Caibidil a Trí: The verb (an Briathar)The verbal particles (na Míreanna Briathartha) |
Verbal particles come directly in front of the verb. They do
not occur in this form in German or English. They lead to initial mutations
in the verbs (lenition or eclipsis).
In the indicative preterite there are modified forms with the suffix
-r (with the exception of the direct relative particle)
The irregular verbs bí, abair,
déan, faigh, feic,
téigh do not use the preterite forms pf
the verbal particles
These verbs (except abair) use in some tenses, following the verbal particles,
(except the dir. relative particle) special dependent verb forms (e.g.
tá sé = er is but: nach bhfuil sé = that he is
not )
With the copula, verbal particles create compound forms, that often look the same as the verbal particles alone.
The negativ particles ní / níor, cha / char as well as in the imperative ná serve to negate and are translated with "not", which is like an adverb, or as"no", which is like a pronoun.
the negative particle ní
tense | particle | L/E | example |
present tense | ní | L | Ní ólfaidh tú fuisce arís. = You will not drink whiskey again. |
preterite | níor | L | Níor ól tú fuisce. = You didn't drink whiskey. |
tense | particle | L/E | example |
present tense preceding b,c,f,g,m,p,s |
cha | L | Cha chreideann sé é = He does not believe it. |
present tense u.a.
preceding d,t |
cha | E | Cha ndéanaim a leithéid = I don't do such things. |
present tense preceding a vowel, f |
chan | L | Chan ólann tú fuisce arís. = You will not drink
whiskey again. Chan fhuil sin ceart = That is not right |
preterite | char | L | Char ól tú fuisce. = You didn't drink whiskey. |
After cha/chan, the (habitual) present tense is used instead of the
future tense (see example Chan ólann tú fuisce arís
= You will not drink whiskey again.)
In parts of Donegal both ní and cha are common, where cha
is then rather the emphatic form.
The given lenition/eclipsis rules in parts of Donegal are applied very differently.
Cha/chan is the form also common in Scotch Gaelic.
In Altirisch lautete the form ní con, später > nocha > cha
As a copular form, the use of chan
instead of cha is regulated another way (cha preceding adjectives,
chan preceding nouns and pronouns, independent of the initial sound)
the negative imperative particle (prohibitive particle) ná
tense | particle | L/E | example |
imperative | ná | - | Ná hól fuisce! = Don't drink whiskey! |
The interrogative particles an / ar, nach / nár:
Because the Irish syntax is relatively strict (verb-subject-object), one must
indicate a simple question with
a preceding particle (an, ar, nach, nár) . In German, one would
just shift to verb to the beginning.
These interrogative particles are also not really translatable (the closes one
comes is the German word "ob"=if, and in this meaning it is used as a
conjunction in indirect queriest Níl a fhios agam an ólann
sé fuisce = I don't know if he drinks whiskey)
the interrogative particle an
tense | particle | L/E | example |
present tense | an | E | An ólfá fuisce? = Would you drink whiskey? |
preterite | ar | L | Ar ól tú fuisce? = Have you drunk whiskey? |
the negativ interrogative particle nach
tense | particle | L/E | example |
present tense | nach | E | Nach n-ólann tú fuisce? = Don't you drink whiskey? |
preterite | nár | L | Nár ól tú fuisce? = Didn't you drink whiskey? |
tense | particle | L/E | example |
present tense | ná | - | Ná hólair fuisce? = Don't you drink whiskey? |
Ná fuil sé anso? = Isn't he here? | |||
preterite | nár | L | Nár ólais fuisce? = Didn't you drink whiskey? |
The past particle do is only still
used preceding a vowel as the d'-prefix, also not translatable
into German.
Comparable is possbily the ancient Greek Augment ("e-") in a similar
meaning.
(One could compare it to the German prefix ge-, which actually expresses
the perfective, but only in participles, e.g.: gelaufen, getan, gemacht)
the past-particle do
- | particle | L/E | example |
preceding a consonant | (do)* | L | Do thuig sé an scéal. = He understood the story. (trad.
Munster) Thuig sé an scéal. = He understood the story. (Standard) |
preceding a vowel or f | d' | L | D´ól tú fuisce. = You drank whiskey. D'fhan tú liom. = You waited for me. |
The perfect-particle ro is only used after other particles and conjunctions,
the direct relative particle (mír choibhneasta dhíreach)
tense | particle | L/E | example | |
present tense | affirmative | a | L | an fear a ólanns fuisce = the man who drinks whiskey |
preterite | affirmative | a | L | an fear a d'ól fuisce = the man that drank whiskey |
present tense | negative | nach | E | an fear nach ólann fuisce = the man who doesn't drink whiskey |
preterite | negative | nár | L | an fear nár ól fuisce = the man that didn't drink whiskey |
tense | particle | L/E | example | |
present tense | affirmative | a | E | an teach a n-ólann tú fuisce ann = the house in which you drink whiskey |
preterite | affirmative | ar | L | an teach ar ól tú fuisce ann = the house in which you drank whiskey |
present tense | negative | nach | E | an teach nach n-ólann tú fuisce ann = the house in which you don't drink whiskey |
preterite | negative | nár | L | an teach nár ól tú fuisce ann = the house in which you didn't drink whiskey |
the subjunctive particle go
- | particle | L/E | example |
affirmative | go | E | Go n-éirí an bóthair leat = good luck! ("may the road rise with you") |
negative | nár | L | Nár fheicimid arís é. = Hopefully we won't see him again! |
The conjunctions go, sula
and mura act like verbal particles
(pertaining to the change in the preterite: go /
gur; sula / sular; mura
/ murar).
sula/sular and ach a/ach ar are actually compounds of the conjunction sul or
ach and the indirect relative particle a/ar
the conjunction go = that
tense | particle | L/E | example | |
present tense | affirmative | go | E | go n-ólann tú fuisce = that you drink whiskey |
preterite | affirmative | gur | L | gur ól tú fuisce = that that you drank whiskey |
present tense | negative | nach | E | nach n-ólann tú fuisce = that you don't drink whiskey |
preterite | negative | nár | L | nár ól tú fuisce = that you didn't drink whiskey |
In Munster, ná is used here as well instead of "nach", and after the negative main clause ná go (ná gur in the preterite.)
the conjunction sula = before,
tense | particle | L/E | example |
present tense | sula | E | Béidh sé anseo sula dtiocfaidh mé ar ais.= He will be here before I come back. |
preterite | sular | L | Bhí sé anseo sular tháinig mé ar ais = He was here before I came back. |
Regional (in Munster) auch sara / sarar
the negative conjunction mura = if not,
tense | particle | L/E | example |
present tense | mura | E | Mura bhfeiceann sé é = If he doesn't see him. |
preterite | murar | L | Murar bhuail sé leis = If he hasn't hit him |
Regional instead of mura/murar mara / marar (in Connemara) muna / munar
the conjunction ach a = as soon as
tense | particle | L/E | example |
present tense | ach a | E | Béidh sé anseo ach a dtiocfaidh mé.= He will be here as soon as I come. |
preterite | ach ar | L | Bhí sé anseo ach a tháinig mé. = He was here as soon as I came. |
The local interrogative cá / cár is an adverb (where). It is actually a compound of the interrogative cá and the indirect relative particle a/ar (cá + a = cá)
The local interrogative adverb cá
tense | particle | L/E | example |
present tense | cá | E | Cá gcuirfidh tú é? = Where will you put it? |
preterite | cár | L | Cár chuir tú é? = Where did you put it? |
In other uses of cá, in which there is no indirect relative clause
directly following, cár appropriately does not appear in the preterite
(see interrogative cá)