Overview

Adjectives are words that describe nouns, such as “big”, “small”, “good”, or “bad”. In Irish, adjectives are a core part of the language, but they behave differently from their English counterparts. Most notably, they usually come after the noun they describe and must change their form to agree with it.

Placement of Adjectives

The most fundamental rule for Irish adjectives is that they almost always follow the noun they modify.

• fear mór - a big man
• bean chineálta - a kind woman
• leabhar suimiúil - an interesting book

Agreement with the Noun

An adjective must “agree” with its noun in three ways: gender, number, and case. This means the adjective’s form can change depending on the noun it is describing.

1. Gender: It must match whether the noun is masculine or feminine.
2. Number: It must match whether the noun is singular or plural.
3. Case: It must match the noun’s grammatical role (nominative, genitive, etc.).

This agreement often involves adding endings to the adjective or causing an initial mutation.

Initial Mutations

Adjectives undergo initial mutations (lenition or eclipsis) depending on the noun they follow. This is one of the most important aspects of using them correctly.

For example, an adjective is lenited after a feminine singular noun in the nominative case:

• fear mór (man is masculine, so no mutation)
• bean mhór (woman is feminine, so mór becomes mhór)

It is also lenited after a masculine singular noun in the genitive case:

• hata an fhir mhóir - the hat of the big man

Attributive vs. Predicative Adjectives

It is important to distinguish between two ways adjectives can be used.

Attributive adjectives directly modify a noun and are part of the noun phrase. They follow the noun and agree with it.

• Chonaic mé an fear mór. - I saw the big man.
• Is bean chineálta í. - She is a kind woman.

Predicative adjectives describe the subject of a sentence, usually linked by the verb bí (“to be”). They do not follow the noun directly, do not agree with it in form, and are never mutated by it.

• Tá an fear mór. - The man is big.
• Tá an bhean cineálta. - The woman is kind.

Grading Adjectives

Like in English, Irish adjectives can be graded to make comparisons. This involves using special forms or particles.

• Positive: mór (big)
• Comparative: níos mó (bigger)
• Superlative: is mó (biggest)

These forms are used to compare two or more things and have their own set of grammatical rules.

Verbal Adjectives

A verbal adjective (aidiacht bhriathartha) is a form derived from a verb that functions as an adjective. They often correspond to English past participles ending in “-ed” or “-en”.

• dóigh (to burn) → dóite (burnt)
• bris (to break) → briste (broken)

They are used just like regular adjectives:

• arán dóite - burnt bread
• fuinneog bhriste - a broken window