LC Irish key terms

The listening section of the exam, in which recorded speech such as dialogues, news items, or announcements is played and candidates answer questions on what they heard.

The oral examination, where the candidate speaks Irish with an examiner, typically covering conversation, a picture sequence, and discussion of a prepared topic or poem.

A series of pictures used in the oral exam that the candidate describes and narrates in Irish, usually building a short story with tenses, connectives, and dialogue.

The composition or essay section, requiring written Irish in a specified genre such as a story, letter, speech, article, or debate, marked for language and structure.

An essay written in Irish, usually on a set theme, organised in paragraphs with an introduction, developed points, and a conclusion, and assessed for accuracy and range.

An article, a common composition genre in the written paper, written in an informative or argumentative register and often requiring a headline and structured paragraphs.

A letter, a composition type in Irish exams, following conventions such as a greeting, opening paragraph, body, closing formula, and signature, in formal or informal register.

The reading comprehension section, in which candidates read prose passages in Irish and answer questions, explain words in context, and identify the writer's main points.

The prescribed literature and poetry component, where candidates study set texts and poems and answer questions on theme, character, imagery, style, and personal response.

Prose, the narrative literary texts on the course, studied for plot, character development, setting, theme, and the author's style and viewpoint.

Poetry, studied with attention to imagery, rhythm, rhyme, mood, and theme, and discussed in Irish using appropriate critical vocabulary in the exam answer.

The central theme or recurring idea of a text, such as emigration, love, loss, or identity, which candidates must identify and support with relevant evidence from the work.

An image created through language, especially in poetry, where figurative description appeals to the senses and contributes to mood and meaning.

Grammar, the system of rules for correct Irish, covering word order, agreement, tense formation, the article, and prepositional pronouns, examined throughout the papers.

Vocabulary, the range of words and phrases a candidate can understand and use, built through reading, listening, and deliberate learning of topic-based word lists.

The past tense, used to describe completed actions, with characteristic endings and initial mutations, essential for narration in essays and the oral picture story.

The present tense, used for habitual actions, general truths, and current situations, often contrasted with the past and future tenses in written and spoken tasks.

The future tense, expressing actions that will happen, formed with specific endings and mutations, needed for plans, predictions, and formal writing tasks.

The conditional mood, used for polite requests, hypothetical situations, and reported speech, formed with endings such as -fainn and -fá, and frequently tested.

The imperative mood, used for commands and instructions, with distinct singular and plural forms, common in recipes, directions, notices, and reported speech.

The possessive adjective, such as mo, do, a, and a meaning his or her, which triggers particular mutations and endings on the following noun.

The genitive case, marking possession and compound nouns, with its own singular and plural endings, a frequent source of error in written Irish.

A preposition, such as ar, ag, le, and faoi, whose meaning and usage differ from English and which combines with pronouns to form prepositional pronouns.

A prepositional pronoun, a fused form such as agam, agat, air, and uirthi, expressing person and preposition together and heavily tested in grammar exercises.

The copula, the special verb is and its forms, used to identify or classify something and to emphasise information, following rules distinct from the ordinary verb bí.

A verb, the core of every clause, carrying tense, mood, person, and voice, and governing word order and the placement of the negative and question particles.

Lenition, the softening of a consonant written with a following h, triggered by certain words and grammatical contexts and a standard spelling and grammar point.

Eclipsis, the sound change in which a consonant is replaced in writing by a following consonant, triggered by plural articles, possessive forms, and other grammatical environments.

Indirect or reported speech, where a statement is reported using a clause with go or nach, requiring careful tense and pronoun changes from direct speech.

Sentence structure and syntax, the arrangement of clauses and phrases in Irish, including the verb-subject-object order and the placement of adverbials.

A synonym, a word with a similar meaning, useful for paraphrasing in comprehension answers and for varying vocabulary in compositions and oral responses.

An antonym, a word with the opposite meaning, often tested through matching exercises and useful for building precise vocabulary for written and spoken tasks.

A statement or proposition, a short declarative sentence used in notices, arguments, and exam questions asking whether a claim is true or false.

An opinion or view, expressed in discussion, debate, and composition, and distinguished in comprehension from fact when identifying a writer's attitude.

A notice or announcement, a short functional text type found in listening and reading tasks, often conveying times, places, rules, or warnings.

An address, either postal or email, a standard element of letter writing and form filling, and a detail candidates must read accurately in functional texts.

A form or application document, a functional text type in reading tasks where candidates locate personal details, dates, and required information.

A summary, a concise restatement of the main points of a passage or recording, a common exam task requiring selection and paraphrase rather than copying.

A question, including direct and indirect forms, whose formation in Irish involves particles and word order that candidates must control in writing and speech.