Good book for teaching yourself Irish?

Coeurdepirate

So, starting 5th year and realising how shocking my Irish is, I want to get a book which teaches the basics. Like grammar points, verb conjugations etc. I honestly know nothing. I know one grammar point in Irish, and that's that a noun takes an urú with possession.
So does anyone have any recommendations?

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

You're best off getting grinds. Otherwise start with any grammer junior cert book. I used Graiméar an Draoí and I found it good enough.

dambarude

The first thing I would say is well done. You're doing what a lot of people fail to do, and that is grammar, basic vocab etc. It will stand to you, and it means you will be able to compose sentences that haven't been regurgitated from revision books, like so many others will be doing.

I think you would be best served by getting a grinds teacher, in that he/she will be able to explain it properly to you, and you can clarify any questions you have. But could you ask your class teacher to go over grammar for 2/3 weeks? It seems to me that some teachers simply assume that you have the basics when you start of the LC cycle, but unfortunately that usually isn't the case. I'm sure you're not the only one in the class feeling this way about grammar, so asking your teacher couldn't do any harm.

Go n-éirí an t-adh leat! And remember if you have any grammar questions you can ask them in the Gaeilge forum.

Coeurdepirate

THFC wrote: »

You're best off getting grinds. Otherwise start with any grammer junior cert book. I used Graiméar an Draoí and I found it good enough.

Thanks for the recommendation.

dambarude wrote: »

The first thing I would say is well done. You're doing what a lot of people fail to do, and that is grammar, basic vocab etc. It will stand to you, and it means you will be able to compose sentences that haven't been regurgitated from revision books, like so many others will be doing.

I think you would be best served by getting a grinds teacher, in that he/she will be able to explain it properly to you, and you can clarify any questions you have. But could you ask your class teacher to go over grammar for 2/3 weeks? It seems to me that some teachers simply assume that you have the basics when you start of the LC cycle, but unfortunately that usually isn't the case. I'm sure you're not the only one in the class feeling this way about grammar, so asking your teacher couldn't do any harm.

Go n-éirí an t-adh leat! And remember if you have any grammar questions you can ask them in the Gaeilge forum.

Thanks a lot! I think I'll ask my teacher, actually, useless as she is, I'm sure she knows the grammar. I'm not gonna get grinds, as I'm doing pass Irish so I won't be counting it for points, but I seriously don't think I could get anywhere near 40% in a Leaving Cert. paper the way I'm going!

Ruski

Graiméar an Draoí is sick. It has nearly everything you need to know for grammar.

TomJoe Wallace

An dtuigeann tú?

It's a great book for grammar an letters and stuff. I didn't have it in my school cause I was ordinary but I robbed it off my friend who was in higher and it got me through my orals and my LC easy

LadyGaga!

Ruski wrote: »

Graiméar an Draoí is sick. It has nearly everything you need to know for grammar.

Seconding this, quite the amazing book.

Nead21

There's a new book that's supposed to be very good. It's called Gaeilge gan Stró by Éamonn Ó Dónaill

mistyd

hi, i used progress in irish by mairead ni ghrada.. its an excellent book starts with simple sentences from primary you'd be surprised the things you'd forget..

best of luck

loudog

Up until last week I was in the same position as you but i'm in 6th year doing honours so i sorta panicked..Then I found a book my sis is using for the JC it's less stress more success Irish grammer. It's brill has everything in it explained in English...I've been reading about a grammer point every 2 days and it's going well....definitly worth it...

I'd actually advise looking at it first before getting grinds..my irish grinds always assumed I knew loads of stuff I didn't and then weren't too happy when they found out how shocking I was...But it might work for you!

Anyway good luck! Oh and you huys are much better off...We're the last year who have to write long essays and do stair and whatnot! I envy you!

gaeilgegrinds1

But they're the first year with the serious oral! Tit for tat really if you ask me. The new oral is going to be comprehensive to say the least.

dambarude

gaeilgegrinds1 wrote: »

The new oral is going to be comprehensive to say the least.

Here's hoping! It'd be great (from an Irish language perspective, probably not leaving cert student perspective) if there was less emphasis on the learnt off rhymes on 'mo bhaile', 'mo chlann', and 'fadhbanna soisialta'. I'm not saying that the oral should be based completely on deep life issues and current affairs, but if it could stray farther off the beaten track of these types of questions the oral might be more realistic.