Irish conjugation

Regular verbs

There are two conjugation classes of regular verbs, as illustrated below. Note that in the "historical" tenses (the imperfect, preterite, and conditional), a consonant-initial stem undergoes lenition, while a vowel-initial stem is prefixed by d’. A stem beginning with f plus vowel takes both, e.g., fan "wait", d'fhan sé "he waited". (Exception: the preterite impersonal neither undergoes lenition nor receives d’.)

Present

In the present tense of the 1st conjugation, endings are added directly to the root. Only the 1st person singular and plural and the impersonal have synthetic endings. Otherwise the analytic ending -(e)ann is used in combination with a pronoun.

Forms like molann muid and tuigeann muid instead of molaimid or tuigimid are frequently encountered but do not technically belong to the standard language. On the other hand, Munster Irish uses molair and molaid instead of molann tú and molann siad.

Imperfect (habitual past)

Synthetic endings are used except in the 3rd person singular, 2nd person plural, and impersonal. Otherwise the analytic form is used in conjunction with a pronoun.This tense has started to fall out of use in most dialects.

Preterite

The analytic form, used together with a pronoun for all persons except the 1st person plural and the impersonal, has a zero ending.

Future

The future stem is formed by adding f (pronounced [h] except in the impersonal) to the root. Synthetic endings exist only for the 1st person plural and impersonal.

Conditional

The conditional is formed by taking the stem of the future tense (f, pronounced /h/ except in the 2nd person singular and the impersonal) and adding endings similar to the imperfect.

Present

In the second conjugation, the present stem ends in -(a)í-, to which are added the synthetic or analytic endings. Roots ending in a slender consonant (e.g., inis "to tell") undergo syncope before the addition of -í-.

The root beannaigh "to bless" has the present tense stem beannaí-

The root inis "to tell" has the present tense stem insí-

The endings are the same as in the 1st conjugation, but without the -(a)i- vowel found there.

Imperfect (habitual past)

The endings of the imperfect (again the same as in the 1st conjugation, but without the -(a)i- vowel) are added to the present stem.

Preterite

As in the first conjugation, the bare root is used as the analytic form. The synthetic forms of the 1st plural and the impersonal attach their ending to the present stem.

Future

The future stem consists of the root followed by the suffix -ó-/-eo-. This -ó-/-eo- replaces the -(a)í- of the present tense. The endings are almost as in the 1st conjugation. Synthetic endings are found only in the 1st person plural and the impersonal.

Conditional

As in the 1st conjugation, the conditional is formed by adding endings similar to those of the imperfect to the future stem.

Irregular verbs

There are eleven irregular verbs in Irish. Most of them are characterized by suppletion, that is, different roots are used to form different tenses. Analytic forms are indicated by the symbol +. The preterites of many irregular verbs take the nonpreterite forms of preverbal particles, e.g., an (interrogative particle) and ní (negative particle), instead of ar (pret. interrogative particle) and níor (pret. negative particle). Some verbs have different independent and dependent forms in certain tenses; the independent forms are used when no particle precedes the verb, and also after má "if" (open conditional) and the direct relative particle a, while the dependent forms are used after all other particles.

abair "to say"

The d- in this verb is not lenited.

bí "to be"

¹The negative particle ní lenites fuil to fhuil; the two are then fused to form níl +; cf. also nílim, nílimid, and níltear.

clois/cluin "to hear"

clois is used in southern and western Irish (Munster, Connemara, Aran Islands etc.) whereas cluin is used in northern and north-western varieties (Mayo, Ulster).

faigh "to receive, to find, to get"

The f- in this verb is eclipsed rather than lenited after ní.

feic "to see"

¹The form feiscint of the verbal noun is used in Munster.

tabhair "to give, to bring, (to name)"

The meaning "to name" is often found in writings and can therefore be considered as strange for learners. When meaning "to name" the verbform is usually followed by the preposition "ar", which is also inflected due to the person it is connected with. e.g.:

Bhí Seán, mar a thugtaí air, an-shásta. "Seán, as he was (usually) called, was very happy."

Tá Seán ag tabhairt an úill dom. "Seán is giving me the apple."

Formation of the verbal noun

Irish has no infinitive and uses instead the verbal noun. The verbal noun can be formed using different strategies (mostly suffixes). The most common of these are:

Suffix -adh, e.g., bog "soften" : bogadh

Suffix -áil, e.g., fág "leave" : fágáil

Suffix -ú, e.g., ardaigh "lift" : ardú

Suffix -amh, e.g., caith "spend" : caitheamh

Suffix -t, e.g., cosain "defend" : cosaint

Suffix -úint, e.g., lean "follow" : leanúint

Slender consonant is made broad, e.g., coisc "prevent" : cosc

Suffix -ach, e.g., ceannaigh "buy" : ceannach

Suffix nothing, e.g., ól "drink" : ól

Suffix -cht, e.g., dúisigh "awake" : dúiseacht

Suffix -e, e.g., rinc "dance" : rince

Usage of the verbal noun

The verbal noun is used as the infinitive would be used in English.

D'iarr sé orm imeacht. "He asked me to go."B'fhearr liom fanacht. "I would rather stay."

A progressive can be expressed with the preposition ag and is equivalent to the English present participle.

Tá Seán ag obair. "Seán is working."Bhí Máire ag caint. "Máire was speaking."

A perfect tense can be formed with either of the compound prepositions tar éis or i ndiaidh and the verbal noun.

Tá sí tar éis baint an fhéir. "She has (just) mowed the grass." (cf. Hiberno-English "She is after cutting the grass.")Bhí sé i ndiaidh ní na gcupán. "He had (just) washed the cups." (cf. Hiberno-English "He was after washing the cups.")

Preverbal particles

Irish uses a number of preverbal particles to modify the meaning of a sentence. In a positive statement, no particle is used and the verb comes first (except in Munster Irish where "Do" is placed before verbs in the past, habitual past and conditional, leniting the verb that follows). This is still seen in the Standard Language in said tenses, prefixed to verbs beginning with vowels, e.g., D'ól mé (D'ólas in Munster Irish) meaning "I drank":

Tuigeann Seán Gaeilge. "Seán understands Irish."

Thuig Seán Gaeilge. "Seán understood Irish."

Thuigfeadh Seán Gaeilge. "Seán would understand Irish."

Negative particles

To negate a statement, the particle ní is used, which causes lenition; a d’ before a vowel or lenited f is omitted:

Ní thuigeann Seán Gaeilge. "Seán doesn't understand Irish."

Ní thuigfeadh Seán Gaeilge. "Seán wouldn't understand Irish."

Ní ólfadh Séamas an bainne. "Séamas would not drink the milk." (cf. D'ólfadh Séamas an bainne. "Séamas would drink the milk.")

Ní fhanfadh Úna liom. "Úna would not wait for me." (cf. D'fhanfadh Úna liom. "Úna would wait for me.")

In the preterite, the particle níor is used . There is lenition but no d’.

Níor thuig Seán Gaeilge. "Seán didn't understand Irish."

Níor ól Séamas an bainne. "Séamas didn't drink the milk." (cf. D'ól Séamas an bainne. "Séamas drank the milk.")

Níor fhan Úna liom. "Úna didn't wait for me." (cf. D'fhan Úna liom. "Úna waited for me.")

(In Ulster, the negative particles cha(n), pret. char are also used)

Interrogative particles

To pose a simple yes/no question, the particle an is used, which causes eclipsis (no eclipsis of vowels, because an already ends with n). In the preterite ar (+ lenition) is used. The prefix d’ is omitted:

An dtuigeann Seán Gaeilge? "Does Seán understand Irish?"

An dtuigfeadh Seán Gaeilge? "Would Seán understand Irish?"

An ólann Séamas bainne? "Does Séamas drink milk?"

An bhfanfadh Úna liom? "Would Úna wait for me?"

Ar thuig Seán Gaeilge? "Did Seán understand Irish?"

Ar ól Séamas an bainne? "Did Séamas drink the milk?"

Ar fhan Úna liom? "Did Úna wait for me?"

These particles are also used to introduce an indirect question:

Níl a fhios agam an dtuigeann Seán Gaeilge. "I don't know if Seán understands Irish."

Ní mé ar ól Séamas an bainne. "I wonder if Séamas drank the milk."

Negative interrogative particles

To pose a negative yes/no question, the particle nach is used, which causes eclipsis (in preterite: nár + lenition):

Nach dtuigeann Seán Gaeilge? "Doesn't Seán understand Irish?"

Nach dtuigfeadh Seán Gaeilge? "Wouldn't Seán understand Irish?"

Nach n-ólfadh Séamas an bainne? "Wouldn't Séamas drink the milk?"

Nach bhfanfadh Úna liom? "Wouldn't Úna wait for me?"

Nár thuig Seán Gaeilge? "Didn't Seán understand Irish?"

Nár ól Séamas an bainne? "Didn't Séamas drink the milk?"

Nár fhan Úna liom? "Didn't Úna wait for me?"

(In Munster ná is used instead of nach.)

Wh-interrogative particles

To pose a wh-question, one of the interrogative particles cá, cad a/céard a, cathain a, cé a, conas a etc. is used.

Cá gcuirfidh tú an litir? "Where will you put the letter?"

Cad/Céard a cheapfaidh na comharsana? "What will the neighbors think?"

Cathain a dhíolfaidh sibh bhur dteach? "When will you sell your house?"

Cé a sheasfaidh i m'aice? "Who will stand next to me?"

Conas a ghlanfaidh tú an gúna? "How will you clean the dress?"

Subjunctive

The subjunctive covers the idea of wishing something and so appears in some famous Irish proverbs and blessings. It is considered an old-fashioned tense for daily speech (except in set phrases) but still appears often in print.

The subjunctive is normally formed from "Go" (which eclipses and adds "n-" to a verb beginning with a vowel) plus the subjunctive form of the verb, plus the subject, plus the thing being wished for. For instance, the subjunctive form of "teigh" (go) is "té":

Go dté tú slán. -- May you be well.

(lit: may you go well)

Again, the subjunctive of "tabhair" (give) is "tuga":

Go dtuga Dia ciall duit. -- May God give you sense.

In the third example, the wish is also a curse, like this one from Tory Island in Donegal:

Go ndéana an Diabhal toirneach de d'anam in Ifreann. -- May the Devil make thunder of your soul in Hell.

The subjunctive is generally formed by taking the present indicative tense of the verb and adding on the appropriate subjunctive ending depending on broad or slender, and first or second conjugation. For example, the present tense first person singular of bog (to move) is bog mé and its subjunctive in the same person is boga mé:

1st Conjugation:

2nd Conjugation:

E.g., "go mbeannaí Dia thú"—May God bless you.

There is also some irregularity in certain verbs in the subjunctive. The verb bí (to be) is the most irregular verb in Irish (as in most Indo-European languages):

The Irish phrase for "thank you"—go raibh maith agat—uses the subjunctive of "bí" and literally means "may there be good at-you".

Some verbs do not follow the conjugation of the subjunctive exactly as above. The irregularities apply to verbs whose stem ends already in a stressed vowel, and the rules of Irish orthography and pronunciation mean that it cannot take another:

Although, feoigh does not have a fáda (accent), the 'o' in this position is stressed (pronounced as though it is ó) and do the subjunctive is irregular.

It is important to note that when the subjunctive is used in English, it may not be used in Irish, and another tense might be used instead:

If I were (past subjunctive) you, I would study for the exam tomorrow. -- Dá mba (past/conditional of the copula) mise tusa, dhéanfainn (conditional) staidéar ar don scrúdú amárach.

I wish *(that) you were (past sub.) here. -- Is mian liom go raibh (present sub.) tú anseo.

It is important that he choose (present sub.) the right way—Tá sé tábhachtach go roghnaíonn (present indicative) sé ar an mbealach ceart.

**When you're older (present ind.), you'll understand—Nuair a bheidh (future ind.) tú níos sine, beidh tú a thuiscint.

*Note that in English, the relative pronoun that can be omitted, but in Irish, the corresponding go must be retained.

**Note that in English, the present tense is often used to refer to a future state, but in Irish, there is less freedom with tenses (time is more strictly bound to the appropriate tense, present for present, past for past, future for future). In this particular example, you will be older, and it is then that you will understand.