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Gramadach

cuid a naoi

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An Aimsir Chaite – Inné (The Past Tense - Yesterday)�2 syllable slender verbs

Before you start, always check if the verb is broad or slender. Remember, if the last letter in the root of the

verb is a,o or u, then the verb is broad e.g. tosaigh = broad verb.

If the last letter in the root of the verb is i or e, the verb is slender e.g. éirigh = slender verb.

The rules for changing verbs to past tense are the same for one syllable verbs and two syllable verbs.

For verbs that start with a consonant, add a ‘h’ after the first letter

e.g. Cruinnigh - to gather = Chruinnigh mé - I gathered.

For verbs that begin with a vowel, put D’ in front of the verb e.g. oibrigh– to work = D’oibrigh mé – I worked.

Verbs that begin with F take a D’ and a h e.g. Foilsigh– to publish = D’fhoilsigh – I published.

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An Aimsir Chaite – Inné (The Past Tense - Yesterday)�2 syllable slender verbs

The only difficult part is when we want to say “we” did something in the past tense. With broad

2 syllable verbs in the past tense, there are three steps.

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  1. Drop the ‘gh’ part from the verb e.g. cruinnigh
  2. Put a fada on the ‘i’ e.g. cruinní
  3. Add ‘omar’ e.g. cruinníomar – we gathered

Alternatively, you can drop the ‘igh’ and add ‘íomar’ for 2 syllable broad verbs e.g. cruinnigh = cruinníomar

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An Aimsir Chaite – Inné (The Past Tense - Yesterday)�2 syllable slender verbs

Ceisteach agus Diúltach (Questions and Negative)

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To ask a question in the past tense, we put Ar before the verb e.g. Ar chruinnigh tú? (Did you gather?), Ar éirigh tú? (Did you get up?), Ar oibrigh tú? (Did you work?)*

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To say that you didn’t do something, we put Níor before the word e.g. Níor chruinnigh mé (I did not gather), Níor fhiafraigh mé (I did not ask)*, Níor eirigh mé? (I did not get up)*

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*Notice how we don’t use d’ when using the ceisteach agus diúltach

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An Aimsir Chaite – Inné (The Past Tense - Yesterday)�2 syllable slender verbs

Quick Recap:

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  1. For verbs that begin with a consonant, add a h after the first letter e.g. ceannaigh = cheannaigh mé
  2. For verbs that being with a vowel, put a d’ in front of the word e.g. oscail = d’oscail mé
  3. For verbs that begin with an f, put a d’ in front of the first letter and a h after it e.g. fiafraigh = d’fhiafraigh mé
  4. For verbs that begin with l, n and r, no change is made in the past tense e.g. rith = rith mé
  5. To ask a question, we use Ar. To say the negative, we use Níor.
  6. To use we in the past tense, add a h, drop the ‘gh’, change the ‘i’ to a ‘í’ and add omar e.g. ceannaigh = chruinníomar.