Beir (to carry)

Complete guide to the irregular Irish verb beir (to carry / catch / bear): past (rug), present (beireann), future (béarfaidh), verbal noun (breith), and idioms.

Verbs Irregular Verbs Beir Conjugation Rug BéArfaidh Breith Beir Irish Verb What Does Beir Mean Beir In Irish

The verb beir is one of the eleven irregular verbs in Irish. It has a wide range of meanings, including “to carry”, “to bring”, “to take”, “to win”, “to catch”, and “to give birth”. Its irregularity is most apparent in the past tense, which uses the stem rug-, and in the future and conditional tenses, which use the stem béar-.

Indicative Mood

Present Tense

The present tense uses the stem beir-.

Beireann an t-iascaire breac. - The fisherman catches a trout.

Person	Form
1st singular	`beirim`
2nd singular	`beireann tú`
3rd singular	`beireann sé/sí`
1st plural	`beirimid`
2nd plural	`beireann sibh`
3rd plural	`beireann siad`
Autonomous	`beirtear`
Relative	`a bheireas`

Past Tense (Preterite)

The past tense uses the completely different stem rug-.

Rug sé ar an liathróid. - He caught the ball.

Person	Form
1st singular	`rugas`
2nd singular	`rugais`
3rd singular	`rug sé/sí`
1st plural	`rugamar`
2nd plural	`rugabhair`
3rd plural	`rugadar`
Autonomous	`rugadh`

Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense describes habitual actions in the past and uses the lenited stem bheir-.

Bheirinn abhaile é gach lá. - I used to carry it home every day.

Person	Form
1st singular	`bheirinn`
2nd singular	`bheirteá`
3rd singular	`bheireadh sé/sí`
1st plural	`bheirimis`
2nd plural	`bheireadh sibh`
3rd plural	`bheiridís`
Autonomous	`bheirtí`

Future Tense

The future tense uses the stem béar-.

Béarfaidh mé bua. - I will win.

Person	Form
1st singular	`béarfad`
2nd singular	`béarfaidh tú`
3rd singular	`béarfaidh sé/sí`
1st plural	`béarfaimid`
2nd plural	`béarfaidh sibh`
3rd plural	`béarfaidh siad`
Autonomous	`béarfar`
Relative	`a bhéarfas`

Conditional Mood

The conditional mood uses the lenited stem bhéar-.

Dá mbeadh an t-airgead agam, bhéarfainn leat é. - If I had the money, I would bring it with you.

Person	Form
1st singular	`bhéarfainn`
2nd singular	`bhéarfá`
3rd singular	`bhéarfadh sé/sí`
1st plural	`bhéarfaimis`
2nd plural	`bhéarfadh sibh`
3rd plural	`bhéarfaidís`
Autonomous	`bhéarfaí`

Imperative Mood

The imperative is used for commands.

Beir leat do mhála! - Bring your bag with you!

Person	Form
1st singular	`beirim`
2nd singular	`beir`
3rd singular	`beireadh sé/sí`
1st plural	`beirimis`
2nd plural	`beirigí`
3rd plural	`beiridís`
Autonomous	`beirtear`

Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive mood is used in certain expressions of wish, doubt, or possibility, often following particles like go (that) or dá (if).

Go mbeire an bua ort. - May you win.

Person	Present Subjunctive	Past Subjunctive
1st singular	`go mbeire mé`	`dá mbeirinn`
2nd singular	`go mbeire tú`	`dá mbeirteá`
3rd singular	`go mbeire sé/sí`	`dá mbeireadh sé/sí`
1st plural	`go mbeirimid`	`dá mbeirimis`
2nd plural	`go mbeire sibh`	`dá mbeireadh sibh`
3rd plural	`go mbeire siad`	`dá mbeiridís`
Autonomous	`go mbeirtear`	`dá mbeirtí`

Verbal Forms

Verbal Noun: breith
Verbal Adjective: beirthe
Genitive of the Verbal Noun:
- When used as a noun (substantive): breithe. For example, Lá na breithe (Day of birth / Birthday).
- When used as an infinitive: beirthe. For example, ag iarraidh an chorn a bheirthe (trying to win the cup).

Usage Notes

To Give Birth

The verb beir is commonly used to mean “to give birth”. In this context, it almost always appears in the autonomous form of the past tense, rugadh, creating a passive sense.

Rugadh i mBaile Átha Cliath é. - He was born in Dublin.

To say who gave birth, the preposition do is used.

Rugadh mac di. - She gave birth to a son. (Literally: A son was born to her.)

Dialectal Variations

Historical Note: Origins of 'tabhair' and 'abair'

The verb beir is the root of two other irregular verbs: tabhair (to give) and abair (to say).

tabhair originated from the prefix do- + beir, meaning “to-carry” or “to-bring”. The prefix is still visible in older forms like do-bheireann (he gives). In modern Irish, the do- prefix was often dropped, but the lenition it caused remained, distinguishing it from beir. Compare:
- beireann sé - he brings
- bheireann sé - he gives (now tugann sé)
abair originated from the prefix as- + beir, meaning “to-bring-out” or “to utter”.