huair kaw hoo-ir at what time?

Examples

Cá bhfuil sé?

Kaw wil shay?

Where is he?

Cathain a thiocfaidh tú?

Ka-hin a HUK-ee too?

When will you come?

Conas atá tú?

Kun-us a-taw too?

How are you?

Cén fáth?

Kayn fawh?

Why?

11. Place adverbs

Irish Transliteration English

anseo an-sho here

ansin an-shin there

amuigh a-mwigh outside

istigh ish-tee inside

suas soo-us up

síos shee-us down

isteach ish-tyakh in; into

amach a-makh out

anall a-nul over here

anonn a-nun over there/across

thuas hoo-us above/up there

thíos hee-us below/down there

abhaile a-wal-ye home

romhat roh-ut ahead

ar ais er ash back

ar aghaidh er ay forward

thart hart around/past

thairis har-ish across/over

trasna trus-na across

timpeall chim-pal around

i bhfad i wad far

gar gor near

tall tahl over there/yonder

12. Directional adverbs

Irish Transliteration English

suas soo-us upwards/up

síos shee-us downwards/down

isteach ish-tyakh in/into

amach a-makh out/outwards

anonn a-nun over/across

anall a-nul over here

ar ais er ash back

ar aghaidh er ay forward

abhaile a-wal-ye homewards

romhat roh-ut ahead of you

thart hart past/around

thairis har-ish across/over

trasna trus-na across

13. Comparison adverbs

Irish uses níos and is for comparative and superlative forms.

Irish Transliteration English

níos nees more

níos mó nees moh more

níos fearr nees far better

níos lú nees loo less

is ish most

is mó ish moh most

is fearr ish far best

is lú ish loo least

chomh ... le khoh ... leh as ... as

níos mó ná nees moh naw more than

níos lú ná nees loo naw less than

Examples

Labhraíonn sé níos tapúla ná mise.

He speaks more quickly than me.

Labhraíonn sí chomh tapa liom.

She speaks as quickly as me.

14. Concessive / contrastive adverbial expressions

Irish Transliteration English

mar sin féin mar shin fayn nevertheless; even so

áfach aw-fakh however

fós fohs still

mar sin mar shin therefore; so

dá bhrí sin daw vree shin therefore

ar aon nós er ayn nohs anyway

ar aon chaoi er ayn khee anyway

ar aon nós féin er ayn nohs fayn in any case

ina ainneoin sin in-a an-yin shin nevertheless; despite that

15. Linking / logical adverbial expressions

Irish Transliteration English

mar sin mar shin therefore; so

dá bhrí sin daw vree shin therefore

mar gheall air sin mar yel er shin because of that

ina theannta sin in-a han-ta shin in addition

ina theannta sin in-a han-ta shin furthermore

chomh maith khoh mah also; as well

freisin fre-shin also; too

áfach aw-fakh however

mar sin féin mar shin fayn nevertheless

ar an gcéad dul síos er un gyayd dul deesh firstly

ar an dara dul síos er un dara dul deesh secondly

ar deireadh er der-id finally

ar deireadh thiar thall er der-id heer hal ultimately; in the end

16. "Also", "too", "as well"

Irish Transliteration English

freisin fre-shin also; too

chomh maith khoh mah also; as well

freisin féin fre-shin fayn also/even too

leis lesh also/too, depending on construction

Example:

Is maith liom é freisin.

Is mah lum ay fre-shin.

I like it too.

17. "Only"

Irish Transliteration English

amháin ow-in only

ach akh only/but, depending on construction

ach amháin akh ow-in only; except

gan ach gun akh with only; only

amháin after a noun/phrase ow-in only

Example:

Duine amháin.

Din-eh ow-in.

Only one person.

Níl ach duine amháin ann.

Neel akh din-eh ow-in aun.

There is only one person there.

18. "Even"

Irish Transliteration English

fiú fyoo even

fiú amháin fyoo ow-in even

fiú má fyoo maw even if

fiú nuair fyoo noor even when

fiú dá fyoo daw even if

Example:

Fiú é féin.

Even he himself.

19. "Again"

Irish Transliteration English

arís er-ish again

arís eile er-ish el-eh again; another time

arís agus arís eile er-ish ah-gus er-ish el-eh again and again

arís eile er-ish el-eh once again

Example:

Déan é arís.

Dayn ay er-ish.

Do it again.

20. "Already / still / yet"

Irish Transliteration English

cheana hyana already

fós fohs still; yet

go fóill go foal still; yet

go fóill féin go foal fayn still/yet

a thuilleadh a hool-yuh any more; further

Examples:

Tá sé anseo cheana.

He is already here.

Tá sé fós anseo.

He is still here.

Níl sé anseo go fóill.

He isn't here yet.

21. "Just"

Irish Transliteration English

díreach dee-rakh just; directly

díreach anois dee-rakh a-nish just now

ar éigean er ay-gan barely; hardly

beagnach byag-nakh almost

Example:

Tháinig sé díreach anois.

He just arrived.

22. "Almost / nearly"

Irish Transliteration English

beagnach byag-nakh almost

nach mór nakh mohr nearly; almost

beagán gearr de byag-awn gyar deh slightly short of

Example:

Tá sé beagnach críochnaithe.

It is almost finished.

23. "Enough"

Irish Transliteration English

go leor go lyor enough; plenty

sách sawkh sufficiently; enough

dóthanach doh-hun-akh sufficiently; adequate

Example:

Tá go leor ama againn.

We have enough time.

Tá sé sách maith.

It is good enough / fairly good.

24. "Too"

Irish Transliteration English

ró- roh- too

an iomarca an im-er-ka too much

an iomarca de an im-er-ka deh too much of

ró-mhór roh-vohr too big/much

róbheag roh-vyag too little/small

róluath roh-loo-uh too early/fast

ródhéanach roh-yay-nakh too late

25. Manner / means expressions

Irish Transliteration English

ar bhealach er vyal-akh in a way

ar bhealach éigin er vyal-akh ay-gin somehow

ar bhealach éigin eile er vyal-akh ay-gin el-eh somehow else

ar chor ar bith er khor er bih at all

ar aon nós er ayn nohs anyway

ar an dóigh seo er un dee shoh in this way

ar an dóigh sin er un dee shin in that way

mar seo mar shoh like this

mar sin mar shin like that; thus

amhlaidh owl-ig thus; so

26. "Here / there / over here / over there"

This is an important Irish distinction.

Irish Transliteration English

anseo an-sho here

ansin an-shin there

anall a-nul over here

anonn a-nun over there/across

thuas hoo-us up there

thíos hee-us down there

amuigh a-mwigh outside

istigh ish-tee inside

27. Negative adverbial words vs negative particles

This distinction is important for your grammar system.

Ordinary negative expressions

Irish English

ní not

ní hea it is not

níl is not / are not

níor did not / was not

ná don't / not

nár did not / may not

gan without

riamh ever/never

ar chor ar bith at all

in aon chor at all

a thuilleadh any more

Some of these are technically particles, verbs, or adverbial expressions, rather than ordinary adverbs.

28. Important Irish grammatical particles

These should not technically be classified as ordinary adverbs, but they are essential to the “grammar adverb” system because they modify the clause.

Particle Function English

an interrogative is...? / do...?

nach negative interrogative/relative isn't...? / that...not

ní negative not

níor past negative did not

ná negative imperative don't

nár negative past/subjunctive did not / may not

ar interrogative past did...?

ní negative declarative not

go declarative/subordinating particle that

nach negative subordinate particle that...not

má conditional if

dá conditional/subjunctive if

munar negative conditional unless

sula before before

nuair when when

mar as/because as; because

cé go although although

fiú má even if even if

29. Conditional adverbial expressions

Irish Transliteration English

má maw if

dá daw if

mura mur-a if not; unless

murar mur-ar if not

munar mun-ar unless

fiú má fyoo maw even if

fiú dá fyoo daw even if

ach amháin má akh ow-in maw only if

sa chás go sa khas go in case; if

ar eagla go er ag-la go in case; lest

30. Cause/reason adverbial expressions

Irish English

mar because; as

toisc because

de bhrí go because

mar gheall air sin because of that

dá bhrí sin therefore

ar an gcúis sin for that reason

ar an ábhar sin for that reason

mar thoradh air sin as a result of that

dá bharr sin as a result of that

31. Purpose adverbial expressions

Irish English

chun in order to

chun go so that

d'fhonn in order to

ar mhaithe le for the sake of

ar mhaithe leis sin for that purpose

d'fhonn go so that

32. Concessive adverbial expressions

Irish English

cé go although

cé nach although ... not

fiú má even if

fiú dá even if

mar sin féin nevertheless

áfach however

in ainneoin sin despite that

d'ainneoin sin despite that

fós féin nevertheless; still

34. The most important formation rule

A particularly important feature of Irish is:

go + adjective → manner adverb

Formation Example English

go + mall go mall slowly

go + tapa go tapa quickly

go + maith go maith well

go + cúramach go cúramach carefully

go + soiléir go soiléir clearly

go + ciúin go ciúin quietly

go + cinnte go cinnte certainly

go + hiomlán go hiomlán completely

go + háirithe go háirithe especially

<h2>10- CONJUNCTIONS:</h2>

Irish Transliteration English Example English

agus AH-gus and Tá sé ag obair agus tá sí ag léamh. He is working and she is reading.

nó noh or Tae nó caife? Tea or coffee?

ach akh but Tá sé beag ach tá sé láidir. It is small but it is strong.

ná naw nor; than Ní maith liom tae ná caife. I don't like tea nor coffee.

ná naw or (after a negative) Ná déan é ná ná habair é. Don't do it or say it.

ach oiread akh er-ad either/any more Ní maith liom é ach oiread. I don't like it either.

is ish and (literary/formal) Is maith an rud é is is fiú é. It is a good thing and it is worthwhile.

Core three

The three most important coordinating conjunctions are:

agus = and

nó = or

ach = but

2. "And" — agus

agus is the normal Irish word for and.

Noun + noun

Seán agus Máire

Seán and Máire

Clause + clause

Tá mé ag obair agus tá sé ag codladh.

I am working and he is sleeping.

Adjective + adjective

mór agus álainn

big and beautiful

Special contraction

agus is frequently pronounced quickly as 's in speech.

mé 's é

me and him

But agus should be used in normal writing.

3. "Or" — nó

Tae nó caife?

Tea or coffee?

An dtiocfaidh tú inniu nó amárach?

Will you come today or tomorrow?

4. "But" — ach

Tá sé deas ach tá sé costasach.

It is nice but it is expensive.

Other contrastive conjunctional expressions include:

Irish English

ach but

ach fós but still

ach mar sin féin but nevertheless

ach amháin except; only

mar sin féin nevertheless

áfach however

cé go although

cé nach although ... not

5. "Nor" — ná

After a negative construction, ná can mean nor.

Ní ólaim tae ná caife.

I don't drink tea or coffee. / I drink neither tea nor coffee.

Here ná is functioning as the negative counterpart of agus/nó.

6. Subordinating conjunctions

These introduce dependent/subordinate clauses.

Irish Transliteration English

go guh that

nach nakh that ... not

má maw if

mura mur-a if not; unless

munar mun-ar unless; if not

murar mur-ar if ... not

dá daw if

nuair noo-ir when

nuair a noo-ir a when

nuair a noo-ir a whenever/when

sula sul-a before

tar éis tar-aysh after

ó oh since

ó tharla oh har-la since/as it happened that

mar mar as; because

toisc tishk because

toisc go tishk guh because

de bhrí deh vree because

de bhrí go deh vree guh because

ó tharla go oh har-la guh since/because

cé kay although (in constructions)

cé go kay guh although

cé nach kay nakh although ... not

fiú má fyoo maw even if

fiú dá fyoo daw even if

chun go khun guh so that

d'fhonn go own guh so that

ionas go in-us guh so that

ar eagla go er ag-la guh in case; lest

sula dtagann sul-a dag-un before ... comes

7. go — "that"

go introduces an affirmative subordinate clause.

Formation

Main clause + go + subordinate clause

Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil sé anseo.

I know that he is here.

go = that.

Another example:

Deir sé go bhfuil sí tinn.

He says that she is sick.

8. nach — negative "that"

nach is essentially the negative counterpart of go in many subordinate constructions.

Tá a fhios agam nach bhfuil sé anseo.

I know that he isn't here.

Compare:

Affirmative Negative

go bhfuil nach bhfuil

that ... is that ... isn't

go bhfuil sé anseo nach bhfuil sé anseo

9. Conditional conjunctions

má — if

Má bhíonn am agam, tiocfaidh mé.

If I have time, I will come.

dá — if

Often used with conditional/subjunctive constructions.

Dá mbeadh am agam, thiocfainn.

If I had time, I would come.

mura — if not / unless

Mura dtagann sé, imeoidh mé.

If he doesn't come, I will leave.

murar / munar

These are additional negative conditional forms.

Form Meaning

mura if not; unless

murar if ... did not / if ... not

munar unless; if ... not

10. "When" — nuair

nuair a

Nuair a thiocfaidh sé, labhróidh mé leis.

When he comes, I will speak to him.

nuair a

This can introduce a normal temporal subordinate clause.

Nuair a bhí mé óg, bhí mé sona.

When I was young, I was happy.

11. "Before" — sula

sula = before

Glaoigh orm sula n-imíonn tú.

Call me before you leave.

It is especially important because the following verb is affected by Irish grammatical mutation.

12. "After"

Irish frequently expresses after using a prepositional construction rather than a simple conjunction.

tar éis

Tar éis dó teacht, chuaigh muid abhaile.

After he came, we went home.

tar éis do

Tar éis dom ithe, chuaigh mé amach.

After I ate, I went out.

So:

tar éis + verbal noun / possessive construction

= after doing something

13. Cause conjunctions

Irish English

mar because; as

toisc because

toisc go because

de bhrí go because

ó tharla go since; because

mar gheall go because of the fact that

ar an ábhar go because

de bharr go because; as a result of the fact that

mar

Níor tháinig sé mar bhí sé tinn.

He didn't come because he was sick.

toisc go

D'imigh mé toisc go raibh mé tuirseach.

I left because I was tired.

de bhrí go

More formal:

D'fhan sé sa bhaile de bhrí go raibh sé tinn.

He stayed at home because he was sick.

14. Purpose conjunctions

Irish English

chun go so that

d'fhonn go so that; in order that

ionas go so that

ar mhaithe le for the sake of

ar eagla go in case; lest

chun go

D'oibrigh sé go crua chun go n-éireodh leis.

He worked hard so that he would succeed.

ionas go

Labhair sé go soiléir ionas go dtuigfeadh gach duine é.

He spoke clearly so that everyone would understand him.

15. Concessive conjunctions

These express although, even though, even if.

Irish English

cé go although

cé nach although ... not

fiú má even if

fiú dá even if

cé chomh ... is atá however ...

in ainneoin go despite the fact that

d'ainneoin go despite the fact that

cé go

Cé go bhfuil sé tuirseach, leanann sé air.

Although he is tired, he continues.

fiú má

Tiocfaidh mé fiú má bhíonn sé ag cur báistí.

I will come even if it is raining.

16. Result / consequence conjunctions

Irish English

ionas go so that

chun go so that

d'fhonn go so that

mar sin therefore; so

dá bhrí sin therefore

mar thoradh air sin as a result

dá bharr sin as a result

Strictly speaking, mar sin, dá bhrí sin, etc. are often classified as conjunctive/adverbial phrases, rather than simple conjunctions.

17. Comparison conjunctions

Irish English

ná than

mar as; like

amhail like; as

cosúil le like; similar to

chomh ... le as ... as

níos ... ná more ... than

níos lú ... ná less ... than

is ... the most ...

ná

Tá sé níos mó ná mise.

He is bigger than me.

chomh ... le

Tá sé chomh mór liom.

He is as big as me.

18. "As / like" — mar

mar has several functions.

Function Meaning Example

conjunction because/as Mar bhí sé tinn, d'fhan sé sa bhaile.

comparison as/like Oibríonn sé mar mhúinteoir.

manner as/like Déan é mar seo.

So mar must be understood from context.

19. "That" — complete system

Irish has several important forms:

Irish Function English

go affirmative subordinate clause that

nach negative subordinate clause that ... not

a relative/subordinating particle in certain structures that/which/who

gurb copular form of go that ... is

gur past/copular form that ... was

nach bhfuil negative "that ... is" that ... isn't

gurb é that it/he is that it/he is

gurb í that it/she is that it/she is

Examples:

Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil sé anseo.

I know that he is here.

Tá a fhios agam nach bhfuil sé anseo.

I know that he isn't here.

Deir sé gurb é Seán é.

He says that he is Seán.

20. Relative conjunction/particle a

Irish relative clauses use a in important constructions.

An fear a chonaic mé

the man whom I saw

An fear a tháinig

the man who came

There are different relative constructions, including a and nach, depending on the grammatical relationship.

21. Negative conjunctions

Irish English

nach that ... not

ní not

níor did not

ná don't / nor

nár did not / may not

mura if not

murar if ... not

munar unless

cé nach although ... not

ach amháin mura only if not / except if not

22. Correlative conjunctions

Irish has several paired/fixed constructions.

Formation English

más ... is if ... then

ní hamháin ... ach not only ... but

ní hamháin ... ach freisin not only ... but also

idir ... agus both ... and / between ... and

cibé ... whatever/whichever

pé ... whatever/whichever

cibé acu ... nó whether ... or

cibé acu ... whether ...

más rud é go ... if it is the case that

má ... ansin if ... then

Not only ... but also

Ní hamháin go bhfuil sé cliste, ach tá sé cineálta freisin.

He is not only intelligent, but he is also kind.

23. "Whether ... or"

A very important Irish construction is:

cibé acu ... nó ...

Níl a fhios agam cibé acu a thiocfaidh sé nó nach dtiocfaidh.

I don't know whether he will come or not.

Also:

Cibé acu is maith leat é nó nach maith leat é...

Whether you like it or not...

24. "Both ... and"

Irish often uses:

idir ... agus ...

Idir Seán agus Máire, tá siad beirt anseo.

Both Seán and Máire are here.

Another construction:

araon

Tá Seán agus Máire araon anseo.

Seán and Máire are both here.

araon is technically an adverb rather than a conjunction.

25. "Not only ... but also"

ní hamháin ... ach freisin

Ní hamháin go léann sé, ach scríobhann sé freisin.

He not only reads, but he also writes.

26. "Either ... or"

nó ... nó

Nó tagann sé, nó fanann sé sa bhaile.

Either he comes or he stays at home.

Another important construction:

cibé acu ... nó

Cibé acu tae nó caife atá uait...

Whether you want tea or coffee...

27. "Neither ... nor"

Irish normally uses the negative plus ná.

ní ... ná ...

Ní ólaim tae ná caife.

I drink neither tea nor coffee.

28. "The more ... the more"

Irish uses constructions involving is.

Dá mhéad a léann tú, is ea is mó a fhoghlaimíonn tú.

The more you read, the more you learn.

A common pattern is:

is + comparative ..., is ea + comparative ...

29. "As soon as"

Irish has several ways of expressing this.

Irish English

a luaithe a as soon as

chomh luath agus as soon as

chomh luath is as soon as

nuair a when

Example:

Tiocfaidh mé a luaithe a bheidh mé saor.

I will come as soon as I am free.

30. "Until / until the time that"

Irish English

go dtí go until

go until/that, depending on construction

sula before

go dtí until/up to

Example:

Fan anseo go dtí go dtiocfaidh mé.

Stay here until I come.

31. "Since"

Irish English

ó since

ó tharla since/as

ó tharla go since/because

ó shin since then

ó shin i leith ever since

Example:

Ó tháinig sé, tá gach rud níos fearr.

Since he came, everything is better.

32. "While"

Irish English

agus while, when, and

fad is while/as long as

fad a while

le linn during/while

nuair a when

Example:

Fad is atá mé anseo, cabhróidh mé leat.

While I am here, I will help you.

33. "As long as"

Irish English

fad is as long as

fad a as long as

chomh fada agus as long as

ar choinníoll go provided that

ar an gcoinníoll go on condition that

Example:

Is féidir leat fanacht fad is atá tú ciúin.

You can stay as long as you are quiet.

34. "Provided that / on condition that"

Irish English

ar choinníoll go provided that

ar an gcoinníoll go on condition that

ar choinníoll nach provided that ... not

má if

35. "In case / lest"

Irish English

ar eagla go in case; lest

ar eagla na heagla just in case

ar eagla nach in case ... not

ar eagla go mbeadh in case there would be

Example:

Tóg scáth fearthainne ar eagla go mbeadh sé ag cur báistí.

Take an umbrella in case it rains.

Irish conjunctions often trigger initial mutations or interact with special verbal particles. For example:

go bhfuil = that ... is

nach bhfuil = that ... is not

má tá = if ... is

mura bhfuil = if ... is not

nuair a bhíonn = when ... is/are

sula dtagann = before ... comes

cé go bhfuil = although ... is

<h2>11- PREPOSITIONS:</h2>

# Irish Transliteration Main meaning Example English

1 ag ag at, by, with Tá sé ag an doras. He is at the door.

2 ar ar on, upon, about Tá an leabhar ar an mbord. The book is on the table.

3 as as out of, from Tagann sé as Éirinn. He comes from Ireland.

4 chuig chig to, towards Téim chuig an scoil. I go to the school.

5 de de of, from, off Tá sé ag teacht de shiúl na gcos. He is coming on foot.

6 do duh to, for Tugaim an leabhar do Mháire. I give the book to Mary.

7 faoi fee under, about, concerning Tá an cat faoin mbord. The cat is under the table.

8 i i in, into Tá sé sa teach. He is in the house.

9 idir id-ir between, among Tá an teach idir an dá bhóthar. The house is between the two roads.

10 le leh with, by, to Téim le Seán. I go with Seán.

11 ó oh from, since Táim anseo ó inné. I have been here since yesterday.

12 roimh riv before, in front of Tá sé roimh an teach. He is in front of the house.

13 thar har over, across, beyond Tá sé thar an abhainn. He is across the river.

14 trí tree through, by means of Téann sé tríd an doras. He goes through the door.

15 um um around, at/about a time Um a trí a chlog. At about three o'clock.

2. Other important simple/lexical prepositions

Some grammars treat these differently from the core set above, but they function prepositionally and are important for learners.

Irish Transliteration Meaning Example English

gan gan without Chuaigh sé amach gan cóta. He went out without a coat.

mar mar as, like, for Oibríonn sé mar mhúinteoir. He works as a teacher.

chun khun towards, to, in order to Téim chun na cathrach. I go to the city.

cois kish beside, by the side of Tá an teach cois na farraige. The house is beside the sea.

feadh fah along, throughout, during Shiúil muid feadh an bhóthair. We walked along the road.

timpeall timp-yal around Shiúil sé timpeall an tí. He walked around the house.

trasna trass-na across Shiúil sí trasna na sráide. She walked across the street.

i dtreo i droh towards Shiúil sé i dtreo an dorais. He walked towards the door.

ionsar in-sar towards Chuaigh sé ionsar an dorais. He went towards the door.

timpeall timp-yal around Tá siad timpeall an bhoird. They are around the table.

3. Main meanings of each preposition

ag — at / by / with

Formation:

ag + noun/person

Irish Transliteration English

ag an teach ag un tyah at the house

ag an doras ag un dor-us at the door

ag Seán ag Shayn at Seán's / with Seán

ag obair ag ub-ir working

Very important use

Irish uses ag + verbal noun for the progressive:

Tá mé ag léamh.

Taw may ag lay-uv.

I am reading.

4. ar — on / upon / about

ar + noun

Irish Transliteration English

ar an mbord ar un mord on the table

ar an gcarr ar un gar on the car

ar an urlár ar un ur-lár on the floor

ar an ábhar ar un aw-var about the matter

It also occurs in many expressions:

ar maidin — in the morning

aréir — last night

arís — again

5. as — out of / from

as + noun

Irish Transliteration English

as Éirinn as Ay-rin from Ireland

as an teach as un tyah out of the house

as an mbosca as un mos-ka out of the box

as an gcarr as un gar out of the car

6. chuig — to / towards

chuig + person/place

Irish Transliteration English

chuig an scoil chig un skul to the school

chuig an siopa chig un shop-a to the shop

chuig Seán chig Shayn to Seán

chuig an ospidéal chig un us-pi-dawl to the hospital

chuig is especially common when the destination is a person or place.

7. de — of / from / off

Irish Transliteration English

de bharr de var because of / as a result of

de réir de rayr according to

de chuid de khid of the part/share of

de láimh de law-iv by hand

Example:

Tá sé de réir an dlí.

Taw shay de rayr un dlee.

It is according to the law.

8. do — to / for

do + person/thing

Irish Transliteration English

do Mháire duh Waw-reh to Mary

do Sheán duh Hayn to Seán

do na páistí duh nuh pawsh-tee for/to the children

do mo chara duh muh khar-a for my friend

Example:

Tugaim an leabhar do Mháire.

Tug-im un lyow-er duh Waw-reh.

I give the book to Mary.

9. faoi — under / about / concerning

Irish Transliteration English

faoin mbord fee-in mord under the table

faoin teach fee-in tyah under the house

faoi bhrú fee varoo under pressure

faoi ghlas fee glas locked

It can also mean about/concerning:

Labhair muid faoi scannán.

Low-ir mwid fee skawn-awn.

We talked about a film.

10. i — in / into

i + noun

Irish Transliteration English

i dteach i yach in a house

sa teach sa tyah in the house

i mbosca i mos-ka in a box

san oifig san if-ig in the office

Important contractions

i + an → sa / san

Formation Result English

i + an sa in the

i + an + vowel san in the

Examples:

Tá mé sa teach.

I am in the house.

Tá sí san oifig.

She is in the office.

11. idir — between / among

Irish Transliteration English

idir dhá theach id-ir gaw hah between two houses

idir na cathracha id-ir nuh kah-hra-ka between the cities

idir daoine id-ir dee-na among people

idir mé agus é id-ir may ah-gus ay between me and him

Example:

Tá an siopa idir an dá theach.

The shop is between the two houses.

12. le — with / by

Irish Transliteration English

le Seán leh Shayn with Seán

leis an gcarr lesh un gar with/by the car

le cara leh kar-a with a friend

le peann leh pan with a pen

It can express the instrument:

Scríobhaim le peann.

Shkriv-im leh pan.

I write with a pen.

It can also express the agent in some passive constructions:

Scríofa ag an údar.

Written by the author.

13. ó — from / since

Irish Transliteration English

ó Éirinn oh Ay-rin from Ireland

ó Bhaile Átha Cliath oh Val-ye Aw-ha Klee-ah from Dublin

ó inné oh in-yay since yesterday

ó shin oh shin since then / ago

Example:

Tá mé anseo ó inné.

I have been here since yesterday.

14. roimh — before / in front of

Irish Transliteration English

roimh an teach riv un tyah in front of the house

roimh an dinnéar riv un din-ar before dinner

roimh an scrúdú riv un skroo-doo before the exam

Example:

Ith roimh an dinnéar.

Eat before dinner.

15. thar — over / across / beyond

Irish Transliteration English

thar an abhainn har un ow-in across the river

thar an droichead har un drik-had across the bridge

thar an teorainn har un tyur-in beyond the border

thar barr har bar excellent / beyond the top

Example:

Léim sé thar an bhalla.

He jumped over the wall.

16. trí — through / by means of

Irish Transliteration English

trí na fuinneoga tree nuh fin-yo-ga through the windows

tríd an doras treed un dor-us through the door

trí thimpiste tree him-pish-teh by accident

trí mheán tree vayn through/by means of

Example:

Chuaigh sí tríd an doras.

She went through the door.

17. um — around / at about

This is relatively formal/literary.

um a trí a chlog

um a tree a klok

at about three o'clock

Example:

Tiocfaidh sé um a hocht a chlog.

He will come at about eight o'clock.

18. gan — without

gan + noun / verbal noun

Irish Transliteration English

gan airgead gan ar-ig-id without money

gan bia gan bee-a without food

gan labhairt gan low-ir without speaking

gan an leabhar gan un lyow-er without the book

Example:

Chuaigh sé amach gan cóta.

He went out without a coat.

19. mar — as / like

Irish Transliteration English

mar mhúinteoir mar voo-in-tor as a teacher

mar chara mar khar-a as a friend

mar seo mar sho like this

mar sin mar shin like that / so

Example:

Oibríonn sí mar dhochtúir.

She works as a doctor.

20. chun — to / towards / for the purpose of

chun has several important uses.

Direction

Téim chun na cathrach.

I go to the city.

Purpose

Téim ann chun staidéar a dhéanamh.

I go there in order to study.

So:

chun + noun = to/towards

chun + verbal noun construction = in order to

21. cois — beside / by

Usually associated with the side/foot of something.

Tá an teach cois farraige.

The house is by the sea.

Shiúil muid cois na habhann.

We walked beside the river.

22. feadh — along / throughout / during

Irish English

feadh an bhóthair along the road

feadh na bliana throughout the year

feadh an lae throughout the day

feadh na hoíche throughout the night

Example:

D'oibrigh sé feadh an lae.

He worked throughout the day.

23. timpeall — around

Siúil timpeall an tí.

Walk around the house.

Tá daoine timpeall an bhoird.

There are people around the table.

24. trasna — across

Shiúil sé trasna na sráide.

He walked across the street.

Rith siad trasna na páirce.

They ran across the field.

25. i dtreo — towards

Literally approximately “in the direction of.”

Shiúil sé i dtreo an dorais.

He walked towards the door.

26. ionsar — towards

Another word meaning towards, generally more literary/formal than everyday i dtreo.

Chuaigh sé ionsar an bhaile.

He went towards the town.

27. Major compound prepositions

Irish can create many compound prepositions from a noun + simple preposition. These are extremely important.

Position / location

Irish Transliteration English

os cionn os kin above

faoi bhun fee vun below / underneath

os comhair os kov-ir in front of

ar chúl er khool behind

i gcúl i ghool behind/in the rear

in aice le in a-ka leh beside / near

in éineacht le in ayn-yakht leh together with

i lár i lawr in the middle of

i measc i mask among

idir eatarthu id-ir at-ar-hoo between them

ar bharr er var on top of

ag bun ag bun at the bottom of

ag barr ag bar at the top of

ar imeall er im-al on the edge of

ar thaobh er heev beside / on the side of

ar an taobh eile de er un heev el-ye de on the other side of

28. os cionn — above

Tá an pictiúr os cionn an bhoird.

The picture is above the table.

29. faoi bhun — below / underneath

Tá an bosca faoi bhun an bhoird.

The box is under the table.

30. os comhair — in front of

Tá an carr os comhair an tí.

The car is in front of the house.

31. ar chúl — behind

Tá sé ar chúl an tí.

He is behind the house.

32. in aice le — near / beside

This is one of the most useful compound prepositions.

Tá an scoil in aice leis an siopa.

The school is beside the shop.

Formation:

in aice le + noun

33. in éineacht le — together with

Chuaigh mé in éineacht le mo chara.

I went together with my friend.

34. i lár — in the middle of

Tá sé i lár an tseomra.

He is in the middle of the room.

35. i measc — among

Bhí sí i measc na ndaoine.

She was among the people.

36. ar bharr — on top of

Tá an cupán ar bharr an bhoird.

The cup is on top of the table.

37. ag bun — at the bottom of

Tá an siopa ag bun an tsléibhe.

The shop is at the foot/bottom of the mountain.

38. ar imeall — on the edge of

Tá an teach ar imeall na cathrach.

The house is on the edge of the city.

39. Compound prepositions for time

Irish English

roimh before

tar éis after

i ndiaidh after

ó shin since then / ago

ó thús from the beginning

ó thús deireadh from beginning to end

go dtí until / up to

go dtí seo until now / so far

le linn during

i rith during / throughout

faoi cheann within / after a period of

tar éis tamaill after a while

ó shin i leith ever since

ar feadh for / during

feadh throughout / during

40. tar éis — after

tar éis + noun

Tar éis an dinnéir, chuaigh muid abhaile.

After dinner, we went home.

It is also extremely important with the verbal noun:

Tar éis ithe, chuaigh sé amach.

After eating, he went out.

41. i ndiaidh — after

Very similar to tar éis.

I ndiaidh na scoile, chuaigh mé abhaile.

After school, I went home.

42. le linn — during

Le linn an lae, bhí sé ag obair.

During the day, he was working.

43. i rith — during / throughout

I rith na bliana, d'oibrigh sí go crua.

Throughout the year, she worked hard.

44. ar feadh — for / during

D'fhan mé ansin ar feadh trí uair an chloig.

I stayed there for three hours.

45. go dtí — until / to / up to

Fan anseo go dtí amárach.

Stay here until tomorrow.

It can also mean up to/as far as:

Téigh go dtí an doras.

Go to the door.

46. Cause/reason compound prepositions

Irish English

mar gheall ar because of

de bharr because of / as a result of

de thoradh as a result of

ar son for / on behalf of

ar mhaithe le for the sake of

ar eagla for fear of / in case of

de dheasca because of / due to

de bharr due to

de thoradh as a result of

ar chúis for a reason

Example

Bhí an cluiche curtha ar ceal mar gheall ar an mbáisteach.

The match was cancelled because of the rain.

47. ar son — for / on behalf of

Rinne mé é ar son mo theaghlaigh.

I did it for my family.

It can also mean on behalf of:

Labhair sé ar son na foirne.

He spoke on behalf of the team.

48. ar mhaithe le — for the sake of

Déanaim é ar mhaithe leat.

I do it for your sake.

49. mar gheall ar — because of

Níor tháinig sé mar gheall ar an aimsir.

He didn't come because of the weather.

50. de bharr — because of / as a result of

Bhí sé déanach de bharr na tráchta.

He was late because of the traffic.

51. Purpose / relation

Irish English

chun to / towards / in order to

d'fhonn in order to

ar mhaithe le for the sake of

i gcomhair for / intended for

ar son for / on behalf of

maidir le regarding / concerning

i dtaobh concerning / about

faoi about / concerning

i dtaca le regarding / in relation to

maidir do regarding — less common/varied usage

52. i gcomhair — for

Tá an bronntanas i gcomhair Mháire.

The gift is for Mary.

53. maidir le — regarding / concerning

Very common in formal Irish.

Maidir leis an gceist, tá freagra agam.

Regarding the question, I have an answer.

54. i dtaobh — about / concerning

Labhair muid i dtaobh an ábhair.

We talked about the subject.

55. i dtaca le — regarding / in relation to

I dtaca leis an bplean, tá roinnt fadhbanna ann.

Regarding the plan, there are some problems.

56. Manner / comparison prepositional expressions

Irish English

ar nós like / in the manner of

cosúil le similar to / like

seachas except / rather than

seachas sin apart from that

in aghaidh against

in éadan against / opposite

de réir according to

de bhun under / pursuant to

ar nós like / such as

i dteannta together with / in addition to

in éineacht le together with

57. cosúil le — like / similar to

Tá sé cosúil lena athair.

He is like his father.

58. seachas — except / rather than

Is maith liom gach rud seachas caife.

I like everything except coffee.

59. in aghaidh — against

Tá sé in aghaidh an phlean.

He is against the plan.

It also has meanings involving per:

trí huaire in aghaidh an lae

three times per day

60. de réir — according to

De réir an dlí, tá sé seo riachtanach.

According to the law, this is necessary.

61. i dteannta — together with / in addition to

Chuaigh sé i dteannta a chairde.

He went together with his friends.

62. Concessive / despite

Irish English

in ainneoin despite

d'ainneoin despite

in aghaidh against

d'ainneoin sin despite that

Example:

In ainneoin na báistí, chuaigh muid amach.

Despite the rain, we went out.

63. Important contracted forms

Irish prepositions frequently combine with the definite article.

i + an

Form Meaning

sa in the

san in the, before a vowel

Examples:

sa teach — in the house

sa charr — in the car

san oifig — in the office

ar + an

Form Meaning

ar an on the

Example:

ar an mbord — on the table

faoi + an

Form Meaning

faoin under the

faoin mbord — under the table

ag + an

Form Meaning

ag an at the

ag an doras — at the door

ó + an

Form Meaning

ón from the

ón teach — from the house

do + an

Form Meaning

don to/for the

don fhear — to/for the man

de + an

Form Meaning

den of/from the

den teach — of/from the house

64. Preposition + possessive pronoun contractions

This is especially important because Irish has prepositional pronouns.

For example:

ag + mé

agam = at me / I have

ag + tú

agat = at you

ag + sé

aige = at him

ag + sí

aici = at her

ag + muid

againn = at us

ag + sibh

agaibh = at you (plural)

ag + siad

acu = at them

This is extremely important because:

Tá leabhar agam.

I have a book.

Literally:

Tá + leabhar + ag-am

is + book + at-me

65. Major prepositional pronouns

Irish combines many prepositions directly with pronouns.

ag

Irish English

agam at me

agat at you

aige at him

aici at her

againn at us

agaibh at you plural

acu at them

ar

Irish English

orm on me

ort on you

air on him

uirthi on her

orainn on us

oraibh on you plural

orthu on them

le

Irish English

liom with me

leat with you

leis with him

léi with her

linn with us

libh with you plural

leo with them

do

Irish English

dom to/for me

duit to/for you

dó to/for him

di to/for her

dúinn to/for us

daoibh to/for you plural

dóibh to/for them

de

Irish English

díom from/off me

díot from/off you

de from/off him

di from/off her

dínn from/off us

díbh from/off you plural

díobh from/off them

faoi

Irish English

fúm under/about me

fút under/about you

faoi under/about him

fúithi under/about her

fúinn under/about us

fúibh under/about you plural

fúthu under/about them

ó

Irish English

uaim from me

uait from you

uaidh from him

uaithi from her

uainn from us

uaibh from you plural

uathu from them

i

The forms are somewhat more irregular:

Irish English

ionam in me

ionat in you

ann in him / in it

inti in her / in it

ionainn in us

ionaibh in you plural

iontu in them

<h2>12- DETERMINERS</h2>

Irish Transliteration Meaning Example English

an an the an fear the man

an an the an bhean the woman

an an the an teach the house

an an the an t-uisce the water

Important forms

The form of an changes according to gender, number, case, and initial sound.

Form Typical use Example English

an singular an fear the man

an singular feminine an bhean the woman

an singular before certain vowels an t-uisce the water

na plural na fir the men

na genitive singular feminine / genitive plural contexts na mná of the woman / the women

So:

an fear

an far

the man

na fir

na fir

the men

2. Indefinite article

Irish has no indefinite article.

English:

a man

the man

Irish:

fear = a man / man

an fear = the man

English Irish

a man fear

a woman bean

a house teach

the man an fear

the woman an bhean

the house an teach

Therefore:

Tá madra agam.

Taw mad-ra agam.

I have a dog.

There is no separate word meaning a/an here.

3. Possessive determiners

Irish possessive determiners correspond to:

my, your, his, her, our, your, their

Irish Transliteration English

mo muh my

do duh your

a uh his

a uh her

ár ahr our

bhur vur your plural

a uh their

Examples

Irish Transliteration English

mo theach muh hyakh my house

do theach duh hyakh your house

a theach uh hyakh his house

a teach uh tyakh her house

ár dteach ahr dyakh our house

bhur dteach vur dyakh your house

a dteach uh dyakh their house

The three a forms are different grammatically even though they are written the same:

Irish Meaning Mutation

a + lenition his a theach

a + no lenition her a teach

a + eclipsis their a dteach

4. Possessive + definite article

Irish normally does not use the definite article together with a possessive determiner.

English:

my house

the house

Not normally:

❌ the my house

Irish likewise:

mo theach = my house

rather than:

❌ an mo theach

This is an important difference from some other determiner systems.

5. Demonstrative determiners

Irish has demonstrative forms corresponding broadly to:

this

that

these

those

The demonstrative normally occurs after the noun, unlike English.

This

an fear seo

an far sho

this man

Literally:

the man + this

That

an fear sin

an far shin

that man

That over there / yonder

an fear úd

an far ood

that man over there

Main demonstratives

Irish Transliteration Meaning

seo sho this / here

sin shin that / there

úd ood that over there / yonder

Examples:

Irish Transliteration English

an leabhar seo an lyow-er sho this book

an leabhar sin an lyow-er shin that book

an leabhar úd an lyow-er ood that book over there

na leabhair seo na lyow-ir sho these books

na leabhair sin na lyow-ir shin those books

na leabhair úd na lyow-ir ood those books over there

6. Demonstrative pronoun vs demonstrative determiner

The same forms can be used independently.

Determiner

an teach seo

this house

Here seo specifies teach.

Independent demonstrative

Seo é.

This is it.

So the grammatical function depends on how the form is used.

7. Interrogative determiners

Irish has several interrogative forms used with nouns.

Which / what

Irish Transliteration Meaning

cén kayn which / what

cá mhéad kaw wayd how many / how much

cé mhéad kay wayd how many / how much

cén t- kayn which/what before certain vowels

Examples

Cén leabhar?

Kayn lyow-er?

Which book?

Cén teach?

Kayn tyakh?

Which house?

Cén t-ainm atá ort?

Kayn tán-im aw-ta ort?

What is your name?

8. cén vs cad

cén is used directly before a noun.

Cén leabhar?

Which book?

cad is normally an independent interrogative pronoun:

Cad é seo?

What is this?

So cad is not normally classified as a determiner when standing alone.

9. Quantifier determiners

Irish has many words and expressions that quantify nouns.

Basic quantity

Irish Transliteration English

go leor guh lyor enough / plenty of / a lot of

mórán moh-rahn much / many

beagán byag-awn a little / a few

roinnt rint some / a number of

cuid kid part / some

neart nyart plenty / a lot

iomad im-id many / a great number

barraíocht bar-ee-okht too much / too many

an iomarca an im-ar-ka too much / too many

an chuid is mó an khid ish moh most

an chuid is lú an khid ish loo least

10. roinnt — some / a number of

Very common with plural nouns.

roinnt leabhar

some books

roinnt daoine

some people

Example:

Cheannaigh mé roinnt leabhar.

Khyah-nee mee rint lyow-er.

I bought some books.

11. cuid — some / part of

cuid is especially important because it combines with possessive forms.

cuid den leabhar

part of the book

cuid de na daoine

some of the people

mo chuid leabhar

my books / my share of books

a chuid airgid

his money / his share of money

12. go leor — many / much / plenty of / enough

go leor daoine

many people

go leor ama

plenty of time

Tá go leor airgid agam.

I have enough money.

Its exact English translation depends on context.

13. mórán — much / many

mórán daoine

many people

mórán ama

much time

It is particularly common in negative constructions.

Níl mórán airgid agam.

I don't have much money.

14. beagán — a little / a few

beagán uisce

a little water

beagán daoine

a few people

Ól beagán uisce.

Drink a little water.

15. neart — plenty of / lots of

neart bia

plenty of food

neart daoine

lots of people

Example:

Tá neart ama againn.

We have plenty of time.

16. Indefinite determiners

Irish does not have an exact equivalent of English some that must always be used.

Common expressions include:

Irish English

roinnt some / several

cuid some / part of

beagán a little / a few

go leor plenty of / enough

neart plenty of

áirithe certain / particular

éigin some / certain, indefinite

17. áirithe — certain / particular

Usually follows the noun or occurs in a larger construction.

daoine áirithe

certain people

cúiseanna áirithe

certain reasons

Example:

Tá daoine áirithe ann nach n-aontaíonn.

There are certain people who don't agree.

18. éigin — some / certain / some unspecified

Often occurs after a noun.

duine éigin

someone / some person

rud éigin

something

lá éigin

some day

Example:

Chonaic mé duine éigin.

I saw someone.

19. Negative determiners

Irish uses several constructions to express no / not any / none.

aon — any / a single

This is extremely important.

aon duine

any person / anyone

aon rud

anything

aon leabhar

any book

Usually with a negative:

Níl aon leabhar agam.

I don't have any book / any books.

Literally:

not-is + any + book + at-me

20. aon — one / any

Depending on context, aon can mean:

one

any

a single

Examples:

aon duine amháin

one single person

Níl aon duine anseo.

There is nobody here.

An bhfuil aon cheist agat?

Do you have any question?

21. uile — all / every

uile is an important universal determiner/quantifier.

gach duine = every person / everyone

na daoine uile = all the people

The construction differs depending on whether the meaning is every or all.

22. gach — every / each

One of the most important Irish determiners.

gach duine

every person / everyone

gach lá

every day

gach teach

every house

Example:

Léim gach lá.

I read every day.

23. gach ceann — each one

gach ceann

each one / every one

Example:

Thóg sé gach ceann.

He took each one.

24. uile vs gach

Irish Main meaning Example

gach every / each gach duine

uile all / entire na daoine uile

gach uile every single / each and every gach uile lá

gach uile is an emphatic combination:

gach uile dhuine

every single person

25. an dá — both / the two

an dá fhear

both men / the two men

an dá lámh

both hands

Example:

Tá an dá leabhar agam.

I have both books.

26. an dá chuid — both parts / both

A related construction:

an dá chuid

both parts / both sides

27. Distributive determiners

Irish has several ways to express:

each

every

either

neither

both

Irish English

gach every / each

gach uile every single

an dá both / the two

ceachtar either

ceachtar acu either of them

ceachtar den dá cheann either of the two

ceachtar acu either one of them

ceachtar either one

aon ... ná ... neither ... nor ... in suitable constructions

28. ceachtar — either

ceachtar acu

either of them

Example:

Is féidir leat ceachtar acu a roghnú.

You can choose either of them.

29. ceachtar den dá — either of the two

ceachtar den dá leabhar

either of the two books

Example:

Is féidir leat ceachtar den dá leabhar a léamh.

You can read either of the two books.

30. Neither

Irish normally expresses neither using a negative construction rather than one universal standalone determiner equivalent to English neither.

Common pattern:

ní ... ná ...

Example:

Ní maith liom ceachtar acu.

I don't like either of them.

And:

Ní maith liom é seo ná é sin.

I like neither this nor that.

31. Numeral determiners

Irish cardinal numbers can function as noun determiners.

Basic numbers

Irish Transliteration English

aon ayn one

dhá gaw two

trí tree three

ceithre keh-hre four

cúig koog five

sé shay six

seacht shakt seven

ocht okht eight

naoi nee nine

deich jeh ten

Examples:

aon leabhar

one book

dhá leabhar

two books

trí leabhar

three books

ceithre leabhar

four books

32. Higher numeral determiners

Irish English

aon cheann déag eleven

dhá cheann déag twelve

trí cinn déag thirteen

ceithre cinn déag fourteen

cúig cinn déag fifteen

sé cinn déag sixteen

seacht gcinn déag seventeen

ocht gcinn déag eighteen

naoi gcinn déag nineteen

fiche twenty

tríocha thirty

daichead forty

caoga fifty

seasca sixty

seachtó seventy

ochtó eighty

nócha ninety

céad hundred

míle thousand

33. Ordinal determiners

Ordinal numbers can also specify nouns.

Irish Transliteration English

an chéad an khad the first

an dara an dar-a the second

an tríú an tree-oo the third

an ceathrú an kah-roo the fourth

an cúigiú an koo-gyoo the fifth

an séú an shay-oo the sixth

an seachtú an shak-too the seventh

an t-ochtú an tokh-too the eighth

an naoú an nee-oo the ninth

an deichiú an jeh-hyoo the tenth

Examples:

an chéad lá

the first day

an dara leabhar

the second book

an tríú duine

the third person

34. céanna — same

céanna is an important determiner-like adjective/pronominal element meaning same.

an fear céanna

the same man

an leabhar céanna

the same book

Example:

Léigh mé an leabhar céanna.

I read the same book.

35. éagsúil / éagsúla — different / various

These can have determiner-like uses, especially éagsúil/éagsúla and éagsúl(a) constructions.

daoine éagsúla

various people

rudaí éagsúla

various things

Example:

Chonaic mé daoine éagsúla ann.

I saw various people there.

36. áirithe — certain

cásanna áirithe

certain cases

daoine áirithe

certain people

This specifies an indefinite but restricted subset.

37. uile with definite nouns

A common construction is:

an ... uile

or

na ... uile

Examples:

an domhan uile

the whole world

na daoine uile

all the people

an lá uile

the whole day

38. Partitive determiner constructions

Irish frequently uses de to express some of / part of / any of / most of, etc.

Irish English

cuid de some/part of

roinnt de some of

cuid den part of the

an chuid is mó de most of

an chuid is lú de least of

a lán de a lot of

go leor de enough/plenty of

beagán de a little/few of

mórán de much/many of

Example:

an chuid is mó de na daoine

most of the people

39. a lán — a lot of / many / much

Very common.

a lán daoine

many people

a lán airgid

a lot of money

Example:

Tá a lán leabhar agam.

I have a lot of books.

40. an iomarca — too much / too many

an iomarca bia

too much food

an iomarca daoine

too many people

Example:

Tá an iomarca oibre agam.

I have too much work.

41. barraíocht — excess / too much / too many

barraíocht ama

too much time

barraíocht daoine

too many people

42. an chuid is mó — most

an chuid is mó de na daoine

most of the people

Example:

D'aontaigh an chuid is mó de na daoine.

Most of the people agreed.

43. an chuid is lú — least

an chuid is lú den obair

the least of the work

44. Negative/indefinite combinations

Some extremely useful determiner constructions:

Irish English

aon duine any person / anyone

aon rud anything

aon áit any place

aon uair any time

duine ar bith anyone / anybody

rud ar bith anything

áit ar bith anywhere

am ar bith any time

duine ar bith eile anyone else

rud ar bith eile anything else

Strictly speaking, ar bith is not itself a determiner; it is a quantifying/indefinite expression that combines with nouns and pronouns.

45. ar bith — any / whatsoever

aon duine ar bith

any person whatsoever

rud ar bith

anything

áit ar bith

anywhere

Example:

Níl aon rud ar bith ann.

There is absolutely nothing there.

In natural Irish, the exact combination depends on the construction, so ar bith should not simply be treated as an independent equivalent of English any in every context.

46. Determiner-like expressions for "whole/entire"

Irish English

uile all / whole

an t-iomlán the whole / entirety

an iomlán de the entirety of

gach uile every single

ar fad entire / completely, depending on construction

Examples:

an domhan uile

the whole world

an bhliain ar fad

the whole year

48. Formation summary

Determiner type Formation Example English

Definite an + noun an fear the man

Plural definite na + noun na fir the men

Indefinite Ø + noun fear a man

Possessive possessive + noun mo theach my house

Demonstrative an/na + noun + seo/sin/úd an teach seo this house

Interrogative cén + noun cén teach? which house?

Every gach + noun gach lá every day

All noun + uile / related constructions na daoine uile all the people

Both an dá + noun an dá fhear both men

Some roinnt + noun roinnt daoine some people

A lot a lán + noun a lán daoine many people

Plenty neart + noun neart bia plenty of food

Much/many mórán + noun mórán daoine many people

Few/little beagán + noun beagán uisce a little water

Any aon + noun aon duine any person

Certain noun + áirithe daoine áirithe certain people

Indefinite noun + éigin duine éigin someone

Most an chuid is mó de + noun an chuid is mó de na daoine most of the people

Least an chuid is lú de + noun an chuid is lú den obair least of the work

Either ceachtar + noun/pronoun ceachtar acu either of them

Ordinal an + ordinal + noun an chéad lá the first day

<h2>13- IF CONDITIONAL</h2>

Zero má + present → present Má bhíonn sé fuar, caithimid cótaí. If it is cold, we wear coats.

First má + present → future Má thagann sé, beidh áthas orm. If he comes, I will be happy.

Second dá + past-form meaning → conditional Dá mbeadh carr agam, rachainn. If I had a car, I would go.

Third dá + perfect meaning → conditional perfect meaning Dá mbeadh sé tagtha, bheadh áthas orm. If he had come, I would have been happy.

Mixed (Various) Dá ndearna sé staidéar, bheadh post aige anois. If he doesn't come / Unless he comes, we will leave.

Negative Zero Conditional mura + present → present Mura n-itheann tú, bíonn ocras ort. If you don't eat, you get hungry.

Negative First Conditional mura + present → future Mura dtagann sé, imeoimid. If he doesn't come / Unless he comes, we will leave.

Negative Second Conditional dá mba rud é nach + past-form → conditional Dá mba rud é nach mbeadh sé anseo, bheadh mé buartha. If he weren't here, I would be worried.

Negative Third Conditional dá nár + perfect meaning → conditional perfect meaning Dá nár tháinig sé, ní bheadh áthas orainn. If he had not come, we would not have been happy.

I would do Dhéanfainn

You would do Dhéanfá

He would do Dhéanfadh sé

She would do Dhéanfadh sí

We would do Dhéanfaimis

You (plural) would do Dhéanfadh sibh

They would do Dhéanfaidís

Would I do it? An ndéanfainn é?

Would you do it? An ndéanfá é?

Would he do it? An ndéanfadh sé é?

Would they do it? An ndéanfaidís é?

I would have done it Bheadh sé déanta agam. (Bheadh + sé + (Verb) + agam/agat/aige/aici/againn)

You would have done it Bheadh sé déanta agat.

He would have done it Bheadh sé déanta aige.

She would have done it Bheadh sé déanta aici.

We would have done it Bheadh sé déanta againn.

You (plural) would have done it Bheadh sé déanta agaibh.

They would have done it Bheadh sé déanta acu.

Bheadh an obair déanta ag an duine. The person would have done the work.

FORMATION:

Bheadh = would be

an obair = the work

déanta = done

ag an duine = by the person

Literally: The work would be done by the person

An ndéanfá é seo dom? Would you do this for me?

Ní dhéanfainn. I would not do.

Ní dhéanfá. You would not do.

Ní dhéanfadh sé. He would not do.

Ní dhéanfadh sí. She would not do.

Ní dhéanfaimis. We would not do.

Ní dhéanfadh sibh. You would not do. (Plural)

Ní dhéanfaidís. They would not do.

Ní bheadh an duine ag déanamh rud éigin.

FORMATION:

Ní bheadh = would not be

an duine = the person

ag déanamh = doing

rud éigin = something

I Ní bheinn ag déanamh é. I would not be doing it.

You Ní bheadh tú ag déanamh é. You would not be doing it.

He Ní bheadh sé ag déanamh é. He would not be doing it.

She Ní bheadh sí ag déanamh é. She would not be doing it.

We Ní bheimis ag déanamh é. We would not be doing it.

You (pl.) Ní bheadh sibh ag déanamh é. You would not be doing it.

They Ní bheidís ag déanamh é. They would not be doing it.

I Ní bheadh sé déanta agam. I would not have done it.

You Ní bheadh sé déanta agat. You would not have done it.

He Ní bheadh sé déanta aige. He would not have done it.

She Ní bheadh sé déanta aici. She would not have done it.

We Ní bheadh sé déanta againn. We would not have done it.

You (pl.) Ní bheadh sé déanta agaibh. You would not have done it.

They Ní bheadh sé déanta acu. They would not have done it.

I Ní bheinn tar éis a bheith ag déanamh é. I would not have been doing it.

You Ní bheadh tú tar éis a bheith ag déanamh é. You would not have been doing it.

He Ní bheadh sé tar éis a bheith ag déanamh é. He would not have been doing it.

She Ní bheadh sí tar éis a bheith ag déanamh é. She would not have been doing it.

We Ní bheimis tar éis a bheith ag déanamh é. We would not have been doing it.

You (pl.) Ní bheadh sibh tar éis a bheith ag déanamh é. You would not have been doing it.

They Ní bheidís tar éis a bheith ag déanamh é. They would not have been doing it.

would be done Bheadh + verbal adjective Bheadh sé déanta.

would not be done Ní bheadh + verbal adjective Ní bheadh sé déanta.

would be being done No direct equivalent Bheadh daoine ag déanamh na hoibre.

would have been done Bheadh + verbal adjective Bheadh an obair déanta.

would not have been done Ní bheadh + verbal adjective Ní bheadh an obair déanta.

would have been being done No direct equivalent Rephrased with an active or impersonal construction.

would not be done Ní bheadh + verbal adjective Ní bheadh an obair déanta.

would not be being done No direct equivalent Ní bheadh daoine ag déanamh na hoibre.

would not have been done Ní bheadh + verbal adjective Ní bheadh an litir scríofa.

would not have been being done No direct equivalent Ní bheadh daoine tar éis a bheith ag déanamh na hoibre.

má if Real or possible condition

mura if not, unless Negative condition

dá if Unreal/hypothetical condition

dá mba if ... were Hypothetical state (especially with nouns and identities)

dá mba rud é go if it were the case that Formal hypothetical condition

dá mba rud é nach if it were not the case that Formal negative hypothetical condition

dá nár if ... had not Unreal negative past condition

fiú má even if Concessive condition

fiú mura even if not Negative concessive condition

amhail is dá mba as if Comparison with an unreal situation

mar a bheadh as though, as if Comparison (literary/common idiom)

an whether, if Indirect questions

cibé acu whether Choice between alternatives

cibé an whether Formal/literary "whether"

nuair a when Time clause

fad is while, as long as Time/duration

go dtí go until Time limit

sula before Time clause

tar éis (do) after Time clause (commonly followed by a verbal noun)

chomh luath agus as soon as Time clause

ó since Starting point in time

óna since (more formal/literary) Time clause

gach uair a whenever Repeated time condition

aon uair a whenever Any time that

uair ar bith a whenever At any time that

más if it is Contraction of má + is (used with the copula)

murab if it is not Negative of más (with the copula)

<h2>14- COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE</h2>

Positive adjective mór big

Comparative níos + comparative + ná níos mó ná bigger than

Superlative an + noun + is + comparative an ceann is mó the biggest

Equality chomh + adjective + le chomh mór le as big as

Negative equality níl + chomh + adjective + le níl chomh mór le not as big as

More noun níos mó + noun níos mó leabhar more books

Fewer noun níos lú + noun níos lú leabhar fewer books

Most countable an líon is mó + noun an líon is mó leabhar most books

Fewest an líon is lú + noun an líon is lú leabhar fewest books

Most uncountable an méid is mó + noun an méid is mó uisce most water

Least uncountable an méid is lú + noun an méid is lú uisce least water

Comparative adverb níos + comparative adverb + ná níos tapúla ná faster than

Superlative adverb is + adverb is tapúla fastest

Much more i bhfad níos + comparative i bhfad níos mó much more

Much less i bhfad níos lú / opposite comparative i bhfad níos lú much less

A little more beagán níos + comparative beagán níos mó a little more

A little less beagán níos lú beagán níos lú a little less

More and more níos ... agus níos ... níos mó agus níos mó more and more

Less and less níos lú agus níos lú níos lú agus níos lú less and less

The more…the more dá + comparative..., is ea is + comparative dá mhéad..., is ea is mó... the more..., the more...

The more…the less dá + comparative..., is ea is lú... dá mhéad..., is ea is lú... the more..., the less...

As possible chomh + adj./adv. + agus is féidir chomh tapa agus is féidir as quickly as possible

One of the most ar cheann de na + plural + is + comparative ar cheann de na himreoirí is fearr one of the best players

At least ar a laghad ar a laghad deich at least ten

At most ar a mhéad ar a mhéad deich at most ten

Less + adjective níos lú + noun/quality níos lú tábhachtach less important Tá sé níos lú tábhachtach ná an ceann eile. — It is less important than the other one.

Least + adjective is lú + noun/quality is lú tábhachtach least important Is é seo an rud is lú tábhachtach. — This is the least important thing.

Less + adverb níos lú + adverb níos lú go tapa less quickly Ritheann sé níos lú go tapa ná mise. — He runs less quickly than me.

Least + adverb is lú + adverb is lú go tapa least quickly Ritheann sé is lú go tapa. — He runs the least quickly.

<h2>15- RELATIVE CLAUSES</h2>

Direct subject a + verb an fear a tháinig the man who came

Direct object a + subject + verb an fear a chonaic mé the man whom I saw

Negative nach + verb an fear nach dtagann the man who doesn't come

Indirect/prepositional a + clause + preposition an fear a bhfuil mé ag caint leis the man I'm talking to

Negative indirect nach + clause + preposition an fear nach bhfuil mé ag caint leis the man I'm not talking to

Possessive a + clause + possessive an fear a bhfuil a mhac anseo the man whose son is here

Place ina + clause an teach ina bhfuil sé the house in which he is

Time an uair/lá a + clause an lá a tháinig sé the day when he came

who came a tháinig

who speaks a labhraíonn

who will come a thiocfaidh

who came yesterday a tháinig inné

whom I saw a chonaic mé

whom I met a bhuail mé

that I bought a cheannaigh mé

who doesn't come nach dtagann

whom I don't see nach bhfeicim

whom I am talking to a bhfuil mé ag caint leis

whose son... a bhfuil a mhac...

where... ina bhfuil... / an áit a...

when... an lá a... / an uair a...

the one who... an té a...

the thing that... an rud a...

the best... an ... is fearr

the biggest... an ... is mó

Relative clauses can be reduced:

Full relative Reduced English

an fear atá ag léamh -> an fear ag léamh the man reading

an bhean atá ag cócaireacht ->an bhean ag cócaireacht the woman cooking

an páiste atá ag rith -> an páiste ag rith the child running

an leabhar a scríobh Seán -> an leabhar scríofa ag Seán the book written by Seán

an teach a thóg siad -> an teach tógtha acu the house built by them

an litir a sheol sí -> an litir seolta aici the letter sent by her

an fear atá ina chónaí anseo -> an fear ina chónaí anseo the man living here

an fear atá sa teach -> an fear sa teach the man in the house

<h2>16- REPORTED SPEECH AND DIRECT SPEECH</h2>

Direct speech Speech verb + "," + quotation Dúirt sé, "Tá sé anseo." He said, "He is here."

Reported Speech:

Reported statement Speech verb + go/gur + reported clause Dúirt sé go raibh sé anseo. He said that he was there.

Negative reported statement Speech verb + nach + reported clause Dúirt sé nach raibh sé anseo. He said that he wasn't there.

Reported yes/no question Speech verb + an + reported clause D'fhiafraigh sí an raibh mé réidh. She asked if I was ready.

Reported WH-question Speech verb + question word + reported clause D'fhiafraigh sí cá raibh sé. She asked where he was.

Reported command iarr / ordaigh + person + verbal noun D'iarr sé orm imeacht. He asked me to leave.

Reported suggestion/advice mhol + person + verbal noun Mhol sí dom fanacht. She advised me to stay.

Reported promise gheall + go + reported clause Gheall sé go dtiocfadh sé. He promised that he would come.

Dúirt said

sé he

Tá is

sé he

anseo here

Dúirt said

sé he

go that

raibh was (dependent form of bhí)

sé he

anseo here

Dúirt said

sé he

nach that...not

raibh was

sé he

anseo here

D'fhiafraigh asked

sí she

an whether / if

raibh was

mé I

réidh ready

D'fhiafraigh asked

sí she

cá where

raibh was

sé he

D'iarr asked

sé he

orm on me / me (object of the request)

imeacht to leave / leaving (verbal noun)

Mhol advised / recommended

sí she

dom to me

fanacht to stay / staying (verbal noun)

Gheall promised

sé he

go that

dtiocfadh would come

sé he

Direct speech Speech verb + subject + "quotation"

Reported statement Speech verb + subject + go/gur + clause

Negative report Speech verb + subject + nach + clause

Yes/No question Speech verb + subject + an + clause

WH-question Speech verb + subject + question word + clause

Command Speech verb + subject + indirect object + verbal noun

Suggestion Speech verb + subject + indirect object + verbal noun

Promise Speech verb + subject + go + clause

<h2>17- INFINITIVES AND VERBAL NOUNS</h2>

déanamh stem + -amh

léamh stem change + -amh

ceannach stem + -ach

codladh stem + -adh

oscailt stem + -t

feiceáil irregular

dul completely irregular

teacht irregular

ithe irregular

ól unchanged

Many verbal nouns are irregular and must be memorized

to eat verbal noun ithe

eating verbal noun ithe

is eating bí + ag + verbal noun Tá sé ag ithe.

after eating tar éis + verbal noun tar éis ithe

before leaving roimh + verbal noun roimh imeacht

without speaking gan + verbal noun gan labhairt

in order to help chun + verbal noun chun cabhrú

by working trí + verbal noun trí obair a dhéanamh

I am happy seeing you. Tá áthas orm tú a fheiceáil. Tá áthas ar + person + object + a + verbal noun

I am happy to see you. Tá áthas orm tú a fheiceáil. Tá áthas ar + person + object + a + verbal noun

I plan to eat. Tá sé i gceist agam ithe. Tá sé i gceist ag + person + verbal noun

I plan eating. Tá sé i gceist agam ithe. (or Tá sé beartaithe agam ithe.) Tá sé i gceist ag + person + verbal noun

I see him run. Feicim é ag rith. Verb of perception + object + ag + verbal noun

I see him running. Feicim é ag rith. Verb of perception + object + ag + verbal noun

I eat to play / in order to play. Ithim chun imirt. Main verb + chun + verbal noun

<h2>18- SUBJUNCTIVE</h2>

mé go mola mé may I praise

tú go mola tú may you praise

sé go mola sé may he praise

sí go mola sí may she praise

muid go mola muid may we praise

sibh go mola sibh may you (pl.) praise

siad go mola siad may they praise

Present subjunctive go + subjunctive verb Go maire tú. May you live.

Negative present subjunctive nár + subjunctive verb Nár fhága sé sinn. May he not leave us.

Past subjunctive (hypothetical) dá + mbeadh / past subjunctive Dá mbeadh sé anseo... If he were here...

Blessing go + subjunctive Go n-éirí leat. May you succeed.

Curse nár + subjunctive Nár thaga sé ar ais. May he not come back.

<h2>19- TAG QUESTIONS</h2>

Positive Statement + nach + verb? Tá sé anseo, nach bhfuil? He is here, isn't he?

Negative Statement + an + verb? Níl sé anseo, an bhfuil? He isn't here, is he?

Past nach raibh? / an raibh? Bhí sé anseo, nach raibh? He was here, wasn't he?

Future nach mbeidh? / an mbeidh? Beidh sé anseo, nach mbeidh? He'll be here, won't he?

Copula nach ea? Is múinteoir í, nach ea? She's a teacher, isn't she?

Present verb nach + present Nach dtagann sé? Doesn't he come?

Past verb nach + past Nach ndearna sé é? Didn't he do it?

Future verb nach + future Nach dtiocfaidh sé? Won't he come?

Conditional nach + conditional Nach dtiocfadh sé? Wouldn't he come?

Bí — present nach bhfuil + subject Nach bhfuil sé anseo? Isn't he here?

Bí — past nach raibh + subject Nach raibh sé anseo? Wasn't he here?

Bí — future nach mbeidh + subject Nach mbeidh sé anseo? Won't he be here?

Bí — conditional nach mbeadh + subject Nach mbeadh sé níos fearr? Wouldn't it be better?

Copula nach + copula Nach é Seán é? Isn't that Seán?

Why doesn't...? cén fáth nach + verb Cén fáth nach dtagann sé? Why doesn't he come?

Don't you...? nach + verb + tú Nach dtuigeann tú? Don't you understand?

Doesn't he...? nach + verb + sé Nach dtagann sé? Doesn't he come?

Won't...? nach + future Nach dtiocfaidh sé? Won't he come?

Wouldn't...? nach + conditional Nach mbeadh sé níos fearr? Wouldn't it be better?

Can't...? nach féidir + pronoun + infinitive Nach féidir leat teacht? Can't you come?

Shouldn't...? nár chóir + pronoun + infinitive Nár chóir duit imeacht? Shouldn't you leave?

<h2>20- MODAL WORDS</h2>

# Irish Transliteration Meaning Main formation

1 is féidir iss fay-dir can / be able to / possible is féidir + infinitive/verbal noun

2 ní féidir nee fay-dir cannot / impossible ní féidir + infinitive

3 caithfidh kah-hig must / have to caithfidh + subject + verbal form

4 ní mór nee mohr must / it is necessary ní mór do + person + verbal noun

5 is gá iss gaw it is necessary / must is gá + do + person + verbal noun

6 is riachtanach iss ree-akht-an-akh necessary / essential is riachtanach + clause

7 ba chóir ba khor should / ought to ba chóir do + person + verbal noun

8 is ceart iss kyart should / ought to / right to is ceart do + person + verbal noun

9 is fearr iss far had better / it is better is fearr + clause

10 b’fhearr byar would be better b’fhearr + clause

11 b’fhéidir bay-dir perhaps / may / might b’fhéidir + clause

12 is dócha iss doh-kha probably / likely is dócha + clause

13 is dóigh iss dee likely / probably is dóigh + clause

14 is féidir go iss fay-dir guh it is possible that / may is féidir go + clause

15 seans shans chance / may / might seans go + clause

16 b’fhéidir go bay-dir guh perhaps / might b’fhéidir go + clause

17 ar eagla go er ag-la guh lest / in case ar eagla go + clause

18 ar eagla na heagla er ag-la na hag-la just in case fixed expression

19 gan dabht gan dowt undoubtedly / surely fixed expression

20 gan amhras gan ow-rus without doubt fixed expression

21 cinnte kin-cheh certainly / definitely adverb

22 go cinnte guh kin-cheh certainly adverbial expression

23 ar ndóigh er noh of course / naturally fixed expression

24 go deimhin guh jeh-in indeed / certainly adverbial expression

2. is féidir — can / be able to

This is one of the most important Irish modal constructions.

Formation

is féidir + verbal noun

or

is féidir le + person + verbal noun

Examples

Is féidir liom Gaeilge a labhairt.

Iss fay-dir lum Gayl-geh uh low-art.

I can speak Irish.

Literally:

is possible + with-me + Irish + to speak

Irish English

Is féidir liom dul. I can go.

Is féidir leat teacht. You can come.

Is féidir leis léamh. He can read.

Is féidir léi scríobh. She can write.

Is féidir linn fanacht. We can stay.

Is féidir libh imeacht. You can leave.

Is féidir leo cabhrú. They can help.

3. ní féidir — cannot

Ní féidir liom é a dhéanamh.

I cannot do it.

Formation

ní féidir + prepositional pronoun + verbal noun

Irish English

Ní féidir liom dul. I cannot go.

Ní féidir leat teacht. You cannot come.

Ní féidir leis fanacht. He cannot stay.

Ní féidir léi é a dhéanamh. She cannot do it.

Ní féidir linn cabhrú. We cannot help.

Ní féidir leo teacht. They cannot come.

4. caithfidh — must / have to

This is the main everyday Irish equivalent of must/have to.

Formation

caithfidh + subject + verb

Examples:

Caithfidh mé imeacht.

Kah-hig may im-akht.

I must leave.

Caithfidh tú staidéar a dhéanamh.

You must study.

Caithfidh sé obair.

He has to work.

Persons

Irish English

Caithfidh mé... I must/have to...

Caithfidh tú... You must/have to...

Caithfidh sé... He must/has to...

Caithfidh sí... She must/has to...

Caithfidh muid... We must/have to...

Caithfidh sibh... You must/have to...

Caithfidh siad... They must/have to...

5. Negative must not

Irish commonly uses:

ní féidir ...

or an imperative/negative construction depending on meaning.

For prohibition:

Ná déan é!

Don't do it!

For necessity not to:

Ní gá duit é a dhéanamh.

You don't have to do it.

Important distinction:

You don't have to

Ní gá duit imeacht.

You must not

Ná himigh!

These are not the same meaning.

6. ní mór — must / it is necessary

A more formal construction.

Formation

ní mór do + person + verbal noun

Example:

Ní mór duit imeacht.

You must leave.

Literally approximately:

It is necessary for you to leave.

Irish English

Ní mór dom imeacht. I must leave.

Ní mór duit imeacht. You must leave.

Ní mór dó imeacht. He must leave.

Ní mór di imeacht. She must leave.

Ní mór dúinn imeacht. We must leave.

Ní mór daoibh imeacht. You must leave.

Ní mór dóibh imeacht. They must leave.

7. is gá — must / need to

Very important modal necessity construction.

Formation

is gá do + person + verbal noun

Example:

Is gá dom imeacht.

I need to leave / I must leave.

Is gá duit staidéar a dhéanamh.

You need to study.

Negative:

Ní gá duit teacht.

You don't need to come.

This is particularly useful for expressing lack of necessity.

8. ní gá — don't have to / need not

Ní gá duit fanacht.

You don't have to stay.

Ní gá dom é a dhéanamh.

I don't need to do it.

This corresponds more closely to English don't need to / don't have to than to must not.

9. ba chóir — should / ought to

This is one of the most important Irish equivalents of should.

Formation

ba chóir do + person + verbal noun

Example:

Ba chóir duit dul.

You should go.

Ba chóir dom staidéar a dhéanamh.

I should study.

Irish English

Ba chóir dom... I should...

Ba chóir duit... You should...

Ba chóir dó... He should...

Ba chóir di... She should...

Ba chóir dúinn... We should...

Ba chóir daoibh... You should...

Ba chóir dóibh... They should...

10. Negative should

Níor chóir duit é sin a dhéanamh.

You should not do that.

Formation:

níor chóir do + person + verbal noun

Example:

Níor chóir duit labhairt mar sin.

You shouldn't speak like that.

11. is ceart — should / ought to / be right to

Another important modal expression.

Is ceart duit é a dhéanamh.

You should do it.

Ní ceart duit é sin a dhéanamh.

You should not do that.

It can have a stronger sense of what is proper/right than neutral should.

12. is fearr — it is better / had better

Is fearr duit imeacht.

You had better leave / It is better for you to leave.

Formation

is fearr do + person + verbal noun

Example:

Is fearr duit staidéar a dhéanamh.

You had better study.

13. b’fhearr — would be better

B’fhearr liom fanacht.

I would prefer to stay / It would be better for me to stay.

This is particularly useful for preference.

Irish English

B’fhearr liom... I would prefer...

B’fhearr leat... You would prefer...

B’fhearr leis... He would prefer...

B’fhearr léi... She would prefer...

B’fhearr linn... We would prefer...

B’fhearr libh... You would prefer...

B’fhearr leo... They would prefer...

14. b’fhéidir — may / might / perhaps

This is the main Irish expression for perhaps/maybe and often corresponds to English may/might.

Formation

b'fhéidir + go + clause

Example:

B’fhéidir go dtiocfaidh sé.

Perhaps he will come.

B’fhéidir go mbeadh sé anseo.

He might be here.

Negative possibility

B’fhéidir nach dtiocfaidh sé.

Perhaps he won't come.

15. is féidir go — may / might / it is possible that

Is féidir go mbeidh sé déanach.

He may be late.

Is féidir go bhfuil sí ceart.

She may be right.

This is more explicitly about possibility than b'fhéidir.

16. seans — there is a chance / may / might

Tá seans go dtiocfaidh sé.

There is a chance that he will come.

Seans go mbeidh sé ag cur báistí.

It might rain.

Negative:

Níl seans ann go dtiocfaidh sé.

There is no chance that he will come.

17. is dócha — probably / likely

Is dócha go dtiocfaidh sé.

He will probably come.

Is dócha go bhfuil sí ceart.

She is probably right.

Negative:

Ní dócha go dtiocfaidh sé.

He probably won't come / It is unlikely that he will come.

18. is dóigh — probably / likely

Is dóigh liom go bhfuil sé ceart.

I think it is probably correct.

Literally:

It seems to me that...

It is often used in expressions involving opinion or likelihood.

19. dar liom — in my opinion / I think

This is not a modal auxiliary, but it is an important epistemic modality expression.

Irish English

dar liom in my opinion / I think

dar leat in your opinion

dar leis in his opinion

dar léi in her opinion

dar linn in our opinion

dar libh in your opinion

dar leo in their opinion

Example:

Dar liom, tá sé ceart.

In my opinion, it is correct.

20. ceapaim — I think

Another very common epistemic expression.

Ceapaim go bhfuil sé ceart.

I think he is right.

Negative:

Ní cheapaim go bhfuil sé ceart.

I don't think he is right.

This expresses belief/opinion, rather than grammatical necessity.

21. sílim — I think

Sílim go bhfuil sé ceart.

I think he is right.

Ní shílim go bhfuil sé ceart.

I don't think he is right.

Again, this is a modal/evidential expression, rather than a modal auxiliary.

22. creidim — I believe

Creidim go bhfuil sé fíor.

I believe it is true.

Ní chreidim go bhfuil sé fíor.

I don't believe it is true.

23. is dócha liom — I probably think / it seems likely to me

Is dócha liom go dtiocfaidh sé.

I think he will probably come.

24. Certainty modals

These express high confidence.

Irish Transliteration English

cinnte kin-cheh certainly / definitely

go cinnte guh kin-cheh certainly

gan dabht gan dowt undoubtedly

gan amhras gan ow-rus without doubt

ar ndóigh er noh of course

go deimhin guh jeh-in indeed / certainly

gan dabht ar bith gan dowt er bih without any doubt

Example:

Tiocfaidh sé go cinnte.

He will definitely come.

25. b’fhéidir vs is dócha vs is féidir

These are important to distinguish.

Irish Meaning Approximate English

b'fhéidir possibility perhaps / maybe / might

is féidir possibility/ability can / may / possible

is dócha probability probably / likely

seans chance may / might / there is a chance

cinnte certainty certainly / definitely

Examples:

B'fhéidir go dtiocfaidh sé.

He might come.

Is féidir go dtiocfaidh sé.

He may come.

Is dócha go dtiocfaidh sé.

He will probably come.

Tiocfaidh sé go cinnte.

He will definitely come.

26. Permission

Irish does not have one single modal verb equivalent to English may for all contexts.

Common constructions include:

is féidir leat...

Is féidir leat dul.

You may/can go.

féadfaidh tú...

féadfaidh is a particularly important formal/modal form meaning may, can, be permitted to.

Féadfaidh tú dul.

You may go.

Ní fhéadfaidh tú dul.

You may not / You are not permitted to go.

27. féadfaidh — may / can

This deserves separate treatment.

Irish English

féadfaidh mé I may/can

féadfaidh tú you may/can

féadfaidh sé he may/can

féadfaidh sí she may/can

féadfaimid we may/can

féadfaidh sibh you may/can

féadfaidh siad they may/can

Example:

Féadfaidh tú dul abhaile.

You may go home.

It can express permission or possibility, depending on context.

28. ní fhéadfaidh — may not / cannot

Ní fhéadfaidh tú é sin a dhéanamh.

You may not do that.

This can indicate prohibition, especially in formal language.

29. féadfaí — one could / it could be

The impersonal conditional form.

Féadfaí é a dhéanamh.

It could be done / One could do it.

This is useful for impersonal possibilities and suggestions.

30. d’fhéadfainn — I could

Conditional of faigh/féad-.

D’fhéadfainn cabhrú leat.

I could help you.

D’fhéadfá teacht linn.

You could come with us.

Irish English

D’fhéadfainn I could

D’fhéadfá you could

D’fhéadfadh sé he could

D’fhéadfadh sí she could

D’fhéadfaimis we could

D’fhéadfadh sibh you could

D’fhéadfaidís they could

31. d’fhéadfadh — could / might

D’fhéadfadh sé teacht.

He could/might come.

D’fhéadfadh sé a bheith fíor.

It could be true.

This can express possibility rather than simple ability.

32. would

Irish does not have a single word corresponding exactly to every use of English would.

Conditional forms are commonly used.

-fadh / -feadh

Dhéanfainn é.

I would do it.

Rachadh sé.

He would go.

Bheadh sí sásta.

She would be happy.

Conditional possibility

D’fhéadfadh sé teacht.

He could/might come.

33. should have

A common construction is:

ba chóir do + person + a bheith + participial/verbal construction

For example:

Ba chóir dom a bheith imithe.

I should have left.

Ba chóir duit a bheith tar éis staidéar a dhéanamh.

You should have studied.

The exact construction depends on the aspect and meaning.

34. must have

Irish commonly expresses deduction with constructions such as:

caithfidh ... a bheith...

Example:

Caithfidh sé a bheith tuirseach.

He must be tired.

Literally:

He must be + tired.

This is deductive certainty, not physical obligation.

35. cannot have / can't be

Ní féidir leis a bheith fíor.

It cannot be true.

Ní fhéadfadh sé a bheith fíor.

It couldn't be true.

These express deductive impossibility.

36. need

Irish has several ways to express English need.

gá

Tá gá leis.

It is needed / There is a need for it.

is gá

Is gá duit imeacht.

You need to leave.

ní gá

Ní gá duit imeacht.

You don't need to leave.

37. ought to

Main construction:

ba chóir

Ba chóir duit é a dhéanamh.

You ought to do it.

Alternative:

is ceart

Is ceart duit é a dhéanamh.

You ought to do it.

38. had better

Is fearr duit imeacht.

You had better leave.

This is stronger than a neutral statement of preference in many contexts.

39. be willing to

Irish can express willingness with:

toil

and constructions involving toil a bheith.

Tá sé sásta cabhrú.

He is willing/happy to help.

sásta is particularly useful:

Táim sásta cabhrú leat.

I am willing to help you.

40. sásta — willing / happy

Although technically an adjective rather than a modal auxiliary, it is an important modal-like construction.

Tá sí sásta fanacht.

She is willing to stay.

Negative:

Níl sí sásta fanacht.

She is not willing to stay.

41. in ann — able to

Another extremely important modal construction.

Tá mé in ann é a dhéanamh.

I am able to do it.

Formation

bí + in ann + verbal construction

Examples:

Irish English

Táim in ann é a dhéanamh. I am able to do it.

Tá tú in ann é a dhéanamh. You are able to do it.

Tá sé in ann é a dhéanamh. He is able to do it.

Tá sí in ann é a dhéanamh. She is able to do it.

Táimid in ann é a dhéanamh. We are able to do it.

Tá siad in ann é a dhéanamh. They are able to do it.

42. in ann vs is féidir

Construction Meaning

is féidir liom... I can / it is possible for me to...

tá mé in ann... I am able to...

Example:

Is féidir liom snámh.

I can swim.

Tá mé in ann snámh.

I am able to swim.

Both can express ability, but their grammatical structures differ.

43. riachtanach — necessary

Tá sé riachtanach é a dhéanamh.

It is necessary to do it.

Is riachtanach duit é a dhéanamh.

It is necessary for you to do it.

This is more formal than ordinary caithfidh.

44. ceadaithe — permitted / allowed

Another modal-like expression:

Tá sé ceadaithe dul isteach.

It is permitted to enter.

Níl sé ceadaithe dul isteach.

It is not permitted to enter.

45. toirmiscthe — forbidden / prohibited

Tá sé toirmiscthe páirceáil anseo.

Parking here is prohibited.

This expresses deontic modality — permission/prohibition.

46. incheadaithe — permissible

More formal:

Tá sé incheadaithe é sin a dhéanamh.

It is permissible to do that.

47. Modal particles and conditional forms

Irish modality also appears through verbal particles and moods.

Form Function

má if

dá if / conditional

mura if not / unless

ná don't / negative imperative

go that / subjunctive-related constructions

nár that ... not / negative subjunctive-related

go mba may it be / subjunctive formula

go raibh may it be / blessing/wish formulas

These aren't all modal words in the narrow sense, but they are important to Irish mood and modality.

48. dá — if

Dá mbeadh am agam, rachainn.

If I had time, I would go.

This is an important conditional/modal construction.

Formation

dá + conditional/subjunctive-type clause

49. má — if

Má tá am agat, tar isteach.

If you have time, come in.

má is the ordinary conditional conjunction.

50. mura — if not / unless

Mura dtagann sé, imeoimid.

If he doesn't come, we'll leave.

51. ná — don't

This is the main negative imperative particle.

Ná déan é!

Don't do it!

Ná téigh!

Don't go!

It is therefore important for prohibitive modality.

52. Wishes and optative modality

Irish can express wishes with constructions such as:

Go raibh maith agat.

May you have goodness / Thank you.

Go mbeannaí Dia duit.

May God bless you.

Go n-éirí leat.

May you succeed / Good luck.

The go + subjunctive-type construction is used in many traditional wishes and blessings.

<h2>21- THERE IS / HAVE / BE</h2>

There is a dog. Tá madra ann. Tá + noun + ann

There isn't a dog. Níl aon mhadra ann. Níl + aon + noun + ann

Is there a dog? An bhfuil madra ann? An bhfuil + noun + ann?

There was a dog. Bhí madra ann. Bhí + noun + ann

There wasn't a dog. Ní raibh aon mhadra ann. Ní raibh + aon + noun + ann

There will be a dog. Beidh madra ann. Beidh + noun + ann

There won't be a dog. Ní bheidh aon mhadra ann. Ní bheidh + aon + noun + ann

There would be a dog. Bheadh madra ann. Bheadh + noun + ann

I have a book. Tá leabhar agam. Tá + object + ag + person

You have a book. Tá leabhar agat. Tá + object + ag + person

He has a book. Tá leabhar aige. Tá + object + ag + person

She has a book. Tá leabhar aici. Tá + object + ag + person

We have a book. Tá leabhar againn. Tá + object + ag + person

You (pl.) have a book. Tá leabhar agaibh. Tá + object + ag + person

They have a book. Tá leabhar acu. Tá + object + ag + person

I have a book. Tá leabhar agam. Tá + object + ag + person

I don't have a book. Níl leabhar agam. Níl + object + ag + person

Do you have a book? An bhfuil leabhar agat? An bhfuil + object + ag + person?

I had a book. Bhí leabhar agam. Bhí + object + ag + person

I didn't have a book. Ní raibh leabhar agam. Ní raibh + object + ag + person

I will have a book. Beidh leabhar agam. Beidh + object + ag + person

I won't have a book. Ní bheidh leabhar agam. Ní bheidh + object + ag + person

I would have a book. Bheadh leabhar agam. Bheadh + object + ag + person

IMPERATIVES:

Singular command Imperative stem Ith! Eat!

Plural command Imperative plural (-igí for many verbs) Ithigí! Eat! (you all)

Let's... 1st person plural imperative Déanaimis é. Let's do it.

Third-person command Go + present subjunctive Go dtaga sé. Let him come.

Negative singular Ná + imperative Ná hith! Don't eat!

Negative plural Ná + plural imperative Ná hithigí! Don't eat! (plural)

Polite command Imperative + le do thoil Fan anseo, le do thoil. Stay here, please.

Autonomous imperative Autonomous verb Dúntar an doras! Let the door be closed! / Close the door!

Resulting state Bí + verbal adjective Bí ullmhaithe! Be prepared!

Negative state Ná + bí + verbal adjective Ná bí buartha! Don't be worried!

Formal instruction Autonomous verb Léitear an litir! Let the letter be read!

Preferred active command Active imperative Suigh síos! Be seated!