Grammar

To say the equivalent of "John is taller than Mary" in Irish, you can change the word order to "Is taller John than Mary", which is: is airde (AR-de) Seán náMáire". The word "airde" is the comparative form of "ard" (ahrd), tall or high, just as "taller" is the comparative form of "tall" in English.

For the comparative of many Irish adjectives, add "e" and make the last consonant slender if necessary. Examples are:

fada (FAH-duh), long; faide (FAH-de), longer.

daor (day*r), expensive; daoire (DEER-e), more expensive.

láidir (LAW*-dir), strong; láidre (LAW*-dre), stronger.

milis (MIL-ish), sweet; milse (MIL-she), sweeter.

fuar (FOO-uhr), cold; fuiare (FOO-i-re), colder.

if the adjective ends in "ch", the "ch" often changes to "i" in the comparative form. Examples:

díreach (dee-RAHK*), straight; dírí(DEE-ree), straighter.

bacach (bah-KAHK*), lame; bacaí(BAH-kee), lamer.

tuirseach (toor-SHAHK*), tired; tuirsí(TOOR-shee), more tired.

gnóthach (GNOH-huhk*), busy; gnóthaí(GNOH-hee), busier.

If the adjective ends in "úil", the ending in the comparative becomes "úla". Examples:

leisciúil (lesh-KYOO-il), lazy; leiscúla (lesh-KYOO-luh), lazier.

dathúil (dah-HOO-il), handsome; dathúla (dah-HOO-luh), handsomer.

cairdiúl (kahr-DYOO-il), friendly; cairdiúla (kahr-DYOO-luh), friendlier.

Some adjectives have slightly irregular comparative forms, and a few important ones are very irregular in the comparative. This is similar to English, with its "good, better, best".

Vocabulary

áiseach (AW*-shahk*), handy, convenient

dílis (DEE-lish), faithful

léir (lay*r), clear, obvious

déanach (DAY*N-uhk*), late

baolach (BWAY*-luhk*), dangerous

simplí(SHIM-plee), simple

feargach (FAR-uh-guhk*), angry

suimiúil (sim-OO-il), interesting

mall (moul) or (mawl), slow

Drill

Complete these sentences that are examples of how to use the comparative in Irish:

Is _______ an scian seo náan forc sin. Use "áiseach".

Is _______ an madra seo náan cat sin. Use "dílis".

Is _______ an leabhar seo náan litir sin. Use "léir".

Is _______ tusa námise. Use "déanach".

Is _______ an bóthar seo náan tsráid sin. Use "baolach".

Is _______ an carr seo náan rothar sin. Use "simplí".

Is _______ Liam náaon fhear eile atáanseo. Use "feargach".

Is _______ an pictiúr seo náan leabhar sin. Use "suimiúil".

Is _______ Brian nána buachaillíeile. Use "mall".

The meanings are similar to "This knife is more convenient than that fork", which is the translation of the first sentence. by making use of the general rules in the grammar section above, you should be able to determine that the adjectives in comparative form are:áisí(AW*-shee), dílse (DEEL-she), léire (LAY*R-e), déanaí(DAY*N-ee), baolaí(BWAY*-lee), simplí(SHIM-plee) (no change here), feargaí(FAR-uh-gee), suimiúla (sim-OO-luh), moille (MWIL-e) (an irregular one in spelling but not in pronunciation).

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