Irish conjugation

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Irish verb forms are constructed either synthetically or analytically.

Contents

Synthetic forms express the information about person and number in the ending: e.g., molaim "I praise", where the ending -aim stands for "1st person singular present". In this case, a pronoun is not allowed: * molaim mé is ungrammatical. Molann mé is allowed but using the -aim ending is more common.

Analytic forms are those whose endings contain no information about person and number, and a pronoun is necessary: e.g., molann sibh "you (pl.) praise", where the ending -ann expresses only the present tense, and the pronoun sibh "you" (pl.) must accompany it in order to express "2nd person plural".

In addition to the three persons, Irish also has an impersonal form (also called the "autonomous" form), which is used in forming the passive and can conveniently be translated with "one" or "someone" as the subject. Shown below are the distribution of synthetic and analytic forms in the standard language; in the dialects, other patterns may be found, although some of the most important distinctions made in certain dialects are pointed out in this article.

See Irish orthography for the pronunciation of verb endings.

Regular verbs

There are two conjugation classes of regular verbs, as illustrated below. Forms in italics are not part of the standard language. The suffixes shown change to agree with the word ending in a velarised ("broad") consonant or palatalised ("slender") consonant. In the examples below, verbs ending with "broad" consonants are shown above those ending with "slender" consonants.

In the imperfect, preterite, and conditional, a consonant-initial stem undergoes lenition (and dialectally is preceded by do), while a vowel-initial stem is prefixed by d’. A stem beginning with f + a vowel takes both, e.g. fan "wait", d'fhan sé "he waited". The preterite impersonal, e.g. fanadh "one waited", neither undergoes lenition nor receives d'. The -f- in future and conditional stems is pronounced /h/; except in the conditional 2nd person singular and the impersonal, where it remains /f/.

1st conjugation

TenseParticle Mutation Ending
AnalyticSynthetic
SingularPluralImpersonal
1st2nd1st2nd3rd
IndicativePresent-(e)ann-(a)im-(a)ir-(a)imid-(a)id-t(e)ar
Past ImperfectLenition-(e)adh-(a)inn-t(e)á-(a)imis-(a)idís-t(a)í
Past PerfectLenition-(e)as-(a)is-(e)amar-(e)abhar-(e)adar-(e)adh
Future-f(a)idh-f(e)ad-f(a)ir-f(a)imid-f(a)id-f(e)ar
ConditionalLenition-f(e)adh-f(a)inn-f(e)á-f(a)imis-f(a)idís-f(a)í
Imperative-(e)adh-(a)im-(a)imis-(a)igí/-(a)idh-(a)idís-t(e)ar
SubjunctivePresentgoEclipsis-a/-e-(e)ad-(a)ir-(a)imid-(a)id-t(e)ar
PastEclipsis-(e)adh-(a)inn-t(e)á-(a)imis-(a)idís-t(a)í
Past Participle-ta/-te
1st conjugation examples: mol "to praise" and tuig "to understand"
TenseAnalyticSynthetic
SingularPluralImpersonal
1st2nd1st2nd3rd
IndicativePresentmolann
tuigeann
molaim
tuigim
molair
tuigir
molaimid
tuigimid
molaid
tuigid
moltar
tuigtear
Past
Imperfect
mholadh
thuigeadh
mholainn
thuiginn
mholtá
thuigteá
mholaimis
thuigimis
mholaidís
thuigidís
moltaí
tuigtí
Past
Perfect
mhol
thuig
mholas
thuigeas
mholais
thuigis
mholamar
thuigeamar
mholabhar
thuigeabhar
mholadar
thuigeadar
mholadh
thuigeadh
Futuremolfaidh
tuigfidh
molfad
tuigfead
molfair
tuigfir
molfaimid
tuigfimid
molfaid
tuigfid
molfar
tuigfear
Conditionalmholfadh
thuigfeadh
mholfainn
thuigfinn
mholfá
thuigfeá
molfaimis
thuigfimis
mholfaidís
thuigfidís
mholfaí
thuigfí
Imperativemoladh
tuigeadh
molaim
tuigim
mol
tuig
molaimis
tuigimis
molaigí / molaidh
tuigigí / tuigidh
molaidís
tuigidís
moltar
tuigtear
SubjunctivePresentgo mola
go dtuige
go molad
go dtuigead
go molair
go dtuigir
go molaimid
go dtuigimid
go molaid
go dtuigid
go moltar
go dtuigtear
Pastdá moladh
dá dtuigeadh
dá molainn
dá dtuiginn
dá moltá
dá dtuigteá
dá molaimis
dá dtuigimis
dá molaidís
dá dtuigidís
dá moltaí
dá dtuigtí
Past Participlemolta
tuigthe

2nd conjugation

Second stem verbs take the same base suffixes as first conjugation verbs, but add the infix in -(a)í- (most forms), or -eo, ó- (in the future and conditional).

Roots ending in a slender consonant undergo syncope before the addition of -í-.

TenseParticle Mutation Ending
AnalyticSynthetic
SingularPluralImpersonal
1st2nd1st2nd3rd
IndicativePresent-(a)íonn-(a)ím-(a)ír-(a)ímid-(a)íd-(a)ítear
Past ImperfectLenition-(a)íodh-(a)ínn-(a)íteá-(a)ímis-(a)ídís-(a)ítí
Past PerfectLenition-(a)íos-(a)ís-(a)íomar-(a)íobhar-(a)íodar-(a)íodh
Future-óidh/-eoidh-ód/-eod-óir/-eoir-óimid/-eoimid-óid/-eoid-ófar/-eofar
ConditionalLenition-ódh/-eodh-óinn/-eoinn-ófá/-eofá-óimis/-eoimis-óidís/-eoidís-ófaí/-eofaí
Imperative-(a)íodh-(a)ím-(a)ímis-(a)ígí/-(a)ídh-(a)ídís-(a)ítear
SubjunctivePresentgoEclipsis-(a)í-(a)íod-(a)ír-(a)ímid-(a)íd-(a)ítear
PastEclipsis-(a)íodh-(a)ínn-(a)íteá-(a)ímis-(a)ídís-(a)ítí
Past Participle-t(h)e
2nd conjugation examples: tosaigh "to begin” and inis "to tell"
TenseAnalyticSynthetic
SingularPluralImpersonal
1st2nd1st2nd3rd
IndicativePresenttosaíonn
insíonn
tosaím
insím
tosaír
insír
tosaímid
insímid
tosaíd
insíd
tosaítear
insítear
Past
Imperfect
thosaíodh
d'insíodh
thosaínn
d'insínn
thosaíteá
d'insíteá
thosaímis
d'insímis
thosaídís
d'insídís
thosaítí
d'insítí
Past
Perfect
thosaigh
d'inis
thosaíos
d'insíos
thosaís
d'insís
thosaíomar
d'insíomar
thosaíobhar
d'insíobhar
thosaíodar
d'insíodar
thosaíodh
d'insíodh
Futuretosóidh
inseoidh
tosód
inseod
tosóir
inseoir
tosóimid
inseoimid
tosóid
inseoid
tosófar
inseofar
Conditionalthosódh
d'inseodh
thosóinn
d'inseoinn
thosófa
d'inseofá
thosóimis
d'inseoimis
thosóidís
d'inseoidís
thosófaí
d'inseofaí
Imperativetosaíodh
insíodh
tosaím
insím
tosaigh
inis
tosaímis
insímis
tosaígí / tosaídh
insígí / insídh
tosaídís
insídís
tosaítear
insítear
SubjunctivePresentgo dtosaí
go n-insí
go dtosaíod
go n-insíod
go dtosaír
go n-insír
go dtosaímid
go n-insímid
go dtosaíd
go n-insíd
go dtosaítear
go n-insítear
Pastdá dtosaíodh
dá n-insíodh
dá dtosaínn
dá n-insínn
dá dtosaíteá
dá n-insíteá
dá dtosaímis
dá n-insímis
dá dtosaídís
dá n-insídís
dá dtosaítí
dá n-insítí
Past participletosaithe
inste

Irregular verbs

There are eleven irregular verbs in Standard Irish; individual dialects have a few more. 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, i.e. an (interrogative particle) and (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 "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's independent forms is not lenited, and the dependent forms are slightly archaic.

Abair conjugation
Abair, "to say"AnalyticSynthetic
IndicativePresentIndependentdeirdeir-
Dependentabrannab(a)r-
Past ImperfectIndependentdeireadhdeir-
Dependentabradhab(a)r-
Past Perfectdúirtdúr-
FutureIndependentdéarfaidhdéar-
Dependentabróidhabró-
ConditionalIndependentdéarfadhdéar-
Dependentabródhabró-
Imperativeabradhabair, abraigí; abr-
SubjunctivePresentIndependentgo ndeirego ndeir-
Dependentgo n-abrago n-abr-
PastIndependentdá ndeireadhdá ndeir-
Dependentdá n-abradhdá n-abr-
Verbal Noun
Past Participleráite

Beir "to bear"

Beir conjugation
Beir, "to bear"StandardMunster
AnalyticSyntheticAnalyticSynthetic
IndicativePresentbeireannbeir-
Past Imperfectbheireadhbheir
Past Perfectrugrug-riugriug-
Futurebéarfaidhbéar-
Conditionalbéarfadhbéar-
Imperativebeireadhbeir-
SubjunctivePresentgo mbeirego mbeir-
Pastdá mbeireadhdá mbeir-
Verbal Nounbreith
Past Participlebeirthe

"to be"

If a noun phrase is in the predicate, then forms of the particle "is" are used rather than anything below.

conjugation
Bí, "to be"AnalyticSynthetic
IndicativePresentIndependenttá(nn)taoi (2pS), táthaoi (2pP), tádar (3pP); tái-
Dependentfuilfuil-
Negativenílníl-
Present Habitualbíonnbí-
Past Imperfectbhíodhbhí-
Past PerfectIndependentbhíbhío-
Dependentraibhrabh-
Futurebeidhbe-
Conditionalbheadhbhei-
Imperativebíodhbí, bígí; bí-
SubjunctivePresentgo raibhgo rabh-
Pastdá mbeadhdá mbei-
Verbal Nounbheith
Past Participle(none)

Clois/Cluin "to hear"

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

Clois/Cluin conjugation
Clois/ Cluin "to hear"Southern IrishNorthern Irish
AnalyticSyntheticAnalyticSynthetic
IndicativePresentcloiseannclois-cluineanncluin-
Past Imperfectchloiseadhchlois-chluineadhchluin-
Past Perfectchualachual-chualachual-
Futurecloisfidhclois-cluinfidhcluin-
Conditionalchloisfeadhchlois-chluinfeadhchluin-
Imperativecloiseadhclois, cloisigí; clois-cluineadhcluin, cluinigí; cluin-
SubjunctivePresentgo gcloisego gclois-go gcluinego gcluin-
Pastdá gcloiseadhdá gclois-dá gcluineadhdá gcluin-
Verbal Nouncloisteáilcluinstin
Past Participlecloistecluinte

Déan "to do, to make"

Déan conjugation
Déan, "to do, to make"StandardMunsterUlster, Aran (Connacht)
AnalyticSyntheticAnalyticSyntheticAnalyticSynthetic
IndicativePresentIndependentghní(onn)ghní-
Dependentdéananndéan-deineanndein-
Past ImperfectIndependent(gh)níodhghní-ghníodhghní-
Dependentdhéanadhdhéan-dheindhein-
Past PerfectIndependentrinnerinn-dheineadhdhein-rinnrinn-
Dependentdearnadearn-dearndearn-
FutureIndependentdéanfaidhdéan-
Dependent
ConditionalIndependentdhéanfadhdhéan-
Dependent
Imperativedéanadhdéan, déanaigí; déan-deineadhdein, deinigí; dein-
SubjunctivePresentgo ndéanago ndéan-go ndeinago ndein-
Pastdá ndéanadhdá ndéan-dá ndeineadhdá ndein-
Verbal Noundéanamh
Past Participledéanta

Faigh "to find, to get"

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

Faigh conjugation
Faigh, "to get"AnalyticSynthetic
IndicativePresentIndependentgheibheanngheibh-
Dependentfaigheannfaigh-
Past ImperfectIndependentgheibheadhgheibh-
Dependentd'fhaigheadhd'faigh-
Past Perfectfuairfuair-
FutureIndependentgheobhaidhgheobh-
Dependentfaighidhfaigh-
ConditionalIndependentgheobhadhgheobh-
Dependentfaigheadhfaigh-
Imperativefaigheadhfaigh, faighigí; faigh-
SubjunctivePresentgo bhfaighego bhfaigh-
Pastdá bhfaigheadhdá bhfaigh-
Verbal Nounfáil
Past Participlefaighte

Feic "to see"

Feic conjugation
Feic, "to see"StandardMunsterUlster
AnalyticSyntheticAnalyticSyntheticAnalyticSynthetic
IndicativePresentIndependentfeiceannfeic-c(h)íonnc(h)í-tchíonntchí-
Dependentfeiceannfeic-feiceannfeic-
Past ImperfectIndependentd'fheiceadhfheicc(h)íodhc(h)í-tíodhtchí-
Dependentfheiceadhfheic-
Past PerfectIndependentchonaicchonaic-chnaicchnaic-thain(a)icthainic-
Dependentfacafac-feaca(igh)feaca-facafac-
FutureIndependentfeicfidhfeic-c(h)ífidhc(h)í-tchífidhtchí-
Dependentgcífidhgcí-
ConditionalIndependentd'fheicfeadhd'fheic-c(h)ífeadhc(h)ítchífeadhtchí-
Dependentfheicfeadhfheic-gcífeadhgcí-
Imperativefeiceadhfeic, feicigí; feic-
SubjunctivePresentgo bhfeicego bhfeic-
Pastdá bhfeiceadhdá bhfeic-
Verbal Nounfeiceáilfeiscint
Past Participlefeicthe

Ith "to eat"

Ith conjugation
Ith, "to eat"StandardCape Clear (Munster)
AnalyticSyntheticAnalyticSynthetic
IndicativePresentitheannith-
Past Imperfectd'itheadhd'ith-
Past Perfectd'ithd'ith-duaidhdua-
Futureíosfaidhíosfai-
ConditionalIndependentd'íosfadhdíos-
Dependentíosfadhíos-
Imperativeitheadhith, ithigí; ith-
SubjunctivePresentgo n-ithego n-ith-
Pastdá n-itheadhdá n-ith-
Verbal Nounithe
Past Participleite

Tabhair "to give, to bring, (to be named)"

Tabhair conjugation
Tabhair, "to give, to bring"AnalyticSynthetic
IndicativePresentGeneraltugtug-
Independentbheirbheir-
Dependenttabhranntabh(a)r-
Past ImperfectGeneralthugadhthug-
Independentbheirinnbheir-
Dependenttabhrainntabh(a)r-
Past Perfectthugthug-
FutureGeneraltabharfaidhtabhar-
Independentbhéaraidbhéar-
Dependenttiubhraidtiubhr-
ConditionalGeneralthabharfadhthabhar-
Independentbhéarfadhbhéar-
Dependenttiubhradhtiubhr-
Imperativetugadhtabhair, tugaigí; tug-
SubjunctivePresentgo dtugago dtug-
Pastdá dtugadhdá dtug-
Verbal Nountabhairt
Past Participletugtha

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

Tar "to come"

Tar conjugation
Tar, "to come"StandardConnacht (some)Munster (some)Ulster
AnalyticSyntheticAnalyticSyntheticAnalyticSyntheticAnalyticSynthetic
IndicativePresenttagann (tig le)tag-teagannteag-tigeanntig-tigtig-
Past Imperfectthagadhthag-
Past Perfecttháinigtháng-
Futuretiocfaidhtioc-
Conditionalthiocfadhthioc-
Imperativetagadhtar, tagaigí; tag-tagadhteara, tagaigí; tag-tagadhtair, tagaigí; tag-tagadhgabh, tagaigí; tag-
SubjunctivePresentgo dtagago dtag-go dtígo dtí-go dtígo dtí-
Pastdá dtagadhdá dtag-
Verbal Nounteacht
Past Participletagtha

Téigh "to go"

Téigh conjugation
Téigh, "to go"StandardConnemara (Connacht)MunsterUlster
AnalyticSyntheticAnalyticSyntheticAnalyticSyntheticAnalyticSynthetic
IndicativePresenttéanntéi-
Past Imperfectthéadhthéi-
Past PerfectIndependentchuaighchu-
Dependentdeachaighdeach-
Futurerachaidh (raghfaidh)rach- (raghf-)gabhfaidhgabhf-raghaidhragh-
Conditionalrachadh (raghfadh)rach- (raghf-)ghabhfadhghabhf-raghadhragh-
Imperativetéadhtéi-téadhteire/ gabh; té-téadhteir, teiridh; té-téadhtéithear; gabh-/té-
SubjunctivePresentgo dtégo dté-
Pastdá dtéadhdá dté-
Verbal Noundulgoilgoil
Past Participledultagoitegoite

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 (Munster Irish: d'ólas) "I drank":

Negative particles

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

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

(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:

These particles are also used to introduce an indirect question:

Negative interrogative particles

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

(In Munster is used instead of nach.)

Wh-interrogative particles

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

Verbal nouns

Formation

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:

Usage

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

D'iarr sé ormimeacht. "He asked me to go."
B'fhearr liomfanacht. "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.")

The 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. E.g.,

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:

While the relative pronoun that can be omitted in English, the corresponding go is mandatory in Irish.

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This article deals with the grammar of the Udmurt language.

This article discusses the conjugation of verbs in a number of varieties of Catalan-Valencian, including Old Catalan. Each verbal form is accompanied by its phonetic transcription. Widely used dialectal forms are included, even if they are not considered standard in either of the written norms: those of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans and the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. Other dialectal forms exist, including those characteristic of minor dialects such as Ribagorçan and Algherese and transitional forms of major dialects.

This article describes the grammar of the Old Irish language. The grammar of the language has been described with exhaustive detail by various authors, including Thurneysen, Binchy and Bergin, McCone, O'Connell, Stifter, among many others.

The grammar of the Manx language has much in common with related Indo-European languages, such as nouns that display gender, number and case and verbs that take endings or employ auxiliaries to show tense, person or number. Other morphological features are typical of Insular Celtic languages but atypical of other Indo-European languages. These include initial consonant mutation, inflected prepositions and verb–subject–object word order.

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