When you arrive in the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking district), the very first thing you will need to do is ask questions – “where is (cá bhfuil) the bus?” “Cá bhfuil can I exchange money?” “Cá bhfuil the lavatory?” “Cá bhfuil a restaurant?” “Cá bhfuil can I catch a taxi?” “Cá bhfuil a good hotel?” “Cá bhfuil my luggage?” and the list will go on and on. In Gaeilge, there are seven key questions to learn. These focail are extremely important, so learn them now. Take a few minutes to study the key question focail listed below. Then cover the Gaeilge with your hand and fill in each of the blanks with the matching focail in Gaeilge. Note that fake phonetics are always in brackets, and that the sound "ey" is like "hey"].

1. cá bhfuil ["kaw wil"] = where
2. cad ["kad"] = what
3. cé ["key"] = who
4. cén fáth ["keyn fah"] = why
5. cén uair ["keyn oo-er"] = what time
6. cad é mar ["kajey mar"] = how
7. cá mhéad ["kaw veyd"] = how many

Now test yourself to see if you really can keep these focail straight in your mind. Write the Gaeilge equivalents next to the Béarla words.

why

what

who

how

where

when

how much

Ireland has (at least!) three regional dialects: Ulster (the North), Connemara (the West), and Munster (the Southwest). In some cases, aspects of the vocabulary and the accent are entirely different from one region to another, while in other cases you will find that people mix dialects. However, you will be understood with the vocabulary here, which represents in large part the Ulster dialect.

Examine the following questions containing these focail. Practice the sentences out loud agus (“and”) then practice by copying the Gaeilge in the space next to each question.

Cad é sin? ["kajey shin"] = what is it?

Cad é mar an t-uisce? ["kajey mar unn tishka"] = how’s the water?

Cé hé? ["key hey"] = who is that?

Cén uair atá sé ag dul? ["keyn oo-er ataw shey egg dul"] = when is he going?

Cá mhéad é? ["kaw veyd ey"] = how much is it?

Cá bhfuil an bus? (where is the bus?)

Cá bhfuil will be your most used question focal. It comes before the noun, as in cá bhfuil bus (“where is a bus?”). Say each of the following sentences aloud as Gaeilge (“in Irish”), then write out each sentence without looking at the example. Practice each sentence until you are able to do it.

Cá bhfuil leithreas ["lyeras"] (toilet)?

Cá bhfuil tacsaí (taxi)?

Cá bhfuil bus (bus)?

Cá bhfuil bialann ["bee-lin"] (restaurant)?

Cá bhfuil óstlann ["ost-lin"] (hotel)?

Cá bhfuil banc (bank)?

Yes, some of the focail that look like Béarla (“English”) are also in Gaeilge. You will be amazed at the number of focail that are identical (or almost identical) in both languages. Of course, they do not always sound the same when spoken by a speaker of Gaeilge, but the similarities will certainly surprise you agus make your work easier.

One easy way to increase your vocabulary, as well as improve your ability to speak a new language, is to substitute a single word in an existing sentence. For example, you can take a basic sentence like cá bhfuil bialann (“where is a restaurant”) and substitute a noun for the noun in the original sentence. The first sentence is given to you below, as is the resulting sentence when you make the substitution. Now try it yourself with the suggested words.

Cá bhfuil bialann? (óstlann) [you should write:] Cá bhfuil óstlann?

Now try to write a series of sentences that switches the subject each time. Use the words banc, tacsaí, bus, leithreas, uisce, agus bialann. Use this space for your writing:

Listed below are five “free” focail beginning with “a” to help you get started. Say each focal aloud agus write out the focal as Gaeilge to the right.

Free focail:
aeistéitic ["esteytik"]… aesthetic
aerach ["ey-rakh"]… airy, lively
aingeal ["engyal"]… angel
aspairín ["aspirin"]… aspirin
armónaigh ["armony"]… harmonize

“Free” focail like these will appear periodically throughout the course; although they are easy to understand and therefore easy to disregard in favor of the “real” words, they are used just as frequently as the others.