Apologies if this has been covered before.

"To go." Is there a standard explanation of when to prefer one of these over another.

téigh
gabh
imigh
tabhair

(Also, I thought the last meant "give," but perhaps this is a feature of Irish I'm not familiar with.)

There's a difference between them:

téigh = gabh = go (somewhere). Gabh is used in Donegal and in Connemara. I don't know where "téigh" is used: according to my books about dialects, it isn't used in Donegal, nor in Connemara, nor in Kerry...

imigh = go away

tabhair = give, I don't know why it is in your list.

'Thug mé Meiriceá orm féin', means i went to America. It only takes on the 'go' meaning when it is used with a réamhfhocal(preposition)

I don't know where "téigh" is used: according to my books about dialects, it isn't used in Donegal, nor in Connemara, nor in Kerry...

Ó Dónaill's Foclóir Gaeilge Bearla contains nearly four pages describing the use of the word téigh, so I would be surprised if the word doesn't have it's place in the parlance of native Irish speakers.

'Thug mé Meiriceá orm féin', means i went to America.

Tabhair can also mean take, bring, out of as in Thug mé as Albain iad I brought them from Scotland.

Téigh would be caighdeán i'd say..

Dúirt Lughaidh,
"according to my books about dialects"
An mbeadh sé de dhánacht orm ceist a chur ort ainmneacha na leabhar seo?
GRMA.

Duine gan ainm > An Teanga Bheo: Conamara, Corca Dhuibhne...

Domhnall > ok, but caighdeán is just a mix of the other dialects. There aren’t things in caighdeán that don’t exist anywhere in the Gaeltacht... (hopefully!)

What about ag dul for going?

Beir bua agus beannacht

Actually, yes... for which verb is "ag dul" the verbal noun?

God I need more resources. Oof.

"ag dul" is the verbal noun of téigh

téigh abhaile = go home
tá mé ag dul abhaile

(Message edited by méabh on April 06, 2007)

(Message edited by méabh on April 06, 2007)

I myself use "téigh" and "imigh", but in different contexts. I don't use "gabh"; that's more of a Northern thing as far as I know. As for "tabhair"... must be some sort of idiom you're talking about sort of like English's "let's hit the road".

I use "imigh" when the person is going off somewhere, e.g.:

He went off to America -- D'imigh sé go Meiriceá

and I use "téigh" for every other usage. "imigh" is like a "téigh" injected with a wreckless abandon, as in "I'm going, you can't reach me by phone or mail, and I'll be home in 6 months", as in "He went off to war".

Thank you! The difference between "téigh" and "imigh" is clear now.

For the record, however, the work "gabh" continues to intrigues me, as it would seem to sound like "go," as Bearla.

I posted a thread before Domhnall on "Gabh" i thought people were being lazy and just using the English "Go" but from experience it is the most used verb for "To go" in Belfast and all of Ulster..

"Gabh ar aghaidh" -> Go ahead...

As I said before, "gabh" is also used in Connemara Irish: it isn't a typical Ulster form.

Scríobh Fear na mBrog: I don't use "gabh";

Dáiríre píre? Ceard faoi gabh mo leithscéal?

I suppose gabh used in the context of take as in excuse me may be universal used amongst the dialects?

I find it slightly amusing that when I first started visting this forum about 5 or 6 years ago, I was told point-blank that gabh and its variant verbal noun "goil" was not found in writing and literature in general and that the "correct" form for go was "teigh." It's good to see "gabh" getting the respect in deserves in this thread.

Happy Easter!

I don't use "gabh" to mean "go".

A Fhear na mBrog, tuigim, gabh mo leithscéal.

quote:

As I said before, "gabh" is also used in Connemara Irish: it isn't a typical Ulster form.

TG4 did a "reality TV" show last year where "celebs" were locaked away for a week to learn Irish. I recall Breandan de Gallai who is a native speaker from Gaoth Dobhair always used the word Gabh for Go

Anybody of my generation (primary school in Ireland in the early 60s) will well remember the teacher's instruction to "teigh a choladh" whenever the teacher want a moment's peace. It was my favourite subject!

I remember that!

And 'tá Mamaí ag cócaireacht, cócaireact etc while you had to spin around your little arms pretending to stir dough

is 'gabh' pronounced 'gau' or 'gó' (probably latter in Donegal)

Yes, gabh is [gˠo] in Donegal (short o).