A chairde,

I have been struggling to get to the bottom of just how many ways to say "want" in Irish. So far, I have come across the following words:

1. Ó (Tá uisce uaim / Tá uaim uisce a ól)
2. Teastaigh (Teastaíonn arán uaim / Teastaíonn uaim arán a ithe)
3. Copula is (Is mian liom uisce a ól)
4. ag iarraidh (Táim á iarraidh)
5. fonn (Bhí fonn orm rudaí siamsúla)

Of the above, I understand that with "couple is", it means "would like", rather than "want". But apart from this, is there any difference between them? I have heard of all except "fonn" being used by native Irish speaking people in the Gaeltacht in Connemara, but they cannot tell the difference between them.

Mile Buiochas!


Song

The most common one is: Ba mhaith liom

I think you'd use "fonn" with a verbal noun phrase:
bhí fonn orm rudaí siamsúla a dhéanamh
bhí fonn orm dul anonn

etc

bí+fonn+ar means you are in the mood to do something, that's why you need a verbal noun.

_________________
Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Agreed.

A chairde,

Go raibh mile maith agaibh for the explanations! So, can I take it as "Bí fonn" means "feels like"?

But I still do not understand if there is any difference between "Tá...ó", "Teastaigh" and "ag iarraidh"?

GRMA!


Song

A chairde,



no, you have to say that the "fonn" is on someone: tá fonn orm, bhí fonn ort, etc.



teastáil and tá+ó rather mean "need", while "bí+ag iarraidh" means "want".

_________________
Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

You may also find the discussion on this other thread to be relevant.
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=1267

_________________

A Shaoirse,

Thank you very much for the reply. I have read all the posts in relation to this question.

So, if I want to say "What do you want?", I can say "Cad atá uait?" or "Cad atá tú iarraidh?" or "Cad a teastaíonn uait?", would it be right?

Also, if I want to say "What would you like to eat?", I can say "Cad is maith leat á ithe?".

And to ask "What do you want/feel like doing?", I can say "Cad atá fonn ort a dhéanamh?"

GRMA!


Song

Cad atá uait?
Cad atá tú a iarraidh?
Cad a theastaíonn uait?



Cad ba mhaith leat a ithe?
I guess they could also say "Cad ba mhaith leat le n-ithe?".



looks right.

_________________
Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

A Lughaidh,

Thank you very much for the reply. Finally getting a bit clearer for me, thanks to all the answers.

One question I have, in your post, you have "Cad atá tú a iarraidh?". In a statement sentence, it should be "Táim á iarraidh." I understand that "á" here means "it", and it is the direction object pronoun, in which case, the "ag" is dropped. So "iarraidh" here is a verbal noun of "iarr". I'm not sure if a verbal noun can follow "a" in a sentence?

Thanks!


Song