An Chopail ‘Is’ – Abairtí Aicme agus Abairtí Ionannais

The Copula ‘Is’ – Classification and Identification

Answer these questions:

1. Are you a teacher? 6. Were you a musician?

2. I am a teacher 7. I was a musician

3. He is not a teacher 8. He wasn’t a musician

4. She says she is a teacher 9. She says she is a musician

5. We say we are not teachers 10. We say we are not teachers

Classification - Abairtí Aicme

X is a Y

Nuair atá á mhaíodh againn cad é ar leith atá i nduine nó i rud, úsáidtear Abairt Aicme: Tabhair faoi
deara ‘fear, bean’ (níl litir ar bith ann sa Ghaeilge le ciall na litreach Bhéarla ‘a’a chur in iúl – sa
Ghaeilge, ní bhíonn ach na hainmfocail iad féin; ‘Fear – a man; Bean – a woman’.

When we tell, or ask, what a person or thing is we use a Classification sentence: NOTE ‘a man, a
woman’ (there is no letter used to express the English ‘a noun’ in Irish – we simply have ‘Fear – a
man; bean – a woman’)

Is fear mé Is bean mé
I am a man I am a woman
Is fear tú Is bean tú
You are a man You are a woman
Is fear é Ní bean é
He is a man He is not a woman
Ní fear í Is bean í
She is not a man She is a woman
Is fir muid Is mná muid
We are men We are women
Is fir iad Is mná iad
They are men We are women
Is fear Liam (or Is fear é Liam) Is bean Fionnuala (or Is bean í Fionnuala)
Liam is a man Fionnuala is a woman
An fear é? An bean í?
Is he a man? Is she a woman?
An fear (é) Liam? An bean (í) Fionnuala?
Is Liam a man? Is Fionnuala a woman
An fir muid? An mná iad?
Are we men? Are they women?
Deir sé gur fear é Deir sí nach fear í
He says he is a man She says she is not a man

Identification - Abairtí Ionannais

A is The B

Nuair a chuirtear in iúl, nó nuair a fhiafraítear, cé nó cé acu duine faoi leith atá i gceist, táthar ag
úsáid Abairt Ionannais: Tabhair faoi deara ‘an fear, an bhean’ (sa Ghaeilge úsáidtear an t-alt ‘an’ leis
an fhocal Béarla ‘the’ a chur in iúl.)

When we tell, or ask, who or which a person or thing is we use an identification sentence: NOTE ‘the
man, the woman’ (in Irish we use, an t-alt, the article ‘an’ to express the English ‘the’- an fear, an
bhean*)

Also notice the structure of the sentences

Is mise an fear Is mise an bhean

I am the man I am the woman
Is tusa an fear Is bean tú
You are the man You are a woman
Is é an fear é Ní bean é
or He is not a woman
Is eisean an fear Ní hí an bhean í
He is the man She is not the woman
Ní hí an fear í Is í an bhean í
or or
Ní hise an fear Is ise an bhean
She is not the man She is the woman
Is muidne na fir Is muidne na mná
We are men We are women
Is iad na fir iad Is iad na mná iad
or or
Is iadsan na fir is iadsan na mná
They are men We are women
Ní hiad na fir iad Ní hiad na mná iad
or or
Ní hiadsan na fir Ní hiadsan na mná iad
They are not the men They are not the women
Is é Liam an fear Is í Fionnuala an bhean
Liam is the man Fionnuala is the woman
An é Liam an fear? An í Fionnuala an bhean?
Is Liam the man? Is she a woman?
An mise an múinteoir? An í Fionnuala í? / An ise Fionnuala
Am I the teacher? Is she Fionnuala?
An é an ceoltóir é? An í an múinteoir í?
Is he the musician? Is she the teacher?
An iad na fir iad? An muid na mná?
Are they the men? Are we the women
Or Or
An iadsan na fir? An muidne na mná?
Are they the men? Are we the women?

Deir sé gurb iad na fir iad Deir sí nach iad na fir iad
He says they are the men She says they are not the men

Cad é fán Aimsir Chaite? What about the Past Tense?

To use the Copula in the past tense, we use the forms ‘Ba’. Notice in the examples below the
question form and negative form are different from that of the present tense: ‘Ba, Ar? , Níor , Nár’.
Also note the (+h) séimhiú

‘Ba, Ar? , Níor , Gur, Nár’.

Classification (Past Tense)

B’fhear mé Ba bhean mé
I was a man I was a woman
B’fhear tú Ba bhean tú
You were a man You were a woman
B’fhear é Níor bhean é
He was a man He was not a woman
Níor fhear í Níor bhean í
She was not a man She is a woman
B’fhir muid Níor mhná muid
We were men We were not women
Níorbh fhir iad Ba mhná iad
They were not men We were women
B’fhear Liam Ba bhean Fionnuala
Liam was a man Fionnuala wasa woman
Arbh fhear é? Ar bhean í?
Was he a man? Was she a woman?
Arbh fhear Liam? Ar bhean Fionnuala?
Was Liam a man? Was Fionnuala a woman
Arbh fhir muid? Ar mhná iad?
Were they men? Were they women?
Dúirt said gurbh fhir iad Dúirt said gur mhná iad
They said they were men They said they were women
Identification (Past Tense)
Ba mise an fear
I was the man
Ba tusa an fear
You were the man
Ba é an fear é
or
Ba eisean an fear
He was the man
Níorbh é an fear é
or
Níorbh eisean an fear
He was not the man
Ba muid na fir
We were men
Ba iad na fir iad
or
Ba iadsan na fir
They were men
Níorbh iad na fir iad
or
Níorbh iadsan na fir
They were not the men
Ba é Liam an fear
Liam was the man
Arbh é Liam an fear?
Was Liam the man?
Ar mise an múinteoir?
Was I the teacher?
Arbh é an ceoltóir é?
Was he the musician?
Arbh iad na fir iad?
Were they the men?
Or
Arbh iadsan na fir?
Were they the men?
Deir sé gurbh iad na fir iad
He says they were the men
Ba mise an bhean
I was the woman
Ba í an bhean í
or
Ba ise an bhean
She was the woman
Níorbh í an bhean í
She was not the woman
Níorbh ise an bhean
She was not the woman
Ba muid na mná
We were the women
Ba iad na mná iad
or
Níor iadsan na mná
We were the women
Níorbh iad na mná iad
or
Níorbh iadsan na mná iad
They were not the women
Ba í Fionnuala an bhean
Fionnuala was the woman
Arbh í Fionnuala an bhean?
Was she a woman?
Arbh í Fionnuala í?
Was she Fionnuala?
Arbh í an múinteoir í?
Was she the teacher?
Ar muid na mná?
Were we the women
Or
Ar muidne na mná?
Were we the women?
Deir sí nárbh iad na fir iad
She says they were not the men
An Chopail CC 1 An Chopail CC 2
PRESENT TENSE PAST/CONDITIONAL

An / Nach ? Ar/Nár (+h) ?

Ní X Ní (+h) X
gur  gur (+h) 
nach X nár (+h) X
1

An Chopail CC 3
PAST/CONDITIONAL VOWELS
and F
Arbh/Nárbh (+h) ?
Níorbh (+h) X
gurbh (+h) 
nárbh (+h) X

1
*A.J. Hughes, Nótaí Ranga, P15, University of Ulster, Diplóma sa Ghaeilge. ‘Credit
Cards’ (Verbal Particles)