Other than the obvious irregular verbs, are there any verbs that aren't totally, completely regular? Any exceptions, oddities or quirks?

The verbal noun has some variety, eg.:

smaoinigh - smaoineamh

I guess my question is, if one knows all the basic information about a verb: the verb itself, type, verbal noun, etc., after that, are there any exceptions? In particular, the conjugations?

I don't know exactly what you mean. If it's something like the changes from e.g. léigh to léann, léite, léamh (which is regular as far as I know) than you might find your answers here:
http://nualeargais.ie/gnag/gram.htm

and of course in Foclóir Beag:
http://www.csis.ul.ie/focloir/

I know what you're asking about, Aaron. Unfortunately there are quite a lot of verbs in this language which, even though they do follow patterns of some sort during conjugation, the patterns aren't really explained clearly anywhere, and are so bloody complicated that you might as well consider them irregularities.

For example some verbs lose a vowel in their stem during conjugation, like "inis" > "insíonn" (I think this change is called "coimriú" in Irish) and there is no way to predict when it happens and when it doesn't other than simply by "knowing" or by looking the verb up in one of those dictionaries that give you conjugations (like the Foclóir Beag).

I have yet to see a grammar book or dictionary that completely and clearly explains all conjugation patterns and lists all the verbs they apply to.

quote:

For example some verbs lose a vowel in their stem during conjugation, like "inis" > "insíonn" (I think this change is called "coimriú" in Irish) and there is no way to predict when it happens and when it doesn't other than simply by "knowing" or by looking the verb up in one of those dictionaries that give you conjugations (like the Foclóir Beag).

All polysyllabic verbs in -il, -in, -ir, and -is undergo syncopation (ir. An Coimriú). Exceptions are e.g. those with -im and -ing like foghlaim, tarraing. Again, this is explained extremely well at Lars' site (gramadach na gaeilge).

"I have yet to see a grammar book or dictionary that completely and clearly explains all conjugation patterns and lists all the verbs they apply to."

another example of the sometimes poor resoirces for irish. Too many of the dictionaries and reference works follow the lead of what has gone before, striaght back to the 19th century, even down to banging away about 5 declensions of nouns, when this is an obvious varient.

Maybe there needs to be more conjugation patterns for verbs too

I agree. Dividing nouns between five declensions and verbs into two conjugations doesn't even begin to describe their real complexity.

A Robeirt, a mbm,

Criticism is always good especially if some alternative is offered. Would you please suggest some other way to go about noun declensions, while not suggesting to learn by rote all the words with their forms?

Le meas

I'm afraid my criticism will have to remain substandard for the time being because I don't have an alternative.

Well... The only obvious solution would be to bring a group of dedicated descriptive linguists to devise a richer system of describing noun declension, one that would do justice to the actual complexity behind nouns.

Perhaps other languages could provide an inspiration. In Czech, for example, there is a system of paradigm nouns, there are about 20 or so of them, each declined differently. Every other noun in the language can be said to follow one of the paradigms. So when learning a new noun you also learn which paradigm it follows, and then you know how to decline it. Now, I'm not sure if this system is completely bullet-proof, it probably isn't, but it seems to me that something like this would work well for Irish nouns - better than the current m1, m2, f2, and so on, which isn't detailed enough.

"Criticism is always good especially if some alternative is offered. Would you please suggest some other way to go about noun declensions, while not suggesting to learn by rote all the words with their forms?"

after doing so, I went about looking for some system I seen that had (or so dúirt sé) that it had a more rational system, based on some thing. If i find it on my computer (something I;m sure I have typed in here before) I will suggest it (or buy the course)

I found a system of noun and adjective declination that suposes 6 pattersn for each, based on work carried out in Moscow state uinversity in the 70s and 80s on Irish specifically. I will post some infor on it

Such a system is difference to having a catch-all methodology that can apply to all dialects. In Erris there seems to be over 16, if one used the loose cathegorisation that most writers get away with. It is left down to their personal pattern recognition. Peadar might know more on Mayo on this tip

If a verb has more than two sounds, and doesn't end in "igh" or "áil", then it's called a "concertina verb", and you conjugate it by squeezing that last set of consonants against the second last set of consonants, thus popping out any vowels which lie between:

cosain - cosnaíonn
eitil - eitlím

Which ones don't you squeeze? Only the ones that are impossible (by which I mean INCREDIBLY arkward) to say if you squeeze them:

foghlaim
tarraing

I follow this guidline and haven't gone wrong once.

As for irregular verbs in Irish: There's eleven irregulars. There's the odd verb that loses a vowel, like "siúil".

quote:

I follow this guidline and haven't gone wrong once.
...
There's the odd verb that loses a vowel, like "siúil".

Yes... I have a list of rules, such as the one you mentioned, that seem to always work.

It's "odd verbs" like siúil that are the one's I'm wondering about. How many are there like that, and which ones are they?

Does anyone have a list?

Thanks to everyone for the information...