A chairde,

Cormac is aimn dom. D'fhoghlaim mé mo chuid Gaeilge ar scoil, fiche cuig blian o shin. Thosnaigh mé ag iarraidh é a feasú le déanaí.

Is it ok to ask grammar-related questions here? (Sorry, my Irish is not yet at a sufficient level to express myself fully).

I have a question about the intentional tense. In English one would say "I'm going to (do something)". It's similar in French and Welsh.

In Irish I'd say "Tá mé chun (rud éigean a dhéanamh)". However, I noticed on
http://www.nualeargais.ie/gnag/verbnom1.htm#absichtsform
that "chun" is used in the context of a definite time span.

It suggests "ag dul ag" as a way of expressing the intentional, e.g.
Tá mé ag dúl ag foghlaim Gaeilge =I'm going to learn Irish.
I've never come across the use of ag dul in this way - except in the case of "ag dul a chodladh" - and it strikes me as béaralachas. Is it common to use "ag dul" to express the intentional?

Míle buíoch,
Cormac.

Tá fáilte romhat, a Chormaic.

It certainly is OK to ask grammar-related questions here. We all want to learn.

I'll be interested in how the dialects deal with that construction.

Like you I learnt "Táim chun (rud éigin a dhéanamh)" for "I am going (to do something)"

Unfortunately I am not qualified to speak for native speakers but I think I may have heard "Táim a' goil a dhéanamh rud éigin" in the west. I take "a' goil" to be equivalent to "ag gabháil" or even "ag dul." Do any native speakers say "ag dul"? Anywhere? What would Peig have said? All of us learners do. But ....

Hi Jeaicín,

Thanks for your response. It does sound like something that would vary between the dialects. My own Irish is standardised school Irish with a light Munster flavour.

Le meas,
Cormac.

"Táim chun Gaeilge a fhoghlaim" sounds right to my ears as "I'm going to learn Irish". You could also say "Tá sé ar intinn agam Gaeilge a fhoghlaim", "I intend to learn Irish".

That "Tá mé ag dul ag foghlaim Gaeilge" business doesn't sound right to my ears, unless the speaker was literally going out the door to a class!

Tá breall ort Joe, deirtear san minic go leor.

Tá an dúrud sampla sa chorpas, ó chainteoirí dúchais ina measc.

http://corpas.focloir.ie/

Maith go leor. I stand corrected.

Focal iontach solúbtha is ea dul, mar is léir ón bhFoclóir beag:

http://www.potafocal.com/Metasearch.aspx?Text=dul&GotoID=focloirbeag

dul [ainm briathartha][ainmfhocal firinscneach den tríú díochlaonadh]
gluaiseacht (dul abhaile, anonn is anall); imeacht (cá ndeachaigh sé? rachaimid amach an sliabh); sroicheadh (bhí an t-uisce ag dul go glúine orm); rith (conas tá an scéal ag dul? seo mar a théann an chéad véarsa); cosaint (chuaigh sé pingin mhaith airgid); gabháil, tosú (dul a chodladh, ag léamh); a éirí le (chuaigh agam é a dhéanamh); léamh, tuiscint (is deacair dul amach ar an bhfear sin); teacht (chuaigh feabhas air); titim (ormsa a chuaigh an costas, an milleán); seasamh (is gearr le dul orainn é); teip, múchadh (tá sí ag dul as go mór; tá an lampa ag dul as; chuaigh díom é a dhéanamh); bheith dlite (bhí an méid sin ag dul dó); réiteach le (chuaigh an t-athrú bia go maith dó); imeacht as (dul faoi na gréine); luí isteach le (chuaigh sé sna saighdiúirí); athrú (ag dul i léig, in olcas; ag dul ó mhaith; dul le buile) le cosúlacht nó réiteach (lena máthair a chuaigh sí; ní théann an dá dhath le chéile; téann an deoch síos go maith leis); ceiliúradh, loiceadh (ná téigh siar ar d'fhocal; dul ar gcúl); briseadh, sárú (dul thar fóir; ní rachadh sé thar a fhocal; níl aon dul thairis); polladh (chuaigh an fuacht tríom); caitheamh (ag dul trí airgead); seans (níl aon dul aige air); leagan (dul cainte); bail (ar an dul ina raibh sé); am, ócáid (den dul seo; ar an gcéad dul síos).

Go raibh míle maith agat, a Aonghus. Ní raibh fhios agam go bhféadfá(?) "dul" a úsáid mar sin.

Thanks also for the links.

(Message edited by cormacanchnoic on May 30, 2011)

Níl a bhuíochas ort. Tá an Ghaeilge níos solúbtha ná mar a cheaptar!