< Irish < Unit 1

In this lesson, you will learn about:

  • The consonants d, f, ch, and p
  • Forming sentences with "tá" and "is"
  • Prothesis, an initial mutation affecting vowels

Forming Sentences with "Tá" and "Is"

Vocabulary
bí be pronunciation
tá is, are (present tense of "bí") pronunciation
is is (present tense copula) pronunciation
dubh black pronunciation
teach house pronunciation
fuar cold pronunciation

English uses "is", and the other forms of the verb to be, to form many kinds of sentences. For some types of "is" sentences, Irish uses its own form of the verb to be. For others, it uses a different construction, called a "copula" (in Irish, "an chopail").

Let's look at each type of sentence first. Then we'll talk about when to use each of them.

Using Tá (is, are)

We've learned that, to make a simple sentence in Irish, you use the order "verb-subject-object":

Leann Niamh leabhar
Reads Niamh (subject) a book (object)

The same principles apply when the sentence uses the verb to be. To translate the English sentence:

the book is black

you would say, in Irish:

tá an leabhar dubh
is the book black

The verb tá comes first, like the verb leann did in our earlier example, but don't be confused by the English equivalents: in Irish this is a statement, not a question.

Tá is the present tense of the Irish verb to be, bí, and translates to "is" or "are". Here are a few more examples:

The job is good. Tá an post go maith.
The houses are cold. Tá na tithe fuar.

Using the Copula

Vocabulary
mé I, me pronunciation
fear man pronunciation

Sometimes, where English would use the verb to be, Irish instead uses a construction called the copula. The particle indicating a copula (in the present tense) is is. This can be confusing to English speakers: although it looks like the English verb to be "is", the Irish particle is is not a form of any verb.

Sentences with is use a different word order than sentences using tá. As an example, let's look at two sentences where the subject is mé, the Irish word for "I" or "me".

Tá mé fuar I am cold
Is fear mé I am a man

The first sentence, with tá, follows the standard Irish V-S-O word order. In the second, the subject comes last.

fear |mé
a man |I

Which to Use When

So when should you use tá and when should you use is? These two constructions are very different in the Irish language and a native speaker would never confuse them.

A Few More Consonants

Let's take a closer look at a few of the words we encountered above, and the last few common Irish consonants.


Next Lesson

In Lesson 5, you'll learn about:

  • Personal Pronouns
  • Basic and Compound Prepositions
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