Buntús na Gaeilge Irish for Adult Learners Barbara Hillers with Bettina Kimpton Adapted for use with Connacht Irish by Natasha Sumner Textbook for Celtic 132: Introduction to Modern Irish Harvard 2018/2019 [for class use and private circulation only] SOME WORDS AND PHRASES FREQUENTLY USED IN CLASS Here are a few idioms you will encounter in class: maidin mhaith good morning Dia daoibh hello everybody le chéile all together anois now arís again cuir Gaeilge / Béarla air translate into Irish / English le do thoil / más é do thoil éC please go raibh maith agat thank you go n-éirí an t-ádh leatC good luck I don’t quite follow... Gabh mo leithscéal Excuse me An dtuigeann tú? Do you (sg) understand? An dtuigeann sibh? Do you (pl) understand? Tuigim I understand Ní thuigim I don’t understand Ní thuigim focal I don’t understand a word Abair arís é, le do thoil Say that again, please Céard é sin i nGaeilge / as Gaeilge? What does that mean in Irish? Céard é sin i mBéarla / as Béarla? What does that mean in English? Céard é an Ghaeilge atá ar sin? How do you say that in Irish? Abair i mBéarla / as Béarla é Say it in English Well done! Your teacher will lavish praise on you. Here are some of the things you may hear, or see written underneath your homework: maith thú / sibh well done go maith good go hiontach wonderful an-mhaith (ar fad) very good (entirely) toghaC great ar fheabhas excellent thar barr super Buntús na Gaeilge Cuid a hAon I d’óige oscail do mheabhair is bailigh an fhoghlaim leat. ‘Open your mind while you are young and gather learning as you go.’ CLÁR / TABLE OF CONTENTS Réamhrá / Preface ....................................................................................................................... vii Ceacht a hAon ................................................................................................................................ 1 An Ceacht Gramadaí .......................................................................................................... 4 Personal Pronouns (4); The Demonstrative Pronouns seo and sin (4); The Copula (5); Masculine Noun and Adjective (6); Greetings and Introductions (6) Teanga is Cultúr ............................................................................................................... 10 Greetings (10); Loanwords (11) Ceacht a Dó .................................................................................................................................. 12 An Ceacht Gramadaí ........................................................................................................ 14 The Article (14); Feminine Noun and Adjective (15); Prepositional Pronouns: the Preposition le (16); Copula Sentences With le (18); The Preposition gan (19) Teanga is Cultúr ............................................................................................................... 23 Ceacht a Trí .................................................................................................................................. 24 An Ceacht Gramadaí ........................................................................................................ 26 Possessive Pronouns (26); The Copula: Identification Sentences (27); Prefixed Adjectives (29); Colors (29) Teanga is Cultúr ............................................................................................................... 33 Súil Siar (Revision): Ceacht 1 - Ceacht 3 .................................................................................... 34 Ceacht a Ceathair ......................................................................................................................... 35 An Ceacht Gramadaí ........................................................................................................ 37 The Substantive Verb and the Dependent Pronoun (37); The Preposition ar (39); The Intensifying Prefixes an-, fíor-, and ró- (40); The Particle go (40); Conversational Idioms (41) Teanga is Cultúr ............................................................................................................... 44 iv Ceacht a Cúig ............................................................................................................................... 45 An Ceacht Gramadaí ........................................................................................................ 47 The Preposition ag (47); The Preposition i (48); The Weather (49); The Perfect Tense (50) Teanga is Cultúr ............................................................................................................... 53 Ceacht a Sé ................................................................................................................................... 54 An Ceacht Gramadaí ........................................................................................................ 56 Past Tense of the Substantive Verb (56); The Dative or Prepositional Case (56); In the House (58); Idioms Using Two Prepositions (58) Teanga is Cultúr ............................................................................................................... 62 Ceacht a Seacht ............................................................................................................................ 64 An Ceacht Gramadaí ........................................................................................................ 66 The Future Tense of the Substantive Verb (66); Stative Expressions II: Occupations (67); The Preposition i ‘in’ and the construction Fear deas atá ann (67); Countries (67); Cúpla ‘a couple, a few’ (68); The Week (68) Teanga is Cultúr ............................................................................................................... 71 The Week (71); Samhain (Halloween) and the Celtic Year (73) Súil Siar (Revision): Ceacht 4 - Ceacht 7 .................................................................................... 76 Ceacht a hOcht ............................................................................................................................. 78 An Ceacht Gramadaí ........................................................................................................ 80 The Imperative (80); The Vocative Case (84); The Prepositions do and de (86); In and Out, Up and Down: Aspect and Direction (86) Teanga is Cultúr ............................................................................................................... 88 Traditional Irish First Names (90) Ceacht a Naoi ............................................................................................................................... 92 An Ceacht Gramadaí ........................................................................................................ 95 The Past Tense (95); The Numbers 1-10 (96); Where did you go? (chuig; v go; go dtí) (98) Teanga is Cultúr ............................................................................................................. 102 Ceacht a Deich ........................................................................................................................... 104 An Ceacht Gramadaí ...................................................................................................... 105 The Present Tense (105); The Present Habitual (109); Time (110) Teanga is Cultúr ............................................................................................................. 112 Ceacht a hAon Déag .................................................................................................................. 114 An Ceacht Gramadaí ...................................................................................................... 115 The Future Tense (115); The Prepositions ó and roimh (118) Teanga is Cultúr ............................................................................................................. 120 Christmas and New Year (120) Súil Siar (Revision): Ceacht 8 - Ceacht 11 ................................................................................ 126 Appendix 1: Cúrsaí Canúna ....................................................................................................... 127 Appendix 2: Phonetic Exercises (Connacht Irish) ..................................................................... 133 Appendix 3: Paradigms and Reference ...................................................................................... 137 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 140 Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla ............................................................................................................... 142 Foclóir Béarla-Gaeilge ............................................................................................................... 157 A Select Verb List ...................................................................................................................... 181 Index of Songs, Proverbs, and Rhymes ..................................................................................... 187 Subject Index ............................................................................................................................. 189 Grammar Index .......................................................................................................................... 190 vi RÉAMHRÁ / PREFACE The Irish Language Irish is used as a community language in the west of Ireland and as a minority language throughout Ireland.