Irregular Verbs

The irregular verbs form the principal difficulty in the Irish language. It might
naturally be expected that this tongue should have suffered much from license in its general use : it has been now, for centuries, the medium of intercourse among the most illiterate people of the country, people living in places the most remote from each other ; and has not had the advantages of a college, a theatre, a court, or a capital — not even those of an acknowledged grammar, or until lately, a dictionary — where its standard might be supposed to be found. It is therefore more surprising that there should be so little contradiction between its several dialects, or of wild offspring from its genuine but uncultivated roots, than that there should be a difficulty in subjecting it to the rules of grammar. In treating of these verbs I shall not exhibit all their inflections, but merely present, from the best authorities, such parts of them as are most irregular; leaving the thorough understanding of them to be acquired by that which alone can teach them well — PRACTICE

1. dean do, or make

Indicative Mood - Past Tense
Singular		Plural
Modern	Antient	Modern	Antient
rinn me, I did do	rinneas	rinn sinn	rinneamar
rinn tu	rinnis	rinn siḃ	rinneaḃar
rinn se	rinnse	rinn siad	rineadar
This tense is also thus—
do ḋein me, or do ḋeanas, I did do, &c

Passie Voice - Imperative Mood
		biḋ sinn réiḋ
biḋ réiḋ, be though done		biḋ siḃ réiḋ
biġ se réiḃ		biḋ siad réiḋ
Also, biḋ déanta and béantar ṫu, be thou done, &c

Infinitive Mood and Participle
do or a ḃeiṫ déanta or réiḋ, to be done
déanta, or réiḋ done, or made

Indicative Mood—Present Tense
Is conjuaged with either déanta, or réid— as ta me or taim déanta, or réiḋ, I am done, &c

Past Tense
Rinneád me, I was done, &c. Also, ḃi me déanta, &c.

Conditional Mood
da mbéiḋinn déanta, or réiḋ—and so through the several persons

2. gniḋim or gnim, I do, or I make

Indicative Mood - Present tense
gniḋim, or gnim	ġiḋ sinn, gniḋmid, or gniḋmar
gniḋ tu, or gniḋir	gniḋ siḃ, gniḋṫiḋ, or gniḋḃar
gnidh se	gniḋ siad, gniḋid

All the other inflection aof this, are expressed by the preceding verb, except the subjunctive, which is also ma nim, if I do, &c.

3. Abair, say

Active Voice - Imperative Mood
abair say though; abairid se, &c
Infinitive Mood and Participles
do or a raḋ, to say
Present	ag raḋ, saying
Past.	iar raḋ, having said
Future	ar ti raḋ, about to say

Indicative Mood—Present Tense—Modern Mode
deirim, I say, deir tu, se, &c
Antient Mode
deirim, I say	deirimid, deireamar
deirir	deirṫiḋ, deireabar
deir se	deirid

Past Tense—Modern Mode
duḃairt me, tú, &c
Antient Mode
dḃras, I said	duḃramar
duḃrais	duḃraḃar
duḃairt se	duḃradar

Future Tense—Modern Mode
déarfaḋ me, tu, &c
Antient Mode
déarfad, I will say	déarfamar
déarfair	déarfaḃar
déarfaiḋ se	déarfaid

A is often prefixed to the present and past tenses of this mood, as a deirim I say, a duḃairt I said.

Potential mood, dearfaimm, &c. Conditional mood, da ndearfainn, &c. Consuetudinal mood, deirim, deireann me, &c, as in meallaim.

Passive Voice - Imperative Mood
abarṫar	Let if be said
Participle	raite, was said

Indicative Mood
Present	deirṫear, it is said
Past	duḃraḋ, it was said
Future	dearfar, it shall be said

Consuetudinal Mood - deirṫi, used to be said

Relativesin this verb
Present	a deir, that says
Past	a duḃairt, that said
Future	a déarfas, that will say

Interrogatives—Present Tense
an abraim, do I say?	an duḃramar?
an abair tu?	an deir síḃ
an abair se?	an deirid?

So with the negative ni.

Past and future tenses as in the affirmative.

4. Tigim, I come

Imperative Mood
	tagaḃsinn, tiġeamaoid, tagamois
tar, come thou	tagaḋ siḃ, tigiḋe
tagaḋ se, taraḋ, tigeaḋ	tagaḋ siad, tigidis, tagaidis

Infinitive Mood and Participles
do or a teaċt	to come
present	ag teaċt, coming
Past	iar dteaċt, having come
Future	ar a teaċt, about to come

Indicative Mood—Past Tense—Modern Mode
ṫainig me, I came, &c
Antient Mode
ṫaingeas	ṫangamar, ṫanacsam
ṫaingis, ṫangais	ṫangaḃar
ṫainig se	ṫangadar, ṫancatar

Futre Tense—Modern Mode
tiocfaḋ me, I will come, ticfaḋ tu, &c
Antient Mode
tiocfad	tiocfamaoid, tiocfamar
tiocfair	tiocfaḋḃar, diocfaoiḋe
tiocfaḋ se	tioċfaid

Relatives
Present	ṫigeas, that cometh
Past	a ṫainig, that came
Future	ṫiocfas, that will come

Potential Mood—ṫiocfainn, &c
Conditional Mood—ba dtiocfainn, &c

[more to come - but these are tedious to transcribe! Let me know if you get this far!]

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grammar of the irish language—mason—1842