Role-play
Síle:
Conas atá tú ar maidin, a Sheosaimh? How are you this morning, Seosamh?
Seosamh:
Ó a Shíle, táim leathmharbh. Oh Síle, I’m half dead.
Síle:
Conas é sin? How is that?
Seosamh:
Táim ag iomáint don chontae i mbliana. I’m hurling for the county this year.
Bhí traenáil meáchan ar bun againn aréir. We were doing weight training last night.
Tá pianta i ngach cuid de mo chorp agam! I have pains in every part of my body!
Síle:
I measc na mbuachaillí móra anois atá tú! You’re in with the big boys now!
Seosamh:
Agus fear crua is ea an cóitseálaí nirt agus aclaithe nua atá ceaptha ag bord an chontae. And the new strength and conditioning coach who has been appointed by the county board is a hard man.
Síle:
Cad is ainm dó? What is his name?
Seosamh:
Bradley Foster. Is Astrálach é. Bradley Foster. He is an Australian.
Síle:
Is fearaíoch iad fir na hAstráile! The men of Australia are macho!
Seosamh:
Is fíor duit. True for you.
An mbíonn aclaíocht rialta d’aon sórt ar bun agatsa, a Shíle? Do you any sort of regular exercise, Síle?
Síle:
Nílim chomh haclaí is a bhí mé tráth. I’m not as fit as I used to be.
Rithinn Maratón Dhaingin Uí Chúis gach uile bliain go dtí gur theip mo ghlúine orm. I used to run the Dingle Marathon every year until my knees failed me.
Seosamh:
Is deacair drochghlúine a leigheas. It is hard to heal bad knees.
Síle:
Ní leigheasfar go deo iad, faraor. They won’t ever be healed, alas.
Anois téim go dtí an linn snámha dhá oíche sa tseachtain. Now I go to the swimming pool two nights per week.
Snámhaim caoga fad. I swim fifty lengths.
Seosamh:
Caithfidh go bhfuil scámhóga láidre agat! You must have strong lungs!
Seachnaím féin an linn snámha. I avoid the swimming pool myself.
Síle:
Cen fáth é sin? Why is that?
Seosamh:
Buaileann taom asma mé aon uair a théim ag snámh in uisce a bhfuil clóirín ann. I have an asthma attack anytime that I go swimming in water that has chlorine in it.
Síle:
Tuigim. I understand.
Rothaímse chun na hoibre chomh minic agus is féidir. I cycle to work as often as I can.
Seosamh:
Mise freisin, ach leis an aimsir chomh fliuch is a bhí sí le tamall anuas tá sé ro-éasca a bheith leisciúil agus suí isteach sa chairt ar maidin. Me too, but with the weather as wet as it has been for the past while it is too easy to be lazy and sit into the car in the morning.
Síle:
Tá a fhios agam é. I know it.
B’fhéidir go bhféadfaimis snámh go dtí an oifig?! Perhaps we could swim to the office?!
Role-play with phonetics
Conas atá tú ar maidin, a Sheosaimh? /Kun-ass ah-taw thoo air maw-dinn, a Hyoh-siv?/
How are you this morning, Seosamh?
Seosamh:
Ó a Shíle, táim leathmharbh. /Oh, a Heel-eh, thaw-im lah-vorr-uv/
Oh Síle, I’m half dead.
Síle:
Conas é sin? /Kun-ass ay shin?/
How is that?
Seosamh:
Táim ag iomáint don chontae i mbliana. /Thaw-im eg um-aw-int dun khoon-tay i mlee-un-ah/
I’m hurling for the county this year.
Bhí traenáil meáchan ar bun againn aréir. /vee tray-naw-il maa-khun air bun a-gwin a-ray-irr/
We were doing weight training last night.
Tá pianta i ngach cuid de mo chorp agam! /Thaw pee-un-thuh ih nokh kwid deh muh khorp a-gum/
I have pains in every part of my body!
Síle:
I measc na mbuachaillí móra anois atá tú! /Ih massk nuh moo-ukh-il-ee moo-ra a-nish a-thaw thoo/
You’re in with the big boys now!
Seosamh:
Agus fear crua is ea an cóitseálaí nirt agus aclaithe nua atá ceaptha ag bord an chontae. /Og-uss far kroo-a ish ah un koh-chawl-ee neert og-uss ok-lih-heh noo-a a-thaw kyap-huh eg bord un khoon-tay/
And the new strength and conditioning coach who has been appointed by the county board is a hard man.
Síle:
Cad is ainm dó? /Kodd iss an-im doe?/
What is his name?
Seosamh:
Bradley Foster. Is Astrálach é. /Bradley Foster. Iss Oss-traw-lukh ay/
Bradley Foster. He is an Australian.
Síle:
Is fearaíoch iad fir na hAstráile! /Iss far-ee-ukh ee-ud fyrr nuh hOss-traw-il-eh!/
The men of Australia are macho!
Seosamh:
Is fíor duit. /Iss fee-ur duh-it/
True for you.
An mbíonn aclaíocht rialta d’aon sórt ar bun agatsa, a Shíle? /Un mee-un ok-lee-ukth ree-al-thuh day-un sorth air bun a-gut-sa, a Hee-lah?/
Do you any sort of regular exercise, Síle?
Síle:
Nílim chomh haclaí is a bhí mé tráth. /Neel-im khoh hok-lee iss a vee may thraw/
I’m not as fit as I used to be.
Rithinn Maratón Dhaingin Uí Chúis gach uile bliain go dtí gur theip mo ghlúine orm. /Rih-hin Mar-a-tone Gang-in Ee Khoo-ish gokh ih-leh blee-in guh dee gur hep muh gloo-in-eh urr-um/
I used to run the Dingle Marathon every year until my knees failed me.
Seosamh:
Is deacair drochghlúine a leigheas. /Iss da-kirr druh-gloo-in-eh a lyss/
It is hard to heal bad knees.
Síle:
Ní leigheasfar go deo iad, faraor. /Nee lys-far guh djoh ee-ud farr-ayr/
They won’t ever be healed, alas.
Anois téim go dtí an linn snámha dhá oíche sa tseachtain. /A-nish taym guh dee un lin ssnaw gaw ee-heh suh tokh-thin/
Now I go to the swimming pool two nights per week.
Snámhaim caoga fad. /SSnaw-vim kway-og-uh fodd/
I swim fifty lengths.
Seosamh:
Caithfidh go bhfuil scámhóga láidre agat! /Ko-higg guh wil skaw-voh-guh law-id-reh a-guth/
You must have strong lungs!
Seachnaím féin an linn snámha. /Shok-neem fayn un lin ssnaw/
I avoid the swimming pool myself.
Síle:
Cen fáth é sin? /Kayn faw ay shin?/
Why is that?
Seosamh:
Buaileann taom asma mé aon uair a théim ag snámh in uisce a bhfuil clóirín ann. /Boo-il-un thay-um oss-muh may ay-un oo-irr a haym eg ssnawv in ish-keh a wil kloh-reen owwn/
I have an asthma attack anytime that I go swimming in water that has chlorine in it.
Síle:
Tuigim. /Thigg-im/
I understand.
Rothaímse chun na hoibre chomh minic agus is féidir. /Ruh-heem-sheh khun nuh hib-rreh khoh min-ik og-uss iss fay-dirr/
I cycle to work as often as I can.
Seosamh:
Mise freisin, ach leis an aimsir chomh fliuch is a bhí sí le tamall anuas tá sé ro-éasca a bheith leisciúil agus suí isteach sa chairt ar maidin. /Mish-eh fresh-in, okh lesh un eye-im-shir khoh flukh iss a vee leh thom-ull a-noo-uss thaw shay roh-ay-uss-kuh a veh lesh-kyoo-il og-uss suh-ee ish-tokh suh khah-irt air maw-dinn/
Me too, but with the weather as wet as it has been for the past while it is too easy to be lazy and sit into the car in the morning.
Síle:
Tá a fhios agam é. /Thaw a iss a-gum ay/
I know it.
B’fhéidir go bhféadfaimis snámh go dtí an oifig?! /Bay-dirr guh vay-uth-ah-meesh ssnawv guh dee un iff-ig?!/
Perhaps we could swim to the office?!
Grammar notes
Síle:
Conas atá tú ar maidin, a Sheosaimh? How are you this morning, Seosamh?
Conas atá tú? (Munster) = Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú? (Connacht) = Cad é mar atá tú?(Ulster) – standard informal way of asking ‘how are you?’
a Sheosaimh – vocative case
Seosamh:
Ó a Shíle, táim leathmharbh. Oh Síle, I’m half dead.
táim = tá mé – I am
leathmharbh – Compound word: half dead (‘leath’ + ‘marbh’).
In compound words, the second word takes séimhiúExcept:
*Letters that don’t ever takes séimhiú (l, n, r, h): e.g. ‘l’ ceannlíne (‘headline’, ‘ceann’ + ‘líne’)
*DNTLS rule: do not apply séimhiú or urú if the word starts with one of D T S, and the previous word ends with one of D N T L S. e.g tráchtsolas (‘traffic light’), aoldath (“whitewash”).
*More exceptions include certain fixed compound words like coiscéim, but these are rare.
*When the parts of the compound word join vowels and same consonants together, they take a hyphen: see crua-earraí and dearg-ghráin for examples.
*The prefix ‘éa-‘ or ‘éi-‘ actually triggers urú instead, and deletes the first letter of the original word e.g – éagothrom (‘unequal’,from ‘éa’ + ‘cothrom’), éiginnte (‘unsure’, from ‘éi’ + ‘cinnte’)
Síle:
Conas é sin? How is that?
Seosamh:
Táim ag iomáint don chontae i mbliana. I’m hurling for the county this year.
ag iomáint – hurling. Verbal noun of iomáin (to hurl, play hurling).
iomáint / iománaíocht: hurling (noun)
iománaí – hurler (person who plays hurling)
camán – hurling stick (from cam meaning ‘bent’, ‘crooked’ in reference to shape of the hurling stick).
camóg – camogie stick
camógaíocht – camogie
Bhí traenáil meáchan ar bun againn aréir. We were doing weight training last night.
aréir – last night
anocht: tonight
oíche amárach: tomorrow night
Tá pianta i ngach cuid de mo chorp agam! I have pains in every part of my body!
i ngach – urú on consonants after the preposition ‘i’.
Síle:
I measc na mbuachaillí móra anois atá tú! You’re in with the big boys now!
I measc – amongst, in with (compound preposition)
na mbuachaillí – genitive plural of na buachaillí (the boys). Nouns in genitive following compound prepositions such as tar éis, i ndiaidh, os comhair, le linn, i rith etc., and after some prepositions such as chun and timpeall. (All these forms technically are or contain a noun, which is why we need the genitive case.)
Seosamh:
Agus fear crua is ea an cóitseálaí nirt agus aclaithe nua atá ceaptha ag bord an chontae. And the new strength and conditioning coach who has been appointed by the county board is a hard man.
ceaptha – appointed, adverb ‘ceap’ (to appoint, think, conceive, invent, fashion)
Síle:
Cad is ainm dó? What is his name?
cad is ainm dó – lit. “what is name for him?”
dó – prepositional pronoun, third-person singular, masculine, of do (‘for, to’).
Seosamh:
Bradley Foster. Is Astrálach é. Bradley Foster. He is an Australian.
Is Ástrálach é – The copula is used to talk about things that are permanent or unlikely to change, such as gender, nationality and profession. The verb bí (“to be”) is used to specify less permanent states.
Is fear é – He is a man but tá sé tuirseach – he is tired.
Síle:
Is fearaíoch iad fir na hAstráile! The men of Australia are macho!
fearaíoch – macho
fearúil – manly
fear – manfir na hAstráile – the men of Australia. Australia (‘an Astráil’) is in the genitive.
Seosamh:
Is fíor duit. True for you.
An mbíonn aclaíocht rialta d’aon sórt ar bun agatsa, a Shíle? Do you any sort of regular exercise, Síle?
An mbíonn – interrogative verbal particle ‘an‘ causes urú.
Here the verb ‘bí‘ (to be) is in the present habitual tense, which is used to talk about routine rather than what is happening “right now”.
Síle:
Nílim chomh haclaí is a bhí mé tráth. I’m not as fit as I used to be.
Nílim = níl mé = I am not.
chomh haclaí – ‘chomh’ prefixes ‘h’ to vowels.
tráth – once (at time in past)
tráth can also mean ‘hour, time, say, occasion’.
tá tráth éirí ann – it is time to get up.
an tráth sin den bhliain – (at) that time of the year
ní tráth moille é – it is no time for delay
Rithinn Maratón Dhaingin Uí Chúis gach uile bliain go dtí gur theip mo ghlúine orm. I used to run the Dingle Marathon every year until my knees failed me.
rithinn – I used to run (past habitual tense).
Rith mé abhaile inné -I ran home yesterday (ordinary past tense)
Rithinn abhaile gach lá anuraidh – I used to run home every day last year (past habitual).
gur theip – the introducing temporal clause ‘‘go’ (‘until’) is replaced with ‘gur‘ with regular verbs in past tense.
fan go n-osclóidh mé an doras – wait until I open the door (imperative case)
d’fhan sé go dtí gur oscail mé an doras – he waited until I opened the doormo ghlúine – my knees (possessive adjective)
glúin (singular) > glúine (plural), variation (Munster) glúinte
Seosamh:
Is deacair drochghlúine a leigheas. It is hard to heal bad knees.
Síle:
Ní leigheasfar go deo iad, faraor. They won’t ever be healed, alas.
leigheasfar – passive mood, future tense of the verb leigheas (‘to heal, cure, remedy’).
go deo – ever. In combination with negative ‘ní’, this becomes never.
Anois téim go dtí an linn snámha dhá oíche sa tseachtain. Now I go to the swimming pool two nights per week.
Snámhaim caoga fad. I swim fifty lengths.
caoga fad – fifty lengths. When counting things, if the number is a multiple of ten – such as 20, 30, 40, 70, 100 etc – there is no change to the noun whatsoever.
Seosamh:
Caithfidh go bhfuil scámhóga láidre agat! You must have strong lungs!
Caithfidh – modal verb expressing certainty or likelihood
Caithfidh go bhfuil ocras ort – you must be hungry
Seachnaím féin an linn snámha. I avoid the swimming pool myself.
Síle:
Cen fáth é sin? Why is that?
Seosamh:
Buaileann taom asma mé aon uair a théim ag snámh in uisce a bhfuil clóirín ann. I have an asthma attack anytime that I go swimming in water that has chlorine in it.
Síle:
Tuigim. I understand.
Rothaímse chun na hoibre chomh minic agus is féidir. I cycle to work as often as I can.
chomh minic agus is féidir: as often as possible. The same sentence structure may be used with other adjectives.
chomh luath agus is feidir – as soon as possible
chomh tapa agus is féidir – as fast as possible
Seosamh:
Mise freisin, ach leis an aimsir chomh fliuch is a bhí sí le tamall anuas tá sé ro-éasca a bheith leisciúil agus suí isteach sa chairt ar maidin. Me too, but with the weather as wet as it has been for the past while it is too easy to be lazy and sit into the car in the morning.
ró-éasca – hyphen on prefix ‘ró‘ (‘too’, ‘very’) before adjectives beginning with a vowel. No hyphen for consonants, but it does then cause séimhiú: e.g. ródheas (‘too nice’)
isteach sa chairt – into the car. The preposition ‘i’ (meaning ‘in’) combines with singular article ‘an’ to form ‘sa’ before consonant, and san before vowel or f followed by vowel. Sa Fhrainc (in France) but san Fhionlainn (‘Frainc’ has a consonant following the initial ‘f’, but Fionlainn does not).
san oifig – in the office
san fhómhair – in the autumn
Síle:
Tá a fhios agam é. I know it.
B’fhéidir go bhféadfaimis snámh go dtí an oifig?! Perhaps we could swim to the office?
Open questions to ask each other
An mbíonn aclaíocht rialta ar bun agat? Cén saghas? Do you take regular exercise? What kind?
An dtaitníonn an linn snámha leat? Do you like the swimming pool?
Cén saghas aclaíochta is fearr leat? What is your favourite type of exercise?
An duine iomaíoch thú? Ar bronnadh bonn nó corn ort nó ar d’fhoireann as gaisce spóirt riamh? Are you a competitive person? Were you or your team ever awarded a medal or trophy for an achievement in sport?
Printable PDF version of script
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