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Gaeilge Irish
Family	Sub-family	Language of	Script
Indo-European	Celtic	Ireland	Extended Latin

The adjective – an aidiacht

The Irish adjectives always follow the noun, except in some few cases where an adjective can be used as an prefix in order to make a new attributive word, or when the adjective is pronominal. The words wich can be put in front of a noun are few, and rare, in fact the possibility to put an adjective in front of a noun is unheard of in Scottish Gaelic. Adjectives can be used predicatively, attributively and as adverbs.

When an adjective is used predicatively it remains unchanged and is put behind the noun, and it is mostly used together with the verb bí, less commonly used with the copula.

Examples:

Tá an capall béag - The horse is small.
Tá an bhean béag - The woman is small.
Tá na fir béag - The men are small.
Tá na tithe béag - The houses are small.
Is béag é an capall - The horse is small.

Some adjectives that are seen as adverbs to the verb bí are preceded by the word „go“, but if used together with another adverb the „go“ is omitted, and go is not used with the copula.

Examples:

Tá an prághas réasúnta maith – the price is reasonably good
Is dona é an oíche – it is a bad night

Some of these are:

• go maith good
• go maith good
• go hálainn beautiful
• go deas nice
• go dona bad
• go haoibhinn splendid, marvellous
• go breá beautiful, pretty
• go holc evil, very bad
• go híontach wonderful

In order to express the obtaining of an adjective, a quality, one uses the verb éirigh, which is translated as „to rise up“, as in Éireoidh sé go maith - he will become good.

When an adjective is used attributive it always, with no exceptions follows the noun, and agrees with it in gender, case and number, being declined, and if feminine lenited as well. The attributive adjective is however not declined after feminine personal names and adverbs! The adverbial use of an adjective is formed with the word go as shown in the following examples;

go + adjective séinn mé go maith – I sing well

go h+ adjective starting with a vowel séinn sí go háilinn – she sings beautifully

There are, in addition to the normal adjectives so called pronominal adjectives used to classify, divide and generalize a noun, and as they are used attributively they are not declined and rarely lenited.

• gach (in front of noun) every
• gach uile (in front of noun) every
• gach uile aon (in front of noun) every
• uile (L) (in front of noun) all
• éigin some
• aon some, no
• ar bith any, none
• cibé whatever, whichever
• eile other
• gach (in front of noun) every
• céanna same, very same
• araile certain
• áithríd certain

Irish pages
Introduction · Adjectives · Articles and Gender · Cases · Colours · Conjunctions · Mutation · Numbers · Prepositions · Pronouns · Syntax · Verbs