Language/Irish/Grammar/Pronouns

Irish Grammar - Pronouns

Hi Irish learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be discussing Irish pronouns. Pronouns are an essential part of any language, and Irish is no exception. They allow us to refer to people, places, and things without repeating the noun every time we use it. In Irish, as in English and other languages, there are different types of pronouns, such as personal, possessive, interrogative, and demonstrative pronouns. We will cover each of these categories in detail in this lesson. For more information about Irish grammar, check out the Polyglot Club website.

Finish this lesson and explore these related pages: Irish Prepositional Pronouns, Imperative Mood, How to Use Be & Future Tense.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are words that we use to replace the names of people or things. In Irish, personal pronouns change depending on the context of the sentence. Let's take a look at some examples:

Irish	Pronunciation	English
mé	may	I
tú	too	you (singular)
sé	shay	he
sí	she	she
sinn	shin	we
sibh	shiv	you (plural or formal)
siad	shee-udh	they

Dialogue:

• Person 1: Dia duit! Conas atá tú? (Hello! How are you?)
• Person 2: Tá mé go maith, go raibh maith agat. (I'm well, thank you.)

As we can see, the personal pronoun "mé" means "I," "tú" means "you" (singular), and "sé" means "he." Similarly, "sí" means "she," "sinn" means "we," "sibh" means "you" (plural or formal), and "siad" means "they."

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are used to show ownership or possession. In Irish, possessive pronouns come before the noun they modify. Here are some examples:

Irish	Pronunciation	English
mo	muh	my
do	duh	your (singular)
a	uh	his/her/its
ár	awr	our
bhur	vuhr	your (plural or formal)
a	uh	their

Dialogue:

• Person 1: An bhfuil do leabhar agat? (Do you have your book?)
• Person 2: Tá, tá mo leabhar agam. (Yes, I have my book.)

In this example, the possessive pronoun "do" means "your" (singular), and "mo" means "my."

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to form questions. In Irish, the most common interrogative pronouns are "cé" and "cad." "Cé" is used to ask about a person, while "cad" is used to ask about a thing. Here are some examples:

Irish	Pronunciation	English
Cé	kay	Who
Cad	kadh	What

Dialogue:

• Person 1: Cé atá ann? (Who is there?)
• Person 2: Is mise Mary. (It's me, Mary.)

In this example, the interrogative pronoun "cé" means "who."

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are used to indicate which noun is being referred to. In Irish, there are two types of demonstrative pronouns: "seo" and "siúd." "Seo" is used to refer to something that is close by, while "siúd" is used to refer to something that is far away. Here are some examples:

Irish	Pronunciation	English
seo	shuh	this
siúd	shee-oodh	that

Dialogue:

• Person 1: An bhfuil tú ag labhairt faoi seo? (Are you talking about this?)
• Person 2: Níl, tá mé ag labhairt faoi siúd. (No, I'm talking about that.)

In this example, the demonstrative pronoun "seo" means "this," while "siúd" means "that."

That's it! We've covered personal, possessive, interrogative, and demonstrative pronouns in Irish. Of course, there is more to learn, but this is a good start. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Sources

• Irish grammar - Wikipedia
• Irish Pronouns: An Easy Guide To The 4+ Types - Ling App
• Appendix:Irish pronouns - Wiktionary

Other Lessons

• Future Tense
• Conditional Mood
• Irish Modal Verbs (need, want, must, can)
• Personal pronouns
• Imperative Mood
• Negation
• Irish Prepositional Pronouns
• Plurals
• Questions