Present tenseYou, he, she, we, you (plural), they

A recap of the rules on verbs

• broad - the last vowel is a, o, u
• slender - the last vowel is i, e
• short - one syllable
• long - more than one syllable
• syncopated - more than one syllable, not ending with -igh / -aigh

Let’s try to put verbs into the present tense when talking about ‘you, he, she, we, you (plural), they’.

Examples of this in English are:

• he goes
• she puts
• we clean
• they eat

Step 1

To put a verb into the present tense for you, he, she, we, you (plural), they remove the ending –igh / –aigh / –ai / –i if there is one. For example:

Step 2

Add -eann to short slender verbs.

Add -ann to short broad verbs.

Add -íonn to long / syncopated slender verbs.

Add -aíonn to long / syncopated broad verbs.

Step 3

Add the person / noun / pronoun:

• tú - you
• sé - he
• sí - she
• muid - we
• sibh - you (plural)
• siad - they

Can you try to put the following into the present tense Irish?

If you are unsure, follow the three steps above.