Irish/Unit 2/Lesson 5
Lessons
Spelling and Pronunciation - Grammar
More Irish language resources can be found at
Wikiversity's Department of Irish Studies
Food and Sickness
[edit | edit source]Dialogue
[edit | edit source]- Seán: Tá ocras orm. Ar mhaith leat itheadh liom?
- Síle: Ba mhaith.
- Seán: Cén sort bialann ar mhaith leat?
- Síle: Is cuma liom, ithim gach cineál bia.
- Seán: Ceart go leor, ní ithim feoil.
- Síle: Ar mhaith leat deoch?
- Seán: Ba mhaith, caife dubh le do thoil.
- Síle: Cé mhéad sin?
- Freastalaí:Trí euro le do thoil.
- Seán: I'm hungry. Would you like to eat with me?
- Síle: I would
- Seán: What type of restaurant would you like?
- Síle: I don't mind, I eat every type of food.
- Seán: Ok, I don't eat meat.
- Síle: Would you like a drink?
- Seán: I would, a black coffee, please
- Síle: How much is that?
- Waiter: Three euro please
Tá ocras orm - I'm hungry
[edit | edit source]This phrase literally means 'Hunger is on me'. In Irish, to express an emotional state, the preposition on is used.
Examples
- Tá tart orm - I'm thirsty
- Tá fearg air - He's angry
- Cuireann sé brón uirthi - It makes her sad (lit. It puts sadness on her)
Ar - On
[edit | edit source]- orm - on me
- ort - on you (singular)
- air - on him
- uirthi - on her
- orainn - on us
- oraibh - on you (plural)
- orthu - on them
Food Vocabulary
[edit | edit source]Where to find food
Cá bhfuil....? = Where is.....?
...an bhialann = the restaurant
...an t-ollmhargadh = the supermarket
...an tábhairne = the pub
...an chistin = the kitchen
...an freastalaí = the waiter
How to ask for things: method I
An féidir liom ... a bheith agam? = May I have...?
...bord = a table
...béile = a meal
...deoch = a drink
...biachlar = a menu
How to ask fo things: method II
Cad ba mhaith leat? = What would you like?
Ba mhaith liom... = I would like...
...(gloine) uisce = a (glass of) water
...(gloine) fíon ( bán / dearg) = a (glass of) (white / red) wine
...sú (oráiste) = a (orange) juice
...(pionta) beoir = a (pint of) beer
....(cupán) caife / tae = a (cup of ) coffee / tea
...(le /gan ) bainne = (with / without) milk
....siúcra = sugar
How to ask for things: method III
Beidh ... agam, le do thoil. = I will have ... , please.
... sailéad = a salad
...ceapaire = a sandwich
...(le / gan) maonáis, cáis = (with / without) mayonaisse, cheese
...arán (tosta) = (toasted) bread
...le him / gan im = with butter / without butter
...subh = jam
...muiceoil = pork
...mairteoil = beef
...iasc = fish
...sícín (friochta) = (fried) chicken
, agus ... freisin. = , and ... also.
...práta / prátaí = a potato / potatoes
...sceallóga = chips / french fries
...torthaí (úr) = (fresh) fruit
.....glasraí (áitiúil) = (local) vegetables
Likes, Wants
Níl .... uaim. = I don’t want...
...feoil = meat
...milseog = dessert
... anlann = sauce/dressing
Is veigeatóir / veigeán me. = I’m a vegetarian / vegan.
Tá ailléirge orm le .... = I have an allergy to ...
Ní maith liom... = I don’t like....
...cabáiste = cabbage
Is maith liom... = I like ...
...uachtar reoite = ice cream
Sin é an-blasta. = That is very tasty
Kinds of food
Cén cinéal ... atá agaibh? = What kind of .... do you have?
...anraith = (of) soup
...milseoige = of dessert
...glasra = (of) vegetable
piseanna = pea(s)
cáca / císte = cake
pióg (úll) = (apple) pie
bia mara = seafood
How to ask for things: method IV
Teastaíonn ... uaim. = I need ...
...pláta (eile) = a (another) plate
...forc (eile) = a (another) fork
...deoch (eile) = a (another) drink
...scian = a knife
... babhla = a bowl
...spunóg = a spoon
...an salann = the salt
...an piobar = the pepper
...tuilleadh caife = more coffee
....tuilleadh scealloga = more chips/fries
...an bille = the bill
Cé mhéid atá air? = How much is it?
Verbs
Tá mé ag ithe bricfeasta = I am eating breakfast.
Tá tú ag ithe lón = You are eating lunch.
Tá sé ag ithe dinnéar. = He is eating dinner.
Tá sí ag ól deoch. = She is drinking a drink.
Támid ag cócaireacht an béile. = We are cooking the meal.
Tá sibh ag ceannach an bhia. = You (plural) are buying the food.
Quantity
Ba mhaith linn... = We would like...
ceapaire, ceapairí = a sandwich, sandwiches
... dhá cheapaire = two sandwiches
gloine, gloiní = a glass, glasses
...trí ghloine... = three glasses (of...)
punta, puntaí = a pound, pounds
...ceithre phunta ... = four pounds (of...)
cileagram, cileagraim = a kilogram, kilograms
...cuig chileagram ... = five kg. (of...)
ubh, uibheacha = an egg, eggs
cupla ubh = a couple of eggs
Na hUimhreacha - Numbers
[edit | edit source]Numbers on their own are called ordinal numbers, e.g. one, two three. In Irish, the numeral partical 'a' is placed in front of the number when using the number on its own.
Examples:
- A hAon - One
- A Dó - Two
- A Trí - Three
- A Ceathar - Four
- A Cúig - Five
- A Sé - Six
- A Seacht - Seven
- A hOcht - Eight
- A Naoi - Nine
- A Deich - Ten
When we use numbers with a noun, however (e.g. four cups, two euro), we don't use the numeral particle, and we use a different form of one and two. Also, the numbers 1-6 lenite the next word (add a h), while the numbers 7-10 add an urú. Also, ceathar becomes ceithre and you use the singular form of the noun, not the plural.
Examples:
- Aon chupán amháin - One cup (the 'aon' here is optional)
- Dhá chupán - Two cups
- Trí iasc - Three fish
- Ceithre phrátaí - Four potatoes
- Cúig ghloine - Five glasses
- Sé deoch - Six drinks
- Seacht bhfreastalaí - Seven waiters
- Ocht mbiachlár - Eight menus
- Naoi euro - Nine euro
- Deich mbialann - Ten restaurants
On top of this, their is a different form of the numbers used when counting people, as follows.
- Duine (amháin) - One person
- Beirt - Two people
- Triúr - Three people
- Ceathrar - Four people
- Cúigear - Five people
- Seisear - Six people
- Seachtar - Seven people
- Ochtar - Eight people
- Naonúr - Nine people
- Deichniúr - Ten people
Dialogue
[edit | edit source]- Seán: Níl mé ag mothú go maith
- Síle: Cad é atá ort?
- Seán: Tá pian i mo bholg agam.
- Síle: A chréatúir, suigh síos ansin.
- Seán: Go raibh maith agat
- Síle: An bhfuil sé níos fearr?
- Seán: Tá, go raibh maith agat.
- Seán: I don't feel well
- Síle: What's wrong?
- Seán: I have a pain in my stomach
- Síle: You poor thing! Sit down there
- Seán: Thanks
- Síle: Is it better?
- Seán: Yes, thank you
Níos fearr - Better
[edit | edit source]To compare something to something else, we use the words 'níos' and 'is', for example, 'níos fearr' means better as we saw above and 'is fearr' would mean 'best'. Another example is bright, which is 'geal' in Irish. This becomes 'níos/is gile' - 'brighter/brightest'. 'gile' here is the feminine genetive form of the adjective. We will discuss nouns and adjectives and their cases more in the next lesson, but the genetive will not be dealt with until later modules. For the moment, here are some examples of adjectives and their comparative forms.
Examples:
- Deas - Níos/Is deise - Nice - Nicer/Nicest
- Mór - Níos/Is mó - Big - Bigger/Biggest
- Beag - Níos/Is lú - Small - Smaller/Smallest
- Olc - Níos/Is measa - Bad - Worse/Worst
- Ard - Níos/Is airde - Tall - Taller/Tallest
- Sean - Níos/Is sine - Old - Older/Oldest
- Óg - Níos/Is óige - Young - Younger/Youngest
- Álainn - Níos/Is áille - Beautiful - More/Most beautiful
- Mall - Níos/Is moille - Slow. - Slower/Slowest
Mo - My
[edit | edit source]The words 'my, your, his, her, etc' are called possessive pronouns. In Irish they are as follows:
- Mo - My
- Do - Your (singular)
- A - His
- A - Her
- Ár - Our
- Bhur - Your (plural)
- A - Their
Mo, Do and A when it means 'his' are all followed by lenition (adding 'h' to the following word). 'A' when it means her does not modify the following noun and Ár, Bhur and A when it means 'their' are all followed by eclipsis (adding an urú to the following word).