Caibidil a Trí: The verb (an Briathar)

The verbal particles (na Míreanna Briathartha)


The negative particles
The interrogative particles
The past particles
The perfect particles
The relative particle
The subjunctive particle
The conjunctions go, sula, mura, ach a
The interrogatory adverb cá

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 , 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.


E = eclipsis of the verbs
L = lenition of the verbs

The negativ particles (an mhír dhiúltach)

The negativ particles ní / níor, cha / char as well as in the imperative serve to negate and are translated with "not", which is like an adverb, or as"no", which is like a pronoun.

the negative particle
 

tense particle L/E example
present tense L Ní ólfaidh tú fuisce arís. = You will not drink whiskey again.
preterite níor L Níor ól tú fuisce. = You didn't drink whiskey.

In Ulster (Donegal) cha

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 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)
 

tense particle L/E example
imperative - Ná hól fuisce! = Don't drink whiskey!


The interrogative particles (an mhír cheisteach)

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?

In Munster:
 
tense particle L/E example
present tense - 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 (an mhír stariúil)

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 (an mhír fhoirfe)

The perfect-particle ro is only used after other particles and conjunctions,



The relative particle (an mhír choibhneasta)

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
the indirect relative particle (mír choibhneasta indíreach)
 
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 (an mhír ghuítheach)

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, mura, ach a

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, 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 adverb cá

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 
 

tense particle L/E example
present tense 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 , in which there is no indirect relative clause directly following, cár appropriately does not appear in the preterite (see interrogative cá)


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(c) Lars Bräsicke 1999 / 2003

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