Irish Lesson 2

You are now ready to make a classic entry into the Irish language, by way of an important verb: Tá (taw*).

"Tá" serves to tell where something is or what its condition is, and therefore it has some of the functions of English "is".

For the (t) sound next to an "a", "o" or "u", put the front part of your tongue up along the top of your mouth, with the tip against the upper front teeth and almost-but not quite-protruding between the teeth. Pronounce the (t) sound a few times. If you extend the tongue too far between the teeth, you will say English "th" as in "that" or "throw". Irish does not have those sounds.

For the (aw*) sound, say the English word "tot", but start the word with the Irish (t) you have just learned. Repeat several times, then drop the final "t" and lengthen the (aw*) sound. As a check, try making the (aw*) sound in another way: Say English "awful" several times slowly, and notice that your lips are pushed far out. Try the word with your lips held in closer and more rounded. You may recognize the sound as the way some Irish pronounce "awful".

Now learn these words, referring back to the Lesson 1 pronunciation guide as necessary:

Tá sé (TAW* shay*) he is, it is
tá sí (TAW* shee) she is
tá mé (TAW* may) I am
fuar (FOO-uhr) cold
mór (mohr) big
te (te) hot
óg (ohg) young
sean (shan) old
lán (law*n) full

Next, learn these sentences, then translate them. Form a mental picture each time.

Tá sé fuar. Tá mé mór. Tá sí óg. Tá sé lán. Tá sé te. Tá sí sean.

Learn these new words thoroughly:
fear (far) man, a man
cat (kaht) cat, a cat
bean (ban) woman, a woman
cailín (kah-LEEN) girl, a girl
bord (bohrd) table, a table
ard (ahrd) high, tall
gairid (GAH-rid) short
anseo (un-SHUH) here
ansin (un-SHIN) there
fada (FAH-duh) long
bosca (BOHSK-uh) box, a box
íseal (EE-shuhl) low, short
sráid (sraw*d) street, a street
agus (AH-guhs) and
láidir (LAW*-dir) strong
tanaí (TAH-nee) thin
ramhar (ROU-wuhr) fat
cam (koum) crooked

We can substitute these into the basic sentence "Tá sé fuar", he is cold, to make new sentences:
Tá fear anseo (taw* FAR un-SHUH). A man is here.
Tá Seán anseo (taw* SHAW*N un-SHUH). John is here.
Tá bean agus fear ansin (taw* BAN AH-guhs FAR un-SHIN). A women and a man are there.
Tá Bríd láidir (taw* BREED LAW*-dir). Bridget is strong.
"Tá" is irregular, one of only ten or eleven Irish verbs that are.

For the negative of "tá", the basic word is "níl" (neel).

Read these:
Níl sé mór (NEEL shay* mohr). He is not big.
Níl mé fuar (NEEL may* FOO-uhr). I am not cold.
Níl Seán ramhar (NEEL shaw*n ROU-wuhr). John is not fat.

For questioning with "tá", the basic group is "an bhfuil" (un VWIL).
In the West of Ireland this may be pronounced (un WIL). Read these:
An bhfuil fear ansin? (un vwil FAR un-SHIN) Is a man there?
An bhfuil Nóra óg? (un vwil NOH-ruh ohg) Is Nora young?
An bhfuil bosca anseo? (un vwil BOHSK-uh un-SHUN) Is there a box here?

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