Feic (to see)
Complete guide to the irregular Irish verb feic (to see) across all tenses: past (chonaic / faca), present (feiceann), future (feicfidh), and verbal noun (feiceáil).
The verb feic means “to see” and is one of the eleven irregular verbs in Irish. Its irregularity is most prominent in the past tense, where it uses completely different stems for independent (chonaic) and dependent (faca) forms. Unlike regular verbs, it does not use the particle d'.
Present Tense
The present tense uses the stem feic-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| 1st sg. | feicim |
| 2nd sg. | feiceann tú |
| 3rd sg. | feiceann sé/sí |
| 1st pl. | feicimid |
| 2nd pl. | feiceann sibh |
| 3rd pl. | feiceann siad |
| Autonomous | feictear |
| Relative | a fheiceas |
- Feicim an teach mór. - I see the big house.
Past Tense (Preterite)
The past tense has two distinct stems. The independent stem chonaic is used for positive statements. The dependent stem faca is used for negative statements and questions.
Independent Forms
Use the stem chonaic- for positive statements.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| 1st sg. | chonaiceas, chonac |
| 2nd sg. | chonaicís |
| 3rd sg. | chonaic sé/sí |
| 1st pl. | chonaiceamar |
| 2nd pl. | chonaiceabhair |
| 3rd pl. | chonaiceadar |
| Autonomous | chonacthas |
- Chonaic mé an scannán inné. - I saw the film yesterday.
Dependent Forms
Use the stem faca- after particles like ní (not), an (question), go (that), and a (relative).
| Person | Negative (ní) | Question (an) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | ní fhacas, ní fhaca | an bhfacas, an bhfaca |
| 2nd sg. | ní fhacaís | an bhfacaís |
| 3rd sg. | ní fhaca sé/sí | an bhfaca sé/sí |
| 1st pl. | ní fhacamar | an bhfacamar |
| 2nd pl. | ní fhacabhair | an bhfacabhair |
| 3rd pl. | ní fhacadar | an bhfacadar |
| Autonomous | ní fhacthas | an bhfacthas |
- Ní fhaca mé an scannán. - I did not see the film.
- An bhfaca tú an scannán? - Did you see the film?
Imperfect Tense
The imperfect tense describes habitual or repeated actions in the past. It uses the stem d'fheic-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| 1st sg. | d'fheicinn |
| 2nd sg. | d'fheicteá |
| 3rd sg. | d'fheiceadh sé/sí |
| 1st pl. | d'fheicimis |
| 2nd pl. | d'fheiceadh sibh |
| 3rd pl. | d'fheicidís |
| Autonomous | d'fheictí |
- D’fheicinn é gach lá. - I used to see him every day.
Future Tense
The future tense uses the stem feicf-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| 1st sg. | feicfead |
| 2nd sg. | feicfidh tú |
| 3rd sg. | feicfidh sé/sí |
| 1st pl. | feicfimid |
| 2nd pl. | feicfidh sibh |
| 3rd pl. | feicfidh siad |
| Autonomous | feicfear |
| Relative | a fheicfeas |
- Feicfidh mé thú amárach. - I will see you tomorrow.
Conditional Mood
The conditional mood uses the stem d'fheicf-.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| 1st sg. | d'fheicfinn |
| 2nd sg. | d'fheicfeá |
| 3rd sg. | d'fheicfeadh sé/sí |
| 1st pl. | d'fheicfimis |
| 2nd pl. | d'fheicfeadh sibh |
| 3rd pl. | d'fheicfidís |
| Autonomous | d'fheicfí |
- D’fheicfinn an cluiche dá mbeadh ticéad agam. - I would see the match if I had a ticket.
Imperative Mood
The imperative is used for commands.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| 2nd sg. | feic |
| 3rd sg. | feiceadh sé/sí |
| 1st pl. | feicimis |
| 2nd pl. | feicigí |
| 3rd pl. | feicidís |
| Autonomous | feictear |
- Feic! - See!
Subjunctive Mood
The subjunctive is used in certain clauses, often expressing wishes, possibilities, or conditions.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| 1st sg. | go bhfeice mé |
| 2nd sg. | go bhfeice tú |
| 3rd sg. | go bhfeice sé/sí |
| 1st pl. | go bhfeicimid |
| 2nd pl. | go bhfeice sibh |
| 3rd pl. | go bhfeice siad |
| Autonomous | go bhfeictear |
- Go bhfeice an Tiarna thú. - May the Lord see you.
Past Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| 1st sg. | dá bhfeicinn |
| 2nd sg. | dá bfeicteá |
| 3rd sg. | dá bhfeiceadh sé/sí |
| 1st pl. | dá bhfeicimis |
| 2nd pl. | dá bhfeiceadh sibh |
| 3rd pl. | dá bhfeicidís |
| Autonomous | dá bhfeictí |
- Dá bhfeicinn an madra, rithfinn. - If I were to see the dog, I would run.
Verbal Noun and Adjective
| Form | Irish |
|---|---|
| Verbal Noun | feiceáil |
| Genitive of Verbal Noun | feiceála |
| Verbal Adjective | feicthe |
- Tá mé ag feiceáil na farraige. - I am looking at (seeing) the sea.
- Tá an litir feicthe agam. - I have seen the letter.
Historical note on older forms
Historically, there was a distinction between absolute forms (used in simple positive statements) and dependent forms (used after particles). The verb feic originally used the stem (do-)chí- for its absolute forms and feic- only for its dependent forms.
| Tense | Dependent | Absolute (Older) |
|---|---|---|
| Present | feiceann | (do-)chíonn |
| Imperfect | feiceadh | (do-)chíodh |
| Future | feicfidh | (do-)chífidh |
| Conditional | feicfeadh | (do-)chífeadh |
This distinction is now mostly lost in Standard Irish and in the Connacht dialect, where feic- is used for both. However, the (do-)chí- forms are still common in Munster and Ulster dialects.