Grammar
This is the area where this site's very simplified and condensed version is most apparent. Whole books or websites can and have been devoted to even basic explanations of Irish grammar. Since the information here is very introductory and intended mainly for travelers, I will be concentrating on information that will allow you to correctly pronounce, and to some degree interpret, written phrases.
If you'd like to explore the topic in more detail, check out the sites listed on the Resources page.
Sentence Structure
Standard Irish sentence structure is:
Verb
Subject
Direct Object
Indirect Object
Location, Manner, Time
If you translated a sentence word-by-word into "Is the cat furry," this would be a statement, not a question, and would be more correctly translated as "The cat is furry." To make the statement a question ("Is the cat furry?"), add "an" at the beginning of the sentence. Use "nach" for negative questions. In the same way, make a negative statement ("The cat is not furry") by beginning your sentence with "ni."
Commands follow the structure above, but have no subject. The polite ending "please" (le do thoil) comes at the end.
Lenition
Lenition is a consonant mutation by which the consonant sound is "softened." In Irish, it is written by an "h" following the lenited sound. Lenition transforms the sound of the letter.
p becomes f
b & m become v
f becomes silent
s & t become h
There is no English equivalent to lenited c, g or d. For c or g, make the unlenited sound, then try dropping the tongue to let more air through. Lenited d is the same as lenited g. Some sources describe lenited c as roughly the same as x, and g and d as rougly equivalent to j.
Lenition changes the grammatical meaning of a word, and appears in several different contexts.
1. Indicates past tense
2. After a singlular possessive pronoun
3. After a definite article (bean = woman; an bhean = the woman)
4. After some prepositions
5. In other, more complicated instances that I won't go into here. For our purposes, the most important points to remember are how the h affects pronunciation, and possibly its use as past tense.
Eclipsis
Like lenition, eclipsis changes the sound of a consonant.
p becomes b
t becomes d
c becomes g
broad f becomes w
slender f becomes v
b becomes m
d becomes n
g becomes ng
Don't be intimdated by this list; there's no need to memorize it. In Irish, the new, eclipsed consonant is written before the old. Just pronounce the first consonant and ignore the second. Bpeann (pen) is pronounced as though it were beann.
Eclipsis also has unique places in Irish grammar.
1. After plurual possessive pronounces
2. After the preposition meaning "in" (i before a consonant; in before a vowel)
3. After "of the"
Ready to try this out on some actual Irish words and phrases? If so, move on to Vocabulary.