Irish people are sometimes rather uncomfortable saying the words “yes” and “no,” including in Béarla. They would much rather say “maybe,” when possible. In spite of that, the Irish have multiple ways of saying yes agus no. The most common way to express yes agus no is to answer with the positive or negative form of the verb: tá or níl. For example, tá mé go maith (“I am fine”) and níl mé go maith (“I am not fine). But that is only one verb, and it’s in present tense only. Tú have already learned how to express “to be” in both past and future tenses, so tú can also negate them:

Present tense: Tá mé go maith...Níl mé go maith.
Past tense: Bhí mé go maith....Ní raibh mé go maith.
Future tense: Beidh mé go maith....Ní bheidh mé go maith.

Try placing the following sentences in the negative:

Tá siad sa chistin.
Bhí mo charr sa gharáiste.
Beidh m’athair san oifig.
Tá sí sa phub.

Now do the same thing below, but ALSO change the existing pronouns to other pronouns. The basic pronouns are in Step Three, and the possessive pronouns are in Step Four. So if it says “he,” try changing it (for example) to “we.” Notice that the rest of the sentence doesn’t change. But if you’re changing from one possessive pronoun to a different one (as in the second and third example, below), the next word might lenite or eclipse!

Tá siad sa chistin.
Bhí mo charr sa gharáiste.
Beidh m’athair san oifig.
Tá sí sa phub.

Remember asking cá bhfuil (where is), cá raibh (where was), and cá mbeidh (where will be)? The question cá (where) eclipses the following verb, which is why you’ve got that odd-looking letter combination of mbeidh instead of just beidh.

Try answering the following location questions in the negative (you choose whatever appropriate answer you like, just as long as it’s negative):

Cá bhfuil siad?
Cá raibh mo chat?
Cá mbeidh sé?
Cá bhfuil muid?

You can also ask questions in present, past, and future by using the question indicators an (positive) or nach (negative) in front of the verb (which eclipses the verb): think “are you fine?” and “aren’t you fine?”

Present tense: An bhfuil tú go maith? - Nach bhfuil tú go maith?
Past tense: An raibh tú go maith? - Nach raibh tú go maith?
Future tense: An mbeidh tú go maith? - Nach mbeidh tú go maith?

Try answering the following questions in the negative, using níl (the negative of tá) or ní (used for past tense -- ní raibh -- or future tense -- ní bheidh):

An bhfuil siad anseo?
An raibh mo chat ansin?
An mbeidh sé sa teach?
An bhfuil muid go maith?

The funny thing is that a popular response to (for example) cad é mar atá tú might be go measartha (“middling,” pronounced “ga masra”). Any variant on “can’t complain,” “not too bad, considering,” or “so-so” is common. Similarly, rather than answering with a definitive “yes” or “no,” a preferable answer might be b’fhéidir, “possibly” [pronounced “beyjir”].

Ar mhaith leat cuppa tae? - B’fhéidir.
An maith leat jazz - B’fhéidir.

Another point that tú can discuss endlessly is an aimsir, the weather. It is an excellent idea to gain some facility with weather terms. In fact, since it is always changing, tú will be able to practice (and practice, and practice). Ireland is famous for its báisteach (rain), but any kind of weather short of rain counts, inexplicably, as “fine.” A partly cloudy day is “fine,” a windy day is “fine,” and a rainy day in which it isn’t raining at the moment is “fine.”

Take a look at these weather-related statements. Note the word ann, which roughly means "in it," “out there,” or “abroad” (in the Irish sense of “abroad,” meaning outside). The word ann isn’t required, but you’ll hear people using it so you might as well learn it.

Cad é mar an aimsir? [kajey mar unn aimshir] How is the weather?
Tá sé go breá ann. [taw shey ga braw aun] It’s fine out there.
Tá sé go measartha ann. [taw shey ga masra aun] It’s middling out there.
Tá sé go dona ann. [taw shey ga dona aun] It’s lousy out there.
Tá sé fliuch ann. [taw shey flyookh aun] It’s wet out there.
Tá sé fuar. [taw shey fooer] It’s cold.
Tá sé te. [taw shey chey] It’s warm.
Tá báisteach ann. [taw bawsh-tyakh aun] There’s rain out there.
Tá sneachta ann. [taw shnakhta aun] There’s snow out there.
Tá sé garbh. [taw shey gariv] It's rough out there.

People like to add statements like buíochas le Dia, “thanks be to God” to their comments on the weather. And when someone has made a statement about the weather, tú can either agree (tá, cinnte – “it is, indeed” or cinnte, cinnte – “indeed, indeed”) or tú can add something to it, like a statement about yesterday’s weather or your ideas and predictions for tomorrow’s weather. Respond to these questions:

Cad é mar an aimsir ann inniu?
An raibh an aimsir go breá ann inné?
An bhfuil báisteach ann inniu?
An raibh sneachta ann inné?
An mbeidh sé te ann amárach?

Please note the difference between the questions an bhfuil sé te (“is it warm”) and an bhfuil báisteach (“is there rain”). In the first instance, tú are asking about it, out there, which is why tú have the pronoun sé in the sentence as the subject. In the second instance, tú are asking about the rain itself, which is the subject, not about “it.”

In addition to the colors you learned earlier, you now have some adjectives to work with: maith, measartha, dona, fliuch, fuar, and te. Adjectives come after the noun; for masculine nouns, the spelling of the adjective doesn’t change. For feminine nouns, the adjective is lenited.

Here are some examples of the use of adjectives with masculine nouns:
an carr dubh [unn car doov] the black car
an madra maith [unn madra my] the good dog
an fear fada [unn far fada] the tall man
an sneachta fuar [unn shnakhta fooer] the cold snow

And here are some examples of the use of adjectives with feminine nouns:
an bhó bhán [unn vo van] the white cow
an bhean mhór [unn ban wor] the big woman
an lá mhaith [unn law wy] the fine day
an aimsir dhona [unn aimshir ghona] the lousy weather

Remember two things here: 1) feminine nouns with an have to be lenited when there’s a consonant at the beginning, and 2) you can’t lenite l, n, or r. When tú have a plural noun, you have to pluralize the adjectives too, but it’s easy: just add an a to the broad consonant ending, and an e to the slender consonant ending. Take these adjectives that follow, and try adding them to your favorite nouns, paying attention, of course, to the noun’s gender.

sásta (happy) – brón (sad).................fuar (cold) – te (warm)
difriúil (different) – céanna (same).....tuirseach (tired) – bríomhar (energetic)
beag (small) – mór (large)............... saor (cheap) – daor (expensive)
maith (good) – dona (bad)................luath (early) – mall (late)
sean (old) – nua (new).....................furasta (easy) – deacair (difficult)
gránna (ugly) – álainn (beautiful).......fada (tall, long) – gearr (short)
falamh (empty) – lán (full)............... bog (soft) – crúa (hard)
glan (clean) – salaigh (dirty)............. fliuch (wet) – tirim (dry)
geal (bright) – dorcha (dark)............. ciúin (quiet) – callánach (noisy)
marbh (dead) – beo (alive)............... tinn (sick) – slán (healthy, safe)

Tá some free focail anseo:

fabhar … favor
fealsamh … philosopher
ficsean … fiction
fliúit … flute
focás … focus