Adjective Agreement in Irish
In this article, we will look at the basic rules for how to make an adjective agree with the gender and number of a noun!
Irish adjectives, like many European languages, like to make their adjectives agree in number (singular/plural), gender (masculine/feminine) and case (nominative/genitive/vocative) with the noun they are being used to describe.
This article will look at the most basic rules for the nominative case, which all beginners should know!
About adjectives in Irish
fear deas
bean dheas
fir dheasa
mná deasa
How adjectives work in Irish
Adjectives are words used to describe nouns and in Irish, they must agree with the gender, number and case of the noun which they are describing. Two terms often used by grammar books when speaking about adjectives are predicative and attributive.
A predicative adjective just means an adjective which is not directly attached to the noun. For example:
The glass is red.
An attributive adjective just means an adjective which is directly attached to the noun. For example:
the red glass
In Irish, agreement will only occur if the adjective is directly attached to the noun (i.e. it is attributive.)
The glass is red. => Tá an ghloine dearg
the red glass => an ghloine dhearg
If an adjective is attached to a masculine noun, there will be no change to the adjective (i.e. it will be the same form you’ll find in the dictionary).
Here are some examples:
fear deas
bosca mór
siúcra mín
doras buí
If an adjective is attached to a feminine noun, the adjective will get a séimhiú (lenition).
Here are some examples:
bean dheas
cistin mhór
seacláid mhín
cathaoir bhuí
If an adjective is attached to a plural noun, the adjective will have an -a or -e added to it (depending on whether it’s broad or slender).
Note that adjectives already ending in a vowel will not get an extra vowel (e.g. buí, oráiste, fada).
Here are some examples:
mná deasa
boscaí móra
cíora míne
doirse buí_
Note that the only time that you will ever see a plural adjective with lenition is if the plural noun itself ends in a slender consonant.
Here are some examples: