Commands and Imperatives in Irish

In Brief

Use the imperative (the verb form for a command) to tell someone to act: Tar anseo! “Come here!” A command to one person is often the verb root, while a command to several people usually ends in -aigí or -igí. Put ná before the verb for “do not,” and use -aimis/-imis forms for “let’s”: Éistimis! “Let’s listen!”

Overview

The Irish name for the imperative mood is an modh ordaitheach. A grammatical mood simply shows how a speaker presents an action: as a fact, a question, a wish, or—in this case—a command. Imperatives are not limited to sharp orders. They also appear in directions, recipes, classroom instructions, warnings, invitations, encouragement, and everyday requests.

At A2, four patterns carry most of the practical load: a short command to one person, a distinct plural command, a negative command beginning with ná, and an inclusive “let’s” form. You will meet all four in ordinary expressions such as Fan anseo “Wait here,” Osclaígí bhur leabhair “Open your books,” Ná déan dearmad “Don’t forget,” and Tosaímis “Let’s begin.”

English usually leaves the number of “you” unstated: “Listen!” can address one person or a whole room. Irish commonly marks that difference on the verb. This makes the ending important, even when no pronoun is present. Irish also packs “let us” into one verb form rather than normally adding a separate word equivalent to English us.

How It Works

The beginner pattern

Start with these four building blocks:

Meaning	Basic pattern	Example	Translation
Command to one person	verb root	Dún an doras.	Close the door.
Command to several people	root + -aigí/-igí	Dúnaigí na doirse.	Close the doors.
Negative command	ná + mutated verb	Ná dhún an doras.	Do not close the door.
Suggestion including the speaker	-aimis/-imis form	Dúnaimis an doras.	Let’s close the door.

The verb root is the short form on which other verb forms are built. For many common verbs, it is also the singular command found in a dictionary or vocabulary list: dún “close,” bris “break,” ól “drink,” and fan “wait.”

Commands to one person: the second-person singular

The second person means the person or people being addressed. For one person, the imperative is commonly the bare root:

• Éist! — Listen!
• Fan anseo! — Wait here!
• Dún an fhuinneog! — Close the window!
• Scríobh d’ainm anseo. — Write your name here.

Do not add the habitual-present ending -ann/-eann. Dúnann tú means “you close” or “you regularly close”; Dún! is the command “Close!” The subject pronoun tú is also normally absent, just as English usually says “Come!” rather than “You come!”

Some very frequent verbs have forms that should be learned as complete units:

Verb	Singular command	Meaning
bí	Bí!	Be!
abair	Abair!	Say! / Tell!
déan	Déan!	Do! / Make!
tabhair	Tabhair!	Give! / Bring!
tar	Tar!	Come!
téigh	Téigh!	Go!
ith	Ith!	Eat!

Commands to more than one person

For a group, use the second-person plural. With many first-conjugation verbs, the ending is -aigí after a broad consonant and -igí after a slender consonant. “Broad” means that the nearby spelling uses a, o, u; “slender” means that it uses e, i.

Root	One person	Several people	Translation
dún	Dún!	Dúnaigí!	Close!
fan	Fan!	Fanaigí!	Wait!
bris	Bris!	Brisigí!	Break!
éist	Éist!	Éistigí!	Listen!
suigh	Suigh!	Suígí!	Sit!

Second-conjugation verbs commonly have a long plural ending, written -aígí or -ígí in forms such as ceannaígí “buy!” and imrígí “play!” Spelling changes can hide the boundary between root and ending, so it is better to learn a verb’s singular and plural commands together than to attach an ending mechanically.

Plural commands are especially common in teaching, public announcements, guided activities, and instructions addressed to an audience: Osclaígí bhur leabhair “Open your books.” The possessive bhur means “your” when several people are addressed.

Negative commands with ná

Put ná before an imperative to mean “do not” or “don’t.” Before most lenitable consonants, ná causes lenition (séimhiú: adding h after the initial consonant). Before a vowel, it normally adds h-.

Positive	Negative	Translation
Dún an doras.	Ná dhún an doras.	Don’t close the door.
Bris é.	Ná bhris é.	Don’t break it.
Fág anseo é.	Ná fág anseo é.	Don’t leave it here.
Ól é.	Ná hól é.	Don’t drink it.
Abair é.	Ná habair é.	Don’t say it.
Bí buartha.	Ná bí buartha.	Don’t be worried.

Not every initial letter can show lenition in spelling. Forms beginning with l, n, or r remain visibly unchanged, and bí is conventionally ná bí. The safest habit is to learn high-frequency negative commands aloud: Ná déan é, Ná habair sin, Ná téigh ann, and Ná bí buartha.

The verb still agrees with the number of people addressed. Compare Ná bí déanach “Don’t be late” to one person with Ná bígí déanach to several people.

“Let’s” forms: first-person plural

The first-person plural includes the speaker and at least one other person: “we.” Its imperative expresses a joint proposal, invitation, or decision—English “let’s.” Common endings include -aimis/-imis and, for second-conjugation verbs, long-vowel -aímis/-ímis.

Verb	“Let’s” form	Translation
dún	Dúnaimis	Let’s close
bris	Brisimis	Let’s break
éist	Éistimis	Let’s listen
ceannaigh	Ceannaímis	Let’s buy
imir	Imrímis	Let’s play

These forms need no separate word for “us”: Éistimis leis means “Let’s listen to him.” They are useful for suggestions that include the speaker and often sound more cooperative than a direct command.

Several frequent verbs again have forms worth memorising: Bímis “Let’s be,” Déanaimis “Let’s do/make,” Téimis “Let’s go,” and Ithimis “Let’s eat.” In everyday speech you may also hear other ways to make a suggestion, but these imperative forms remain standard and widely understood.

Examples in Context

Irish	English	Note
Tar anseo, le do thoil.	Come here, please.	Singular command softened by le do thoil.
Suigh síos agus lig do scíth.	Sit down and relax.	Two commands to one person.
Scríobh d’ainm ag barr an leathanaigh.	Write your name at the top of the page.	Instruction to one learner.
Téigh díreach ar aghaidh.	Go straight ahead.	A direction.
Suígí síos, a chairde.	Sit down, friends.	Plural command.
Éistigí go cúramach.	Listen carefully.	Addressed to a group.
Osclaígí bhur leabhair ar leathanach a deich.	Open your books to page ten.	bhur agrees with plural “you.”
Ná bí buartha!	Don’t be worried!	Reassurance to one person.
Ná habair sin arís.	Don’t say that again.	h- before a vowel.
Ná déan dearmad ar do chuid eochracha.	Don’t forget your keys.	Common fixed expression.
Ná bígí déanach amárach.	Don’t be late tomorrow.	Negative command to a group.
Éistimis leis an scéal.	Let’s listen to the story.	Inclusive suggestion.
Tosaímis anois.	Let’s begin now.	Common group-organising phrase.
Déanaimis cupán tae.	Let’s make a cup of tea.	Irregular verb déan.
Téimis abhaile.	Let’s go home.	Irregular “let’s” form.

Common Mistakes

Using a present-tense statement as a command

• Wrong: Dúnann tú an doras! for “Close the door!”
• Right: Dún an doras!
• Why: Dúnann tú describes what someone does. A singular command normally uses the root and omits tú.

Giving a singular command to a group

• Wrong: Suigh síos, a chairde.
• Right: Suígí síos, a chairde.
• Why: a chairde addresses several friends, so the verb should use its plural imperative.

Forgetting the mutation after ná

• Wrong: Ná dún an fhuinneog.
• Right: Ná dhún an fhuinneog.
• Why: ná normally lenites a following consonant that can be lenited. Before a vowel, remember h-: Ná hól é.

Treating every plural as root + igí

• Wrong: dúnigí
• Right: dúnaigí
• Why: The ending follows Irish broad/slender spelling: compare dúnaigí but brisigí. Second-conjugation forms and irregular verbs require additional care.

Translating “let’s” word by word

• Wrong: adding a separate pronoun after Éistimis to represent English “us”
• Right: Éistimis!
• Why: The ending already includes “we.” Add another phrase only if the meaning requires it, as in Éistimis leis “Let’s listen to him.”

Usage Notes

A bare imperative can be neutral when the situation clearly licenses an instruction: recipes, directions, signs, software buttons, and classroom exercises regularly use it. In conversation, tone and context decide whether it sounds friendly, urgent, or abrupt. Le do thoil “please” can soften a request: Dún an doras, le do thoil. A question or modal expression may be more tactful when asking a stranger for a substantial favour.

Irish often joins commands without repeating a subject: Tar isteach agus suigh síos “Come in and sit down.” Adverbs and short phrases make the instruction precise: Labhair go mall “Speak slowly,” Fan anseo “Wait here,” and Tóg go bog é “Take it easy.” Punctuation does not create the grammar; a full stop can suit calm written instructions, while an exclamation mark adds energy or urgency.

Dialect and conversational usage can vary, especially in the pronunciation and frequency of synthetic forms (forms whose ending contains the person meaning). The standard forms in this article are suitable for learning and writing. When listening, focus first on recognising the root, ná, and the characteristic plural or “let’s” ending rather than expecting every speaker to sound identical.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to produce the full imperative system at A2, but Irish has more than commands to “you” and proposals with “we.” Third-person imperatives can express “let him/her/them…” or a formal wish. Bíodh sé mar sin means “Let it be so,” and Bíodh lá maith agat literally has the force “May you have a good day.” Such forms occur in sayings, formal prose, blessings, rules, and elevated instructions.

The imperative overlaps in meaning with the subjunctive (a verb form used in wishes and hoped-for outcomes), but the two are not interchangeable. Fixed wishes such as Go n-éirí leat! “Good luck!” use the subjunctive, not an ordinary command. Learn these as expressions until you study that mood directly.

Reported commands also change structure. Instead of preserving a direct imperative, Irish can use a verbal-noun construction: Dúirt sí liom an doras a dhúnadh “She told me to close the door.” A reported negative instruction commonly uses gan “without/not to”: Dúirt sí liom gan an doras a oscailt “She told me not to open the door.” Notice that direct ná belongs to the command itself, while gan is used when the instruction is embedded inside a larger sentence.

Finally, the visible “command form” appears in many idiomatic expressions where the force is encouragement rather than authority: Bain sult as! “Enjoy it!”, Tóg go bog é! “Take it easy!”, and Ná bíodh imní ort “Don’t worry.” Fluency comes from learning these whole phrases as well as understanding their grammar.

Practice Tips

1. Learn verbs in sets of four. For each useful verb, record the singular, plural, negative singular, and “let’s” form: dún – dúnaigí – ná dhún – dúnaimis. Say the set aloud so the number and mutation become automatic.
2. Turn real tasks into Irish instructions. While cooking or getting ready, use short commands such as Oscail é, Dún é, Fan, Éist, and Ná déan dearmad. Then imagine addressing a group and change the verb ending.
3. Separate direct and reported instructions. Make pairs such as Dún an doras! and Dúirt sí liom an doras a dhúnadh. This prevents the common mistake of carrying ná or a finite imperative into an indirect command.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Regular Verbs – Present Tense — provides the verb roots and conjugation patterns on which imperative forms build.
• Related foundation: Lenition (Séimhiú) — explains the initial change after ná.
• Next step: Verbal Nouns — needed for indirect instructions such as “tell someone to do something.”
• Later extension: The Subjunctive Mood — contrasts commands with wishes, blessings, and hoped-for outcomes.