Future tense What is the future tense?

The future tense describes an event which has not yet happened. You will frequently see the word 'will' in English when the future tense is used.

To put a verb into the future tense, an understanding of the different types of verbs in Irish is needed.

Have a look at the rules below and then move to the next page where the future tense is explained.

Short, long and syncopated verbs

• a short verb has one syllable - for example cuir, glan, bris
• a long verb has more than one syllable (ends with –igh / –aigh), for example éirigh, ceannaigh
• a syncopated verb has more than one syllable (does not end with –igh / –aigh), for example muscail, imir, freastail, oscail

Here is a short version of the rules.

• short - one syllable
• long - more than one syllable
• syncopated - more than one syllable, not ending with –igh / –aigh

Can you decide if the following verbs are short, long or syncopated?