Conjugating Regular Irish Verbs

1 Conjugating Regular Irish VerbsPARTONE Present Tense of First ConjugationThe Regular Verbs in Irish comein two types 1st Conjugationand 2nd Conjugation speaking, 1stConjugation Verbs have only onesyllable. 2nd Conjugation verbshave two or more. It is importantto remember this, as it affects theway you will conjugate the ConjugationThe root forms of 1st Conjugation Verbs have only one syllable. A few Verbs which belong in this category are: rith, d n, bris, and fan. Below you will find the appropriate endings for the present tenseof most 1st Conjugation Verbs . Present tense endings for the 1st Conjugation:Spell it correctly!

2 In Irish , vowels are either slender or broad, and can change the sound of nearby consonants. E and I are slender vowels, and A, O, and U are broad. Remember the following phrase in order to spell your conjugated Verbs correctly if they have morethan one syllable:Broad with Broad, and Slender with be precise, the first vowel used in the second syllable must be of the same type(Broad or slender) as the last vowel used in the first syllable. We will demonstrate thisprinciple :im, eann, imidfor example:rithrithim, ritheann t /s /s , rithimid, ritheann sibh/siadbrisbrisim, briseann t /s /s , brisimid, briseann sibh/siadBROADENDINGS:aim, ann, aimidfor example:d nd naim, d nann t /s /s , d naimid, d nann sibh/siadfanfanaim, fanann t /s /s , fanaimid, fanann sibh/siad* * * * * Some exceptions* * * * *Several 1st Conjugation Verbs don t follow the pattern shown above for the present tense.

3 If the verb has a longvowel (a vowel with a fada ) and ends withigh, drop ighfrom the spelling before adding the endings. A good example of this type of exception isl igh:l igh + im = l im l igh + eann = l ann l igh + imid = l imid (l im, l ann t /s /s , l imid, l ann sibh/siad.)A handful of 1st Conjugation Verbs have a long i sound to them without a fada present to indicate it. Afew of them like this: suigh, guigh, nigh, and luigh. For these, drop the igh, then use the endings givenbelow. These use a set of endings normally associated with 2nd Conjugation Verbs :First Conjugation Long-I-sound Endings: m, onn, midfor example:suigh + m = su m suigh + onn = su onn suigh + mid = su mid(su m, su onn t /s /s , su mid, su onn sibh/siad.)

4 And:nigh + m = n m nigh + onn = n onn nigh + mid = n mid(n m, n onn t /s /s , n mid, n onn sibh/siad.) Conjugating Regular Irish VerbsPARTTWO Present Tense of Second ConjugationThe Regular Verbs in Irish comein two types 1st Conjugationand 2nd Conjugation speaking, 1stConjugation Verbs have only onesyllable. 2nd Conjugation verbshave two or more. It is importantto remember this, as it affects theway you will conjugate the ConjugationThese Verbs have two or more syllables. If they end in igh, or aigh, drop off those letters, and tack on endingsfrom the appropriate list below. If they end in il, ir, in, or is, the second syllable is often syncopated, or condensed, before adding the appropriate ending.

5 See below for some examples, or consult a grammar textor verb book. A few Verbs which belong in this category are: irigh, ceannaigh, eitil, tense endings for 2nd Conjugation:Spell it correctly!In Irish , vowels are either slender or broad, and can change the sound of nearby consonants. E and I are slender vowels, and A, O, and U are broad. Remember the following phrase in order to spell your conjugated Verbs correctly if they have morethan one syllable:Broad with Broad, and Slender with be precise, the first vowel used in the second syllable must be of the same type(Broad or slender) as the last vowel used in the first syllable.

6 We will demonstrate thisprinciple : m, onn, midfor example: irigh ir m, ir onn t /s /s , ir mid, ir onn sibh/siadeitileitl m, eitl onn t /s /s , eitl mid, eitl onn sibh/siadBROADENDINGS:a m, a onn, a midfor example:ceannaighceanna m, ceanna onn t /s /s , ceanna mid, ceanna onn sibh/siadfreagairfreagra m, freagra onn t /s /s , freagra mid, freagra onn sibh/siad(Eitiland freagairare also examples of syncopation. Eitilis shortened to eitl before adding the ending. Freagairgets shortened to freagr. )OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS ABOUT THEPRESENTTENSE:Anis the generic question particle in the present tense. Adding it before the verb causes eclipsis.

7 For example:an nd nann t ? an gceanna onn sibh? Nachis the negative question particle in the present tense. Adding it before the verb causes eclipsis. For example:nach nd naim? nach gceanna onn t ?N is the negative statement particle for the present tense. Adding it before the verb causes lenition. For example:n dh naim. n cheanna mid. Conjugating Regular Irish VerbsPARTTHREE Past Tense of First ConjugationThe Regular Verbs in Irish comein two types 1st Conjugationand 2nd Conjugation speaking, 1stConjugation Verbs have only onesyllable. 2nd Conjugation verbshave two or more. It is importantto remember this, as it affects theway you will conjugate the ConjugationThe past tense is probably the easiest tense to conjugate.

8 To form the past tense for first conjugation Verbs ,just follow all of the following four steps that apply to the verb you wish to conjugate, and do so in thisorder:A. Start with the spelling of the root/command form;B. Lenite the initial consonant if lenitable;C. Add d before those Verbs starting with vowels or fh(which is silent anyway); D. Use the separate pronoun forms, except in the first person plural (see below). A few Verbs from this category which will illustrate the above instructions are: cuir, d n, ist, tense endings for 1st Conjugation:Spell it correctly!In Irish , vowels are either slender or broad, and can change the sound of nearby consonants.

9 E and I are slender vowels, and A, O, and U are broad. Remember the following phrase in order to spell your conjugated Verbs correctly if they have morethan one syllable:Broad with Broad, and Slender with be precise, the first vowel used in the second syllable must be of the same type(Broad or slender) as the last vowel used in the first syllable. We will demonstrate thisprinciple ENDING: eamar(1st person plural)for example:cuirchuir m /t /s /s , chuireamar, chuir sibh/siad istd ist m /t /s /s , d isteamar, d ist sibh/siadBROAD ENDING: amar(1st person plural)for example:d ndh n m /t /s /s , dh namar, dh n sibh/siadfand fhan m /t /s /s , d fhanamar, d fhan sibh/siadOther noteworthy items about the Past Tense:Arforms the generic question form in the past tense.

10 Note, however, that Verbs starting with d in thistense will drop this in question forms. For example:ar dh n t ? but ar ist sibh?Narforms the negative question form in the past tense. Note, however, that Verbs starting with d inthis tense will drop this in negative question forms. For example: nar dh n s ? nar ist s ?N orforms the negative statement for the past tense. Note, however, that Verbs starting with d in thistense will drop this in negative statement forms. For example: n or dh n m ; n or isteamarConjugating Regular Irish VerbsPARTFOUR Past Tense of Second ConjugationThe Regular Verbs in Irish comein two types 1st Conjugationand 2nd Conjugation speaking, 1stConjugation Verbs have only onesyllable.