Learn to read Irish
A short, active path into reading Irish: sound out eight real words before the alphabet, learn to undo séimhiú and urú on sight, put the verb at the front of the sentence, and read a story whose pronunciation and English begin hidden.
Where the verb goes
- The verb comes first in an Irish sentence, ahead of the doer.
- Everything after the verb keeps the order English would give it.
- A negative keeps the same shape: ní goes in front of the verb and softens it.
- ag plus a verb is the English -ing — the most useful sentence shape in the language.
This is the most important section on the path. In English the doer comes first: the fox sees the bird. In Irish the doing word comes first, before the doer: sees the fox the bird.
The same sentence, both orders
| first | second | third | |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | The fox | sees | the bird |
| Irish | FeiceannFEK-un | an sionnachun SHUN-ukh | an t-éanun TCHAYN |
Only the doing word has moved. Everything else keeps its order — which is why reading word-by-word in English order hands the seeing to the wrong animal.
I do not see the dog.
Ní fheicim an madra.
nee EK-im un MOD-ruh.
nínee“not” goes in front of the verb — still first — and softens it: the f of feicim has gone silent.
ag makes an -ing
I am going to the forest.
Tá mé ag dul go dtí an choill.
taw may egg dul guh JEE un KHWIL.
Word for word: am I at going to the forest. go dtíguh JEE“to” is the everyday “to”, and coillkwil“forest” is a “she” word softening after an.
Find the verb first
- Feiceann an sionnach an t-éan.
The first word is the action. Then the doer.
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Feiceann an sionnach an t-éan.FEK-un un SHUN-ukh un TCHAYN“The fox sees the bird.” - Ní fheicim an madra.
One h to delete, and the f under it is silent.
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“I do not see the dog”, said “nee EK-im un MOD-ruh”. - Tá mé ag siúl.
ag plus a verb is the -ing.
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“I am walking”, said “taw may egg shool”.