Irish/Lesson Two
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In this lesson, you will learn:
1. Present conjugation of 'bí' (to be)
2. Vocabulary for hobbies
3. How to express liking and preference
4. The different forms of the preposition 'le'
Contents |
[edit] To be
'To be' is one of the most common verbs in any language and Irish is no different. In Irish there are three different present tenses of 'to be'. The present indicative 'Tá', the present continuous 'bíonn' and the copula 'is'. We will get to the present continuous and copula in later lessons, for now, we will learn the present indicative.
Tá mé - I am
Tá tú - You are
Tá sé - He is
Tá sí - She is
Táimid - We are
Tá sibh - You(plural) are
Tá siad - They are
As you can see, the conjugation doesn't change apart from the 1st person plural (we). This is the case with all present tense verbs in Irish, but we'll get to that later.
To ask a question, use the following conjugation:
An bhfuil mé? - Am I?
An bhfuil tú? - Are you?
An bhfuil sé? - Is he?
An bhfuil sí? - Is she?
An bhfuilimid? - Are we?
An bhfuil sibh? - Are you(plural)?
An bhfuil siad? - Are they?
And to say it in the negative, use 'Níl', 'Níl mé', etc. This used to be said as 'Ní bhfuil mé' but because of the pronounciation, it became Níl.
Níl mé/tú/sé/sí - I/you/he/she wasn't/weren't
Nílimid - We weren't
Níl sibh/siad - You(plural)/They weren't
- Notes
- Tá mé, in standard Irish, can also be shortened to Táim, similarly, 'An bhfuil mé?' can be said as 'An bhfuilim' and 'Níl mé' as 'Nílim'.
[edit] Examples
- Tá mé ag dul go dtí an siopa.
- I'm going to the shop.
- Tá sé sa gharáiste.
- He's in the garage.
- Táimid chun dul go dtí an phictúirlann. An mhaith leat dul?
- We're about to go to the cinema. Do you want to come?
- Notes
- To express an continuous action in the present tense, e.g. I am going, I am running, etc. Put 'ag' between the to be verb and the verbal noun of the verb (often translates as the infinitive in English, e.g. 'to be', 'to run', etc.). For examples, 'Tá mé ag rith' - I am running, 'Tá mé ag snámh' - I am swimming, etc.
[edit] Vocabulary
Before we move on to discussing liking and disliking, here is some vocabulary that will help us.
- Snámh - Swimming/To swim
- Rith - Running/To run
- Cáca milis - Cake
- Uachtair reoite - Ice cream
- Teilifís - Television
- Féachaint - Watching/to watch
- Sacar - Soccer
- Peil - Gaelic Football
- Camánaíocht - Hurling
- Foghlaim teangacha - Learning languages
- Vicíleabhair - Wikibooks
- Caint le mo chairde - Talking with my friends
- Dul amach - Going out
[edit] To like
In Irish, the verb 'to like' isn't expressed the same as in English. In English, one merely says 'I like x', however, in Irish, the phrasing is more 'X likes to me', 'Is maith liom X'. 'Liom', we will see in a moment is a compound preposition, usually meaning 'with me'. Before we look at some examples, let's go through the other forms of the 'le' preposition.
Liom - With me
Leat - With you
Leis - With him
Léi - With her
Linn - With us
Libh - With you(plural)
Leo - With them
To show dislike, we use the negative copula 'Ní' instead of 'Is'. And to ask if someone likes, we use the questioning copula, 'An'. Observe:
[edit] Examples
- Is maith liom cáca milis
- I like cake.
- An mhaith leat dul amach?
- Do you like to go out?
- Ní maith liom.
- No.
- Is maith léi Vicileabhair.
- She likes Wikibooks.
- Ní maith leis peil.
- He doesn't like Gaelic football.
- Notes
- In Irish, there are no words for 'Yes' or 'No'. Instead, you have to use a negative sentence, like the above 'Ní maith liom'
[edit] Preference
To show preference, a similar structure is used, except instead of 'maith', we say 'fearr', e.g. 'Is fearr liom sacar.' - I prefer soccer.
[edit] Examples
- An maith leat camánaíocht?
- Do you like hurling?
- Is fearr liom peil.
- I prefer Gaelic football.
- Ní maith leis rith.
- He doesn't like running.
- Ní maith, is fearr leis snámh.
- He doesn't, he prefers swimming.
- Is fearr leis foghlaim teangacha ná féachaint ar an teilifís.
- He prefers learning languages to watching television.
- An mhaith leat uachtair reoite?
- Do you like ice cream?
- Is fearr liom cáca milis.
- I prefer cake.
[edit] Summary
Dialogue
- Seán: A Robáird, conas atá tú?
- Robárd: Go hiontach, a Sheáin, agus tusa?
- Seán: Go maith, an bhfuil tú ag dul ag snámh?
- Robárd: Nílim, ní maith liom snámh.
- Seán: Ní maith leat snámh? Cad is maith leat, mar sin?
- Robárd: Is fearr liom rith. Táim ag dul ag rith anois.
- Seán: Maith go leor, slán leat a Robáird.
- Robárd: Slán, a Sheáin.
