An aidiacht bhriathartha (verbal adjective)
The verbal adjective is the equivalent of the past participle in English/German, e.g. washed, broken, worked, done, etc.
Usage
The main forms of usage are:
- As an attributive adjective (i.e. attached to a noun) - e.g. an cruiscín briste = the broken jar
- As a predicative adjective (i.e. standalone) - e.g. Tá an bord briste = The table is broken; Tá mé ólta = I am drunk
- Used as a predicative with transitive verbs, it gives us a passive mood - e.g. Tá an bord briste agam = The table was broken by me
- Used as a predicative can also give the perfect tense
- For transitive verbs - e.g. Tá an bord briste agam = I broke the table
- For intransitive verbs - e.g. Tá mé imithe go hÉirinn = I went to Ireland (I am gone to Ireland)
- Predicative with other verbs - e.g. Chonaic mé scríofa mar sin é = I saw it written like that
- The genetive form of the verbal noun is often the same as the verbal adjective - e.g. pósadh - pósta, suí - suíte, loighe - loite, caitheamh - caite
Form
There are a number of ways to form the verbal adjective, depending on the verb's conjugation group and the ending of the verb root.
First Conjugation
Group 1: verbs ending in -l, -n, -s, -ch, -d, append the ending -ta (broad) or -te (slender) to the verb root.
| Broad root | Verbal Adjective | Slender root | Verbal Adjective |
|---|---|---|---|
| ól (to drink) | ólta (drunk) | buail (to beat) | buailte (beaten) |
| dún (to close) | dúnta (closed) | sín (to stretch) | sínte (stretched) |
| las (to light) | lasta (lit) | bris (to break) | briste (broken) |
| croch (to hang) | crochta (hung) | goid (to steal) | goidte (stolen) |
| stad (to stop) | stadta (stopped) | ||
| siúil (to walk) | siúlta** (walked) |
** In some irregular cases, the last consonant becomes broad.
Group 2: verbs ending in -t/-th, drop the -t/-th and append -ta (broad) or -te (slender) to the stem.
| Root | Verbal Adjective |
|---|---|
| rith (to run) | rite (ran) |
| caith (to throw) | caite (thrown) |
| loit (to hurt) | loite (hurt) |
| at (to swell) | ata (swollen) |
Group 3: verbs ending in -b, -c, -g, -m, -p, -r, append the ending -tha (broad) or -the (slender) to the verb root.
| Broad root | Verbal Adjective | Slender root | Verbal Adjective |
|---|---|---|---|
| cum (to form/compose) | cumtha (formed/composed) | loisc (to burn) | loiscthe (burnt) |
| ceap (to think) | ceaptha (thought) | lig (to let) | ligthe (let) |
| fág (to leave) | fágtha (left) | léim (to jump) | léimthe (jumped) |
| glac (to take/accept) | glactha (taken/accepted) | scaip (to scatter/spill) | scaipthe (scattered/spilled) |
| lúb (to loop/bend) | lúbtha (looped/bent) | ||
| cuir (to put) | curtha** (put) |
** In some irregular cases, the last consonant becomes broad.
Group 4: verbs ending in -bh, -mh, drop the -bh/-mh and add -fa to the stem.
| Root | Verbal Adjective |
|---|---|
| scríobh (to write) | scríofa (written) |
| gabh (to take) | gafa (taken) |
| lobh (to rot) | lofa (rotten) |
Second Conjugation
Group 1: verbs ending in -(a)igh, replace the -gh with -the.
| Broad root | Verbal Adjective | Slender root | Verbal Adjective |
|---|---|---|---|
| ceannaigh (to buy) | ceannaithe (bought) | cruinnigh (to gather) | cruinnithe (gathered) |
| athraigh (to change) | aithraithe (changed) | imigh (to leave) | imithe (left) |
Group 2: verbs ending in -(a)il, same as for Group 1 in the first conjugation.
| Root | Verbal Adjective |
|---|---|
| oscail (to open) | oscailte (opened) |
Group 3: verbs ending in -(a)in, broaden the last consonant, then go with the same as for Group 1 in the first conjugation.
| Root | Verbal Adjective |
|---|---|
| seachain (to avoid) | seachanta (opened) |
Group 4: verbs ending in -(a)ir, broaden the last consonant, then follow Group 3 in the first conjugation.
| Root | Verbal Adjective |
|---|---|
| imir (to play) | imeartha (played) |
Group 5: verbs ending in -(a)im, broaden the last consonant, then follow Group 3 in the first conjugation.
| Root | Verbal Adjective |
|---|---|
| foghlaim (to learn) | foghlamtha (learned) |
Group 6: verbs ending in -(a)ing, same as for Group 3 in the first conjugation (just add -the)
| Root | Verbal Adjective |
|---|---|
| tuirling (to alight) | tuirlingthe (alighted) |
Irregular
Just one irregular one to draw attention to at the moment (the main irregular verbs will be discussed in a later section).
| Root | Verbal Adjective |
|---|---|
| inis (to tell) | inste (told) |