Irish

by Natalie Nic Shìm

Irish (Gaeilge /ˈɡeːlʲɟɪ/, or Gaoluinn /gë:ɫɪŋ^j/ in Munster Irish)is a Goidelic Celtic language spoken in Ireland.t remains the everyday language of Gaeltachtaí (Irish-speaking districts) in counties Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Kerry, Cork, Meath and Waterford, and is also spoken by many people outside of these areas. Additionally, there are significant numbers of competent speakers in the United States, Canada and Australia. According to 2011 census figures for the Republic of Ireland, 1,774,437 people (41.4% of the population) professed some knowledge of Irish, although only 77,185 claimed to speak it on a daily basis outside of the education system. The 2011 census for Northern Ireland recorded that 10.65% of the population claimed ‘some ability in Irish’, although only 0.24% gave Irish as their ‘main language’.

Under the Constitution of Ireland (enacted 1937), ‘the Irish language as the national language is the first official language’. In 2007, Irish became the 23^rd official language of the European Union. Irish-medium immersion education is available at all levels and Irish is a compulsory subject of the Leaving Certificate in the Republic of Ireland.

There are three main dialects of spoken Irish – Ulster, Connaught and Munster – which demonstrate clear differences of grammar, syntax, pronunciation, stress, vocabulary and idiom. A written standard, An Caighdeán Oifigiúil, was introduced in 1958, with a revised edition published in 2012.

Phonology and Orthography

Alphabet

The Irish alphabet has 18 letters: 5 vowels and 13 consonants:

a b c d e f g h i l m n o p r s t u

Vowels

Vowels in Irish can be either long or short. Long vowels are demarcated by an acute accent (´), known as the síneadh fada.

Pronunciation varies somewhat between the dialects. Munster Irish tends to place greater emphasis on long vowels, elongating vowels before a double consonant, in spite of the absence of a síneadh fada.

	Front	Central	Back
High	i [ɪ] í, ao [iː]		u [ʊ] ú, adh, amh, ubh, umh [uː]
Closed Mid	e, ei [ɛ] é, ae, ao [eː]	a, e, adh, amh [ə]	o [ɔ] ó [oː]
Low		a [a]	á [ɑ]

Notes:

• generally when a broad vowel is preceded or followed by a slender vowel, or falls between two slender vowels, only the broad is pronounced. The slender vowels serve purely to modify neighbouring consonants. The exceptions are the long vowels indicated by the síneadh fada, which always maintain their basic sound quality, and the diphthongs described below.
• ao and ae are considered broad vowels; they become aoi and aei before a slender consonant (see, for example, the pairing of ‘broad with broad’ in laethanta ‘days’).
• /ə/ only occurs in unstressed syllables
• vowel (and diphthong) quality and pronunciation may vary depending on whether the sound falls at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the word.
• consonant quality also influences vowel pronunciation. Vowels adjacent to nasal consonants are often nasalised. In Connaught and Munster Irish, vowels preceding double consonants are elongated (except when immediately followed by a vowel), in spite of the absence of a síneadh fada. 
• the sequences omh, omha(i) are pronounced /oː/

Diphthongs

Irish has four basic diphthongs /əi, əu, iə, uə/, but the actual quality of these sounds varies greatly depending on the adjacent sounds. The table below shows some of the spellings for each sound:

əi	adh, aidh, agh, aigh, eidh, eigh, odh, oidh, ogh, oigh
əu	abh, eabh, amh, eamh, obh, odh, ogh, omh
iə	ia
uə	ua

Consonants

Each consonant has two forms in Irish: broad and slender. This distinction affects their pronunciation and can be identified by the neighbouring vowel. Consonants or consonant clusters preceded or followed by an a, o or u are classed as broad, whereas those preceded or followed by an e or i are said to be slender.

 Vowels on either side of a consonant or consonant cluster must be in agreement: caol le caol, leathan le leathan ‘slender with slender, broad with broad’. (E.g. in the word siopadóireacht ‘shopping’, the s and r are slender; the p, d, ch and t are broad. The two i’s and the e are not pronounced but are there purely to slenderise the neighbouring consonants.)

Pronunciation varies quite considerably between dialects and idiolects.

	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Postalveolarr	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stop	p /p pj/ b /b bj/	t /t̪/ d /d̪/		t /tj/ d /dj/	c /c/ g /ɟ/	c /k/ g /g/
Nasal	m /m mj/	n /n̪/	n /nj/
Tap			r /ɾ ɾj/
Fricative	f, ph /ɸ ɸj/ bh, mh /βj/		s /s/	s /ʃ/	ch /ç/	ch /x/ gh, dh /ɣ/	h,sh, th /h/
Approximant	bh, mh /w/	l /l̪/		l /lj/	gh, dh /j/

Note: where phonemes are in pairs, the first is broad and the second slender.

Initial Mutations

Irish has two initial mutations: lenition/aspiration (séimhiú) and eclipsis/nasalisation (urú).

Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
b	bh /w βj/	mb /m mj/
c	ch /x ç/	gc /g ɟ/
d	dh /ɣ j/	nd /n̪ nj/
f	fh (silent)	bhf /w βj/
g	gh /ɣ j/	ng /ŋ ɲ/
m	mh /w βj/
p	ph /ɸ ɸj/	bp /b bj/
s	sh /h/
t	th /h/	dt /d̪ dj/

Generally, dental consonants are not aspirated if they occur after another dental consonant (e.g. an tír ‘the country’, bean deas ‘a nice woman’).

Grammar

Articles

Irish has no indefinite article. The definite article has two forms:

• an is used with singular nouns in the nominative and dative cases and masculine singular nouns in the genitive.
• na is used with all plural nouns and feminine singular nouns in the genitive.

The nominative singular article lenites feminine nouns (except those beginning with a dental consonant) and prefixes a t to those beginning with an s-. Likewise the genitive masculine singular article. The genitive plural article eclipses nouns of both genders.

Nouns

Irish nouns are either masculine or feminine in gender.

Plurals in Irish are categorised as either weak or strong, with this distinction influencing their genitive form.

There are two types of weak plural:

• those formed by slenderisation (adding an i before the final consonant/consonant cluster in order to transform it from broad to slender). E.g. cat ‘cat’ → cait.
• those formed by adding an a to the end of the word. E.g. fuinneog ‘window’ → fuinneoga.

All other plurals are classed as strong plurals and are formed by adding a plural termination. These include –(a)í, –(e)acha, –(e)anna, –ta, –te, –tha and –thaí.

On rare occasions, changes to the end of the word are accompanied by minor internal changes:

• the slenderisation of a broad consonant (as in ubh ‘egg’ → uibheacha);
• the broadening of a slender consonant (as in spéir ‘sky’ → spéartha);
• or the loss of a superfluous vowel (as in béal ‘mouth’ → béil).

Noun Cases

Irish still makes a distinction of case and nouns are inflected accordingly.

The accusative case is not mentioned as it is the same as the nominative. (However, 3^rd person pronouns take different forms in the nominative and accusative cases.)

The dative case (used after prepositions) is usually marked by initial mutation (lenition or eclipsis) in the singular. Additionally, some speakers still use older inflected forms which also survive in a few fossilised phrases, e.g. bolg le gréin ‘sunbathing’, ar na mallaibh ‘recently’.

The vocative case (used in direct address) is indicated by aspirate mutation and inflection, and preceded by the vocative particle, a.

The genitive case signifies a relationship between two nouns and is also used after the verbal noun or a compound preposition. It is formed through inflection, with all nouns being identified as belonging to one of five declensions according to their behaviour in the genitive singular:

• 1^st declension: slenderise (add an i before the final consonant/consonant cluster). E.g. capall ‘horse’ → capaill, bád ‘boat’ → báid. (The ending -(e)ach changes to -(a)igh: e.g. Éireannach ‘Irishman’ → Éireannaigh.)
• 2^nd declension: slenderise, if necessary, and add an e to the end of the word. E.g. bróg ‘shoe’ → bróige, páirc ‘field’ → páirce. (The ending –(e)ach changes to –(a)í: e.g. gealach ‘moon’ → gealaí).
• 3^rd declension: broaden (remove the i before the final consonant/consonant cluster), if necessary, and add an a to the end of the word. E.g. múinteoir ‘teacher’ → múinteora, loch ‘lake’ → locha.
• 4^th declension: no change. E.g. cailín ‘girl’ → cailín, rí ‘king’ → rí.
• 5^th declension: various. The 5^th declension serves as a ‘catch-all’ declension for all nouns not fitting the pattern of the other four declensions and therefore includes a number of groups displaying different behaviours, plus various irregular nouns. E.g. máthair ‘mother’ → máthar, cathair ‘city’ → cathrach, talamh ‘land’ → talún, bean ‘woman’ → mná.

For nouns forming weak plurals in the nominative, the genitive plural form is the same as the nominative singular, whereas strong plurals remain the same in the genitive as in the nominative. E.g. bád ‘boat’ → báid (a weak plural) → seolta na mbád ‘the sails of the boats’, cailín ‘girl’ → cailíní (a strong plural) → leabhair na gcailíní ‘the girls’ books’.

Adjectives

Adjectives should agree with the noun they modify in number and case. Adjectives modifying feminine singular nouns in the nominative case are lenited (as are those modifying plurals formed by slenderisation). Adjectives usually follow the noun, although there are some notable exceptions, including sean– ‘old’, droch– ‘bad’ and dea– ‘good’ (all of which lenite the noun they modify).

As a general rule, nominative plural forms are created by adding –a to adjectives finishing on a broad consonant and –e to those finishing on a slender consonant. However, there are a few groups that behave slightly differently: e.g. adjectives ending –(i)úil and –ir (as in cairdiúil ‘friendly’ → cairdiúla, deacair ‘difficult’ → deacra, saibhir ‘rich’ → saibhre). With the exception of irregular adjectives, those ending on a vowel do not change.

Like the noun, the adjective makes a distinction of case, and there are clear parallels between the inflective patterns of nouns and adjectives.

	Nom sg m	Gen sg m	Nom sg f	Gen sg f	Nom pl
mór ‘big’	fear mór	hata an fhir mhóir	bean mhór	hata na mná móire	daoine móra
ciúin ‘quiet’	fear ciúin	hata an fhir chiúin	bean chiúin	hata na mná ciúine	daoine ciúine
salach ‘dirty’	fear salach	hata an fhir shalaigh	bean salach	hata na mná salaí	daoine salacha
misniúil ‘brave’	fear misniúil	hata an fhir mhisniúil	bean mhisniúil	hata na mná misniúla	daoine misniúla
láidir ‘strong’	fear láidir	hata an fhir láidir	bean láidir	hata na mná láidre	daoine láidre

The genitive plural of the adjective will depend on whether the noun it modifies is a weak or a strong plural. As with nouns, in the case of weak plurals, the genitive plural of the adjective is the same as the nominative singular, whereas for strong plurals, the genitive plural is the same as the nominative plural.

Comparison

Equative comparison is made through periphrasis (e.g. chomh dubh le ‘as black as’), whereas the comparative and the superlative require the inflection of the adjective. The comparative and the superlative forms of the adjective are the same: they are distinguished by the copular forms, níos and is (often ní ba and ba/ab in the past tense, both of which lenite the following adjective). The comparative/superlative form is the same as the genitive feminine singular form of the adjective.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
casta ‘complicated’	níos casta	is casta
ciallmhar ‘sensible’	níos ciallmhaire	is ciallmhaire
deacair ‘difficult’	níos deacra	is deacra
díreach ‘straight’	níos dírí	is dírí
fiáin ‘wild’	níos fiáine	is fiáine
geanúil ‘affectionate	níos geanúla	is geanúla
óg ‘young’	níos óige	is óige
trom ‘heavy’	níos troime	is troime

E.g. tá Máire níos óige ná Seán ‘Máire is younger than Seán’, seo an cheist is deacra ‘this is the most difficult question’.

There are a small number of adjectives which are compared irregularly.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
beag ‘little’	níos lú	is lú
breá ‘fine’	níos breátha	is breátha
fada ‘long’	níos faide	is faide
furasta ‘easy’	níos fusa	is fusa
gearr ‘short’	níos giorra	is giorra
maith ‘good’	níos fearr	is fearr
mór ‘big’	níos mó	is mó
olc ‘bad’	níos measa	is measa
te ‘hot’	níos teo	is teo
iomaí ‘many’		is/ní lia

Numerals

	Cardinal	Cardinal + Noun (with bád “boat”)	Personal (for counting people)	Ordinal (with capall “horse”)
1	a haon	(aon) b(h)ád amháin	(aon) duine (amháin)	an chéad chapall
2	a dó	dhá bhád	beirt	an dara capall
3	a trí	trí bhád	triúr	an tríú capall
4	a ceathair	ceithre bhád	ceathrar	an ceathrú capall
5	a cúig	cúig bhád	cúigear	an cúigiú capall
6	a sé	sé bhád	seisear	an séú capall
7	a seacht	seacht mbád	seachtar	an seachtú capall
8	a hocht	ocht mbád	ochtar	an t-ochtú capall
9	a naoi	naoi mbád	naonúr	an naoú capall
10	a deich	deich mbád	deichniúr	an deichiú capall
11	a haon déag	aon bhád déag	aon duine dhéag	an t-aonú capall déag
12	a dó dhéag	dhá bhád déag	dháréag	an dara capall déag
13	a trí déag	trí bhád déag		an tríú capall déag
14	a ceathair déag	ceithre bhád déag		an ceathrú capall déag
15	a cúig déag	cúig bhád déag		an cúigiú capall déag
16	a sé déag	sé bhád déag		an séú capall déag
17	a seacht déag	seacht mbád déag		an seachtú capall déag
18	a hocht déag	ocht mbád déag		an t-ochtú capall déag
19	a naoi déag	naoi mbád déag		an naoú capall déag
20	fiche	fiche bád		an fichiú capall
21	fiche a haon	bád is fiche		an t-aonú capall is fiche
22	fiche a dó	dhá bhád is fiche		an dara capall is fiche
30	tríocha	tríocha bád		an tríochadú capall
40	daichead	daichead bád		an daicheadú capall
50	caoga	caoga bád		an caogadú capall
60	seasca	seasca bád		an seascadú capall
70	seachtó	seachtó bád		an seachtódú capall
80	ochtó	ochtó bád		an t-ochtódú capall
90	nócha	nócha bád		an nóchadú capall
100	céad	céad bád		an céadú capall
1000	míle	míle bád		an míliú capall

There are some slight variations in colloquial use and some of the older generation of native speakers still prefer to count in scores (e.g. tá mé sé bliana thar na ceithre scór ‘I’m eighty-six’).

Certain nouns take special forms after the cardinal numerals (e.g. bliain ‘year’ → trí bliana).

Pronouns

	Nominative Simple	Nominative Emphatic	Accusative Simple	Accusative Emphatic
1sg	mé	mise	mé	mise
2sg	tú	tusa	thú	thusa
3sg m	sé	seisean	é	eisean
3sg f	sí	sise	í	ise
1pl	muid / sinn	muidne / sinne	muid / sinn	muidne / sinne
2pl	sibh	sibhse	sibh	sibhse
3pl	siad	siadsan	iad	iadsan

Possessive Adjectives

	Sg	Pl
1	moL	árN
2	doL	bhurN
3m	aL	aN
3f	aH

^L causes lenition
^N causes eclipsis and prefixed n- to vowels
^H prefixes h- to vowels

Possessive adjectives are also used in certain verbal-noun constructions in the place of an accusative pronoun (e.g. tá siad do mo cheistiú ‘they are questioning me’) and with compound prepositions (e.g. tá an teach os bhur gcomhair ‘the house is in front of you’).

Verbs

Conjugation is determined by the imperative 2^nd person singular form of the verb. It is also necessary to establish whether the final consonant or vowel of the first syllable is broad or slender.

Irish verb forms can either be synthetic (in which the verb and subject pronoun are combined in a single word) or analytical (in which the verb and the subject are separate). In certain tenses and persons only the synthetic form is used (e.g. the conditional 1^st person singular), but on many occasions either form is permissible. Munster Irish tends to favour the older synthetic forms, whereas Ulster Irish predominantly features analytical forms. The Caighdeán Oifigiúil permits both, listing the more widely used first.

Additionally, every verb will have an independent and a dependent form. The independent form is used in positive statements in independent clauses, whereas the dependent form is used in all other cases, when the verb follows a particle (negative, interrogative, relative, etc.). For regular verbs these forms are the same, although the dependent form will be mutated by the particle preceding it. However, in the case of irregular verbs, these forms may be very different: e.g. chuaigh ‘went’ v. ní dheachaigh ‘didn’t go’.

Regular Verbs

Regular verbs are divided into two categories.

Type 1: Verbs with a monosyllabic imperative 2^nd person singular and polysyllabic verbs with a síneadh fada in the final syllable. The latter category are broadened (the final i removed) before the appropriate termination is added.

mol “praise”	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl	Passive
Present Indicative	molaim	molann tú	molann sé molann sí	molaimid molann muid	molann sibh	molann siad	moltar
Preterite	mhol mé mholas	mhol tú mholais	mhol sé mhol sí	mholamar mhol muid	mhol sibh mholabhair	mhol siad mholadar	moladh
Imperfect	mholainn	mholtá	mholadh sé mholadh sí	mholaimis mholadh muid	mholadh sibh	mholaidís mholadh siad	mholtaí
Future	molfaidh mé molfad	molfaidh tú	molfaidh sé molfaidh sí	molfaimid molfaidh muid	molfaidh sibh	molfaidh siad	molfar
Conditional	mholfainn	mholfá	mholfadh sé mholfadh sí	mholfaimis mholfadh muid	mholfadh sibh	mholfaidís mholfadh siad	mholfaí
Present Subjunctive	go mola mé	go mola tú	go mola sé go mola sí	go molaimid go mola muid	go mola sibh	go mola siad	go moltar
Imperative	molaim	mol	moladh sé moladh sí	molaimis	molaigí	molaidís	moltar

bris “break”	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl	Passive
Present IIndicative	brisim	briseann tú	briseann sé briseann sí	brisimid briseann muid	briseann sibh	briseann siad	bristear
Preterite	bhris mé bhriseas	bhris tú bhrisis	bhris sé bhris sí	bhriseamar bhris muid	bhris sibh bhriseabhair	bhris siad bhriseadar	briseadh
Imperfect	bhrisinn	bhristeá	bhriseadh sé bhriseadh sí	bhrisimis bhriseadh muid	bhriseadh sibh	bhrisidís bhriseadh siad	bhristí
Future	brisfidh mé brisfead	brisfidh tú	brisfidh sé brisfidh sí	brisfimid brisfidh muid	brisfidh sibh	brisfidh siad	brisfear
Conditional	bhrisfinn	bhrisfeá	bhrisfeadh sé bhrisfeadh sí	bhrisfimis bhrisfeadh muid	bhrisfeadh sibh	bhrisfidís bhrisfeadh siad	bhrisfí
Present Subjunctive	go mbrise mé	go mbrise tú	go mbrise sé go mbrise sí	go mbrisimid go mbrise muid	go mbrise sibh	go mbrise siad	go mbristear
Imperative	brisim	bris	briseadh sébriseadh sí	brisimis	brisigí	brisidís	bristear

Type 2: Verbs with a polysyllabic imperative 2^nd person singular (except those with a síneadh fada in the final syllable). The –(a)igh is removed then the appropriate termination added. Polysyllabic verbs in this category which do not end –(a)igh usually syncopate (lose the vowels in the final syllable): e.g. imir ‘play’ → imr- → imríonn ‘plays’, oscail ‘open’ → oscl– → osclaíonn ‘opens’.

ceannaigh “buy”	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl	Passive
Present Indicative	ceannaím	ceannaíonn tú	ceannaíonn sé ceannaíonn sí	ceannaímid ceannaíonn muid	ceannaíonn sibh	ceannaíonn siad	ceannaítear
Preterite	cheannaigh mé cheannaíos	cheannaigh tú cheannaís	cheannaigh sé cheannaigh sí	cheannaíomar cheannaigh muid	cheannaigh sibh cheannaíobhair	cheannaigh siad cheannaíodar	ceannaíodh
Imperfect	cheannaínn	cheannaíteá	cheannaíodh sé cheannaíodh sí	cheannaímis cheannaíodh muid	cheannaíodh sibh	cheannaídís cheannaíodh siad	cheannaítí
Future	ceannóidh mé ceannód	ceannóidh tú	ceannóidh sé ceannóidh sí	ceannóimid ceannóidh muid	ceannóidh sibh	ceannóidh siad	ceannófar
Conditional	cheannóinn	cheannófá	cheannódh sé cheannódh sí	cheannóimis cheannódh muid	cheannódh sibh	cheannóidís cheannódh siad	cheannófaí
Present Subjunctive	go gceannaí mé	go gceannaí tú	go gceannaí sé go gceannaí sí	go gceannaímid go gceannaí muid	go gceannaí sibh	go gceannaí siad	go gceannaítear
Imperative	ceannaím	ceannaigh	ceannaíodh sé ceannaíodh sí	ceannaímis	ceannaígí	ceannaídís	ceannaítear

éirigh “rise”	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl	Passive
Present Indicative	éirim	éiríonn tú	éiríonn sé éiríonn sí	éirímid éiríonn muid	éiríonn sibh	éiríonn siad	éirítear
Preterite	d’éirigh mé d’éiríos	d’éirigh tú d’éirís	d’éirigh sé d’éirigh sí	d’éiríomar d’éirigh muid	d’éirigh sibh d’éiríobhair	d’éiríodar d’éirigh siad	éiríodh
Imperfect	d’ éirínn	d’éiríteá	d’éiríodh sé d’éiríodh sí	d’éirímis d’éiríodh muid	d’éiriodh sibh	d’éirídis d’éiríodh siad	d’éirítí
Future	éireoidh mé éireod	éireoidh tú	éireoidh sé éireoidh sí	éireoimid éireoidh muid	éireoidh sibh	éireoidh siad	éireofar
Conditional	d’éireoinn	d’éireofá	d’éireodh sé d’éireodh sí	d’éireoimis d’éireodh muid	d’éireodh sibh	d’éireoidís d’éireodh siad	d’éireofaí
Present Subjunctive	go n-éiri mé	go n-éirí tú	go n-éirí sé go n-éirí sí	go n-éirímid go n-érí muid	go n-éirí sibh	go n-éirí siad	go n-éirítear
Imperative	éirím	éirigh	éiríodh sé éiríodh sí	éirímis	éirígí	éirídís	érítear

Irregular Verbs

There are eleven irregular verbs in Irish, including the verb bí ‘to be’.Imperative

bí “be”	1sg	2sg	3sg	1pl	2pl	3pl	Passive
Present Indicative	táim tá mé	tá tú	tá sé tá sí	táimid tá muid	tá sibh	tá siad táid/tádar	táthar
Present Habitual	bím	bíonn tú	bíonn sé bíonn sí	bímid bíonn muid	bíonn sibh	bíonn siad	bítear
Preterite	bhí mé bhíos	bhí tú bhís	bhí sé bhí sí	bhíomar bhí muid	bhí sibh bhíobhair	bhí siad bhíodar	bhíothas
Imperfect	bhínn	bhíteá	bhíodh sé bhíodh sí	bhímis bhíodh muid	bhíodh sibh	bhídís bhíodh siad	bhítí
Future	beidh mé bead	beidh tú	beidh sé beidh sí	beimid beidh muid	beidh sibh	beidh siad	beifear
Conditional	bheinn	bheifeá	bheadh sé bheadh sí	bheimis bheadh muid	bheadh sibh	bheidís bheadh siad	bheifí
Present Subjunctive	go raibh mé	go raibh tú	go raibh sé go raibh sí	go rabhaimid go raibh muid	go raibh sibh	go raibh siad	go rabhthar
Imperative	bím	bí	bíodh sé bíodh sí	bímis	bígí	bídís	bítear

The Copula

In Irish, the verb bí cannot be used to express a relationship between two nouns or a pronoun and a noun. Thus it is not permissible to use bí in statements such as ‘the Nile is the longest river in the world’ or ‘I am a teacher’. For this, the copula is required.

The word order of standard copular clauses is determined by their function: whether they equate (as in is é Baile Átha Cliath príomhchathair na hÉireann ‘Dublin is the capital of Ireland’) or classify (as in is banaltra í Úna ‘Úna is a nurse’). The copula also features in numerous other idiomatic constructions (e.g. is maith liom ‘I like’, is cuimhin liom ‘I remember’) and is used in emphatic sentences in which the detail being emphasised is brought to the beginning of the clause.

The modern Irish copula has only two tenses: the present and the preterite/conditional, the latter of which lenites a following noun or adjective. However, different forms are used for independent, dependent and relative clauses. The following table displays the forms used in independent clauses:

	Present Indicative	Preterite/Conditional (before C- or fhC-)	Preterite/Conditional (before V- or fhV-)
Positive	is	ba	b’, ba*
Negative	ní	níor	níorbh
Interrogative	an	ar	arbh
Neg. Interrogative	nach	nár	nárbh

*ba is used before the pronouns ea, é, í and iad.

Prepositions

Like the other Celtic languages, Irish features ‘conjugated’ prepositions known as ‘prepositional pronouns’ (the Caighdeán Oifigiúil cites seventeen), all of which also have emphatic forms. Here are the most common:

	ar “on”	ar (emphatic)	le “with”	le (emphatic)	do “to”	do (emphatic)
1sg	orm	ormsa	liom	liomsa	dom	domsa
2sg	ort	ortsa	leat	leatsa	duit	duitse
3sg m	air	airsean	leis	leisean	dó	dósan
3sg f	uirthi	uirthise	léi	léise	di	dise
1pl	orainn	orainne	linn	linne	dúinn	dúinne
2pl	oraibh	oraibhse	libh	libhse	daoibh	daoibhse
3pl	orthu	orthusan	leo	leosan	dóibh	dóibhsean

Example

Lig Sinn i gCathú by Breandán Ó hEithir

Bhí clog cársánach na hollscoile ag bualadh buillí a trí nuair a shiúil Máirtín Ó Méalóid go mall isteach an geata. Bhí an t-am tomhaiste go cruinn aige mar cé go raibh na mic léinn ar fad nach mór imithe abhaile ar saoire na Cásca, chloígh oifig an choláiste go dlúth le uaireanta oifigiúla. Ní raibh deoraí le feiceáil idir an geata agus an áirse a bhí faoi thúr an chloig ach an doirseoir, Pádraic Puirséal, a bhí ina sheasamh go sásta ag breathnú ar ghadhar beag dubh ag tochailt poll i bplásóg mhór bláthanna a bhí ar aghaidh an áirse amach.

The wheezy university clock was chiming the stroke of three when Máirtín Ó Méalóid walked slowly in through the gate. He had measured the time precisely because, although almost all the students were away home on Easter vacation, the college office stuck strictly to official hours. There wasn’t a soul to be seen between the gate and the arch beneath the clock-tower except the porter, Pádraic Puirséal, who was standing happily watching a small black dog digging holes in a large flowerbed in front of the arch.

References

• Houses of the Oireachtas (2012) Gramadach na Gaeilge: An Caighdeán Oifigiúil, Caighdeán Athbhreithnithe, Dublin – http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/Final-Version.pdf [accessed 18.11.2013]
• Ó hEithir, Breandán (1976) Lig Sinn i gCathú, Sáirséal Ó Marcaigh, Dublin