Verbs beginning with ‘f’ in the past tense
- consonantA letter representing a speech sound made with the lips, tongue or throat (as opposed to vowels which are made with an open vocal passage). + séimhiú / aspirate / séimhiú In Irish, to aspirate / séimhiú is when the letter 'h' is placed after the first letter in a word.
- vowelA letter representing a speech sound made when breath flows freely out of the mouth. The letters a, e, i, o, u are vowels. + d’
- f + d’ + séimhiú / aspirate / séimhiú In Irish, to aspirate / séimhiú is when the letter 'h' is placed after the first letter in a word.
Rule 3
Let’s look at examples of how the past tense works. Here are some verbA word used to describe an action or state of being. that begin with f.
| fág | to leave |
| freastail | to attend / serve |
| foghlaim | to learn |
| fág |
| to leave |
| freastail |
| to attend / serve |
| foghlaim |
| to learn |
To put these into the past, firstly put a d’ on the verb and then séimhiú / aspirate.
| fág | d'fhág |
| freastail | d'fhreastail |
| foghlaim | d'fhoghlaim |
| fág |
| d'fhág |
| freastail |
| d'fhreastail |
| foghlaim |
| d'fhoghlaim |
Next, add the nounThe name of a thing such as an object, a place or a person. Nouns are often described as naming words. after the verb.
| mé | I |
| tú | you |
| sé | he |
| sí | she |
| muid | we |
| sibh | you (plural) |
| siad | they |
| mé |
| I |
| tú |
| you |
| sé |
| he |
| sí |
| she |
| muid |
| we |
| sibh |
| you (plural) |
| siad |
| they |
Here are some examples.
| Mum left | d'fhág Mamaí |
| I attended | d'fhreastail mé |
| she learned | d'fhoghlaim s |
| Mum left |
| d'fhág Mamaí |
| I attended |
| d'fhreastail mé |
| she learned |
| d'fhoghlaim s |
Can you try to translate the following into Irish using Rule 3 / the ‘f’ rule? If unsure, check the rule summary list at the top of the page.
Question
I returned - (fill)
d’fhill mé
Question
Fiadh waited - (fan)
d’fhan Fiadh
Question
she answered - (freagair)
d’fhreagair sí
