Negating the Present Tense

At the Learning of Irish · Oct 4, 2026 · 6m · transcript

Please input all phrases into abair.ie to see how they should sound in your chosen dialect.

Negating in the Present Tense

· There is no “yes” or “no” in Irish

o Instead, the reponse to a question is to either conjugate the verb or to negate it

· With the simple bí in the present tense (present meaning now, ie I am, You are, she goes, we eat)

o Are you? I am>> Tá mé

o Are you? I’m not>> Níl mé

§ Níl is the negation for bí

o Níl madra agam.- I don’t have a dog

o Níl gruaig orm.- I don’t have hair.

o Níl siad sásta.- They are not happy.

o Níl sé ag cur sneachta.- It is not snowing.

· With the…