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Irish verb forms are constructed either synthetically or analytically.
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.
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/.
Tense | Particle | Mutation | Ending | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Analytic | Synthetic | ||||||||||
Singular | Plural | Impersonal | |||||||||
1st | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||||||
Indicative | Present | — | — | -(e)ann | -(a)im | -(a)ir | -(a)imid | — | -(a)id | -t(e)ar | |
Past Imperfect | Lenition | -(e)adh | -(a)inn | -t(e)á | -(a)imis | -(a)idís | -t(a)í | ||||
Past Perfect | Lenition | — | -(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 | |||
Conditional | Lenition | -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 | |||
Subjunctive | Present | go | Eclipsis | -a/-e | -(e)ad | -(a)ir | -(a)imid | — | -(a)id | -t(e)ar | |
Past | dá | Eclipsis | -(e)adh | -(a)inn | -t(e)á | -(a)imis | -(a)idís | -t(a)í | |||
Past Participle | — | -ta/-te | — |
Tense | Analytic | Synthetic | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | Impersonal | |||||||
1st | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||||
Indicative | Present | molann 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 | ||
Future | molfaidh tuigfidh | molfad tuigfead | molfair tuigfir | molfaimid tuigfimid | — | molfaid tuigfid | molfar tuigfear | ||
Conditional | mholfadh thuigfeadh | mholfainn thuigfinn | mholfá thuigfeá | molfaimis thuigfimis | mholfaidís thuigfidís | mholfaí thuigfí | |||
Imperative | moladh tuigeadh | molaim tuigim | mol tuig | molaimis tuigimis | molaigí / molaidh tuigigí / tuigidh | molaidís tuigidís | moltar tuigtear | ||
Subjunctive | Present | go mola go dtuige | go molad go dtuigead | go molair go dtuigir | go molaimid go dtuigimid | — | go molaid go dtuigid | go moltar go dtuigtear | |
Past | dá moladh dá dtuigeadh | dá molainn dá dtuiginn | dá moltá dá dtuigteá | dá molaimis dá dtuigimis | dá molaidís dá dtuigidís | dá moltaí dá dtuigtí | |||
Past Participle | molta tuigthe | — |
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⟩-.
Tense | Particle | Mutation | Ending | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Analytic | Synthetic | ||||||||||
Singular | Plural | Impersonal | |||||||||
1st | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||||||
Indicative | Present | — | — | -(a)íonn | -(a)ím | -(a)ír | -(a)ímid | — | -(a)íd | -(a)ítear | |
Past Imperfect | Lenition | -(a)íodh | -(a)ínn | -(a)íteá | -(a)ímis | -(a)ídís | -(a)ítí | ||||
Past Perfect | Lenition | — | -(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 | |||
Conditional | Lenition | -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 | |||
Subjunctive | Present | go | Eclipsis | -(a)í | -(a)íod | -(a)ír | -(a)ímid | — | -(a)íd | -(a)ítear | |
Past | dá | Eclipsis | -(a)íodh | -(a)ínn | -(a)íteá | -(a)ímis | -(a)ídís | -(a)ítí | |||
Past Participle | — | -t(h)e | — |
Tense | Analytic | Synthetic | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | Impersonal | |||||||
1st | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||||
Indicative | Present | tosaíonn 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 | ||
Future | tosóidh inseoidh | tosód inseod | tosóir inseoir | tosóimid inseoimid | — | tosóid inseoid | tosófar inseofar | ||
Conditional | thosódh d'inseodh | thosóinn d'inseoinn | thosófa d'inseofá | thosóimis d'inseoimis | thosóidís d'inseoidís | thosófaí d'inseofaí | |||
Imperative | tosaíodh insíodh | tosaím insím | tosaigh inis | tosaímis insímis | tosaígí / tosaídh insígí / insídh | tosaídís insídís | tosaítear insítear | ||
Subjunctive | Present | go 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 | |
Past | dá 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 participle | tosaithe inste | — |
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 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.
The ⟨d⟩- in this verb's independent forms is not lenited, and the dependent forms are slightly archaic.
Abair, "to say" | Analytic | Synthetic | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Indicative | Present | Independent | deir | deir- |
Dependent | abrann | ab(a)r- | ||
Past Imperfect | Independent | deireadh | deir- | |
Dependent | abradh | ab(a)r- | ||
Past Perfect | dúirt | dúr- | ||
Future | Independent | déarfaidh | déar- | |
Dependent | abróidh | abró- | ||
Conditional | Independent | déarfadh | déar- | |
Dependent | abródh | abró- | ||
Imperative | abradh | abair, abraigí; abr- | ||
Subjunctive | Present | Independent | go ndeire | go ndeir- |
Dependent | go n-abra | go n-abr- | ||
Past | Independent | dá ndeireadh | dá ndeir- | |
Dependent | dá n-abradh | dá n-abr- | ||
Verbal Noun | rá | |||
Past Participle | ráite |
Beir, "to bear" | Standard | Munster | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Analytic | Synthetic | Analytic | Synthetic | ||
Indicative | Present | beireann | beir- | ||
Past Imperfect | bheireadh | bheir | |||
Past Perfect | rug | rug- | riug | riug- | |
Future | béarfaidh | béar- | |||
Conditional | béarfadh | béar- | |||
Imperative | beireadh | beir- | |||
Subjunctive | Present | go mbeire | go mbeir- | ||
Past | dá mbeireadh | dá mbeir- | |||
Verbal Noun | breith | ||||
Past Participle | beirthe |
If a noun phrase is in the predicate, then forms of the particle "is" are used rather than anything below.
Bí, "to be" | Analytic | Synthetic | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Indicative | Present | Independent | tá(nn) | taoi (2pS), táthaoi (2pP), tádar (3pP); tái- |
Dependent | fuil | fuil- | ||
Negative | níl | níl- | ||
Present Habitual | bíonn | bí- | ||
Past Imperfect | bhíodh | bhí- | ||
Past Perfect | Independent | bhí | bhío- | |
Dependent | raibh | rabh- | ||
Future | beidh | be- | ||
Conditional | bheadh | bhei- | ||
Imperative | bíodh | bí, bígí; bí- | ||
Subjunctive | Present | go raibh | go rabh- | |
Past | dá mbeadh | dá mbei- | ||
Verbal Noun | bheith | |||
Past Participle | (none) |
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 "to hear" | Southern Irish | Northern Irish | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Analytic | Synthetic | Analytic | Synthetic | |||
Indicative | Present | cloiseann | clois- | cluineann | cluin- | |
Past Imperfect | chloiseadh | chlois- | chluineadh | chluin- | ||
Past Perfect | chuala | chual- | chuala | chual- | ||
Future | cloisfidh | clois- | cluinfidh | cluin- | ||
Conditional | chloisfeadh | chlois- | chluinfeadh | chluin- | ||
Imperative | cloiseadh | clois, cloisigí; clois- | cluineadh | cluin, cluinigí; cluin- | ||
Subjunctive | Present | go gcloise | go gclois- | go gcluine | go gcluin- | |
Past | dá gcloiseadh | dá gclois- | dá gcluineadh | dá gcluin- | ||
Verbal Noun | cloisteáil | cluinstin | ||||
Past Participle | cloiste | cluinte |
Déan, "to do, to make" | Standard | Munster | Ulster, Aran (Connacht) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Analytic | Synthetic | Analytic | Synthetic | Analytic | Synthetic | |||
Indicative | Present | Independent | ghní(onn) | ghní- | ||||
Dependent | déanann | déan- | deineann | dein- | ||||
Past Imperfect | Independent | (gh)níodh | ghní- | ghníodh | ghní- | |||
Dependent | dhéanadh | dhéan- | dhein | dhein- | ||||
Past Perfect | Independent | rinne | rinn- | dheineadh | dhein- | rinn | rinn- | |
Dependent | dearna | dearn- | dearn | dearn- | ||||
Future | Independent | déanfaidh | déan- | |||||
Dependent | ||||||||
Conditional | Independent | dhéanfadh | dhéan- | |||||
Dependent | ||||||||
Imperative | déanadh | déan, déanaigí; déan- | deineadh | dein, deinigí; dein- | ||||
Subjunctive | Present | go ndéana | go ndéan- | go ndeina | go ndein- | |||
Past | dá ndéanadh | dá ndéan- | dá ndeineadh | dá ndein- | ||||
Verbal Noun | déanamh | |||||||
Past Participle | déanta |
The ⟨f⟩- in forms of this verb is eclipsed rather than lenited after ní.
Faigh, "to get" | Analytic | Synthetic | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Indicative | Present | Independent | gheibheann | gheibh- |
Dependent | faigheann | faigh- | ||
Past Imperfect | Independent | gheibheadh | gheibh- | |
Dependent | d'fhaigheadh | d'faigh- | ||
Past Perfect | fuair | fuair- | ||
Future | Independent | gheobhaidh | gheobh- | |
Dependent | faighidh | faigh- | ||
Conditional | Independent | gheobhadh | gheobh- | |
Dependent | faigheadh | faigh- | ||
Imperative | faigheadh | faigh, faighigí; faigh- | ||
Subjunctive | Present | go bhfaighe | go bhfaigh- | |
Past | dá bhfaigheadh | dá bhfaigh- | ||
Verbal Noun | fáil | |||
Past Participle | faighte |
Feic, "to see" | Standard | Munster | Ulster | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Analytic | Synthetic | Analytic | Synthetic | Analytic | Synthetic | |||
Indicative | Present | Independent | feiceann | feic- | c(h)íonn | c(h)í- | tchíonn | tchí- |
Dependent | feiceann | feic- | feiceann | feic- | ||||
Past Imperfect | Independent | d'fheiceadh | fheic | c(h)íodh | c(h)í- | tíodh | tchí- | |
Dependent | fheiceadh | fheic- | ||||||
Past Perfect | Independent | chonaic | chonaic- | chnaic | chnaic- | thain(a)ic | thainic- | |
Dependent | faca | fac- | feaca(igh) | feaca- | faca | fac- | ||
Future | Independent | feicfidh | feic- | c(h)ífidh | c(h)í- | tchífidh | tchí- | |
Dependent | gcífidh | gcí- | ||||||
Conditional | Independent | d'fheicfeadh | d'fheic- | c(h)ífeadh | c(h)í | tchífeadh | tchí- | |
Dependent | fheicfeadh | fheic- | gcífeadh | gcí- | ||||
Imperative | feiceadh | feic, feicigí; feic- | ||||||
Subjunctive | Present | go bhfeice | go bhfeic- | |||||
Past | dá bhfeiceadh | dá bhfeic- | ||||||
Verbal Noun | feiceáil | feiscint | ||||||
Past Participle | feicthe |
Ith, "to eat" | Standard | Cape Clear (Munster) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Analytic | Synthetic | Analytic | Synthetic | ||
Indicative | Present | itheann | ith- | ||
Past Imperfect | d'itheadh | d'ith- | |||
Past Perfect | d'ith | d'ith- | duaidh | dua- | |
Future | íosfaidh | íosfai- | |||
Conditional | Independent | d'íosfadh | díos- | ||
Dependent | íosfadh | íos- | |||
Imperative | itheadh | ith, ithigí; ith- | |||
Subjunctive | Present | go n-ithe | go n-ith- | ||
Past | dá n-itheadh | dá n-ith- | |||
Verbal Noun | ithe | ||||
Past Participle | ite |
Tabhair, "to give, to bring" | Analytic | Synthetic | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Indicative | Present | General | tug | tug- |
Independent | bheir | bheir- | ||
Dependent | tabhrann | tabh(a)r- | ||
Past Imperfect | General | thugadh | thug- | |
Independent | bheirinn | bheir- | ||
Dependent | tabhrainn | tabh(a)r- | ||
Past Perfect | thug | thug- | ||
Future | General | tabharfaidh | tabhar- | |
Independent | bhéaraid | bhéar- | ||
Dependent | tiubhraid | tiubhr- | ||
Conditional | General | thabharfadh | thabhar- | |
Independent | bhéarfadh | bhéar- | ||
Dependent | tiubhradh | tiubhr- | ||
Imperative | tugadh | tabhair, tugaigí; tug- | ||
Subjunctive | Present | go dtuga | go dtug- | |
Past | dá dtugadh | dá dtug- | ||
Verbal Noun | tabhairt | |||
Past Participle | tugtha |
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" | Standard | Connacht (some) | Munster (some) | Ulster | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Analytic | Synthetic | Analytic | Synthetic | Analytic | Synthetic | Analytic | Synthetic | ||
Indicative | Present | tagann (tig le) | tag- | teagann | teag- | tigeann | tig- | tig | tig- |
Past Imperfect | thagadh | thag- | |||||||
Past Perfect | tháinig | tháng- | |||||||
Future | tiocfaidh | tioc- | |||||||
Conditional | thiocfadh | thioc- | |||||||
Imperative | tagadh | tar, tagaigí; tag- | tagadh | teara, tagaigí; tag- | tagadh | tair, tagaigí; tag- | tagadh | gabh, tagaigí; tag- | |
Subjunctive | Present | go dtaga | go dtag- | go dtí | go dtí- | go dtí | go dtí- | ||
Past | dá dtagadh | dá dtag- | |||||||
Verbal Noun | teacht | ||||||||
Past Participle | tagtha |
Téigh, "to go" | Standard | Connemara (Connacht) | Munster | Ulster | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Analytic | Synthetic | Analytic | Synthetic | Analytic | Synthetic | Analytic | Synthetic | |||
Indicative | Present | téann | téi- | |||||||
Past Imperfect | théadh | théi- | ||||||||
Past Perfect | Independent | chuaigh | chu- | |||||||
Dependent | deachaigh | deach- | ||||||||
Future | rachaidh (raghfaidh) | rach- (raghf-) | gabhfaidh | gabhf- | raghaidh | ragh- | ||||
Conditional | rachadh (raghfadh) | rach- (raghf-) | ghabhfadh | ghabhf- | raghadh | ragh- | ||||
Imperative | téadh | téi- | téadh | teire/ gabh; té- | téadh | teir, teiridh; té- | téadh | téithear; gabh-/té- | ||
Subjunctive | Present | go dté | go dté- | |||||||
Past | dá dtéadh | dá dté- | ||||||||
Verbal Noun | dul | goil | goil | |||||||
Past Participle | dulta | goite | goite |
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":
To negate a statement, the particle ní 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)
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:
To pose a negative yes/no question, the particle nach is used, which causes eclipsis (in preterite: nár + lenition):
(In Munster ná is used instead of nach.)
To pose a wh-question, one of the interrogative particles cá, cad a/céard a, cathain a, cé a, conas a etc. is used.
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:
The verbal noun is used as the infinitive would be used in English.
A progressive can be expressed with the preposition ag and is equivalent to the English present participle.
A perfect tense can be formed with either of the compound prepositions tar éis or i ndiaidh and the verbal noun.
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.
The subjunctive is a grammatical mood, a feature of an utterance that indicates the speaker's attitude toward it. Subjunctive forms of verbs are typically used to express various states of unreality such as wish, emotion, possibility, judgment, opinion, obligation, or action that has not yet occurred; the precise situations in which they are used vary from language to language. The subjunctive is one of the irrealis moods, which refer to what is not necessarily real. It is often contrasted with the indicative, a realis mood which principally indicates that something is a statement of fact.
Verbs constitute one of the main parts of speech in the English language. Like other types of words in the language, English verbs are not heavily inflected. Most combinations of tense, aspect, mood and voice are expressed periphrastically, using constructions with auxiliary verbs.
The morphology of Irish is in some respects typical of an Indo-European language. Nouns are declined for number and case, and verbs for person and number. Nouns are classified by masculine or feminine gender. Other aspects of Irish morphology, while typical for an Insular Celtic language, are not typical for Indo-European, such as the presence of inflected prepositions and the initial consonant mutations. Irish syntax is also rather different from that of most Indo-European languages, due to its use of the verb–subject–object word order.
The declension of Irish nouns, the definite article, and the adjectives is discussed on this page.
The Germanic language family is one of the language groups that resulted from the breakup of Proto-Indo-European (PIE). It in turn divided into North, West and East Germanic groups, and ultimately produced a large group of mediaeval and modern languages, most importantly: Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish (North); English, Dutch and German (West); and Gothic.
Irish orthography is the set of conventions used to write Irish. A spelling reform in the mid-20th century led to An Caighdeán Oifigiúil, the modern standard written form used by the Government of Ireland, which regulates both spelling and grammar. The reform removed inter-dialectal silent letters, simplified some letter sequences, and modernised archaic spellings to reflect modern pronunciation, but it also removed letters pronounced in some dialects but not in others.
Irish syntax is rather different from that of most Indo-European languages, especially because of its VSO word order.
Irish, like all modern Celtic languages, is characterised by its initial consonant mutations. These mutations affect the initial consonant of a word under specific morphological and syntactic conditions. The mutations are an important tool in understanding the relationship between two words and can differentiate various meanings.
Middle Welsh is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh.
The grammar of Classical Nahuatl is agglutinative, head-marking, and makes extensive use of compounding, noun incorporation and derivation. That is, it can add many different prefixes and suffixes to a root until very long words are formed. Very long verbal forms or nouns created by incorporation, and accumulation of prefixes are common in literary works. New words can thus be easily created.
Ulster Irish is the variety of Irish spoken in the province of Ulster. It "occupies a central position in the Gaelic world made up of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man". Ulster Irish thus has much in common with Scottish Gaelic and Manx. Within Ulster there have historically been two main sub-dialects: West Ulster and East Ulster. The Western dialect is spoken in parts of County Donegal and once was spoken in parts of neighbouring counties, hence the name 'Donegal Irish'. The Eastern dialect was spoken in most of the rest of Ulster and northern parts of counties Louth and Meath.
Munster Irish is the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the province of Munster. Gaeltacht regions in Munster are found in the Gaeltachtaí of the Dingle Peninsula in west County Kerry, in the Iveragh Peninsula in south Kerry, in Cape Clear Island off the coast of west County Cork, in Muskerry West; Cúil Aodha, Ballingeary, Ballyvourney, Kilnamartyra, and Renaree of central County Cork; and in an Rinn and an Sean Phobal in Gaeltacht na nDéise in west County Waterford.
The Nukak language is a language of uncertain classification, perhaps part of the macrofamily Puinave-Maku. It is very closely related to Kakwa.
Irish, also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic language group of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was the majority of the population's first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century, in what is sometimes characterised as a result of linguistic imperialism.
In the Goidelic languages, dependent and independent verb forms are distinct verb forms; each tense of each verb exists in both forms. Verbs are often preceded by a particle which marks negation, or a question, or has some other force. The dependent verb forms are used after a particle, while independent forms are used when the verb is not subject to a particle. For example, in Irish, the past tense of the verb feic has two forms: the independent form chonaic and the dependent form faca. The independent form is used when no particle precedes the verb, as in Chonaic mé Seán. The dependent form is used when a particle such as ní ("not") precedes the verb, as in Ní fhaca mé Seán.
The morphology of the Welsh language shows many characteristics perhaps unfamiliar to speakers of English or continental European languages like French or German, but has much in common with the other modern Insular Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx, Cornish, and Breton. Welsh is a moderately inflected language. Verbs conjugate for person, tense and mood with affirmative, interrogative and negative conjugations of some verbs. A majority of prepositions inflect for person and number. There are few case inflections in Literary Welsh, being confined to certain pronouns.
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.