What is “to” in Irish?
English has one small word, “to”, and asks it to do a great deal: “give it to me”, “go to the shop”, “a quarter to three”, “I want to go”. Irish shares these jobs among several words, and which one you need depends on what “to” is doing in the sentence. This lesson is about the commonest of them, do, and about how it divides the work with its neighbours.
Do is a preposition. It is the word of the receiver: the person who is given something, shown something, done something for. Thug sé dom é, “he gave it to me”. It also means “for” (the one who benefits) and it appears in a number of fixed phrases: cad is ainm duit?, “what is your name?” (literally “what is name to you?”). For movement towards a place or a person, a learner should reach for other words: chuig, go, go dtí and chun. You will meet each of them in this lesson. (Teanglann does record do for a destination, as in dul don siopa, “going to the shop”, but chuig, go and go dtí are the safe choices.)
Like all Irish prepositions, do does not stand beside a pronoun. It joins it. Do plus mé (“me”) is dom; do plus tú (“you”) is duit. These fused forms are called prepositional pronouns, or conjugated prepositions, and you must learn them as words. There are seven:
dom — to me duit — to you (one person) dó — to him, to it (masculine) di — to her, to it (feminine) dúinn — to us daoibh — to you (more than one person) dóibh — to them
When a noun follows, do puts a lenition on it: do Mháire, “to Máire”. With the word for “the”, do becomes don: don bhean, “to the woman”.
There is one trap to see at once. Irish has no “say to” with do. “He said it to me” is dúirt sé liom, with le (“with”), not dom. A short list of such verbs is in Section D.
This lesson uses the Standard Irish of An Caighdeán Oifigiúil. Section E notes that the Gaeltacht dialects vary.
FAQ: What does “to” mean in Irish?
Q: How do I say “to me”, “to you”, “to him”? A: Dom, duit, dó. Thug sé dom é, “he gave it to me”.
Q: How do I say “to the woman”? A: Don bhean. Do plus an becomes don, and the noun after it is lenited.
Q: How do I say “to Máire” or “to Seán”? A: Do Mháire, do Sheán. Do lenites a name or a noun with no article.
Q: How do I say “I went to the shop”? A: Chuaigh mé go dtí an siopa, or chuaigh mé chuig an siopa. Do mainly marks the receiver of something; for travel use chuig, go or go dtí.
Q: How do I say “in order to”? A: Chun, followed by a verbal noun: chun an chárta a chur chuici, “to send the card to her”.
Key Takeaways:
- Do means “to” of the receiver and “for” of the beneficiary: thug sé dom é, “he gave it to me” - Do fuses with the pronoun: dom, duit, dó, di, dúinn, daoibh, dóibh. Learn the seven as words - Do lenites the noun after it: do Mháire. With the article it is don, and the noun is lenited: don bhean, don fhear - For going towards: chuig (people, and places with the article), go (towns and countries) and go dtí (as far as a place). For “in order to”: chun - “Say to” and “speak to” take le, not do: dúirt sé liom, labhair sé liom
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Irish consonants come in two kinds: broad (said with the back of the tongue raised, written next to a, o, u) and slender (said with the tongue raised towards the front of the mouth, written next to e, i). In the IPA a small raised ˠ marks a broad consonant and a raised ʲ a slender one. The two kinds of d in this lesson show the difference: broad d̪ˠ in do, dom, dó, and slender dʲ in di.
Do /d̪ˠə/ — the d is made with the tongue against the back of the teeth, not the ridge behind them as in English. Before a noun, do is unstressed: “duh”. In d’fhear, d’Úna, it shrinks to d’.
Dom /d̪ˠumˠ/ — “dum”, with a broad d and a short vowel as in “put”.
Duit /d̪ˠɪtʲ/ — “ditch” with the broad d and a final slender t, like the “t” of “tune”. Not “dwit”.
Dó /d̪ˠoː/ — a long o, “doe”. The same word, with the same pronunciation, is also dó, “two”, so only context tells you which is meant.
Di /dʲɪ/ — a slender d, a little like the “j” of “jib” with the tongue behind the teeth: “dyih”. Not “dee”.
Dúinn /d̪ˠuːn̠ʲ/ — “doo-n” with a long u and a slender n at the end.
Daoibh /d̪ˠiːvʲ/ — in the standard, “deev”. The spelling aoi is a long ee sound here.
Dóibh /d̪ˠoːvʲ/ — “doh-v”: a long o and a slender v.
Don /d̪ˠən̪ˠ/ — “dun”, with the unstressed vowel.
Chuig /xiɟ/ — the ch is the sound in Scottish “loch”; the ending is a slender g, like “gy”. Its pronoun forms are chugam /ˈxuɡəmˠ/, chugat /ˈxuɡət̪ˠ/, chuige, chuici /ˈxɪci/, chugainn /ˈxuɡɪn̠ʲ/.
Chun /xun̪ˠ/ — the same ch, with a long u: “khoon”.
Thug /huɡ/ — th is an h, and the g is hard. The vowel is short, as in English “put”.
Sounds absent from English: the broad and slender pairs above, the ch /x/, and the lenited forms: dh and gh are /ɣ/ or /j/, bh and mh are /w/ or /v/, fh is silent, th is /h/. The pronunciations follow the standard dictionary IPA, each word said on its own; the Gaeltacht dialects differ by region.
Stress falls on the first syllable of nearly every Irish word.
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Duplex Method: line a gives each Irish word with its meaning; line b gives the same words with IPA and grammatical glosses. Examples 6.1 to 6.12 and 6.15 are constructed for this lesson from verified forms and patterns; 6.13 and 6.14 are standard phrases (Teanglann).
6.1a Thug gave sé he dom to-me é it
6.1b Thug /huɡ/ give.PAST sé /ʃeː/ he.3SG.M dom /d̪ˠumˠ/ to.1SG é /eː/ it.3SG.M
6.2a Thug gave mé I duit to-you é it
6.2b Thug /huɡ/ give.PAST mé /mʲeː/ I.1SG duit /d̪ˠɪtʲ/ to.2SG é /eː/ it.3SG.M
6.3a Thug gave sí she dó to-him é it
6.3b Thug /huɡ/ give.PAST sí /ʃiː/ she.3SG.F dó /d̪ˠoː/ to.3SG.M é /eː/ it.3SG.M
6.4a Thug gave sé he di to-her é it
6.4b Thug /huɡ/ give.PAST sé /ʃeː/ he.3SG.M di /dʲɪ/ to.3SG.F é /eː/ it.3SG.M
6.5a Thug gave siad they dúinn to-us é it
6.5b Thug /huɡ/ give.PAST siad /ʃiəd̪ˠ/ they.3PL dúinn /d̪ˠuːn̠ʲ/ to.1PL é /eː/ it.3SG.M
6.6a Thug gave mé I an the leabhar book daoibh to-you-all inné yesterday
6.6b Thug /huɡ/ give.PAST mé /mʲeː/ I.1SG an /ən̪ˠ/ the.SG leabhar /lʲaʊɾˠ/ book.M.SG daoibh /d̪ˠiːvʲ/ to.2PL inné /ɪˈn̠ʲeː/ yesterday
6.7a Thug gave sé he airgead money dóibh to-them aréir last-night
6.7b Thug /huɡ/ give.PAST sé /ʃeː/ he.3SG.M airgead /ˈaɾˠəɡʲəd̪ˠ/ money.M.SG dóibh /d̪ˠoːvʲ/ to.3PL aréir /əˈɾʲeːɾʲ/ last-night
6.8a Thug gave an the múinteoir teacher leabhar book do to Mháire Máire
6.8b Thug /huɡ/ give.PAST an /ən̪ˠ/ the.SG múinteoir /ˈmˠuːn̠ʲtʲoːɾʲ/ teacher.M.SG leabhar /lʲaʊɾˠ/ book.M.SG do /d̪ˠə/ to Mháire /ˈwaːɾʲə/ Máire.LEN
6.9a Thug gave mé I an the litir letter don to-the bhean woman
6.9b Thug /huɡ/ give.PAST mé /mʲeː/ I.1SG an /ən̪ˠ/ the.SG.F litir /ˈlʲɪtʲəɾʲ/ letter.F.SG don /d̪ˠən̪ˠ/ to-the.SG bhean /vʲan̪ˠ/ woman.F.SG.LEN
6.10a Thaispeáin showed sé he an the teach house don to-the fhear man
6.10b Thaispeáin /ˈhasˠpʲaːnʲ/ show.PAST sé /ʃeː/ he.3SG.M an /ən̪ˠ/ the.SG.M teach /tʲax/ house.M.SG don /d̪ˠən̪ˠ/ to-the.SG fhear /aɾˠ/ man.M.SG.LEN
6.11a Ar did thug give tú you airgead money dó to-him
6.11b Ar /ɛɾˠ/ Q.PAST thug /huɡ/ give.PAST tú /t̪ˠuː/ you.2SG airgead /ˈaɾˠəɡʲəd̪ˠ/ money.M.SG dó /d̪ˠoː/ to.3SG.M
6.12a Níor not thug gave sé he aon any airgead money dúinn to-us
6.12b Níor /n̠ʲiːɾˠ/ NEG.PAST thug /huɡ/ give.PAST sé /ʃeː/ he.3SG.M aon /eːn̪ˠ/ any airgead /ˈaɾˠəɡʲəd̪ˠ/ money.M.SG dúinn /d̪ˠuːn̠ʲ/ to.1PL
6.13a Cad what is is ainm name duit to-you
6.13b Cad /kad̪ˠ/ what is /ɪsˠ/ COP.PRES ainm /ˈanʲəmʲ/ name.M.SG duit /d̪ˠɪtʲ/ to.2SG
6.14a B’éigean was-necessary dom to-me rith running
6.14b B’éigean /bʲeːɡʲən̪ˠ/ COP.PAST.necessary dom /d̪ˠumˠ/ to.1SG rith /ɾʲɪ/ run.VN
6.15a Tá is an the siopa shop cóngarach close don to-the scoil school
6.15b Tá /t̪ˠaː/ be.PRES an /ən̪ˠ/ the.SG.M siopa /ˈʃʊpˠə/ shop.M.SG cóngarach /ˈkoːn̪ˠɡəɾˠəx/ close don /d̪ˠən̪ˠ/ to-the.SG scoil /sˠkɔlʲ/ school.F.SG
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6.1 Thug sé dom é. → “He gave it to me.”
6.2 Thug mé duit é. → “I gave it to you.”
6.3 Thug sí dó é. → “She gave it to him.”
6.4 Thug sé di é. → “He gave it to her.”
6.5 Thug siad dúinn é. → “They gave it to us.”
6.6 Thug mé an leabhar daoibh inné. → “I gave you the book yesterday.”
6.7 Thug sé airgead dóibh aréir. → “He gave them money last night.”
6.8 Thug an múinteoir leabhar do Mháire. → “The teacher gave Máire a book.”
6.9 Thug mé an litir don bhean. → “I gave the letter to the woman.”
6.10 Thaispeáin sé an teach don fhear. → “He showed the house to the man.”
6.11 Ar thug tú airgead dó? → “Did you give him money?”
6.12 Níor thug sé aon airgead dúinn. → “He didn’t give us any money.”
6.13 Cad is ainm duit? → “What is your name?”
6.14 B’éigean dom rith. → “I had to run.”
6.15 Tá an siopa cóngarach don scoil. → “The shop is close to the school.”
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6.1 Thug sé dom é.
6.2 Thug mé duit é.
6.3 Thug sí dó é.
6.4 Thug sé di é.
6.5 Thug siad dúinn é.
6.6 Thug mé an leabhar daoibh inné.
6.7 Thug sé airgead dóibh aréir.
6.8 Thug an múinteoir leabhar do Mháire.
6.9 Thug mé an litir don bhean.
6.10 Thaispeáin sé an teach don fhear.
6.11 Ar thug tú airgead dó?
6.12 Níor thug sé aon airgead dúinn.
6.13 Cad is ainm duit?
6.14 B’éigean dom rith.
6.15 Tá an siopa cóngarach don scoil.
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These are the grammar rules for “to” (do and its neighbours) in Irish:
1. The seven forms of do
The prepositional pronouns of do are:
dom (1SG), duit (2SG), dó (3SG masculine), di (3SG feminine), dúinn (1PL), daoibh (2PL), dóibh (3PL)
Each has an emphatic form, made by adding a suffix, which is used to stress the person: domsa, duitse, dósan, dise, dúinne, daoibhse, dóibhsean. “Thug sé dom é” means “he gave it to me”; thug sé domsa é means “he gave it to ME (not to somebody else)”.
Dialects have their own forms of these pronouns; the standard forms are given here.
Do and dó are separate words. Do, “to”, is unstressed, /d̪ˠə/; dó, “to him”, has a long vowel. Do also means “your” (do mhac, “your son”), and it also lenites. Do mhac can therefore mean “your son” or “to a son”, and only context tells you which; do Mháire is “to Máire”.
2. Do before a noun
Do lenites the next word when there is no article: do Mháire (6.8), do Sheán, do dhuine, “to a person”. Before a vowel, or before fh and a vowel, it shrinks to d’: d’Úna, d’fhear, “to a man”. Teanglann gives both rules.
3. Don and do na
With the singular article, do and an become don, and the following noun is lenited: don bhean (6.9), don fhear (6.10), don chailín, “to the girl”. A noun beginning d, t or s is left alone: don dochtúir, don teach, don siopa, don scoil (6.15). Before a vowel there is no change: don oifig.
With the plural article it is do na, written as two words, and the noun is not mutated: do na páistí, “to the children”.
4. What do covers
The receiver of giving, showing, telling-about: thug sé dom é (6.1), thaispeáin sé an teach don fhear (6.10).
The beneficiary, “for”: tá cárta agam di, “I have a card for her” (genre section, 21). Rud a dhéanamh do dhuine is “to do something for somebody” (Teanglann).
The person concerned in certain phrases: cad is ainm duit? (6.13), “what is your name?”; oíche mhaith duit, “good night”; b’éigean dom rith (6.14), “I had to run”, with the receiver of the necessity in do.
Nearness and relation: tá an siopa cóngarach don scoil (6.15), “the shop is close to the school”.
Time: tá sé ceathrú chun a trí, “it is a quarter to three” (Wiktionary). Here the telling of time uses chun, not do.
5. The other words for “to”
Chuig, “to, towards”, for movement towards a person or a place with the article: chuig an dochtúir, “to the doctor”. It has its own prepositional pronouns: chugam, chugat, chuige, chuici, chugainn, chugaibh, chucu. It does not lenite. “He sent a letter to me” is chuir sé litir chugam, not chuir sé litir dom.
Go, for towns, counties and countries with no article: go Corcaigh, go hÉirinn. Go dtí, “as far as”, for a destination and a limit: téigh go dtí an oifig phoist. In many cases chuig and go dtí are both correct; the choice varies by dialect.
Chun, “to, towards, for the purpose of”. It governs the genitive, causes no mutation, and takes the pronouns of chuig. Chun rud a dhéanamh is “in order to do something”.
Le, “with”, is “to” with verbs of speaking and transaction: labhair sé liom, “he spoke to me”; dhíol sé a sheancharr liom, “he sold his old car to me” (Blag Nua Gaeilge).
6. “To” before a verb
Irish has no infinitive. A verbal noun does the work. With ba mhaith liom (“I would like”) it stands bare: ba mhaith liom dul, “I would like to go”.
To say “in order to”, use chun. Chun governs the genitive, so a noun object that comes before the verbal noun goes into the genitive too, and the particle a, which lenites the verbal noun, stands before it: chun an chárta a chur chuici (genre section, 22), “to send the card to her”. Cárta is masculine, and a masculine noun in the genitive singular after the article is lenited (see Lesson 5 on the genitive).
7. Verbs that take le or chuig, not do
Common mistakes for English speakers:
Mistake: “Say to” with do. ✗ dúirt sé dom → ✓ dúirt sé liom. In the same way abair leis, “tell him”, and labhair sé liom, “he spoke to me”.
Mistake: “Send to” with do. ✗ chuir sé litir dom → ✓ chuir sé litir chugam.
Mistake: “Go to” with do. ✗ chuaigh mé do Chorcaigh → ✓ chuaigh mé go Corcaigh.
Mistake: Forgetting the lenition. ✗ do Máire → ✓ do Mháire.
Mistake: Leaving do and an apart. ✗ do an bhean → ✓ don bhean.
Mistake: Lenition after don with d, t or s. ✗ don dhochtúir → ✓ don dochtúir.
Mistake: Putting the pronoun apart. ✗ do mé → ✓ dom.
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Frequency
Do is one of the commonest words in written Irish. Every act of giving, showing and offering sends its receiver through do, and so does a large part of everyday politeness.
Everyday phrases
Cad is ainm duit?, “what is your name?”: the first question a learner is asked.
Oíche mhaith duit!, “good night to you!” (grammar.ie).
Dia duit, “God to you”, the traditional greeting, answered by Dia is Muire duit, “God and Mary to you”.
Slán leat, “goodbye”, uses le: the one who stays says slán leat to the one who goes, and the one who goes says slán agat to the one who stays.
Cad atá le déanamh?, “what is there to do?”, uses le, “with”, for “to” before a verbal noun.
Dialects
The forms here are those of the standard. In the Gaeltacht the pronouns of do, and their pronunciation, vary from region to region, and speakers also choose between chuig and go dtí according to dialect. Learn the standard forms first and expect to hear others.
The greeting
Dia duit is probably the first Irish phrase a visitor to Ireland learns, and its “to you” is the do of this lesson. The greeting wishes God on the person it is said to.
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Source: Amhrán na bhFiann (“The Soldier’s Song”), the national anthem of Ireland. The words were written in English by Peadar Kearney, the music composed by Patrick Heeney, and the Irish version made by Liam Ó Rinn in 1923. The lines below are the opening two lines of the Irish text, as printed on the English Wikipedia page for the anthem.
Context: The song is in the voice of a company of soldiers sworn to Ireland. The second line speaks of a band of the host that came across the sea. Chugainn, “to us”, is the word to look at: it is chuig with the pronoun sinn, and not do. The motion towards “us” is travel, so Irish chooses the word of direction.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
F.1a Sinne we Fianna warriors Fáil of-Fál atá who-are faoi under gheall pledge ag at Éirinn Ireland
F.1b Sinne /ˈʃɪn̠ʲə/ we.1PL.EMPH Fianna /ˈfʲiən̪ˠə/ warrior.PL Fáil /fˠaːlʲ/ Fál.GEN atá /əˈt̪ˠaː/ REL.be.PRES faoi /fˠwiː/ under gheall /jal̪ˠ/ pledge.M.LEN ag /ɛɡ/ at Éirinn /ˈeːɾʲɪn̠ʲ/ Ireland.DAT
F.2a Buíon band dár of-our slua host thar across toinn wave do - ráinig reached chugainn to-us
F.2b Buíon /ˈbˠiːn̪ˠ/ band.F.SG dár /d̪ˠaːɾˠ/ of-our slua /sˠlˠuə/ host.M.SG thar /haɾˠ/ across toinn /t̪ˠɪn̠ʲ/ wave.F do /d̪ˠə/ PAST.PART ráinig /ˈɾˠaːn̠ʲɪɡʲ/ reach.PAST chugainn /ˈxuɡɪn̠ʲ/ to.1PL
F-B: Authentic Text with Idiomatic English Translation
Sinne Fianna Fáil, atá faoi gheall ag Éirinn, Buíon dár slua thar toinn do ráinig chugainn
→ “We, the Fianna Fáil, who are under pledge to Ireland, a band of our host that came to us across the wave.” (Latinum Institute translation.)
F-C: Authentic Text Only
Sinne Fianna Fáil, atá faoi gheall ag Éirinn, Buíon dár slua thar toinn do ráinig chugainn
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
Chugainn (F.2) — chuig plus sinn, “to us”. It is the same pattern as chugam, chugat, chuici in the genre section. It shows that the direction of travel takes chuig, and the receiver of giving takes do: “came to us” and “gave to us” (dúinn, 6.5) use different words in Irish.
Do ráinig (F.2) — do here is not the preposition. It is an old particle that stood before a past tense verb, and which in modern Irish survives as d’ before vowels (d’fhág, d’ól). It is the same spelling as the preposition and has nothing to do with it. Ráinig is a literary past form meaning “reached, arrived”.
Dár (F.2) — de plus ár, “of our”: buíon dár slua, “a band from our host”.
Sinne (F.1) — the emphatic form of sinn, “we”, made with the suffix -ne, like domsa and duitse in Section D.
Thar toinn (F.2) — “across the wave”; toinn is a form of tonn, “wave”, in a fixed phrase.
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A dialogue written for this lesson. A mother and her son Seán are at home on a Saturday morning. A letter has come from Seán’s grandmother, whom he calls Mamó, and he is sent to the post office with a card for her. The dialogue uses do and the words for “to” beside it: chuig for the card that is sent, go dtí for the place he goes as far as, chun for the purpose, and le for the verbs of saying.
Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
6.16a A O Sheáin Seán tá is litir letter ann there duit to-you
6.16b A /ə/ VOC Sheáin /haːn̠ʲ/ Seán.VOC.LEN tá /t̪ˠaː/ be.PRES litir /ˈlʲɪtʲəɾʲ/ letter.F.SG ann /aun̪ˠ/ in-it.3SG.M duit /d̪ˠɪtʲ/ to.2SG
6.17a Cé who a that chuir sent chugam to-me í it
6.17b Cé /kʲeː/ who a /ə/ REL.PART.LEN chuir /xɪɾʲ/ send.PAST chugam /ˈxuɡəmˠ/ to.1SG í /iː/ it.3SG.F
6.18a Mamó Granny a that chuir sent chugat to-you í it
6.18b Mamó /ˈmˠamˠoː/ Granny a /ə/ REL.PART.LEN chuir /xɪɾʲ/ send.PAST chugat /ˈxuɡət̪ˠ/ to.2SG í /iː/ it.3SG.F
6.19a Cad what atá which-is inti in-her
6.19b Cad /kad̪ˠ/ what atá /əˈt̪ˠaː/ REL.be.PRES inti /ˈɪn̠ʲtʲɪ/ in.3SG.F
6.20a Tá is cárta card agus and airgead money inti in-her duit to-you
6.20b Tá /t̪ˠaː/ be.PRES cárta /ˈkaːɾˠt̪ˠə/ card.M.SG agus /ˈaɡəsˠ/ and airgead /ˈaɾˠəɡʲəd̪ˠ/ money.M.SG inti /ˈɪn̠ʲtʲɪ/ in.3SG.F duit /d̪ˠɪtʲ/ to.2SG
6.21a Go PART maith good tá is cárta card agam at-me di to-her freisin also
6.21b Go /ɡə/ PART maith /mˠa/ good tá /t̪ˠaː/ be.PRES cárta /ˈkaːɾˠt̪ˠə/ card.M.SG agam /ˈaɡəmˠ/ at.1SG di /dʲɪ/ to.3SG.F freisin /ˈfˠɾʲɛʃənʲ/ also
6.22a Maith good thú you téigh go go to dtí as-far-as an the oifig office phoist of-post chun in-order-to an the chárta card a PART chur sending chuici to-her
6.22b Maith /mˠa/ good thú /huː/ you.2SG téigh /tʲeː/ go.IMP.2SG go /ɡə/ to dtí /dʲiː/ as-far-as an /ən̪ˠ/ the.SG.F oifig /ˈɛfˠəɡʲ/ office.F.SG phoist /fˠɪʃtʲ/ post.GEN.LEN chun /xun̪ˠ/ in-order-to an /ən̪ˠ/ the.GEN.SG.M chárta /ˈxaːɾˠt̪ˠə/ card.GEN.M.LEN a /ə/ PART.VN.LEN chur /xʊɾˠ/ send.VN.LEN chuici /ˈxɪci/ to.3SG.F
6.23a An Q bhfuil is cead permission agam at-me dul going ann there liom with-me féin self
6.23b An /ən̪ˠ/ Q bhfuil /wɪlʲ/ be.PRES.ECL cead /kʲad̪ˠ/ permission.M.SG agam /ˈaɡəmˠ/ at.1SG dul /d̪ˠʊl̪ˠ/ go.VN ann /aun̪ˠ/ there liom /lʲʊmˠ/ with.1SG féin /fʲeːnʲ/ self
6.24a Tá yes ach but tabhair give an the t-airgead money seo this don to-the fhear man atá who-is ann there
6.24b Tá /t̪ˠaː/ be.PRES (yes) ach /ax/ but tabhair /ˈt̪ˠaʊɾʲ/ give.IMP.2SG an /ən̪ˠ/ the.SG.M t-airgead /ˈt̪ˠaɾˠəɡʲəd̪ˠ/ money.M.SG.T-PROTH seo /ʃɔ/ this don /d̪ˠən̪ˠ/ to-the.SG fhear /aɾˠ/ man.M.SG.LEN atá /əˈt̪ˠaː/ REL.be.PRES ann /aun̪ˠ/ there
6.25a Cad what a that deirim I-say leis with-him
6.25b Cad /kad̪ˠ/ what a /ə/ REL.PART deirim /ˈdʲɛɾʲəmʲ/ say.PRES.1SG leis /lʲɛʃ/ with.3SG.M
6.26a Abair say leis with-him go that bhfuil is an the cárta card do for Mhamó Granny
6.26b Abair /ˈabˠəɾʲ/ say.IMP.2SG leis /lʲɛʃ/ with.3SG.M go /ɡə/ that.COMP bhfuil /wɪlʲ/ be.PRES.ECL an /ən̪ˠ/ the.SG.M cárta /ˈkaːɾˠt̪ˠə/ card.M.SG do /d̪ˠə/ for Mhamó /ˈwamˠoː/ Granny.LEN
6.27a Go PART maith good slán goodbye agat at-you a O Mham Mum
6.27b Go /ɡə/ PART maith /mˠa/ good slán /sˠlˠaːn̪ˠ/ safe agat /ˈaɡət̪ˠ/ at.2SG a /ə/ VOC Mham /wamˠ/ Mum.VOC.LEN
6.28a Slán goodbye leat with-you a O Sheáin Seán
6.28b Slán /sˠlˠaːn̪ˠ/ safe leat /lʲat̪ˠ/ with.2SG a /ə/ VOC Sheáin /haːn̠ʲ/ Seán.VOC.LEN
6.29a Thug gave mé I an the t-airgead money don to-the fhear man agus and chuir sent mé I an the cárta card chuici to-her
6.29b Thug /huɡ/ give.PAST mé /mʲeː/ I.1SG an /ən̪ˠ/ the.SG.M t-airgead /ˈt̪ˠaɾˠəɡʲəd̪ˠ/ money.M.SG.T-PROTH don /d̪ˠən̪ˠ/ to-the.SG fhear /aɾˠ/ man.M.SG.LEN agus /ˈaɡəsˠ/ and chuir /xɪɾʲ/ send.PAST mé /mʲeː/ I.1SG an /ən̪ˠ/ the.SG.M cárta /ˈkaːɾˠt̪ˠə/ card.M.SG chuici /ˈxɪci/ to.3SG.F
6.30a Maith good an the buachaill boy anois now tabhair give bainne milk do to na the páistí children
6.30b Maith /mˠa/ good an /ən̪ˠ/ the.SG.M buachaill /ˈbˠuəxəlʲ/ boy.M.SG anois /əˈn̪ˠɪʃ/ now tabhair /ˈt̪ˠaʊɾʲ/ give.IMP.2SG bainne /ˈbˠanʲə/ milk.M.SG do /d̪ˠə/ to na /n̪ˠə/ the.PL páistí /ˈpˠaːʃtʲiː/ child.PL
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Part B: Natural Text with Idiomatic Translation
6.16 Máthair: A Sheáin, tá litir ann duit. → “Seán, there’s a letter for you.”
6.17 Seán: Cé a chuir chugam í? → “Who sent it to me?”
6.18 Máthair: Mamó a chuir chugat í. → “Granny sent it to you.”
6.19 Seán: Cad atá inti? → “What’s in it?”
6.20 Máthair: Tá cárta agus airgead inti duit. → “There’s a card and some money in it for you.”
6.21 Seán: Go maith! Tá cárta agam di freisin. → “Good! I have a card for her too.”
6.22 Máthair: Maith thú! Téigh go dtí an oifig phoist chun an chárta a chur chuici. → “Well done! Go to the post office to send the card to her.”
6.23 Seán: An bhfuil cead agam dul ann liom féin? → “May I go there on my own?”
6.24 Máthair: Tá, ach tabhair an t-airgead seo don fhear atá ann. → “Yes, but give this money to the man who is there.”
6.25 Seán: Cad a deirim leis? → “What do I say to him?”
6.26 Máthair: Abair leis go bhfuil an cárta do Mhamó. → “Tell him the card is for Granny.”
6.27 Seán: Go maith. Slán agat, a Mham! → “All right. Goodbye, Mum!”
6.28 Máthair: Slán leat, a Sheáin! → “Goodbye, Seán!”
6.29 Seán (ar ais): Thug mé an t-airgead don fhear, agus chuir mé an cárta chuici. → “(Seán, back again:) I gave the money to the man, and I sent the card to her.”
6.30 Máthair: Maith an buachaill! Anois, tabhair bainne do na páistí. → “Good boy! Now give the children some milk.”
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Part C: Text in Irish Only
Litir ó Mhamó
Máthair: A Sheáin, tá litir ann duit.
Seán: Cé a chuir chugam í?
Máthair: Mamó a chuir chugat í.
Seán: Cad atá inti?
Máthair: Tá cárta agus airgead inti duit.
Seán: Go maith! Tá cárta agam di freisin.
Máthair: Maith thú! Téigh go dtí an oifig phoist chun an chárta a chur chuici.
Seán: An bhfuil cead agam dul ann liom féin?
Máthair: Tá, ach tabhair an t-airgead seo don fhear atá ann.
Seán: Cad a deirim leis?
Máthair: Abair leis go bhfuil an cárta do Mhamó.
Seán: Go maith. Slán agat, a Mham!
Máthair: Slán leat, a Sheáin!
Seán (ar ais): Thug mé an t-airgead don fhear, agus chuir mé an cárta chuici.
Máthair: Maith an buachaill! Anois, tabhair bainne do na páistí.
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Part D: Grammar Notes for the Genre Section
Chuig, for travel and sending, with its own pronouns: chugam (6.17), chugat (6.18), chuici (6.22, 6.29). A letter that is sent goes chuig someone, as in the citation’s chugainn.
Do, for the receiver and the beneficiary: duit (6.16, 6.20), di (6.21), don fhear (6.24, 6.29), do Mhamó (6.26), do na páistí (6.30). Do na has no mutation of the noun.
Go dtí, for the place that is reached: go dtí an oifig phoist (6.22).
Chun, for the purpose: chun an chárta a chur chuici (6.22), “to send the card to her”. After chun the noun is in the genitive (an chárta, with a lenition after the masculine genitive article), and the particle a with lenition (chur) stands before the verbal noun.
Le, for speaking: deirim leis (6.25), abair leis (6.26): “say to him” with le, not do. Slán leat (6.28): “goodbye”, again with le. Liom féin (6.23), “on my own”.
Agam, at-me, for having and permission: cead agam (6.23), cárta agam di (6.21), “a card I have, for her”.
The t-prothesis: an t-airgead (6.24, 6.29), because airgead is masculine and begins with a vowel (see Lesson 4).
The vocative: a Sheáin (6.16, 6.28), a Mham (6.27). The particle a lenites the name.
Slán agat (6.27) and slán leat (6.28): the one who leaves says slán agat, and the one who stays says slán leat.
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Do /d̪ˠə/, dom /d̪ˠumˠ/, duit /d̪ˠɪtʲ/, dó /d̪ˠoː/, di /dʲɪ/, dúinn /d̪ˠuːn̠ʲ/, daoibh /d̪ˠiːvʲ/, dóibh /d̪ˠoːvʲ/: the d is broad in all except di, where it is slender. Di has no fada.
Fadas: á é í ó ú mark long vowels and can change the word: do (“to”, “your”), dó (“to him”, “two”). Never drop a fada.
D’ for do before a vowel or fh: d’Úna, d’fhear. The apostrophe is part of the spelling, as in b’éigean (6.14), which is ba plus éigean.
Don is one word and do na is two. Written apart, ✗ do an is wrong.
Lenition is shown by an h after the consonant: Mháire, Sheáin, bhean, fhear, chárta, phoist, chur, Mhamó, Mham. Eclipsis is shown by a letter written before: bhfuil, dtí.
The t-prothesis: an t-airgead, with a hyphen between the t and the vowel.
The IPA in this lesson gives the standard dictionary pronunciation, each word said on its own. The pronunciations of the Gaeltacht dialects differ.
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✓ Lesson 6 Irish Gaelic complete — do (to)
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