Purpose and Result in Irish

In Brief

Use chun or le followed by a verbal noun to say why someone does something: Tháinig mé chun cabhrú leat (“I came to help you”). When the purpose needs its own full clause, use le go plus a dependent verb: D'fhágamar luath le go mbeimis ann in am. To describe a result, a central pattern is chomh + adjective + sin + go: Bhí sé chomh fliuch sin go raibh orainn stopadh.

Overview

Purpose answers “What is this action intended to achieve?” Result answers “What happened because the situation reached that degree?” English often uses the same small set of words—“to,” “in order to,” “so that,” and “so...that”—but Irish distinguishes a short verbal-noun phrase from a full clause more clearly.

This is a B1 topic because it combines familiar material into longer sentences. A verbal noun is a verb form used rather like English “helping,” “learning,” or “being”; after chun or le, it often corresponds to an English infinitive with “to.” A clause is a group of words containing its own verb and normally its own subject. Knowing which of these two structures you need is the main practical skill.

Purpose and result may appear together in everyday plans, explanations, instructions, and stories. Once the basic contrast is secure, you can add more formal expressions such as ar mhaithe le (“for the sake of”) and i dtreo go (“so that, with a view to”).

How It Works

1. chun + verbal noun: a clear intended purpose

Use chun before a verbal noun when one action is performed in order to carry out another:

main action + chun + verbal noun

• Tháinig mé chun cabhrú leat. — I came to help you.
• Chuaigh sí amach chun siúl. — She went out to walk.

This is often the clearest general equivalent of English “to” or “in order to.” The person performing the main action is normally understood to perform the verbal-noun action too. In Tháinig mé chun cabhrú, the person who came and the person who will help are both mé.

When the verbal noun has an object (the person or thing affected by the action), Irish commonly puts that object before the verbal noun and uses a:

• chun an doras a oscailt — to open the door
• chun an cheist a fhreagairt — to answer the question
• chun é a dhéanamh — to do it

This word order differs sharply from English. Do not copy “to open the door” as if Irish placed the verbal noun first. The exact form of the object and the initial change after a belong to the wider system of verbal nouns and possessive particles, but the useful B1 frame is chun + object + a + verbal noun.

2. le + verbal noun: purpose linked closely to an action

le can also introduce a purpose:

main action + le + verbal noun

• D'fhág sé go luath le bheith ann in am. — He left early to be there on time.
• Tháinig siad le bualadh linn. — They came to meet us.

In purpose phrases, le is often compact and natural, especially when the intended action follows directly from coming, going, leaving, preparing, or using something. chun is frequently more explicit and can sound closer to “in order to.” The two overlap considerably, so this is not a rigid English-style distinction.

Do not assume that every English “to” must become le. English “to” also marks direction (go Baile Átha Cliath, “to Dublin”) and appears in many other constructions. Here, le specifically introduces an intended action expressed by a verbal noun.

3. le go + clause: “so that”

Use le go when the purpose is expressed as a full clause, particularly when you need to state a different subject or give the second verb its own tense:

main clause + le go + dependent verb clause

• Labhair sí go mall le go dtuigfeadh gach duine í. — She spoke slowly so that everyone would understand her.
• D'fhágamar luath le go mbeimis ann in am. — We left early so that we would be there on time.

The particle go introduces a dependent clause and normally causes eclipsis (an initial change in which another consonant is added before the first one): tuigfeadh becomes dtuigfeadh, and beidh has the dependent future form mbeidh. Important irregular dependent forms also occur, including go bhfuil, go raibh, and go mbeidh.

A short same-subject purpose usually needs only chun/le + verbal noun. Choose le go + clause when a complete “so that...” statement makes the meaning clearer.

4. ar mhaithe le: for someone’s or something’s benefit

ar mhaithe le means “for the sake of,” “for the benefit of,” or “in the interests of.” It is followed by a noun, a pronoun form, or a possessive phrase—not normally by a bare verbal noun expressing the next action.

• Ar mhaithe le do shláinte. — For the sake of your health.
• Rinne siad é ar mhaithe leis na páistí. — They did it for the sake of the children.
• Caithfimid comhréiteach a dhéanamh ar mhaithe leis an tsíocháin. — We must compromise for the sake of peace.

Because le combines with the article, you see forms such as leis an and leis na. This expression often presents the purpose as a benefit, principle, or greater good rather than simply the next intended action.

5. chomh...sin go: a degree that produces a result

A common result pattern is:

chomh + adjective/adverb + sin + go + result clause

An adjective describes a person or thing, as “wet” does; an adverb describes how an action happens, as “quickly” does.

• Bhí sé chomh fliuch sin go raibh orainn stopadh. — It was so wet that we had to stop.
• Labhair sí chomh tapa sin go nár thuig mé í. — She spoke so quickly that I did not understand her.

chomh marks the high degree, sin reinforces it (“that” degree), and the following go introduces what resulted. In a negative result clause, nach/nár replaces affirmative go as appropriate: go dtuigfeadh (“that [someone] would understand”), but nach dtuigfeadh (“that [someone] would not understand”); past go raibh contrasts with nach raibh.

Purpose and result point in opposite logical directions:

Meaning	Irish pattern	Question answered
Intended aim	chun/le + verbal noun	Why was the action done?
Intended aim in a clause	le go + dependent clause	What was meant to happen?
Beneficial aim	ar mhaithe le + noun phrase	For whose or what benefit?
Actual consequence	chomh...sin go + clause	What happened as a result?

Examples in Context

Irish	English	Note
Tháinig mé chun cabhrú leat.	I came to help you.	Clear purpose with chun
Chuaigh sí go dtí an leabharlann chun staidéar a dhéanamh.	She went to the library to study.	chun + verbal-noun phrase
D'oscail mé an fhuinneog chun aer úr a ligean isteach.	I opened the window to let fresh air in.	The object precedes a ligean
Tá airgead á shábháil acu chun teach a cheannach.	They are saving money to buy a house.	Intended future goal
Tháinig siad le bualadh linn.	They came to meet us.	Compact purpose with le
D'fhág sé go luath le bheith ann in am.	He left early to be there on time.	le bheith = “to be”
Scríobh síos é le cuimhneamh air.	Write it down to remember it.	Purpose attached to an instruction
Labhair sí go mall le go dtuigfeadh gach duine í.	She spoke slowly so that everyone would understand her.	A separate subject in the purpose clause
Cuirfidh mé glaoch ort le go mbeidh an t-eolas agat.	I will call you so that you have the information.	Dependent future mbeidh
D'fhágamar luath le go mbeimis ann roimh a naoi.	We left early so that we would be there before nine.	Full conditional-purpose clause
Ar mhaithe le do shláinte, éirigh as caitheamh tobac.	For the sake of your health, give up smoking.	Benefit or welfare
Rinne siad an cinneadh ar mhaithe leis an bpobal.	They made the decision for the good of the community.	le combines as leis an
Bhí sé chomh fliuch sin go raibh orainn stopadh.	It was so wet that we had to stop.	Degree followed by an actual result
Bhí an ceol chomh hard sin nár chuala mé an fón.	The music was so loud that I did not hear the phone.	Negative past result with nár
Rith sí chomh tapa sin gur bhuaigh sí an rás.	She ran so fast that she won the race.	go appears as gur before a past-tense result

Common Mistakes

Copying English object order after chun

• Wrong: chun oscailt an doras
• Right: chun an doras a oscailt
• Why: With an expressed object, Irish normally places it before a + verbal noun: literally, “the door to open.”

Using a full independent verb directly after chun

• Wrong: D'fhág mé luath chun beidh mé ann in am.
• Right: D'fhág mé luath chun bheith ann in am.
• Also right: D'fhág mé luath le go mbeinn ann in am.
• Why: chun takes a verbal noun (bheith here). A complete purpose clause needs a connector such as le go and the appropriate dependent verb.

Forgetting the dependent form after le go

• Wrong: le go beidh siad réidh
• Right: le go mbeidh siad réidh
• Why: go requires the dependent form. With regular verbs it normally triggers eclipsis; irregular verbs such as bí have forms that must be learned as units: go bhfuil, go raibh, go mbeidh.

Confusing an intention with an outcome

• Wrong for an actual result: Bhí sé an-fhliuch chun stopadh.
• Right: Bhí sé chomh fliuch sin go raibh orainn stopadh.
• Why: chun stopadh presents stopping as a purpose. The sentence means that the wet conditions caused a consequence, so it needs a result construction.

Leaving out the result linker

• Wrong: Bhí sí chomh tuirseach sin thit sí ina codladh.
• Right: Bhí sí chomh tuirseach sin gur thit sí ina codladh.
• Why: The result is a dependent clause and needs go. Before a past-tense verb, the form is commonly gur; its negative counterpart is nár.

Treating ar mhaithe le as a general infinitive marker

• Wrong: Chuaigh mé ann ar mhaithe le cabhrú leis.
• Better for the intended action: Chuaigh mé ann chun cabhrú leis.
• Why: ar mhaithe le highlights a beneficiary or valued interest. For the straightforward aim “to help,” chun + verbal noun is more direct.

Usage Notes

chun and purpose le overlap, and natural choice depends partly on the phrase, speaker, and context. For learners, chun is a dependable choice when you want an unambiguous “in order to.” Learn common le combinations as you meet them rather than trying to replace every chun mechanically.

In speech, context can make a short purpose phrase sufficient. Formal writing often favours an explicit relationship between clauses. d'fhonn (“in order to, with a view to”) is a more formal alternative that becomes especially useful in administrative or argumentative writing, but it belongs more naturally with advanced purpose clauses.

ar mhaithe le can sound earnest or formal when it invokes health, peace, the public, children, the environment, or another valued interest. It is also perfectly natural in personal appeals. Its point is not merely that an action has an aim, but that it is done for someone’s benefit or in support of a principle.

With chomh...sin go, English speakers sometimes expect a word-for-word match for “so.” Irish spreads the meaning across the frame chomh...sin go. In careful learning, retain the whole frame instead of memorising chomh alone as “so.”

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Purpose can be made more formal with d'fhonn + verbal noun phrase:

• D'fhonn an fhadhb a réiteach, bhunaigh siad coiste. — In order to solve the problem, they established a committee.

You may also meet i dtreo go (“so that,” “with a view to”) in more deliberate or formal expression. It introduces a clause and therefore brings the same need to recognise dependent verb forms:

• Athraíodh an córas i dtreo go mbeadh sé níos cothroime. — The system was changed so that it would be fairer.

This is not usually the first choice needed for ordinary conversation; chun, le, and le go cover most everyday purposes. Treat i dtreo go first as a form to recognise in formal prose.

Result clauses also reveal the wider system of particles before past-tense verbs. The affirmative particle may appear as gur, while the negative is nár:

• Bhí an obair chomh deacair sin gur ghlac sí seachtain. — The work was so difficult that it took a week.
• Bhí an seomra chomh dorcha sin nár fheic mé tada. — The room was so dark that I saw nothing.

Finally, a purpose is intended, not guaranteed. D'fhág sé luath le go mbeadh sé ann in am tells us why he left early; it does not tell us whether he arrived on time. A result construction asserts the consequence: D'fhág sé chomh luath sin go raibh sé ann roimh gach duine eile (“He left so early that he was there before everyone else”). This distinction matters in precise storytelling and argument.

Practice Tips

1. Build pairs from one situation. Write one purpose sentence and one result sentence: Chuaigh mé amach chun bainne a cheannach (“I went out to buy milk”) versus Bhí an siopa chomh gnóthach sin gur fhan mé fiche nóiméad (“The shop was so busy that I waited twenty minutes”).
2. Practise the object frame aloud. Substitute five objects in chun + object + a + verbal noun: chun an doras a oscailt, chun an litir a scríobh, chun é a cheannach. This directly counters English word order.
3. Collect particles as complete chunks. Record le go mbeidh, le go mbeadh, chomh...sin go raibh, chomh...sin gur, and chomh...sin nár. Learning the connector together with a real verb form is more reliable than memorising go in isolation.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Noun Clauses with “Go” — provides the dependent-clause pattern and mutations needed after le go and in result clauses.
• Next step: Cause, Purpose, and Concessive Clauses — expands purpose with d'fhonn and contrasts it with cause and concession.