JC Irish T2 flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

An chopail

The copula Is, used to link a noun or pronoun to a subject for identification or classification: Is múinteoir mé. It contrasts with Tá, which describes state or location.

Séimhiú

Lenition, written with a following h. It marks softened initial consonants after certain particles and possessive adjectives, e.g. mo charr, an bhean, níor tháinig sé.

Urú

Eclipsis, where a following consonant replaces the sound of the initial one: i mbaile, ag an bhfuinneog, ár gcarr. Triggered by prepositions and possessive adjectives.

An aimsir chaite

The past tense. Regular verbs take séimhiú and -igh/-aigh endings; irregular verbs are learned whole, such as chuaigh, tháinig, rinne, fuair, dúirt, chonaic.

An aimsir fháistineach

The future tense, formed with -faidh/-fidh endings. Irregular futures include rachaidh, tiocfaidh, déanfaidh, gheobhaidh, tabharfaidh and beidh.

An modh coinníollach

The conditional mood, with -fadh/-feadh endings. In unreal conditions, dá is followed by the conditional in both clauses: dá dtiocfá, bheinn sásta.

An tuiseal ginideach

The genitive case, used after verbal nouns and for possession. It is marked by a slender final consonant and article changes: an fear becomes an fhir; an bhean becomes na mná.

Forainmneacha réamhfhoclacha

Prepositional pronouns, where preposition and pronoun fuse into one word: agam, agat, aige, aici, againn, agaibh, acu; orm, ort, air, uirthi, orainn, oraibh, orthu.

Aidiacht shealbhach

Possessive adjectives cause mutations: mo charr, do theach, a athair (his father), a hathair (her father), ár gcarr, bhur dteach, a gcarr (their car).

An fhoirm cheisteach

Question forms: An before consonants in the present, Ar in the past, An/Nach with urú before verbs, and Ní/Níor for negatives. Word order stays verb-first.

Cluastuiscint structure

The listening paper is played three times: a full play-through, a second play-through after a pause to read questions, then a final play-through with pauses for writing answers.

Leathuair tar éis

Half past the hour in Irish: leathuair tar éis a trí means half past three. Ceathrú chun a cúig means quarter to five. The 12-hour clock is standard.

Treoracha

Directions vocabulary heard in listening tasks: ar chlé (left), ar dheis (right), díreach ar aghaidh (straight ahead), trasna an bhóthair (across the road), in aice le (beside).

Sraith A agus Sraith B

The listening paper has two sections. Sraith A tests short factual details such as times, prices and names; Sraith B uses longer dialogues and monologues with inference questions.

Dialect in listening

Recordings use Munster, Connacht and Ulster Irish. Answers are written in standard written Irish, so a dialect form heard must be converted to its standard spelling.

Negation as a clue

Negative statements frequently supply the correct answer: ní raibh sé ann, níl a fhios agam, níor ith mé é. Listen for ní, níor, nach and níl before choosing.

Míonna sa ghinideach

Months are lenited after de: de Mhárta, de Bhealtaine, de Mheán Fómhair, de Nollaig. Dates follow an chéad lá de, an dara lá de.

Léamhthuiscint structure

The reading paper has Sraith A with short notices, advertisements and messages, and Sraith B with longer prose such as letters and articles testing inference as well as literal detail.

Fíor nó Bréagach

True or false items. The false option usually changes one element: tense, negation, quantity or a single noun. Check each element against the text before deciding.

Freagraí as Gaeilge

Reading comprehension answers must be written in Irish unless the paper states otherwise. Lifting a phrase from the text is acceptable; translating into English earns no marks.

Scimeáil agus léamh

Scanning strategy: locate the question's key noun in the passage first, then read the whole sentence around it. The answer usually lies within two lines of the keyword.

Ceannlíne

A headline or title. It often paraphrases the main idea rather than repeating it, so match it by meaning and not by identical wording when answering.

Comparáidí sa téacs

Comparatives and quantities such as níos mó, níos lú and an chuid is mó are frequent distractors. Identify exactly which item is being compared before answering.

An aiste

The composition, worth the largest share of the written paper. A strong answer has four to five paragraphs: introduction, two or three developed points, and a conclusion.

An scéal

A story composition. It requires past-tense narration, aimsir chaite for events and aimsir ghnáthchaite for background habit, plus direct speech to add pace.

An litir phearsanta

An informal letter. It opens with A chara and closes with Is mise, do chara, using familiar singular forms and direct address to the named recipient.

An t-alt nuachta

A news article or report. It uses present and future tense with impersonal forms such as cuirtear, déantar and táthar ag súil to create a formal register.

Síniú fada

The fada mark lengthens a vowel: á, é, í, ó, ú. Omitting it is a spelling error and can cost marks even when the sentence is otherwise correct.

An sraith pictiúr

The picture sequence in the oral exam. It is narrated in the present tense with sequence markers: ar dtús, ansin, ina dhiaidh sin, faoi dheireadh.

An comhrá

The conversation section of the oral. It draws on predictable themes: mé féin, mo theaghlach, an scoil, caitheamh aimsire, laethanta saoire and plans for the future.

Freagra leathnaithe

An extended answer of two to three sentences: state the fact, then add a reason or example using mar gheall ar, toisc go or mar shampla. One-word answers lose marks.

Ceisteanna filíochta

The poetry question in the oral requires naming the poem, discussing its theme, describing an image you liked and quoting a line from memory.