Cork Irish

Táim is an irregular verb.  Its verbal noun is bheith /vʹeh/, which is always found lenited in the modern language. There is no verbal adjective.

Audio files were read by Eoiní Mhaidhc Ó Súilleabháin, native speaker in the Cork Gaeltacht, August 10th-11th 2010.

Simple present tense

Note: relative forms are produced by prefixing a- to the verb, eg atá. This reflects the fact that the verb táim was originally atáim. The relative form can have the t lenited in pronunciation, especially after a word ending in a vowel. While traditional sources speak of second-person singular forms such as táir, these are not in use, and may never have been in wide use, but may still be met with in literature. Similarly, the second-person singular form may occasionally be found in literature as nílir. A more traditional second-person singular form taoi is still found in the phrase conas taoi-se? The traditional second-person plural form táthaoi /tɑ:’hi:/ is occasionally encountered in literature. The third-person plural form is properly táid siad and not just táid, as attested in literature going back centuries, although tá siad is more common nowadays, under the influence of Standardized Irish.

Habitual present tense

Note: the autonomous form resisted lenition after ní and the direct relative particle in older forms of Cork Irish.

Simple past tense

Note: bhiothas is always lenited.

Future tense

Note: the autonomous form resisted lenition after ní and the direct relative particle in older forms of Cork Irish.

Conditional tense

Note: the autonomous form here is permanently lenited, even in older forms of Cork Irish.

Past habitual or imperfect tense

Note: the autonomous form here is permanently lenited, even in older forms of Cork Irish.

Imperative mood

Note: Amhlaoibh Ó Loingsigh had bígis as the second-person plural.

Present subjunctive (optative)

Note: other than raibh, the above forms are exceedingly rarely found. With this verb, the subjunctive forms are only used in optative contexts; otherwise the future forms are used. In other words, you can say ná rabhair riamh gan airgead, as this is a wish, but after sara, nó, chun, go and others, you would use forms like fan go mbeidh mé ansan.

Imperfect subjunctive

Note: this is the only verb the imperfect subjunctive forms of which are identical to the conditional.