Future Tense in Irish

In Brief

Irish normally expresses the future by changing the verb itself, without a separate word equivalent to English will. First-conjugation verbs generally take -faidh/-fidh, while second-conjugation verbs take -óidh/-eoidh: scríobhfaidh mé (“I will write”) and ceannóidh sí (“she will buy”). Use ní plus lenition for a negative and an plus eclipsis for a question: Ní bheidh mé ann; An rachaidh tú?

Overview

The future tense, an aimsir fháistineach, describes what will happen after the present moment. You use it for plans, predictions, promises, warnings, and future events: Tiocfaidh mé amárach (“I will come tomorrow”) or Beidh sé fuar anocht (“It will be cold tonight”). It is a core B1 topic because it combines familiar verb patterns with initial mutations and several high-frequency irregular verbs.

English usually places will before an unchanged verb. Irish instead marks the future on the verb: scríobh (“write”) becomes scríobhfaidh. The subject normally follows the verb, so Scríobhfaidh mé literally has the order “will-write I.” A subject is the person or thing doing the action—in this example, mé (“I”).

The most useful first step is to learn the affirmative form of each verb. From that form, you can build ordinary sentences, negatives, and questions. You should also learn the future forms of verbs such as bí (“be”), téigh (“go”), and faigh (“get”), because their stems cannot reliably be predicted from the dictionary form.

How It Works

The basic sentence pattern

A neutral future statement usually follows this order:

future verb + subject + the rest of the sentence

• Léifidh mé an leabhar. — I will read the book.
• Ceannóidh siad ticéid. — They will buy tickets.

Irish does not require a separate future auxiliary like English will. Do not insert beidh before another future verb: the ending on léifidh or ceannóidh already carries the future meaning.

First-conjugation verbs: -faidh and -fidh

The first conjugation contains many verbs with one syllable. Its future ending follows the broad/slender quality of the final consonant. In simple terms, consonants beside a, o, u are broad and favor -faidh; consonants beside e, i are slender and favor -fidh.

Dictionary form	Meaning	Future form	Example
dún	close	dúnfaidh	Dúnfaidh mé an doras.
fan	wait, stay	fanfaidh	Fanfaidh sí sa bhaile.
scríobh	write	scríobhfaidh	Scríobhfaidh tú chugam.
bris	break	brisfidh	Brisfidh sé é.
léigh	read	léifidh	Léifimid an scéal.
cuir	put, send	cuirfidh	Cuirfidh siad ríomhphost chugat.

Most persons use the same future form followed by a separate subject pronoun. The first-person plural (“we”) normally has its own combined, or synthetic, form—a form whose ending includes the subject.

Person	dún (“close”)	bris (“break”)
I	dúnfaidh mé	brisfidh mé
you (singular)	dúnfaidh tú	brisfidh tú
he	dúnfaidh sé	brisfidh sé
she	dúnfaidh sí	brisfidh sí
we	dúnfaimid	brisfimid
you (plural)	dúnfaidh sibh	brisfidh sibh
they	dúnfaidh siad	brisfidh siad

Notice that standard Irish uses dúnfaimid and brisfimid, not a separate pronoun after those forms.

Second-conjugation verbs: -óidh and -eoidh

The second conjugation contains many verbs with two or more syllables, especially dictionary forms ending in -(a)igh. The future commonly uses -óidh after a broad consonant and -eoidh after a slender consonant. Formation may also shorten the stem, so it is better to learn the future form with the verb than to treat the ending as something simply attached to every dictionary form.

Dictionary form	Meaning	Future form	First-person plural
ceannaigh	buy	ceannóidh	ceannóimid
críochnaigh	finish	críochnóidh	críochnóimid
éirigh	rise, get up	éireoidh	éireoimid
imigh	leave	imeoidh	imeoimid

Examples:

• Ceannóidh sí teach nua. — She will buy a new house.
• Éireoimid go luath. — We will get up early.
• Imeoidh siad tar éis an dinnéir. — They will leave after dinner.

Negative statements: ní + lenition

Place ní before the future verb. It normally causes lenition, a change often shown by adding h after the first consonant:

ní + lenited future verb + subject

• Fillfidh sé. → Ní fhillfidh sé. — He will not return.
• Ceannóidh sí é. → Ní cheannóidh sí é. — She will not buy it.
• Beidh mé ann. → Ní bheidh mé ann. — I will not be there.

Not every initial consonant can show lenition in spelling. For instance, l, n, and r do not take an added h, and the spelling of some irregular verbs must simply be learned. The negative particle is still present: Ní rachaidh mé (“I will not go”).

Questions: an + eclipsis

A yes/no question begins with an. It normally causes eclipsis, a mutation in which another consonant is written before the original one:

an + eclipsed future verb + subject?

• Buailfidh tú leis. → An mbuailfidh tú leis? — Will you meet him?
• Dúnfaidh siad an siopa. → An ndúnfaidh siad an siopa? — Will they close the shop?
• Ceannóidh sí é. → An gceannóidh sí é? — Will she buy it?

With a vowel-initial form, no visible consonant change is needed: An ólfaidh tú tae? (“Will you drink tea?”). Irregular verbs keep their special future stem: An mbeidh sé anseo? (“Will he be here?”), An bhfaighidh tú an litir? (“Will you get the letter?”), and An rachaidh tú? (“Will you go?”).

A negative question usually begins with nach, also followed by eclipsis:

• Nach mbeidh siad linn? — Won’t they be with us?
• Nach gceannóidh tú ceann? — Won’t you buy one?

High-frequency irregular futures

These forms deserve direct memorization. Some look almost regular, but they belong to verbs whose overall tense system is irregular.

Dictionary form	Meaning	Future	Example
abair	say	déarfaidh	Déarfaidh mé leis. — I will tell him.
beir	catch, bear	béarfaidh	Béarfaidh sí ar an liathróid. — She will catch the ball.
bí	be	beidh	Beidh muid réidh. — We will be ready.
clois	hear	cloisfidh	Cloisfidh tú an ceol. — You will hear the music.
déan	do, make	déanfaidh	Déanfaidh sé an obair. — He will do the work.
faigh	get, find	gheobhaidh	Gheobhaidh siad freagra. — They will get an answer.
feic	see	feicfidh	Feicfidh mé amárach thú. — I will see you tomorrow.
ith	eat	íosfaidh	Íosfaidh sí níos déanaí. — She will eat later.
tabhair	give, bring	tabharfaidh	Tabharfaidh mé leat é. — I will bring it with me.
tar	come	tiocfaidh	Tiocfaidh siad Dé Luain. — They will come on Monday.
téigh	go	rachaidh	Rachaidh sé abhaile. — He will go home.

The combined “we” form follows the future stem: beimid, déanfaimid, gheobhaimid, tiocfaimid, and rachaimid.

Examples in Context

Irish	English	Note
Scríobhfaidh mé litir anocht.	I will write a letter tonight.	First conjugation, broad ending
Léifidh tú an teachtaireacht ar ball.	You will read the message shortly.	First conjugation, slender ending
Dúnfaimid na fuinneoga níos déanaí.	We will close the windows later.	Combined first-person plural form
Ceannóidh sí teach nua.	She will buy a new house.	Second conjugation
Éireoimid ag a seacht a chlog.	We will get up at seven o’clock.	Second-conjugation “we” form
Beidh an aimsir níos fearr amárach.	The weather will be better tomorrow.	Irregular bí
Tiocfaidh mo chairde ag an deireadh seachtaine.	My friends will come at the weekend.	Irregular tar
Gheobhaidh tú an toradh Dé hAoine.	You will get the result on Friday.	Irregular faigh
Ní bheidh mé ann.	I will not be there.	Negative irregular form
Ní cheannóidh siad carr i mbliana.	They will not buy a car this year.	ní with lenition
An rachaidh tú linn?	Will you go with us?	Question with irregular téigh
An mbuailfidh mé leat ag an stáisiún?	Will I meet you at the station?	an with eclipsis
Nach ndéanfaidh sé an dinnéar?	Won’t he make dinner?	Negative question
Má bhíonn sé tirim, siúlfaimid chun na trá.	If it is dry, we will walk to the beach.	Future habitual form after má
Osclófar an t-ionad i mí an Mhárta.	The centre will be opened in March.	Autonomous future form

Common Mistakes

Adding an equivalent of “will” before the verb

• Wrong: Beidh mé scríobh litir.
• Right: Scríobhfaidh mé litir.
• Why: In an ordinary future statement, the main verb itself takes the future form. Beidh is the future of bí (“be”), not a general-purpose translation of English will.

Using the same ending for both conjugations

• Wrong: Ceannaighfidh sí teach.
• Right: Ceannóidh sí teach.
• Why: Ceannaigh is a second-conjugation verb and has the shortened future form ceannóidh. Learn dictionary and future forms together.

Forgetting the mutation after ní

• Wrong: Ní beidh mé ann.
• Right: Ní bheidh mé ann.
• Why: Ní normally lenites the following verb. The b of beidh therefore becomes bh.

Leniting instead of eclipsing after an

• Wrong: An bhuailfidh tú leis?
• Right: An mbuailfidh tú leis?
• Why: The question particle an normally causes eclipsis, not lenition: b → mb, c → gc, and d → nd.

Treating an irregular verb as regular

• Wrong: Téighfidh mé abhaile.
• Right: Rachaidh mé abhaile.
• Why: The future stem of téigh is rach-. Similar high-frequency forms include tiocfaidh, gheobhaidh, and íosfaidh.

Adding a separate pronoun after the standard “we” form

• Wrong: Dúnfaimid muid an doras.
• Right: Dúnfaimid an doras.
• Why: The ending -faimid/-fimid already means “we.” The same principle applies to -óimid/-eoimid.

Usage Notes

The future is common for firm plans, predictions, promises, and decisions: Glaofaidh mé ort anocht (“I will call you tonight”). Time expressions such as amárach (“tomorrow”), anocht (“tonight”), ar ball (“shortly”), and an bhliain seo chugainn (“next year”) often make the time frame explicit, but they are not required when the context is clear.

Irish can use the present tense for an arranged or immediately unfolding event in some contexts, much as English can say “I’m leaving tomorrow.” The future, however, is the safe and clear choice when you want to present something explicitly as future. Avoid assuming that every English will maps mechanically to an Irish future: English also uses will for willingness, habits, or polite requests, and Irish may phrase those meanings differently.

You will encounter variation across dialects, especially in spoken pronouns and verb endings. For example, beidh muid is widespread in speech, while the synthetic beimid is the standard combined “we” form. Recognize both, but keep one consistent model in your own formal writing until you are comfortable with dialect differences.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

The autonomous future

Irish has an autonomous form, which presents an action without naming its doer. It often corresponds to English “someone will…,” “people will…,” or a future passive such as “will be opened.” This is not exactly the same structure as an English passive; it simply leaves the agent—the person performing the action—unspecified.

First-conjugation verbs generally use -far/-fear, and second-conjugation verbs use -ófar/-eofar:

Type	Ordinary future	Autonomous future	Meaning
First conjugation, broad	dúnfaidh siad	dúnfar	they will close / it will be closed
First conjugation, slender	brisfidh siad	brisfear	they will break / it will be broken
Second conjugation, broad	ceannóidh siad	ceannófar	they will buy / it will be bought
Second conjugation, slender	imeoidh siad	imeofar	they will leave / there will be a departure

• Dúnfar an bóthar anocht. — The road will be closed tonight.
• Foilseofar na torthaí amárach. — The results will be published tomorrow.

Irregular autonomous forms also occur, including beifear (“one/people will be”), déanfar (“will be done”), gheofar (“will be found/obtained”), tabharfar (“will be given/brought”), and rachfar (“people will go”).

Future forms in recurring conditions

After má (“if”), Irish can use the future habitual form of bí, bíonn in present habitual contexts and beidh/bíonn patterns according to meaning; one especially common future-looking form is má bhíonn, meaning “if/whenever it is” in a possible or recurring situation:

• Má bhíonn an aimsir go maith, rachaimid ag snámh. — If the weather is good, we will go swimming.

This construction is worth learning as a whole. It does not copy the English tense word for word: the Irish form chosen in the condition reflects how the situation is viewed, while the result clause can carry an ordinary future such as rachaimid.

Relative forms you may meet

In more complex sentences, particles and relative structures can affect the beginning of a future verb. A relative clause is a part of a sentence that identifies or describes someone or something, as in “the book that I will read.” At B1, focus first on statements, ní, and an. Later, learn each relative pattern with its required mutation rather than trying to derive it from English word order.

Practice Tips

1. Build three forms at once. For each new verb, say an affirmative, a negative, and a question: Ceannóidh sí é. Ní cheannóidh sí é. An gceannóidh sí é? This makes the mutations part of the verb pattern rather than a separate rule.
2. Make an irregular-future deck. Put the dictionary form on one side and the future plus a short sentence on the other: téigh → rachaidh → Rachaidh mé abhaile. Review the eleven high-frequency verbs in small groups.
3. Plan a real week in Irish. Write five sentences using different subjects and time phrases. Include at least one “we” form, one negative, and one question, then read them aloud to practice the endings.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Past Tense — reinforces Irish verb stems, particles, and initial mutations before you add another tense.