Teach Yourself Irish Grammar [Paperback]

Eamonn O'Donaill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0340904941 | ISBN-13: 978-0340904947

"Teach Yourself Irish Grammar" is the first up-to-date, accessible grammar written in English for students working independently or via formal courses at school, evening classes or further education. The book helps students become both functionally and formally fluent in the language. The examples used in the book reflect everyday usage and use up-to-the-minute vocabulary, and there are lively, varied exercises with an answer key.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eamonn O Donaill is an experienced teacher of Irish, teacher trainer, and creator of teaching materials. He is former Director of the Language Centre in the Department of Modern Irish, University College Dublin. He is the author of the multimedia self-instructional course Now You're Talking (published in the United States under the title of Irish on Your Own), and of two resource books for teachers of Irish, Abair Leat, Part 1 and Abair Leat, Part 2. He was also language co-ordinator of Turas Teanga, a new multimedia course for learners of Irish at the intermediate level funded by RTE and comprising a twenty-part series, a book, three audio CDs, and DVD set, and twenty radio programmes. Eamonn wrote the Turas Teanga course book; this publication reached number two in the Irish best-seller list in the week commencing February 23, 2004.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Teach Yourself (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340904941
• ISBN-13: 978-0340904947
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,022,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How does this compare with other Irish grammars?, March 12, 2007

By 

John L Murphy "Fionnchú" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Teach Yourself Irish Grammar (TY: Language Guides) (Paperback)

Not to be confused with the "Teach Yourself Irish" tape/CD w/book that focuses somewhat on a Munster-based Irish and is itself a revision of the old 1961 Ó Sé & Shields text full of sentences about sheep, TYIG is a 2005 fresh text and a new addition to the TY series by Éamonn Ó Dónaill, a noted teacher of Ulster Irish who earlier made the "Now You're Talking" learner's materials, now out of print. Ó Dónaill also worked on the recent Turas Teanga RTÉ CD-DVD-book series, so he's up-to-date on how to teach Ireland to a largely more urban, possibly international, audience.

This book combines the sort of paradigm-centered discussion you can find in Nollaig Mac Congáil's "Irish Grammar Book" (from Cló Iar-Chonnachta, and this book in turn's not the same as "Irish Grammar" the more basic handbook by Noel McGonagle-- this does get confusing) with exercises after each of its 22 chapters. Appendices and supplements cover naming conventions, list declensions, give a glossary of grammatical terms, and suggest learner's resources. This book is more useful for classroom and self-tutored work than Mac Congáil's reference, if less technically organized than Donna Wong's more expensive and more academically intended "Learner's Guide to Irish," although I recommend those two books for any self-motivated learner who's committed to getting serious, past the "where's the pub?" and "see you later, then" types of exchanges. Ó Dónaill's book with its mass market distribution in chain bookstores and on Amazon will be the easiest of the three to purchase for most learners, and serves as a necessary basis for the (also recommended and reviewed by me on Amazon as is Turas Teanga) LGI and Mac Congáil books.

Ó Dónaill's text is arranged with boxed charts, boldfaced lettering to emphasize changes in patterns, and has attractive fonts (as with Mac Congáil and Wong I might add-- all three remember how crucial for self-study becomes the visual element of organizing material for comprehension outside of a classroom with a patient teacher at the board). TYIG may borrow a helpful feature found (if in more detail typically) in LGI: it refers to and shows how to consult the standard Niall Ó Dónaill & Tomás de Bhaldraithe 1977 dictionary Fócloir Gaeilge- Béarla. Éamonn Ó Dónaill begins each TYIG term by defining it straightforwardly. Explanations are briefer than Wong if about the same or a bit shorter than Mac Congáil's. This middle ground will for most learners needing grammatical drills plus a quick reference suffice unless the in-depth discussions of Wong's LGI are needed-- as they may well be-- to explain Gaelic intricacies and nuances.

Grammar for most of us is not inherently thrilling. I think learners with a knack for math, language learning, and structural patterns tend to favor grammar more than those of us (like me) who struggle with forms but pick up vocabulary more naturally. The order is: spelling, accents, and stress; articles & nouns; genitive case; adjectives; prepositions; pronouns; lots of verbs; cardinal and ordinal numbers and personal numbering; adverbs; relative clauses; indirect speech. Each lesson has a helpful preview with key themes, and answer keys are at the back of the book. All Irish words and phrases are translated into English. However, this would not be the place for a beginner to start; I'd recommend an encouraging guide like Gabriel Rosenstock's "Beginner's Irish" or the dryer, but concise and handy Mairead Ní Ghrada's "Progress in Irish."

For anyone past the initial stages of learning Irish, this will combines useful guide and brisk tutor. TYIG fills a need (as far as I know) that

no other text for learners of this language has met: grammar plus drills.

Why less than five stars? While no fault of Ó Dónaill's, you cannot use TYIG without breaking the spine apart to flatten it enough to do the exercises. And I doubt if you can write the answers in the lack of space provided. These are more ideas of exercises than ones meant to be completed in their actual configuration on the pages here.

TY in their present format (I have one from decades ago for TYLatin and one for TYChemistry both with large-format, notebook-sized layouts much easier for real-world use) sells the type of cheap paperback too common for learners of any language: it is not designed with any practicality. If you weigh down the edges so as to actually read the pages more easily, the spine separates and the pages come loose from the glue. Wong's book justifies its price by a large-format spiral binding. I wish other publishers would do this-- I would pay more for this durability. I guess you can prop it open somewhat and copy TYIG exercises into a notebook laboriously, thus reinforcing the exercises content by writing them out before completing them! One ironic way in which you must teach yourself Irish grammar, I suppose.

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely Not Intended to be Used Alone, March 28, 2011

By 

Flower of Finae (United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Teach Yourself Irish Grammar (TY: Language Guides) (Paperback)

TYIG is a very thorough book that seems to effectively cover all parts of Irish grammar - adverbs, adjectives, verbs, etc. However, it should be noted that this is certainly not intended to be used as your only guide to the language; rather, it is a complement that focuses on clarifying any confusing grammar that may have been thrown into the mix of other things in another Irish course. It does not provide pronunciation at all, nor does it have a section explaining pronunciation (though it does glaze over broad and slender consonants, it simply does not explain how to pronounce the consonants).

It seems to be (I say "seems" for I have not finished it) an essential book for anyone serious about learning the mechanics of Irish, but again...it is not a main curriculum.