Irish challenge (6)

This post is the 6^th instalment of the Irish leg of my current Celtic challenge. It covers chapter 5 of Teach Yourself Irish.  For previous instalments, please see https://languagemiscellany.com/tag/irish/

It covers:

• the demonstrative sin (‘that’)
• possessive phrases
• ‘above’ and ‘below’
• more on prepositions
• ‘very’
• ann (‘there’)
• cá bhfuil? (‘where is?)
• verbs: (1) perfect tense; (2) verbal adjectives
• other words and phrases

Some items below mention the initial consonant changes known as ‘mutation’ (including lenition’) and ‘eclipsis’. For more on mutation in Irish, please see https://languagemiscellany.com/2026/05/irish-spelling-and-pronunciation/

The demonstrative sin (‘that’)

Instalment 5 introduced the demonstrative pronoun seo (‘this’).

‘That’ is sin. When seo or sin is used as a demonstrative adjective, it follows the noun and the definite article (an, na) appears before the noun, as in table 1:

Table 1. Demonstrative pronouns seo and sin

Possessive phrases

If a possessed noun precedes a possessive masculine noun that is preceded by the definite article:

• the 1^st noun carries no definite article;
• the 2^nd noun is in the genitive case and undergoes lenition (unless it starts with /t/ or /d/); and
• if the 2^nd noun starts with /s/, the /s/ changes to /ts/:

barr an bhóthair (‘[the] top of the road’)
bun an bhóthair (‘[the] end of the road’)
lár an tseomra (‘[the] middle of the room’)
bean an tí (‘[the] woman of the house’, tí is the genitive of teach ‘house)

‘Above’ and ‘below

‘Below’ is thías and ‘above’ is thuas.

thías an staighre (‘downstairs’)
thuas an staighre(‘upstairs’)

thall is ‘over there’.

More on prepositions

Prepositions ag and i with the article

The sequences ag (‘at’) and in aice le (‘in proximity with’ = ‘next to’) with the definite article cause eclipsis [link], except with nouns starting with the dental consonants /t/ or /d/:

ag an bhfuinneeog
‘at the window’, window = fuinneog (plural -a)
ag an doras
‘at the door’, ‘door’ = doras (plural doirse)
 in aice leis an gcistin
‘next to the kitchen’, ‘kitchen’ = cistin (plural = -eorcha)
in aice le + an = in aice leis an

The preposition i (‘in’) combines with the definite article, forming sa (‘in the’), followed by lenition, except with nouns starting with the dental consonants /t/, /d/ or /s/:

sa chófra
‘in the cupboard’, cupboard = cófra
sa seomra folctha
‘in the bathroom’, room = seomra (plural -í), ‘washing’ = folcadth

Preposition ar

Many states of mind and physical sensation are expressed using the preposition ar (‘on’, followed by lenition).

tá tuirse ar Sheán
is tiredness on Sean
‘Sean is tired’

The preposition ar combines with personal pronouns to produce the forms given in table 2.

 Table 2. Personal forms of the preposition ar (‘on’)

Example: tá ocras orm (‘I am hungry’)

Other nouns used in this construction include fuacht (cold’), slaghdán (‘a cold’), tart (‘thirsty’), eagla (‘afraid’), brón (‘sorry’), áthas (‘happy’, ‘delighted’), tinnéas (‘sickness’)

tá tinnéas cinn orm (‘I have a headache’)
tá tinnéas fiacaile orm (‘I have a toothache’)
té athas orm faoi sin (I’m delighted about it’)

Some physical and mental states are expressed with adjectives rather than nouns:

Tá Una go maith arís (‘Una is well again’)
Tá sé tinn (‘he is sick’)
Bhí mé bhuartha (I am ‘worried’)
Tá mé cinnte (‘I am sure’)

‘Very’

An (‘very’) causes lenition (except before /t, d, s/)

an-mhaith , go han mhaith(‘very good’, ‘good’ = maith)
an-fhuar (‘very cold’, cold = fuar)

Ann (‘there’)

Ann literally means ‘in it’, but often expresses ‘there’
Tá banc agus siopai ann
Is  bank and   shops there
‘There are a bank and shops there’

Tá sé sheomra ann
Is  six rooms      in it
‘it has 6 rooms’

Tá céad acra    ann
Is 100     acres in it
It is 100 acres (in size)

Cá bhfuil? (‘where is?)

Like the question marker an? (mentioned in instalment 3 https://languagemiscellany.com/2026/06/irish-challenge-3/), Cá (‘what’) is followed by bhfuil, the dependent form of tá.

Cá bhfuil tú ag dul?
‘where are you going?’

Verbs: Perfect tense

The perfect tense is formed with forms such as ‘tá…. agam’ (‘is ….to.me’ = ‘I have’) combined with the verbal adjective:
Tá an  dinnear ite      agam
is the dinner  eaten to.me
‘I have eaten [the] dinner’

Verbal adjectives

Table 3 shows some verbs alongside their verbal adjectives and the suffixes used to form them.

Table 3. Some verbal adjectives

Final consonants are deleted from ith, caith, tosaigh and bailigh in producing the verbal adjective forms ite caite tosaitha and bailitha.

Other words and phrases

seamra (‘room’, plural -i): an chistin (‘the kitchen’, fem.), an parlús (‘the sitting room’), an seomra leapa (‘bedroom’, leaba = ‘bed’), seomra folctha (‘bathroom’), an leithreas (‘the toilet’), an halla (the hall’), an t-urláar (the floor’), teach dhá urlár (‘2-storey house’), an tine (‘the fire, fem.), an ghairdín (‘the garden’), troscán (‘furniture’)

loistin (‘accomodation’), teach cónaithe (‘dwelling house’), teach lólatin (‘guest house’), teach saoire (‘holiday home’), óstán (‘hotel’), brú (‘hostel’)

other nouns and noun phrases: piosa císte (‘piece of cake’), tae (‘tea’)

adjectives: tirim (‘dry’), breá (‘fine’, pl. -tha, níos breátha)

expressions of time: tráthnóna (‘afternoon’, pl. -nta), tamall (‘while’, ‘short period’), inné (‘yesterday’),

adverbs and conjunctions: is dócha (‘probably’), arís  (‘again’), ach (‘but’), mar sin (‘therefore’, mar = because)

verb: glaiogh ar  (‘to phone’’)

phrases: tá failte romhat (‘you’re welcome’), beidh mé ann láithreach (‘Ill be there right away’), gach eloas ó (‘all information from’)

Source

Teach Yourself Irish, Diarmuid Ó Sé and Joseph Sheils (1993)