Today we are discussing VERBS
Verbs are the foundation of the Irish language. If there is one single thing you could do to improve your Irish quicker, it is gain a better understanding and grasp of the verbs in each of the tenses.
In this lesson we will go over the basics of Irish sentence structure and provide interactive flashcard resources you can use to help you learn your first 20 verbs in the past, present and future.
Irish Sentence Structure
But why are we starting with verbs?
Irish is what is known as a VSO Language. Put simply, the
verb comes first.
Verb – Subject – Object
Keeping in mind that most sentences in Irish begin with a verb, it would be reasonable to begin your Irish learning by learning the verbs!
English Sentence Structure
In contrast English is an “SVO” (subject-verb-object)
Here we can see that the subject comes before the verb.
As Gaeilge, there are TWO TYPES of verbs
That’s great! But why do I care?
You care because knowing this makes it easier to learn. When changing a verb stem into another tense, the regular verbs follow rules but the irregular verbs do not follow rules.
Verb stem = The verb by itself not in any tense for example “to see”, “to eat” & “to dance”.
Regular Verbs
The Regular Verbs follow the rules of the language when they change from tense to tense.
Irregular Verbs
The Irregular Verbs DO NOT FOLLOW the same rules, these verbs have to be learnt in every tense.
There are 11 of these verbs.
Now it's FLASHCARD TIME
We will cover the rules for the Regular Verbs & the Irregular Verbs in another lesson in-depth.
But before we start learning rules & exceptions etc., let’s ease ourselves into Irish by learning 20 verb stems and their conjugations in the past, present and future.
There is a mix of regular & irregular verbs in these cards.
Verb Flashcards: VERB STEMS
The verb stem is the verb before it is put into any tense, in English for example:
- to see
- to do
- to think
