Ag (at, by)

A guide to the Irish preposition 'ag', meaning 'at' or 'by'. This page covers its conjugated forms, the mutations it causes, and its many uses, including possession and the progressive aspect.

Prepositions Grammar Ag Possession Progressive

The preposition ag is one of the most common in Irish, generally meaning “at” or “by”. You will encounter it constantly, most notably in phrases expressing possession (like “I have”) and in forming the progressive aspect of verbs (like “I am eating”).

Case

The preposition ag is followed by the dative case. In modern Irish, this is only distinct from the nominative for certain feminine nouns.

Initial Mutations

The mutation caused by ag depends on whether it is followed by the definite article an.

Without the Article

Without the article, ag causes no mutation.

  • ag Seán - at Seán’s / with Seán

With the Singular Article

With the singular article an, the mutation varies by dialect.

  • Standard and Connacht: ag an causes eclipsis on all consonants except d and t.
    • ag an bhfear - at the man
  • Connacht: A t-prefix is added to feminine nouns beginning with s-.
    • ag an tsúil - at the eye
  • Munster: Eclipsis applies to all consonants, including d and t.
    • ag an ndoras - at the door
  • Ulster: ag an causes lenition.
    • ag an fhear - at the man

Question Words

Ag combines with question words to form several common questions.

  • cé aige...? (+ indirect relative clause) - at whom…?
  • cad aige / cé aige / cá haige...? (+ indirect relative clause) - at what…?
  • cé acu...? (+ direct relative clause) - Which of them…? / Which of the…?
  • cé againn/agaibh/acu...? (+ direct relative clause) - Who among us/you/them…?

Conjugated Forms

Like all Irish prepositions, ag combines with pronouns to form a single word, often called a prepositional pronoun.

PersonStandard FormEmphatic FormMeaning
1st Sg. (I)agamagamsaat me
2nd Sg. (you)agatagatsaat you
3rd Sg. (he)aigeaigeseanat him
3rd Sg. (she)aiciaiciseat her
1st Pl. (we)againnagainneat us
2nd Pl. (you)agaibhagaibhseat you
3rd Pl. (they)acuacusanat them

Usage

Ag has a wide range of uses beyond its core meaning of “at”.

Spatial and Temporal Location

Ag indicates a location at or by a nearby reference point.

  • ag an bhfuinneoig - at the window
  • ag a trí a chlog - at 3 o’clock

Progressive Aspect

Used with a verbal noun, ag forms the progressive aspect (the “-ing” form in English).

  • Tá mé ag ithe. - I am eating. (Literally: “I am at eating”)

The most common way to express “to have” is with the construction tá + noun + ag. This pattern extends to many related concepts.

  • Possession: Tá teach aige. - He has a house.
  • Skills and Abilities: Tá Gaeilge agam. - I speak Irish. / Tá snámh aige. - He can swim.
  • Permission: Tá cead agam imeacht. - I have permission to leave. / I am allowed to leave.
  • Obligation: Tá rud le déanamh agam. - I have something to do. / Níl agat ach fanacht. - You only have to wait.
  • Love: The structure is tá grá ag (subject) ar (object).
    • Tá grá agam uirthi. - I love her.
  • Desire: The structure is tá dúil ag (subject) i (object).
    • Tá dúil aige sa cheol. - He desires music. / He is fond of music.
  • Interest: Tá suim agam sa stair. - I have an interest in history.
  • Perfect Aspect: With a verbal adjective, this structure forms a perfect tense, indicating a completed action.
    • Tá an bord briste agam. - I have broken the table. (Literally: “The table is broken by me.”)

With Adjectives

Ag can specify the person for whom an adjective’s quality is relevant.

  • Tá sé deas agat. - That is nice of you.
  • Tá an cheist éasca agam. - The question is easy for me.
  • Bhí an mála trom aici. - The bag was heavy for her.

Partitive Usage

Ag can be used instead of de (“of”) to indicate a subset of a group, especially with plural pronouns.

  • go leor acu - a lot of them
  • roinnt acu - some of them
  • neart acu - plenty of them

With nouns, this is less common but possible: neart ag tithe - plenty of houses.

Replacing Possessive Pronouns

Ag is used to show possession when a demonstrative pronoun (seo, sin, siúd) or a superlative/ordinal number prevents the use of a standard possessive pronoun.

  • an teach sin agamsa - that house of mine
  • an mac is sine atá agam - my eldest son
  • an chéad leabhar agam - my first book

Agent or Cause

Ag can mark the agent (the doer of an action) or the cause of a state. This is closely related to its use in the perfect aspect.

  • Chuala mé agat féin é. - I heard it from you yourself.
  • Tá tinneas cinn orm aige. - I have a headache because of him.
  • Táim tinn ag an ngrian. - I am sick from the sunshine.
  • Táim bodhar agat. - You have made me deaf.
  • Tá an féasta ullamh agam. - I have prepared the feast.
  • Tá an bord briste ag Máirtín. - The table was broken by Martin. / Martin broke the table.
  • Tá sé á dhéanamh agam. - It is being done by me.

It can also mean “of” when an adjective is followed by a verbal noun.

  • Tá mé tinn tuirseach ag breathnú ort! - I am sick and tired of watching you!

Expressing Opinion

Ag is used in idioms to express one’s opinion or estimation of something.

  • Is beag agam é. - I think little of it. (Literally: “It is little at me.”)
  • Tá sé ina laoch acu. - They see him as a hero. (Literally: “He is in his hero with them.”)

With Demonstrative Pronouns

The phrases ag seo and ag sin can be used to mean “here is” or “there is”.

  • Ag seo mar a mhínigh sé é. - Here is how he explained it.
Historical note

This use of ag is thought to originate from an old imperative form of a verb meaning “to see” or “to behold”, rather than the preposition ag. In modern Irish, the ag is often dropped, resulting in sentences that begin directly with seo or sin.

With Specific Verbs

Ag forms set phrases with certain verbs.

  • clois ag - to hear from
  • faigh ag - to get from
  • fág ag - to leave with

Dialectal Use for ‘chuig’