Overview

The Irish verbal noun, or an t-ainm briathartha, is a important part of the language that functions similarly to the infinitive (“to do”) or the gerund (“doing”) in English. It is a noun derived from a verb, but it retains some verb-like properties, such as the ability to take an object or be modified by an adverb. Unlike the simple infinitive in many languages, the verbal noun in Irish is a fully-fledged noun that can be masculine or feminine, have a plural form, and be declined for case.

The verbal noun differs from a typical infinitive in several ways:

• It can describe both the action and the result of the action.
• It has a wide variety of endings (e.g., -acht, -iú, -áil).
• It has a grammatical gender (masculine or feminine).
• It can be put into the genitive case.
• It can take objects, which are expressed as genitive attributes or governed by possessive pronouns.
• It is used with a wide range of prepositions, such as ag, a, do, chun, le, and tar éis.

At the same time, it behaves like a verb by taking adverbs and direct objects.

Formation of the Verbal Noun

The formation of the verbal noun is highly irregular, especially for common verbs. While there are regular patterns, many verbs have unique endings that must be learned individually. Dialects may also use different forms for the same verb.

First Conjugation Verbs

Regular Formation: -adh or -eadh

The most common regular ending for first conjugation verbs is -adh or -eadh (masculine).

• bris → briseadh (to break)
• mol → moladh (to praise)
• cas → casadh (to turn)
• póg → pógadh (to kiss)

Often, the verb root is broadened (depalatalised) before the ending is added.

• buail → bualadh (to strike)

Verbs Ending in -áil

Verbs that end in -áil use the same form for their verbal noun (feminine).

• péinteáil (verb) → péinteáil (verbal noun) (to paint / painting)

Verbs Ending in a Long Vowel + -igh

For verbs ending in á, é, í, ó, ú followed by -igh, the verbal noun is formed by dropping the -igh, leaving just the long vowel (masculine).

• báigh → bá (to drown)
• pléigh → plé (to discuss)
• cloígh → cloí (to conquer)
• dóigh → dó (to burn)
• dreoigh → dreo (to wither)

Verbs Ending in a Short Vowel or Consonant + -igh

For verbs ending in a short vowel or consonant followed by -igh, the verbal noun often ends in -í (masculine).

• suigh → suí (to sit)
• figh → fí (to weave)
• nigh → ní (to wash)

Irregular and Other Common Formations

No Ending

Some verbal nouns have the same form as the verb stem.

• ól → ól (to drink)
• fás → fás (to grow)
• léim → léim (to jump)

In other cases, the verb stem is broadened (depalatalised) but no ending is added.

• cuir → cur (to put)
• coisc → cosc (to prevent)
• tomhais → tomhas (to measure)

Ending in -amh

This is a common masculine ending.

• déan → déanamh (to do/make)
• seas → seasamh (to stand)
• caith → caitheamh (to throw, to spend)
• léigh → léamh (to read)

Ending in -áil

This feminine ending also appears on verbs that do not end in -áil themselves.

• fág → fágáil (to leave)
• gabh → gabháil (to take)
• tóg → tógáil (to lift)

Other Common Endings

• -úint (feminine): lean → leanúint (to follow)
• -an (masculine): lig → ligean (to allow), leag → leagan (to knock down)
• -int (feminine): féach → féachaint (to look), tuig → tuiscint (to understand)
• -t (feminine): bain → baint (to take out), roinn → roinnt (to divide)
• -im / -m (feminine): tit → titim (to fall), seinm → seinm (to play music)
• -acht (feminine): fan → fanacht (to wait), éist → éisteacht (to listen)
• Rarer endings: -achtáil, -íl, -ach, -achan, -idh.

Second Conjugation Verbs

Regular Formation: -ú

The regular ending for second conjugation verbs is -ú (masculine).

• saothraigh → saothrú (to work hard)

Verbs Ending in Slender -l, -n, -r

Verbs whose stems end in a slender l, n, or r often take the ending -t (feminine).

• oscail → oscailt (to open)
• imir → imirt (to play)

Irregular and Other Common Formations

Ending in -í

This masculine ending is common for verbs ending in -igh.

• éirigh → éirí (to rise)
• cónaigh → cónaí (to reside)
• fiafraigh → fiafraí (to ask)

No Ending

Some verbal nouns are formed by dropping the -igh suffix or are identical to the verb stem. In some cases, the stem is also broadened.

• damhsaigh → damhsa (to dance)
• foghlaim → foghlaim (to learn)
• ceangail → ceangal (to connect)
• siúil → siúl (to walk)

Other Common Endings

• -ach (masculine): ceannaigh → ceannach (to buy), cuardaigh → cuardach (to search)
• -acht (feminine): dúisigh → dúiseacht (to awaken), imigh → imeacht (to go away)
• -áil / -achtáil (feminine): coinnigh → coinneáil (to keep), airigh → aireachtáil (to perceive)
• -amh (masculine): smaoinigh → smaoineamh (to think), áirigh → áireamh (to count)

Verbal Nouns without a Verb

Some verbal nouns exist without a corresponding finite verb. These are often formed from nouns for people (especially professions) and are typically used to describe the activity associated with that person, most commonly in the progressive aspect (ag + verbal noun).

Common endings include -óireacht, -aireacht, and -aíocht.

• Tá sé ag feirmeoireacht. - He is working as a farmer. (from feirmeoir, a farmer)
• Tá sé ag siopadóireacht. - He is shopping. (from siopadóir, a shopkeeper)
• Bíonn sé ag Gaeilgeoireacht ó dhubh go dubh. - He speaks Irish from dawn till dusk. (from Gaeilgeoir, an Irish speaker)
• Tá siad ag cabaireacht. - They are chattering. (from cabaire, a chatterbox)
• Tá sé ag scéalaíocht. - He is telling stories. (from scéalaí, a storyteller)

This can also happen with diminutives ending in -ín.

• Tá sé ag sláimínteacht. - He is taking small amounts. (from sláimín, a small amount)
• Bhí sé ag croisínteacht. - He was harvesting seaweed. (from croisín, a tool for harvesting seaweed)

Declension of the Verbal Noun

As a noun, the verbal noun can be declined for case.

The Genitive Case

The genitive of the verbal noun is complex because its form depends on how it is used. It can either take the form of the verbal adjective or a regular noun genitive.

Using the Verbal Adjective as the Genitive

The verbal adjective form is used as the genitive when the verbal noun is transitive, meaning it takes a direct object (expressed as a genitive attribute or a possessive pronoun).

• lucht ólta fuisce - whiskey drinkers (literally, “people of the drinking of whiskey”)
• lucht foghlamtha na Gaeilge - Irish learners (literally, “people of the learning of Irish”)
• chun a mbuailte - to strike them

Verbal nouns ending in -adh, -ú, and other long vowels (-á, -é, -í, -ó) always use the verbal adjective form for their genitive, regardless of usage.

• glanadh (cleaning) → genitive glanta
• saothrú (working hard) → genitive saothraithe
• suí (sitting) → genitive suite

Using a Substantive Genitive

A regular noun genitive (formed according to the noun’s declension class) is used when the verbal noun is intransitive (takes no object) or is used in a purely noun-like sense.

• lá breithe - birthday (literally, “day of birth”)
• lucht óil - drinkers (people of drinking, in general)
• lucht foghlama - learners (people of learning, in general)

When Both Forms Coincide

For some second conjugation verbs (those ending in -l, -n, -r with verbal nouns in -t), the substantive genitive and the verbal adjective happen to have the same form.

• oscailt (opening) → genitive oscailte
• imirt (playing) → genitive imeartha

The Dative Case

In Standard Irish, the dative form of a verbal noun is always the same as its nominative form. This is especially relevant when forming the progressive aspect with the preposition ag, which governs the dative case.

The Plural

A verbal noun can have a plural form only when used in a purely noun-like sense, referring to multiple instances of an action or result.

Verbal nouns in -adh

The plural is typically formed by adding -í to the verbal adjective form.

• glanadh (a cleaning) → glantaí (cleanings)
• briseadh (a breaking) → bristeacha (breakings, outbreaks)

Verbal nouns in -ú

The plural ending is usually -uithe or -ithe.

• saothrú (a cultivation) → saothruithe (cultivations)

Verbal nouns in -áil

The plural ending is -álacha.

• gabháil (a capture) → gabhálacha (captures)

Short and Long Forms

Some verbs have two different verbal nouns: a standard short form and a special long form. The long forms, often created with endings like -chán, -nach, or -arnach, tend to have a more abstract, general, or durational meaning. The short forms are more concrete and verbal.

• léamh / léitheoireacht (reading)
• ní / níochán (washing)
• léim / léimneach (jumping)
• luascadh / luascarnach (swinging)

Syntactically, the short form is often used transitively (with an object), while the long form is used intransitively (without an object).

• Bhí sí ag fí an éadaigh. - She was weaving the cloth. (short, transitive)
• Chaith sí an lá ag fíochán. - She spent the day weaving. (long, intransitive)