Irish conjugation

Irish verb forms are constructed either synthetically or analytically.

Synthetic forms express the information about person and number in the ending: e.g., molaim "I praise", where the ending -aim stands for "1st person singular present". In this case, a pronoun is not allowed: *molaim mé is ungrammatical. Molann mé is allowed but using the -aim ending is more common.

Analytic forms are those whose endings contain no information about person and number, and a pronoun is necessary: e.g., molann sibh "you (pl.) praise", where the ending -ann expresses only the present tense, and the pronoun sibh "you" (pl.) must accompany it in order to express "2nd person plural".

In addition to the three persons, Irish also has an impersonal form (also called the "autonomous" form), which is used in forming the passive and can conveniently be translated with "one" or "someone" as the subject. Shown below are the distribution of synthetic and analytic forms in the standard language; in the dialects, other patterns may be found, although some of the most important distinctions made in certain dialects are pointed out in this article.

See Irish orthography for the pronunciation of verb endings.

Regular verbs

There are two conjugation classes of regular verbs, as illustrated below. Forms in italics are not part of the standard language.The suffixes shown change to agree with the word ending in a velarised ("broad") consonant or palatalised ("slender") consonant. In the examples below, verbs ending with "broad" consonants are shown above those ending with "slender" consonants.

In the imperfect, preterite, and conditional, a consonant-initial stem undergoes lenition (and dialectally is preceded by do), while a vowel-initial stem is prefixed by d’. A stem beginning with ⟨f⟩ + a vowel takes both, e.g. fan "wait", d'fhan sé "he waited". The preterite impersonal, e.g. fanadh "one waited", neither undergoes lenition nor receives d'. The -⟨f⟩- in future and conditional stems is pronounced /h/; except in the conditional 2nd person singular and the impersonal, where it remains /f/.

1st conjugation

Tense		Particle	Mutation	hideEnding
				Analytic	Synthetic
					Singular		Plural			Impersonal
					1st	2nd	1st	2nd	3rd
Indicative	Present	—	—	-(e)ann	-(a)im	-(a)ir	-(a)imid	—	-(a)id	-t(e)ar
	Past Imperfect		Lenition	-(e)adh	-(a)inn	-t(e)á	-(a)imis		-(a)idís	-t(a)í
	Past Perfect		Lenition	—	-(e)as	-(a)is	-(e)amar	-(e)abhar	-(e)adar	-(e)adh
	Future		—	-f(a)idh	-f(e)ad	-f(a)ir	-f(a)imid	—	-f(a)id	-f(e)ar
Conditional			Lenition	-f(e)adh	-f(a)inn	-f(e)á	-f(a)imis		-f(a)idís	-f(a)í
Imperative			—	-(e)adh	-(a)im	—	-(a)imis	-(a)igí/-(a)idh	-(a)idís	-t(e)ar
Subjunctive	Present	go	Eclipsis	-a/-e	-(e)ad	-(a)ir	-(a)imid	—	-(a)id	-t(e)ar
	Past	dá	Eclipsis	-(e)adh	-(a)inn	-t(e)á	-(a)imis		-(a)idís	-t(a)í
Past Participle		—		-ta/-te	—

1st conjugation examples: mol "to praise" and tuig "to understand"hide

Tense		Analytic	Synthetic
			Singular		Plural			Impersonal
			1st	2nd	1st	2nd	3rd
Indicative	Present	molann tuigeann	molaim tuigim	molair tuigir	molaimid tuigimid	—	molaid tuigid	moltar tuigtear
	Past Imperfect	mholadh thuigeadh	mholainn thuiginn	mholtá thuigteá	mholaimis thuigimis		mholaidís thuigidís	moltaí tuigtí
	Past Perfect	mhol thuig	mholas thuigeas	mholais thuigis	mholamar thuigeamar	mholabhar thuigeabhar	mholadar thuigeadar	mholadh thuigeadh
	Future	molfaidh tuigfidh	molfad tuigfead	molfair tuigfir	molfaimid tuigfimid	—	molfaid tuigfid	molfar tuigfear
Conditional		mholfadh thuigfeadh	mholfainn thuigfinn	mholfá thuigfeá	molfaimis thuigfimis		mholfaidís thuigfidís	mholfaí thuigfí
Imperative		moladh tuigeadh	molaim tuigim	mol tuig	molaimis tuigimis	molaigí / molaidh tuigigí / tuigidh	molaidís tuigidís	moltar tuigtear
Subjunctive	Present	go mola go dtuige	go molad go dtuigead	go molair go dtuigir	go molaimid go dtuigimid	—	go molaid go dtuigid	go moltar go dtuigtear
	Past	dá moladh dá dtuigeadh	dá molainn dá dtuiginn	dá moltá dá dtuigteá	dá molaimis dá dtuigimis		dá molaidís dá dtuigidís	dá moltaí dá dtuigtí
Past Participle		molta tuigthe	—

2nd conjugation

Second stem verbs take the same base suffixes as first conjugation verbs, but add the infix in -⟨(a)í⟩- (most forms), or -⟨eo, ó⟩- (in the future and conditional).

Roots ending in a slender consonant undergo syncope before the addition of -⟨í⟩-.

Tense		Particle	Mutation	hideEnding
				Analytic	Synthetic
					Singular		Plural			Impersonal
					1st	2nd	1st	2nd	3rd
Indicative	Present	—	—	-(a)íonn	-(a)ím	-(a)ír	-(a)ímid	—	-(a)íd	-(a)ítear
	Past Imperfect		Lenition	-(a)íodh	-(a)ínn	-(a)íteá	-(a)ímis		-(a)ídís	-(a)ítí
	Past Perfect		Lenition	—	-(a)íos	-(a)ís	-(a)íomar	-(a)íobhar	-(a)íodar	-(a)íodh
	Future		—	-óidh/-eoidh	-ód/-eod	-óir/-eoir	-óimid/-eoimid	—	-óid/-eoid	-ófar/-eofar
Conditional			Lenition	-ódh/-eodh	-óinn/-eoinn	-ófá/-eofá	-óimis/-eoimis		-óidís/-eoidís	-ófaí/-eofaí
Imperative			—	-(a)íodh	-(a)ím	—	-(a)ímis	-(a)ígí/-(a)ídh	-(a)ídís	-(a)ítear
Subjunctive	Present	go	Eclipsis	-(a)í	-(a)íod	-(a)ír	-(a)ímid	—	-(a)íd	-(a)ítear
	Past	dá	Eclipsis	-(a)íodh	-(a)ínn	-(a)íteá	-(a)ímis		-(a)ídís	-(a)ítí
Past Participle		—		-t(h)e	—

2nd conjugation examples: tosaigh "to begin” and inis "to tell"hide

Tense		Analytic	Synthetic
			Singular		Plural			Impersonal
			1st	2nd	1st	2nd	3rd
Indicative	Present	tosaíonn insíonn	tosaím insím	tosaír insír	tosaímid insímid	—	tosaíd insíd	tosaítear insítear
	Past Imperfect	thosaíodh d'insíodh	thosaínn d'insínn	thosaíteá d'insíteá	thosaímis d'insímis		thosaídís d'insídís	thosaítí d'insítí
	Past Perfect	thosaigh d'inis	thosaíos d'insíos	thosaís d'insís	thosaíomar d'insíomar	thosaíobhar d'insíobhar	thosaíodar d'insíodar	thosaíodh d'insíodh
	Future	tosóidh inseoidh	tosód inseod	tosóir inseoir	tosóimid inseoimid	—	tosóid inseoid	tosófar inseofar
Conditional		thosódh d'inseodh	thosóinn d'inseoinn	thosófa d'inseofá	thosóimis d'inseoimis		thosóidís d'inseoidís	thosófaí d'inseofaí
Imperative		tosaíodh insíodh	tosaím insím	tosaigh inis	tosaímis insímis	tosaígí / tosaídh insígí / insídh	tosaídís insídís	tosaítear insítear
Subjunctive	Present	go dtosaí go n-insí	go dtosaíod go n-insíod	go dtosaír go n-insír	go dtosaímid go n-insímid	—	go dtosaíd go n-insíd	go dtosaítear go n-insítear
	Past	dá dtosaíodh dá n-insíodh	dá dtosaínn dá n-insínn	dá dtosaíteá dá n-insíteá	dá dtosaímis dá n-insímis		dá dtosaídís dá n-insídís	dá dtosaítí dá n-insítí
Past participle		tosaithe inste	—

Irregular verbs

There are eleven irregular verbs in Standard Irish; individual dialects have a few more. Most of them are characterized by suppletion, that is, different roots are used to form different tenses. Analytic forms are indicated by the symbol +. The preterites of many irregular verbs take the nonpreterite forms of preverbal particles, i.e. an (interrogative particle) and ní (negative particle), instead of ar (pret. interrogative particle) and níor (pret. negative particle). Some verbs have different independent and dependent forms in certain tenses; the independent forms are used when no particle precedes the verb, and also after má "if" (open conditional) and the direct relative particle a, while the dependent forms are used after all other particles.

Abair "to say"

The ⟨d⟩- in this verb's independent forms is not lenited, and the dependent forms are slightly archaic.

Abair conjugationhide

Abair, "to say"			Analytic	Synthetic
Indicative	Present	Independent	deir	deir-
		Dependent	abrann	ab(a)r-
	Past Imperfect	Independent	deireadh	deir-
		Dependent	abradh	ab(a)r-
	Past Perfect		dúirt	dúr-
	Future	Independent	déarfaidh	déar-
		Dependent	abróidh	abró-
Conditional		Independent	déarfadh	déar-
		Dependent	abródh	abró-
Imperative			abradh	abair, abraigí; abr-
Subjunctive	Present	Independent	go ndeire	go ndeir-
		Dependent	go n-abra	go n-abr-
	Past	Independent	dá ndeireadh	dá ndeir-
		Dependent	dá n-abradh	dá n-abr-
Verbal Noun			rá
Past Participle			ráite

Beir "to bear"

Beir conjugationhide

Beir, "to bear"		Standard		Munster
		Analytic	Synthetic	Analytic	Synthetic
Indicative	Present	beireann	beir-
	Past Imperfect	bheireadh	bheir
	Past Perfect	rug	rug-	riug	riug-
	Future	béarfaidh	béar-
Conditional		béarfadh	béar-
Imperative		beireadh	beir-
Subjunctive	Present	go mbeire	go mbeir-
	Past	dá mbeireadh	dá mbeir-
Verbal Noun		breith
Past Participle		beirthe

Bí "to be"

If a noun phrase is in the predicate, then forms of the particle "is" are used rather than anything below.

Bí conjugationhide

Bí, "to be"			Analytic	Synthetic
Indicative	Present	Independent	tá(nn)	taoi (2pS), táthaoi (2pP), tádar (3pP); tái-
		Dependent	fuil	fuil-
		Negative	níl	níl-
	Present Habitual		bíonn	bí-
	Past Imperfect		bhíodh	bhí-
	Past Perfect	Independent	bhí	bhío-
		Dependent	raibh	rabh-
	Future		beidh	be-
Conditional			bheadh	bhei-
Imperative			bíodh	bí, bígí; bí-
Subjunctive	Present		go raibh	go rabh-
	Past		dá mbeadh	dá mbei-
Verbal Noun			bheith
Past Participle			(none)

Clois/Cluin "to hear"

Clois is used in southern and south-central Irish (Munster, Connemara, Aran Islands etc.), whereas cluin is used in northern and north-central varieties (Mayo, Ulster).

Clois/Cluin conjugationhide

Clois/ Cluin "to hear"			Southern Irish		Northern Irish
			Analytic	Synthetic	Analytic	Synthetic
Indicative	Present		cloiseann	clois-	cluineann	cluin-
	Past Imperfect		chloiseadh	chlois-	chluineadh	chluin-
	Past Perfect		chuala	chual-	chuala	chual-
	Future		cloisfidh	clois-	cluinfidh	cluin-
Conditional			chloisfeadh	chlois-	chluinfeadh	chluin-
Imperative			cloiseadh	clois, cloisigí; clois-	cluineadh	cluin, cluinigí; cluin-
Subjunctive		Present	go gcloise	go gclois-	go gcluine	go gcluin-
		Past	dá gcloiseadh	dá gclois-	dá gcluineadh	dá gcluin-
Verbal Noun			cloisteáil		cluinstin
Past Participle			cloiste		cluinte

Déan "to do, to make"

Déan conjugationhide

Déan, "to do, to make"			Standard		Munster		Ulster, Aran (Connacht)
			Analytic	Synthetic	Analytic	Synthetic	Analytic	Synthetic
Indicative	Present	Independent	ghní(onn)	ghní-
		Dependent	déanann	déan-	deineann	dein-
	Past Imperfect	Independent	(gh)níodh	ghní-			ghníodh	ghní-
		Dependent	dhéanadh	dhéan-	dhein	dhein-
	Past Perfect	Independent	rinne	rinn-	dheineadh	dhein-	rinn	rinn-
		Dependent	dearna	dearn-			dearn	dearn-
	Future	Independent	déanfaidh	déan-
		Dependent
Conditional		Independent	dhéanfadh	dhéan-
		Dependent
Imperative			déanadh	déan, déanaigí; déan-	deineadh	dein, deinigí; dein-
Subjunctive		Present	go ndéana	go ndéan-	go ndeina	go ndein-
		Past	dá ndéanadh	dá ndéan-	dá ndeineadh	dá ndein-
Verbal Noun			déanamh
Past Participle			déanta

Faigh "to find, to get"

The ⟨f⟩- in forms of this verb is eclipsed rather than lenited after ní.

Faigh conjugationhide

Faigh, "to get"			Analytic	Synthetic
Indicative	Present	Independent	gheibheann	gheibh-
		Dependent	faigheann	faigh-
	Past Imperfect	Independent	gheibheadh	gheibh-
		Dependent	d'fhaigheadh	d'faigh-
	Past Perfect		fuair	fuair-
	Future	Independent	gheobhaidh	gheobh-
		Dependent	faighidh	faigh-
Conditional		Independent	gheobhadh	gheobh-
		Dependent	faigheadh	faigh-
Imperative			faigheadh	faigh, faighigí; faigh-
Subjunctive		Present	go bhfaighe	go bhfaigh-
		Past	dá bhfaigheadh	dá bhfaigh-
Verbal Noun			fáil
Past Participle			faighte

Feic "to see"

Feic conjugationhide

Feic, "to see"			Standard		Munster		Ulster
			Analytic	Synthetic	Analytic	Synthetic	Analytic	Synthetic
Indicative	Present	Independent	feiceann	feic-	c(h)íonn	c(h)í-	tchíonn	tchí-
		Dependent			feiceann	feic-	feiceann	feic-
	Past Imperfect	Independent	d'fheiceadh	fheic	c(h)íodh	c(h)í-	tíodh	tchí-
		Dependent	fheiceadh	fheic-
	Past Perfect	Independent	chonaic	chonaic-	chnaic	chnaic-	thain(a)ic	thainic-
		Dependent	faca	fac-	feaca(igh)	feaca-	faca	fac-
	Future	Independent	feicfidh	feic-	c(h)ífidh	c(h)í-	tchífidh	tchí-
		Dependent			gcífidh	gcí-
Conditional		Independent	d'fheicfeadh	d'fheic-	c(h)ífeadh	c(h)í	tchífeadh	tchí-
		Dependent	fheicfeadh	fheic-	gcífeadh	gcí-
Imperative			feiceadh	feic, feicigí; feic-
Subjunctive		Present	go bhfeice	go bhfeic-
		Past	dá bhfeiceadh	dá bhfeic-
Verbal Noun			feiceáil		feiscint
Past Participle			feicthe

Ith "to eat"

Ith conjugationhide

Ith, "to eat"		Standard		Cape Clear (Munster)
		Analytic	Synthetic	Analytic	Synthetic
Indicative	Present	itheann	ith-
	Past Imperfect	d'itheadh	d'ith-
	Past Perfect	d'ith	d'ith-	duaidh	dua-
	Future	íosfaidh	íosfai-
Conditional	Independent	d'íosfadh	díos-
	Dependent	íosfadh	íos-
Imperative		itheadh	ith, ithigí; ith-
Subjunctive	Present	go n-ithe	go n-ith-
	Past	dá n-itheadh	dá n-ith-
Verbal Noun		ithe
Past Participle		ite

Tabhair "to give, to bring, (to be named)"

Tabhair conjugationhide

Tabhair, "to give, to bring"			Analytic	Synthetic
Indicative	Present	General	tug	tug-
		Independent	bheir	bheir-
		Dependent	tabhrann	tabh(a)r-
	Past Imperfect	General	thugadh	thug-
		Independent	bheirinn	bheir-
		Dependent	tabhrainn	tabh(a)r-
	Past Perfect		thug	thug-
	Future	General	tabharfaidh	tabhar-
		Independent	bhéaraid	bhéar-
		Dependent	tiubhraid	tiubhr-
Conditional		General	thabharfadh	thabhar-
		Independent	bhéarfadh	bhéar-
		Dependent	tiubhradh	tiubhr-
Imperative			tugadh	tabhair, tugaigí; tug-
Subjunctive		Present	go dtuga	go dtug-
		Past	dá dtugadh	dá dtug-
Verbal Noun			tabhairt
Past Participle			tugtha

The meaning "to be named" is often found in writings and can therefore be considered as strange for learners. When meaning "to be named" the verbform is usually followed by the preposition "ar", which is also inflected due to the person it is connected with. e.g.:

• Bhí Seán, mar a thugtaí air, an-shásta. "Seán, as he was (usually) called, was very happy."
• Tá Seán ag tabhairt an úill dom. "Seán is giving me the apple."

Tar "to come"

Tar conjugationhide

Tar, "to come"		Standard		Connacht (some)		Munster (some)		Ulster
		Analytic	Synthetic	Analytic	Synthetic	Analytic	Synthetic	Analytic	Synthetic
Indicative	Present	tagann (tig le)	tag-	teagann	teag-	tigeann	tig-	tig	tig-
	Past Imperfect	thagadh	thag-
	Past Perfect	tháinig	tháng-
	Future	tiocfaidh	tioc-
Conditional		thiocfadh	thioc-
Imperative		tagadh	tar, tagaigí; tag-	tagadh	teara, tagaigí; tag-	tagadh	tair, tagaigí; tag-	tagadh	gabh, tagaigí; tag-
Subjunctive	Present	go dtaga	go dtag-			go dtí	go dtí-	go dtí	go dtí-
	Past	dá dtagadh	dá dtag-
Verbal Noun		teacht
Past Participle		tagtha

Téigh "to go"

Téigh conjugationhide

Téigh, "to go"			Standard		Connemara (Connacht)		Munster		Ulster
			Analytic	Synthetic	Analytic	Synthetic	Analytic	Synthetic	Analytic	Synthetic
Indicative	Present		téann	téi-
	Past Imperfect		théadh	théi-
	Past Perfect	Independent	chuaigh	chu-
		Dependent	deachaigh	deach-
	Future		rachaidh (raghfaidh)	rach- (raghf-)	gabhfaidh	gabhf-	raghaidh	ragh-
Conditional			rachadh (raghfadh)	rach- (raghf-)	ghabhfadh	ghabhf-	raghadh	ragh-
Imperative			téadh	téi-	téadh	teire/ gabh; té-	téadh	teir, teiridh; té-	téadh	téithear; gabh-/té-
Subjunctive	Present		go dté	go dté-
	Past		dá dtéadh	dá dté-
Verbal Noun			dul		goil				goil
Past Participle			dulta		goite				goite

Preverbal particles

Irish uses a number of preverbal particles to modify the meaning of a sentence. In a positive statement, no particle is used and the verb comes first (except in Munster Irish where do is placed before verbs in the past, habitual past and conditional, leniting the verb that follows). This is still seen in the Standard Language in said tenses, prefixed to verbs beginning with vowels, e.g. d'ól mé (Munster Irish: d'ólas) "I drank":

• Tuigeann Seán Gaeilge. "Seán understands Irish."
• Thuig Seán Gaeilge. "Seán understood Irish."
• Thuigfeadh Seán Gaeilge. "Seán would understand Irish."

Negative particles

To negate a statement, the particle ní is used, which causes lenition; a ⟨d’⟩ before a vowel or lenited ⟨f⟩ is omitted:

• Ní thuigeann Seán Gaeilge. "Seán doesn't understand Irish."
• Ní thuigfeadh Seán Gaeilge. "Seán wouldn't understand Irish."
• Ní ólfadh Séamas an bainne. "Séamas would not drink the milk." (cf. D'ólfadh Séamas an bainne. "Séamas would drink the milk.")
• Ní fhanfadh Úna liom. "Úna would not wait for me." (cf. D'fhanfadh Úna liom. "Úna would wait for me.")

In the preterite, the particle níor is used . There is lenition but no d’.

• Níor thuig Seán Gaeilge. "Seán didn't understand Irish."
• Níor ól Séamas an bainne. "Séamas didn't drink the milk." (cf. D'ól Séamas an bainne. "Séamas drank the milk.")
• Níor fhan Úna liom. "Úna didn't wait for me." (cf. D'fhan Úna liom. "Úna waited for me.")

(In Ulster, the negative particles cha(n), pret. char are also used)

Interrogative particles

To pose a simple yes/no question, the particle an is used, which causes eclipsis (no eclipsis of vowels, because an already ends with ⟨n⟩). In the preterite ar (+ lenition) is used. The prefix d’ is omitted:

• An dtuigeann Seán Gaeilge? "Does Seán understand Irish?"
• An dtuigfeadh Seán Gaeilge? "Would Seán understand Irish?"
• An ólann Séamas bainne? "Does Séamas drink milk?"
• An bhfanfadh Úna liom? "Would Úna wait for me?"
• Ar thuig Seán Gaeilge? "Did Seán understand Irish?"
• Ar ól Séamas an bainne? "Did Séamas drink the milk?"
• Ar fhan Úna liom? "Did Úna wait for me?"

These particles are also used to introduce an indirect question:

• Níl a fhios agam an dtuigeann Seán Gaeilge. "I don't know if Seán understands Irish."
• Ní mé ar ól Séamas an bainne. "I wonder if Séamas drank the milk."

Negative interrogative particles

To pose a negative yes/no question, the particle nach is used, which causes eclipsis (in preterite: nár + lenition):

• Nach dtuigeann Seán Gaeilge? "Doesn't Seán understand Irish?"
• Nach dtuigfeadh Seán Gaeilge? "Wouldn't Seán understand Irish?"
• Nach n-ólfadh Séamas an bainne? "Wouldn't Séamas drink the milk?"
• Nach bhfanfadh Úna liom? "Wouldn't Úna wait for me?"
• Nár thuig Seán Gaeilge? "Didn't Seán understand Irish?"
• Nár ól Séamas an bainne? "Didn't Séamas drink the milk?"
• Nár fhan Úna liom? "Didn't Úna wait for me?"

(In Munster ná is used instead of nach.)

Wh-interrogative particles

To pose a wh-question, one of the interrogative particles cá, cad a/céard a, cathain a, cé a, conas a etc. is used.

• Cá gcuirfidh tú an litir? "Where will you put the letter?"
• Cad/Céard a cheapfaidh na comharsana? "What will the neighbors think?"
• Cathain a dhíolfaidh sibh bhur dteach? "When will you sell your house?"
• Cé a sheasfaidh i m'aice? "Who will stand next to me?"
• Conas a ghlanfaidh tú an gúna? "How will you clean the dress?"

Verbal nouns

Formation

Irish has no infinitive and uses instead the verbal noun. The verbal noun can be formed using different strategies (mostly suffixes). The most common of these are:

• Suffix -adh, e.g., bog "soften": bogadh
• Suffix -áil, e.g., fág "leave": fágáil
• Suffix -ú, e.g., ardaigh "lift": ardú
• Suffix -amh, e.g., caith "spend": caitheamh
• Suffix -t, e.g., cosain "defend": cosaint
• Suffix -úint, e.g., lean "follow": leanúint
• Slender consonant is made broad, e.g., coisc "prevent": cosc
• Suffix -ach, e.g., ceannaigh "buy": ceannach
• No change, e.g., ól "drink": ól
• Suffix -cht, e.g., dúisigh "awake": dúiseacht
• Suffix -e, e.g., rinc "dance": rince

Usage

The verbal noun is used as the infinitive would be used in English.

D'iarr sé orm imeacht. "He asked me to go."

B'fhearr liom fanacht. "I would rather stay."

A progressive can be expressed with the preposition ag and is equivalent to the English present participle.

Tá Seán ag obair. "Seán is working."

Bhí Máire ag caint. "Máire was speaking."

A perfect tense can be formed with either of the compound prepositions tar éis or i ndiaidh and the verbal noun.

Tá sí tar éis baint an fhéir. "She has (just) mowed the grass." (cf. Hiberno-English "She is after cutting the grass.")

Bhí sé i ndiaidh ní na gcupán. "He had (just) washed the cups." (cf. Hiberno-English "He was after washing the cups.")

The subjunctive

The subjunctive covers the idea of wishing something and so appears in some famous Irish proverbs and blessings. It is considered an old-fashioned tense for daily speech (except in set phrases) but still appears often in print. E.g.,

• Go dté tú slán. "May you be well." (lit: May you go well.)
• Go dtuga Dia ciall duit. "May God give you sense."
• Go ndéana an Diabhal toirneach de d'anam in Ifreann. "May the Devil make thunder of your soul in Hell."

It is important to note that when the subjunctive is used in English, it may not be used in Irish, and another tense might be used instead:

• Dá mba (past/conditional of the copula) mise tusa, dhéanfainn (conditional) staidéar ar don scrúdú amárach. "If I were (past subjunctive) you, I would study for the exam tomorrow."
• Tá sé tábhachtach go roghnaíonn (present indicative) sé ar an mbealach ceart. "It is important that he choose (present sub.) the right way."
• Nuair a bheidh (future ind.) tú níos sine, beidh tú a thuiscint. "When you're (present ind.) older, you'll understand."
• Is mian liom go raibh (present sub.) tú anseo. "I wish (that) you were (past sub.) here."

While the relative pronoun that can be omitted in English, the corresponding go is mandatory in Irish.

References

• Hughes, A.J. (2008). Leabhar Mór Bhriathra na Gaeilge - The Great Irish Book (in Irish and English). Béal Feirste = Belfast: Clólann Bhean Mhadagáin = Ben Madigan Press. ISBN 0-9542834-2-2.

See also

• Irish grammar