LC Irish cheat sheet

Three listenings are standard: the first for gist, the second for specific detail, the third to confirm answers against the question paper.

Question stems in Irish signal what to listen for: cé, cad, cathain, cá, cén fáth, conas, cé mhéad.

Numbers, dates and times are the highest-frequency trap: déag vs fichead (11–19 vs 20s), and half-hours expressed as leathuair tar éis a haon.

Negative and hedged forms flip meaning: níor, nár, gan, ar éigean, beagnach, níos lú ná - mark these before choosing an option.

Distractors are usually spoken first and corrected later; a correction marker (ach, i ndáiríre, bhuel, ar ndóigh) often precedes the true answer.

Register matters: news and weather bulletins use passive and impersonal forms (tuairiscítear, deirtear, ceaptar) rather than first person.

Regional pronunciation to expect: Connacht broad -ch, Ulster initial stress and -igh as [i], Munster slender consonant clusters; the written form on the paper is standard.

Answers must be written in Irish in the space provided; a single word or short phrase is normally sufficient and full sentences are not required.

The oral is divided into fixed components: greeting and personal details, a picture series or role-play, a topic discussion, and poetry/song recitation where prescribed.

The picture series is narrated in the present tense with the progressive construction: tá sé ag siúl, tá siad ag caint, bhí siad ag rith.

Sraith pictiúr narration needs sequencing markers: ar dtús, ansin, ina dhiaidh sin, ag an am céanna, ar deireadh.

The role-play is graded on functional language: asking for information, making a complaint, giving an opinion, and closing the exchange politely.

The topic discussion rewards extended turns; a 60–90 second answer with a reason and an example outperforms a list of short sentences.

The modh coinníollach is a high-value structure in opinion answers: ba mhaith liom, cheapfainn, bheinn sásta, d'fhoghlaimínn.

Recitation must be accurate: a prescribed poem is marked for memorisation and delivery, not for paraphrase.

Pronunciation targets: broad/slender contrast (caol le caol agus leathan le leathan), séimhiú heard as aspiration, and correct stress on initial syllables in most words.

Five register types recur: alt nuachta, litir (foirmiúil or neamhfhoirmiúil), aiste, cuntas/cur síos, and óráid; each has its own opening and closing conventions.

A formal letter opens with A Chara (or A chara) after the address and closes with Is mise, le meas; an informal letter closes with Slán go fóill or Beir bua.

An essay needs a stated position, two or three developed points, and a conclusion; paragraphs of 4–6 sentences are the standard unit.

The aimsir chaite is the default narrative tense; the aimsir láithreach is the default for description and opinion.

An chopail (Is é/Is í, ba é) and the briathar saor (cuireadh, déanfar, tuigtear) lift the register in formal prose.

Cohesive devices to place at paragraph boundaries: ar an gcéad dul síos, ina theannta sin, mar shampla, os a choinne sin, mar fhocal scoir.

Word-count discipline: the marking scheme rewards task completion and structure; a shorter, well-organised piece beats an unfinished long one.

Common accuracy losses: the tuiseal ginideach after compound prepositions (ar chúl an tí), and agreement of the adjective in number (na páistí óga).

Answer in Irish, in your own words; lifting a full sentence verbatim from the passage does not earn full marks where the question says i d'fhocail féin.

Question types: fíor/ní fíor, aimsigh an fhaisnéis, mínigh, cad is brí le, and tabhair do thuairim le fáth.

The genitive case is the main parsing obstacle: teach an phobail = the community's house; barr an chnoic = the top of the hill.

Relative clauses mark the referent: an fear a bhí ag caint (the man who was speaking) vs an fear ar labhair mé leis (the man I spoke to).

The briathar saor hides the agent: foilsíodh an tuarascáil means 'the report was published', with no stated publisher.

Idioms carry the answer in opinion questions: ar a laghad (at least), i bhfad níos fearr (far better), ní haon ionadh (no wonder).

Scan for proper nouns and numbers first; they locate the relevant paragraph faster than reading the whole passage line by line.

Prose answers need four elements: theme, character, setting/atmosphere, and style, each supported by a short quotation or close reference.

Poetry answers must name the poem and poet, state the central theme, and analyse at least two techniques with effect.

Techniques to name in Irish: meafar (metaphor), samhail (simile), siombail (symbol), athrá (repetition), allitreachas (alliteration), rím agus rithim.

The prescribed poetry list changes per year; verify the current list and the prescribed prose texts before preparing notes.

Filíocht is scanned for metre and rhyme scheme; naming the rhyme scheme (e.g. aabb, abab) is a routine mark.

The Gaeltacht memoir and the short story are the common prose genres; both are marked on knowledge of the whole text, not one scene.

Comparison questions require a stated similarity or difference plus evidence from both texts; one text alone caps the mark.

Quotations should be short (a line or a phrase) and integrated into the sentence, not dropped in as a block.

Séimhiú triggers: after an, mo, do, a (possessive), and in the vocative; after the past-tense particle ní/níor and after má in the conditional.

Urú triggers: after an (plural possessive ár), i, as, le, go (with a following vowel), and after na before a genitive plural.

The copula is/ba is used for classification and identification; tá is used for state, location and existence.

An aidiacht shealbhach: mo, do, a (his), a (her, no séimhiú, adds -e), ár, bhur, a (their, takes urú).

The aimsir ghnáthchaite adds -adh/-tí: bhíodh, dhéanadh, cheannaítí; it marks habitual past, not a single event.

The modh coinníollach is built on the past stem plus -fadh/-feadh: cheannóinn, dhéanfá, thiocfadh sé.

An tuiseal ginideach: masculine nouns slenderise (an chnoic), feminine nouns add -e (na cathrach); the article becomes an/na accordingly.

Prepositional pronouns must agree with their object: liom, leat, leis, léi, linn, libh, leo; a wrong form is a routine accuracy mark lost.

Text types to recognise by layout and register: fógra (notice), fógrán, alt nuachta, agallamh, litir chuig an eagarthóir, blag, and teachtaireacht ghearr.

A headline uses the present tense for past events and drops the copula: 'Bua ag an bhfoireann' rather than 'Bhí bua ag an bhfoireann'.

Formal written Irish favours the briathar saor and the passive; conversational Irish favours the active with prepositional pronouns.

Digital register markers: a chara for formal openers, GRMA and lol are not acceptable in formal written tasks.

Coherence in a communicative task depends on address form, purpose statement, and closing formula - all three are marked.

Signposting phrases in argumentative texts: ar an gcéad dul síos, mar sin féin, dá bhrí sin, le cur i gcuimhne.

Media vocabulary to know: tuairisc, eagarthóir, foinse, agallamh, ceannlíne, comhfhreagraí, preasráiteas.