p1 * Basics 1 * Prepositions 3
* Basics 2 * Passive
* Common Phrases * Numbers
* Food * Feelings and Traits
* Plurals p5 * Verbs: Past 1
* Eclipsis | * Characteristics
p2 * Lenition | * Verbs: Past 2
* Possessives | * Verbal Noun
* Verbs: Present 1 | * Ireland 2
* Colors | * Pronouns Reflexive
* Questions p6 * Directions
* Prepositions 1 * Sport
p3 * Ireland 1 * Verbs: Future 1
* Dates and Time * Imperative
* Family * Verbs: Imperfect
* Verbs: Present 2 * Verbs: Conditional
* Prepositions 2
* Genitive Case
p4 * Negatives
* Comparison
updated 2018-10-25
In Irish, the past tense is used very often and is quite easy to form.
First conjugation
Here are the changes that occur to single syllable (monosyllabic) verbs
in the past tense.
Pronoun Broad ending Example Slender ending Example
I lenition + mé dhún mé lenition + mé bhris mé
you (singular) lenition + tú dhún tú lenition + tú bhris tú
he/it lenition + sé dhún sé lenition + sé bhris sé
she/it lenition + sí dhún sí lenition + sí bhris sí
we lenition + muid / lenition + -amar¹ dhún muid / dhúnamar lenition +
muid / lenition + -eamar¹ bhris muid / bhriseamar
you (plural) lenition + sibh dhún sibh lenition + sibh bhris sibh
they lenition + siad dhún siad lenition + siad bhris siad
(autonomous) -adh dúnadh -eadh briseadh
¹In the past tense, muid is often not used; it can be incorporated into
the verb that precedes it instead, to make what is known as the
"synthetic form".
If the verb begins with a vowel, then it is prefixed with d' (instead
of a lenition), with no space between d' and the verb. The autonomous
form is unchanged.
Examples:
* D'ól mé I drank
* D'ól muid/ D'ólamar We drank
* Óladh an beoir The beer was drunk
If the verb begins with the letter f, then not only does it undergo
lenition, but it is also prefixed with d'. The autonomous form is
unchanged.
Examples: D'fhág mé I left * D'fhág muid / D'fhágamar We left * Fágadh
an carr ar oscailt The car was left open
Second conjugation
Here are the changes that occur to multiple syllable (polysyllabic)
verbs in the past tense.
Pronoun Broad ending Example Slender ending Example
I lenition + mé cheannaigh mé lenition + mé bhailigh mé
you (singular) lenition + tú cheannaigh tú lenition + tú bhailigh tú
he/it lenition + sé cheannaigh sé lenition + sé bhailigh sé
she/it lenition + sí cheannaigh sí lenition + sí bhailigh sí
we lenition + muid / lenition + -aíomar cheannaigh muid / cheannaíomar
lenition + muid / lenition + -íomar bhailigh muid / bhailíomar
you (plural) lenition + sibh cheannaigh sibh lenition + sibh bhailigh
sibh
they lenition + siad cheannaigh siad lenition + siad bhailigh siad
(autonomous) -aíodh ceannaíodh -íodh bailíodh
If the verb begins with a vowel, then it is prefixed with d'. No change
applies to the autonomous form.
Examples:
* D'éalaigh mé I escaped
* D'oscail muid/ D'osclaíomar We opened
* Osclaíodh an buidéal The bottle was opened
If the verb begins with the letter f, then it undergoes lenition and is
prefixed with d'. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples: D'fhreagair sé He answered Freagraíodh an cheist The question
was answered
Irregular Verbs
Although some of them look very similar in their conjugation, the 11
irregular verbs do not always follow these rules, so it is necessary to
learn these off by heart.
Question and Negative Forms
Question Form To ask a question using a verb in this tense, you use the
question word "ar" and the verb is lenited (séimhiú) if possible.
Example: Ar dhún sí? (Did she close?)
* Exceptions:
Bí: An raibh...?
Téigh: An ndeachaigh...?
Déan: An ndearna...?
Feic: An bhfaca...?
Faigh: An bhfuair...?
Abair: An ndúirt...?
Negative Form To make a verb in this tense negative, you use the word
"níor" and the verb in lenited (séimhiú) if possible: Example: Níor
dhún mé (I did not close), Níor ól sí (She did not drink), Níor fhág sé
(He did not leave)
* Exceptions:
Bí: Ní raibh...
Téigh: Ní dheachaigh...
Déan: Ní dhearna...
Feic: Ní fhaca...
Faigh: Ní bfuair...
Abair: Ní dúirt...
updated 2018-10-25
In Irish, when talking about hair, you use the prepositional pronoun
"ar" (orm, ort, etc.) when discussing the hair someone has. (E.g. Tá
gruaig fhada orm, I have long hair)
updated 2018-10-25
You should be familiar with the past tense by now, but here are the
conjugation rules once again to refresh your memory:
First conjugation
Here are the changes that occur to single syllable (monosyllabic) verbs
in the past tense.
Pronoun Broad ending Example Slender ending Example
I lenition + mé dhún mé lenition + mé bhris mé
you (singular) lenition + tú dhún tú lenition + tú bhris tú
he/it lenition + sé dhún sé lenition + sé bhris sé
she/it lenition + sí dhún sí lenition + sí bhris sí
we lenition + muid / lenition + -amar¹ dhún muid / dhúnamar lenition +
muid / lenition + -eamar¹ bhris muid / bhriseamar
you (plural) lenition + sibh dhún sibh lenition + sibh bhris sibh
they lenition + siad dhún siad lenition + siad bhris siad
(autonomous) -adh dúnadh -eadh briseadh
¹In the past tense, muid is often not used; it can be incorporated into
the verb that precedes it instead, to make what is known as the
"synthetic form".
If the verb begins with a vowel, then it is prefixed with d' (instead
of a lenition), with no space between d' and the verb. The autonomous
form is unchanged.
Examples:
* D'ól mé I drank
* D'ól muid/ D'ólamar We drank
* Óladh an beoir The beer was drunk
If the verb begins with the letter f, then not only does it undergo
lenition, but it is also prefixed with d'. The autonomous form is
unchanged.
Examples: D'fhág mé I left * D'fhág muid / D'fhágamar We left * Fágadh
an carr ar oscailt The car was left open
Second conjugation
Here are the changes that occur to multiple syllable (polysyllabic)
verbs in the past tense.
Pronoun Broad ending Example Slender ending Example
I lenition + mé cheannaigh mé lenition + mé bhailigh mé
you (singular) lenition + tú cheannaigh tú lenition + tú bhailigh tú
he/it lenition + sé cheannaigh sé lenition + sé bhailigh sé
she/it lenition + sí cheannaigh sí lenition + sí bhailigh sí
we lenition + muid / lenition + -aíomar cheannaigh muid / cheannaíomar
lenition + muid / lenition + -íomar bhailigh muid / bhailíomar
you (plural) lenition + sibh cheannaigh sibh lenition + sibh bhailigh
sibh
they lenition + siad cheannaigh siad lenition + siad bhailigh siad
(autonomous) -aíodh ceannaíodh -íodh bailíodh
If the verb begins with a vowel, then it is prefixed with d'. No change
applies to the autonomous form.
Examples:
* D'éalaigh mé I escaped
* D'oscail muid/ D'osclaíomar We opened
* Osclaíodh an buidéal The bottle was opened
If the verb begins with the letter f, then it undergoes lenition and is
prefixed with d'. The autonomous form is unchanged.
Examples: D'fhreagair sé He answered Freagraíodh an cheist The question
was answered
Irregular Verbs
Although some of them look very similar in their conjugation, the 11
irregular verbs do not always follow these rules, so it is necessary to
learn these off by heart.
Question and Negative Forms
Question Form To ask a question using a verb in this tense, you use the
question word "ar" and the verb is lenited (séimhiú) if possible.
Example: Ar dhún sí? (Did she close?)
* Exceptions:
Bí: An raibh...?
Téigh: An ndeachaigh...?
Déan: An ndearna...?
Feic: An bhfaca...?
Faigh: An bhfuair...?
Abair: An ndúirt...?
Negative Form To make a verb in this tense negative, you use the word
"níor" and the verb in lenited (séimhiú) if possible: Example: Níor
dhún mé (I did not close), Níor ól sí (She did not drink), Níor fhág sé
(He did not leave)
* Exceptions:
Bí: Ní raibh...
Téigh: Ní dheachaigh...
Déan: Ní dhearna...
Feic: Ní fhaca...
Faigh: Ní bfuair...
Abair: Ní dúirt...
updated 2018-10-25
Each verb in Irish has its own verbal noun (ainm briathartha). The
verbal noun is used in similar ways to the infinitive and the gerund in
other languages. There is no absolute way to predict what the verbal
noun will look like for a given verb, so you should learn them off by
heart when learning new verbs.
Examples:
* Táim ag glanadh I am cleaning
* Tá Pól ag ithe Paul is eating
* Níl mo mhac ag siúl My son is not walking
Objects after a verbal noun
Nouns
When the object of a sentence comes after a verbal noun, and those two
words form a complete concept by themselves, the object goes into the
genitive case.
Examples:
* Táim ag ithe úill I am eating an apple
* Tá mé ag bailiú airgid sa bhaile I am collecting money in the town
* An bhfuil Pól ag déanamh oibre? Is Paul doing work?
* Táim ag lorg oibre i Londain I am looking for work in London
* Tá síad ag díol na n-éadaí They are selling the clothes
However, if the verbal noun clause needs to be followed by a
prepositional phrase in order for it to make complete sense, then the
genitive case is not used.
* Táimid ag caitheamh seachtaine i Londain We are spending a week in
London
* Táim ag lorg oibre sa Rialtas I am looking for work in the
Government
Pronouns
There are special systems to write things when a pronoun is used as the
object of a verbal noun. One system applies when the verbal noun starts
with a consonant, and another system is used when it starts with a
vowel.
Verbal nouns starting with a consonant
To illustrate this, we will use:
* Tá Pól ag glanadh Paul is cleaning
Object pronoun Change Irish English
me do mo + lenition Tá Pól do mo ghlanadh Paul is cleaning me
you (singular) do do + lenition Tá Pól do do ghlanadh Paul is cleaning
you
him (it) á + lenition Tá Pól á ghlanadh Paul is cleaning him
her (it) á Tá Pól á glanadh Paul is cleaning her
us dár + eclipsis Tá Pól dár nglanadh Paul is cleaning us
you (plural) do bhur + eclipsis Tá Pól do bhur nglanadh Paul is
cleaning you
them á + eclipsis Tá Pól á nglanadh Paul is cleaning them
Verbal nouns starting with a vowel
To illustrate this, we will use:
* Tá sé ag aistriú He is transferring/moving
Object pronoun Change Irish English
me do m' Tá sé do m'aistriú He is transferring me
you (singular) do d' Tá sé do d'aistriú He is transferring you
him (it) á Tá sé á aistriú He is transferring him
her (it) á + h-prefix Tá sé á haistriú He is transferring her
us dár + n-prefix Tá sé dár n-aistriú He is transferring us
you (plural) do bhur + n-prefix Tá sé do bhur n-aistriú He is
transferring you
them á + n-prefix Tá sé á n-aistriú He is transferring them
updated 2018-10-25
Welcome back to Ireland!
On this visit to the Land of Saints and Scholars, you will learn about
Irish inventions, traditions and symbols.
Have fun!
updated 2018-10-25
Pronouns Reflexive
Reflexive pronouns are very easy in Irish. To make a reflexive pronoun,
all you have to do is add "féin" after the pronoun.
English Irish
myself mé féin
yourself tú féin
himself/itself é féin
herself/itself í féin
ourselves muid féin/sinn féin
yourselves sibh féin
themselves iad féin
These are then added after the verb and pronoun. For example:
* Ním mé féin (I wash myself)
* Ghortaigh sé é féin (He hurt himself)