Adjective Usage

In Irish, adjectives can be either descriptive (describing a quality) or pronominal (pointing to or quantifying a noun). Descriptive adjectives can be used in two main ways: predicatively, where they describe the subject after a verb like “to be”, or attributively, where they directly modify a noun.

• Predicative: Tá an bhean tinn. - The woman is ill.
• Attributive: an bhean thinn - the ill woman

Descriptive adjectives can also be converted into adverbs to describe how an action is performed.

• Adverb: Tá an bhean ag obair go maith. - The woman works well.

Predicative Adjectives

A predicative adjective follows a verb (usually bí, “to be”) and describes the subject of the sentence. In most cases, the adjective appears in its basic form.

However, some adjectives, particularly those describing subjective states like health or the weather, require the adverbial particle go when used predicatively with bí. This makes them function almost like adverbs describing the state of “being”.

• Tá sé go maith. - He is well.
• Tá an aimsir go hálainn. - The weather is beautiful.

Secondary Predicates

An adjective can also act as a secondary predicate, describing the state of the subject or object while another action is happening. In Irish, these are clearly distinguished from adverbs because they do not use the particle go.

This is often done using a small clause connected with agus (“and”), where the verb bí is omitted.

• D’fhill sé abhaile agus é tinn. - He returned home ill. (literally, “and him being ill”)
• Chonaic mé í agus í tuirseach. - I saw her tired. (literally, “and her being tired”)

Resultative Predicates

Some verbs describe the causing or retaining of a property. The adjective that follows describes the result of the action.

The verb fan (“to stay” or “to remain”) can be used to express remaining in a certain state. It can be used with or without go.

• D’fhan sé ciúin. - He remained quiet.
• D’fhan sé go ciúin. - He remained quiet. (adverbial sense)

The verb déan (“to make” or “to do”) can be used to express causing a property in something or someone.

• Rinne sé tinn í. - He made her ill.

Attributive Adjectives

An attributive adjective directly modifies a noun. In Irish, the adjective always comes after the noun it describes. Attributive adjectives must agree with their noun in gender, number, and case, which means they are declined and may undergo mutation.

• fear mór - a big man
• bean mhór - a big woman (adjective is lenited)
• na fir mhóra - the big men (adjective is plural and lenited)

If two or more adjectives modify the same noun, they both follow the noun and are both declined. The word agus (“and”) is usually not placed between them.

• bean ard chaol - a tall, thin woman

Exceptions to Agreement

In certain situations, adjectives are not declined, even when the noun is.

• After feminine personal names: The adjective remains in its basic form.

  • mac Bhríd bheag - the son of little Bríd (compare: mac na mná bige - the son of the little woman)

• After adverbs: Adjectives are not declined or lenited after adverbs like cuibheasach (quite) or réasúnta (reasonably).

  • an tsrón cuibheasach mór - the quite big nose (compare: an tsrón mhór - the big nose)

• After numbers 3–10: The noun is in the singular, but the adjective is in the plural.

  • trí bhád mhóra - three big boats

• After muintir: The noun muintir (people, family) is singular, but it usually takes a plural adjective.

  • an mhuintir mhóra - the adults

• With prefixes an- and ró- in copula sentences: The adjective remains singular even if the noun is plural.

  • Is daoine an-mhaith iad. - They are very good people.

If an adjective modifies several nouns, it agrees only with the last noun in the list.

Adjectives Before the Noun

Adjectives rarely come before the noun. This only happens in a few specific cases:

• As prefixes: Some adjectives, like droch- (bad), dea- (good), and sean- (old), act as prefixes and are attached directly to the noun.

  • an drochbhád - the bad boat
  • an dea-chlú - the good reputation
  • an seanfhear - the old man

• Certain pronominal adjectives: Words like gach (every) come before the noun.

  • gach fear - every man

Order of Adjectives

When a noun has multiple attributes, they follow a specific order:

1. Descriptive adjectives come first. Within this group, the typical order is size, then quality, then colour, then origin.

   • an cailín beag óg deas rua Éireannach - the small, young, nice, red-haired Irish girl

2. Pronominal adjectives (like seo, eile) follow the descriptive adjectives.

   • an bhean mhaith seo eile - this other good woman

3. Genitive attributes (possessives) and relative clauses follow the descriptive adjectives.

   • bean mhaith an tí - the good woman of the house
   • leabhar uaine Sheáin - Seán’s green book
   • balla ard cloiche - a high stone wall

However, if a noun and its genitive attribute form a single concept (like scian phóca - pocket knife), the descriptive adjective comes after the entire unit.

• scian phóca bheag - a small pocket knife
• mac léinn cliste - a clever student

The position of the adjective can change the meaning:

• fear oibre maith - a good worker (fear oibre is a single unit)
• fear maith oibre - a good man for working (the man is good, specifically for work)

Comparatives and Superlatives

The comparative and superlative forms of adjectives cannot be used attributively (directly before or after a noun). Instead, they are used predicatively within a relative clause.

• an fear is mó - the bigger/biggest man (literally, “the man who is bigger”)
• an cailín is óige - the younger/youngest girl (literally, “the girl who is younger”)

This structure also applies to other words that can only be used predicatively, like féidir (possible).

• gach rud is féidir - everything possible (literally, “every thing that is possible”)

Adjectives as Adverbs

To use an adjective as an adverb (to describe how an action is done), you add the particle go before it. If the adjective begins with a vowel, go adds an h- prefix.

• Tá mé sciobtha. - I am fast. (predicative)
• D’oibrigh mé go sciobtha. - I worked fast. (adverbial)

Special Cases

• The particle go is omitted if another adverb modifies the adjective.

  • go dona - badly
  • réasúnta dona - quite badly

• In cleft sentences where the adverb is moved to the front for emphasis, go is usually dropped because the adjective is now predicative after the copula.

  • Is cúramach a rinne sé é. - Carefully he did it.

• For comparative adverbs (“more carefully”), níos is used instead of go.

  • Déanfaidh sé níos cúramaí é. - He will do it more carefully.

Pronominal Adjectives

Pronominal adjectives do not describe a quality but instead specify, quantify, or generalise a noun. This group includes words like gach (every), eile (other), and éigin (some). They are used attributively but are not declinable. Some come before the noun, while others come after.

• gach: every. Comes before the noun.

  • gach fear - every man
  • Also common are gach uile and gach aon.

• uile: all, whole. Its position changes its meaning.

  • After a plural noun: na naoimh uile - all the saints
  • Before a plural noun (rare): na huile dhaoine - all the people
  • Before a singular noun: an uile mhaitheas - all goodness
  • After a singular noun: an scéal uile - the whole story

• ar fad, go léir: all, the whole.

  • na leabhair ar fad - all the books
  • na daoine go léir - all the people

• éigin: some, any.

  • fear éigin - some man

• ar bith: any (in questions), no (in negative sentences).

  • An bhfuil fear ar bith anseo? - Is any man here?
  • Níl fear ar bith anseo. - There is no man here.

• aon: any, no. Used with singular nouns.

  • aon fhear - any man, no man

• cíbé, pé (ar bith): whatever, whichever.

  • cibé duine - whatever person
  • pé áit - whatever place

• eile: other, another.

  • fear eile - another man
  • rud eile? - anything else?

• céanna: the same. Always used with the article.

  • an fear céanna - the same man

• ceannann céanna: the very same.

  • an fear ceannann céanna - the very same man

• áirithe: certain, particular.

  • lá áirithe - on a certain day

Special Usage of aon and ar bith

Like “any” in English, aon and ar bith are “negative polarity items”, meaning they typically appear only in specific contexts, not in simple positive statements.

• Negative sentences:

  • Ní haon amadán mé. - I am no fool.
  • Níl carr ar bith agam. - I have no car at all.

• Sentences with “seldom” or “hardly”:

  • Is ar éigean atá aon rian díobh fágtha. - But hardly a trace of them remains.

• Questions:

  • An bhfuil aon charr agat? - Do you have any car?

• Conditional sentences (after má, dá, etc.):

  • Má tá aon eolas agat faoi… - If you have any information about it…

• Comparisons with ná (“than”):

  • Is fearr é ná aon duine agaibhse. - He is better than any of you.

• After superlatives:

  • …an méadú is mó in aon tír in Iarthar na hEorpa. - …the biggest increase in any country in Western Europe.

• Meaning “any at all” or “no matter which”:

  • Tar lá ar bith a thogrós tú. - Come on any day you wish.

Other Meanings of aon

• “The only”: When used with the article, aon means “the only”. It is often followed by amháin.

  • an t-aon lá amháin a bhí mé saor - the only day I was free

• “The same”: aon can also mean “the same” or “identical”. The item being compared with is introduced by le (“with”).

  • Tá mé ar aon tuairim leat. - I am of the same opinion as you.
  • Tá siad ar aon dath le chéile. - They are of the same colour.