JC Irish T2 cheat sheet

The Cluastuiscint is played three times in total: first full play-through, then a pause for reading the questions, then a second play-through, then a final play-through with pauses for writing answers.

Section A (Sraith A) tests short factual items - times, prices, names, places, weather - and answers are usually one word or a short phrase; spelling must match what is heard.

Section B (Sraith B) contains longer dialogues and monologues in Munster, Connacht and Ulster Irish; the speaker's dialect does not change the standard written answer.

Numbers and times: a haon a chlog, a dó a chlog; leathuair tar éis a trí = 3:30; ceathrú chun a cúig = 4:45; 12-hour clock is used, so listen for maidin, tráthnóna, oíche to disambiguate.

Dates: an chéad lá de Mhárta, an dara lá déag de Bhealtaine; months are lenited after de (de Mhárta, de Bhealtaine, de Mheán Fómhair).

Negation flips the answer: ní raibh sé ann, níl a fhios agam, níor ith mé é - if the question asks what happened, a negative statement often supplies the correct option.

Directions and place prepositions: ar chlé (left), ar dheis (right), díreach ar aghaidh (straight ahead), trasna an bhóthair (across the road), in aice leis an séipéal (beside the chapel).

If an answer is missed on the first playing, leave a gap and keep listening: the third playing repeats the same text, so a second chance is built into the format.

Section A (Sraith A) uses short notices, advertisements and messages; answers are lifted or lightly reworded from the text.

Section B (Sraith B) uses longer prose - letters, articles, short stories - and questions test inference as well as literal detail.

True/false items (Fíor nó Bréagach) hinge on one changed word: check tense, negation and quantity before deciding.

Vocabulary questions ask for a synonym or an explanation as Gaeilge; answering in English earns no marks unless the paper says otherwise.

Scan for the question's key noun first, then read the full sentence around it - the answer is usually within two lines of the keyword.

Pronoun reference items (cad a chiallaíonn sé/sí/iad) require tracing back to the nearest matching noun of the correct gender and number.

Titles and headings: the ceannlíne often paraphrases rather than repeats the main idea, so match meaning, not wording.

Numbers, percentages and comparisons (níos mó, níos lú, an chuid is mó) are frequent distractors - read the comparator carefully.

The composition (aiste) is worth the largest share of the written paper; a typical answer runs four to five paragraphs with an introduction, two or three developed points and a conclusion.

The scéal (story) needs past-tense narration: aimsir chaite for events, aimsir ghnáthchaite for background habit, and direct speech in quotation marks for pace.

The litir (letter) opens with A chara / A chara liom and closes with Is mise, do chara - informal letters use the singular familiar forms.

The alt nuachta or óráid uses present and future tense, passive and impersonal forms (cuirtear, déantar, táthar ag súil) for a formal register.

The síniú fada (fada marks) and the séimhiú/urú are marked: missing diacritics can cost grammar marks even when the sentence is otherwise correct.

An chopail: Is é/Is í for identification, Tá for description; Is maith liom (liking) versus Táim go maith (state) is a classic exam distinction.

The aidiacht shealbhach triggers changes: mo charr, do theach, a athair (his), a hathair (her), ár gcarr, bhur dteach.

Coinníollach (conditional) and modh foshuiteach (subjunctive) add marks in higher-level answers: dá mbeadh airgead agam, cheannóinn carr; go raibh maith agat, más é do thoil é.

The oral exam has three parts: the sraith pictiúr (picture sequence), the comhrá (conversation) and, at higher level, the trialach/roleplay or poetry recitation depending on the year's format.

Sraith pictiúr answers use present tense narration with sequence markers: ar dtús, ansin, ina dhiaidh sin, faoi dheireadh.

The comhrá is built from predictable themes - mé féin, mo theaghlach, an scoil, caitheamh aimsire, laethanta saoire, an aimsir, pleananna don todhchaí - so prepare a set of extended answers for each.

Answers should be two to three sentences, not one word: give the fact, then a reason or extra detail (mar gheall ar, toisc go, mar shampla).

The filíocht question requires naming the poem, the theme, an image you liked and a line quoted from memory.

Pronunciation: broad consonants before a/o/u and slender before e/i; the fada lengthens the vowel (á, é, í, ó, ú), so bá is not ba.

Fillers that keep fluency: bhuel, sea, ceart go leor, anois, ar ndóigh - used sparingly, they buy thinking time without silence.

If you do not understand, ask in Irish: An bhféadfá é sin a rá arís, le do thoil? - this is credited as communication, not penalised.

Séimhiú (lenition) after: an (feminine nominative), mo/do/a (his), dhá, níor, ar, and after certain prepositions in the singular definite article (ar an mbord is urú, not séimhiú).

Urú (eclipsis) after: an (plural possessive ár), bhur, i, ag an, as an, leis an, and after the interrogative particles an/nach before consonants in the present tense.

An aimsir chaite: séimhiú on the initial consonant and -igh/-aigh endings; irregular verbs must be learned whole (chuaigh, tháinig, rinne, fuair, thug, dúirt, chonaic).

An aimsir láithreach: endings -ann/-eann for the autonomous and analytic forms; the synthetic forms (-im, -aim, -imid) are still examinable.

An aimsir fháistineach: -faidh/-fidh endings; irregulars include rachaidh, tiocfaidh, déanfaidh, gheobhaidh, tabharfaidh.

An modh coinníollach: -fadh/-feadh endings; dá + coinníollach in both clauses (dá dtiocfá, bheinn sásta).

An tuiseal ginideach: the genitive is marked by a slender final consonant and by changes in the article (an chailín → an chailín, an fear → an fhir, an bhean → na mná).

An chopail versus an briathar: Is + noun/pronoun for classification (Is múinteoir mé), Tá + adjective/location for state (Táim sásta, Tá sé sa bhaile).

Prepositional pronouns must be learned as a set: agam, agat, aige, aici, againn, agaibh, acu; orm, ort, air, uirthi, orainn, oraibh, orthu.

The Cluastuiscint is played three times in total: first full play-through, then a pause for reading the questions, then a second play-through, then a final play-through with pauses for writing answers.

Section A (Sraith A) tests short factual items - times, prices, names, places, weather - and answers are usually one word or a short phrase; spelling must match what is heard.

Section B (Sraith B) contains longer dialogues and monologues in Munster, Connacht and Ulster Irish; the speaker's dialect does not change the standard written answer.

Numbers and times: a haon a chlog, a dó a chlog; leathuair tar éis a trí = 3:30; ceathrú chun a cúig = 4:45; 12-hour clock is used, so listen for maidin, tráthnóna, oíche to disambiguate.

Dates: an chéad lá de Mhárta, an dara lá déag de Bhealtaine; months are lenited after de (de Mhárta, de Bhealtaine, de Mheán Fómhair).

Negation flips the answer: ní raibh sé ann, níl a fhios agam, níor ith mé é - if the question asks what happened, a negative statement often supplies the correct option.

Directions and place prepositions: ar chlé (left), ar dheis (right), díreach ar aghaidh (straight ahead), trasna an bhóthair (across the road), in aice leis an séipéal (beside the chapel).

If an answer is missed on the first playing, leave a gap and keep listening: the third playing repeats the same text, so a second chance is built into the format.

Section A (Sraith A) uses short notices, advertisements and messages; answers are lifted or lightly reworded from the text.

Section B (Sraith B) uses longer prose - letters, articles, short stories - and questions test inference as well as literal detail.

True/false items (Fíor nó Bréagach) hinge on one changed word: check tense, negation and quantity before deciding.

Vocabulary questions ask for a synonym or an explanation as Gaeilge; answering in English earns no marks unless the paper says otherwise.

Scan for the question's key noun first, then read the full sentence around it - the answer is usually within two lines of the keyword.

Pronoun reference items (cad a chiallaíonn sé/sí/iad) require tracing back to the nearest matching noun of the correct gender and number.

Titles and headings: the ceannlíne often paraphrases rather than repeats the main idea, so match meaning, not wording.

Numbers, percentages and comparisons (níos mó, níos lú, an chuid is mó) are frequent distractors - read the comparator carefully.

The composition (aiste) is worth the largest share of the written paper; a typical answer runs four to five paragraphs with an introduction, two or three developed points and a conclusion.

The scéal (story) needs past-tense narration: aimsir chaite for events, aimsir ghnáthchaite for background habit, and direct speech in quotation marks for pace.

The litir (letter) opens with A chara / A chara liom and closes with Is mise, do chara - informal letters use the singular familiar forms.

The alt nuachta or óráid uses present and future tense, passive and impersonal forms (cuirtear, déantar, táthar ag súil) for a formal register.

The síniú fada (fada marks) and the séimhiú/urú are marked: missing diacritics can cost grammar marks even when the sentence is otherwise correct.

An chopail: Is é/Is í for identification, Tá for description; Is maith liom (liking) versus Táim go maith (state) is a classic exam distinction.

The aidiacht shealbhach triggers changes: mo charr, do theach, a athair (his), a hathair (her), ár gcarr, bhur dteach.

Coinníollach (conditional) and modh foshuiteach (subjunctive) add marks in higher-level answers: dá mbeadh airgead agam, cheannóinn carr; go raibh maith agat, más é do thoil é.

The oral exam has three parts: the sraith pictiúr (picture sequence), the comhrá (conversation) and, at higher level, the trialach/roleplay or poetry recitation depending on the year's format.

Sraith pictiúr answers use present tense narration with sequence markers: ar dtús, ansin, ina dhiaidh sin, faoi dheireadh.

The comhrá is built from predictable themes - mé féin, mo theaghlach, an scoil, caitheamh aimsire, laethanta saoire, an aimsir, pleananna don todhchaí - so prepare a set of extended answers for each.

Answers should be two to three sentences, not one word: give the fact, then a reason or extra detail (mar gheall ar, toisc go, mar shampla).

The filíocht question requires naming the poem, the theme, an image you liked and a line quoted from memory.

Pronunciation: broad consonants before a/o/u and slender before e/i; the fada lengthens the vowel (á, é, í, ó, ú), so bá is not ba.

Fillers that keep fluency: bhuel, sea, ceart go leor, anois, ar ndóigh - used sparingly, they buy thinking time without silence.

If you do not understand, ask in Irish: An bhféadfá é sin a rá arís, le do thoil? - this is credited as communication, not penalised.

Séimhiú (lenition) after: an (feminine nominative), mo/do/a (his), dhá, níor, ar, and after certain prepositions in the singular definite article (ar an mbord is urú, not séimhiú).

Urú (eclipsis) after: an (plural possessive ár), bhur, i, ag an, as an, leis an, and after the interrogative particles an/nach before consonants in the present tense.

An aimsir chaite: séimhiú on the initial consonant and -igh/-aigh endings; irregular verbs must be learned whole (chuaigh, tháinig, rinne, fuair, thug, dúirt, chonaic).

An aimsir láithreach: endings -ann/-eann for the autonomous and analytic forms; the synthetic forms (-im, -aim, -imid) are still examinable.

An aimsir fháistineach: -faidh/-fidh endings; irregulars include rachaidh, tiocfaidh, déanfaidh, gheobhaidh, tabharfaidh.

An modh coinníollach: -fadh/-feadh endings; dá + coinníollach in both clauses (dá dtiocfá, bheinn sásta).

An tuiseal ginideach: the genitive is marked by a slender final consonant and by changes in the article (an chailín → an chailín, an fear → an fhir, an bhean → na mná).

An chopail versus an briathar: Is + noun/pronoun for classification (Is múinteoir mé), Tá + adjective/location for state (Táim sásta, Tá sé sa bhaile).

Prepositional pronouns must be learned as a set: agam, agat, aige, aici, againn, agaibh, acu; orm, ort, air, uirthi, orainn, oraibh, orthu.