Gramadach gan Stró! is aimed at those who already have a reasonably good standard of spoken Irish but who wish to improve their grammar and to learn useful idiomatic and colloquial expressions. It is suitable for those who don’t usually understand grammar courses, and who find complicated rules confusing. There is a strong emphasis on everyday usage of Irish, and information is given on the differences between the written and spoken language.

This course does not aim to give a comprehensive account of Irish grammar; rather it concentrates on the core aspects of the grammar of the language, and these are explained in a clear, concise way. Complicated terminology is avoided and plenty of examples are given to demonstrate various patterns.

This edition of the course contains extra material – it focuses on aspects of grammar that did not feature in previous editions.

Author

This course was written by Éamonn Ó Dónaill, one of the founders of Gaelchultúr (www.gaelchultur.com) and the company’s Director of Education. Helen Hegarty edited Gramadach gan Stró! and she and her colleague Aodh Ó Gallchóir wrote additional material and exercises for the course.

There is a total of twenty-five units in Gramadach gan Stró! and each one contains grammatical explanations, interactive exercises, a topical and well-written article, and useful phrases. Having studied all the course material, and having completed all the exercises, the user may then undertake the Scrúdú Ceannchúrsa (End of Course Exam), which appears after Unit 25, to assess his/her progress.

Course units

• Unit 1: Grammar Terminology
• Unit 2: The Noun 1 (The Nominative Case Singular and Plural)
• Unit 3: Simple Prepositions
• Unit 4: Simple Prepositions and the Article
• Unit 5: The Noun 2 (The Vocative Case)
• Unit 6: The Noun 3 (The Genitive Case)
• Unit 7: The Adjective 1 (The Adjective in the Singular and in the Plural)
• Unit 8: The Adjective 2 (The Adjective in the Genitive Case)
• Unit 9: The Adjective 3 (Comparatives and Superlatives)
• Unit 10: The Verb 1 (The Imperative Mood)
• Unit 11: The Verb 2 (The Past Tense)
• Unit 12: The Cardinal Numbers
• Unit 13: The Verb 3 (The Present Tense)
• Unit 14: Dates/Ordinal Numbers
• Unit 15: Location, Movement and Time
• Unit 16: The Relative Clause
• Unit 17: The Personal Numerals
• Unit 18: The Verb 4 (The Future Tense)
• Unit 19: Possessive Adjectives
• Unit 20: The Prepositional Pronouns
• Unit 21: The Copula Is
• Unit 22: The Verb 5 (The Conditional Mood/Má agus Dá)
• Unit 23: The Verb 6 (The Autonomous Verb)
• Unit 24: The Verbal Noun and the Verbal Adjective
• Unit 25: The Verb 7 (The Past Habitual Tense)

• There is a total of 25 units in the Gramadach gan Stró! course and each unit contains a mixture of grammatical explanation and exercises.
• After you have read some grammar rules, you have an opportunity to try some exercises based on those rules.
• All the exercises are interactive. Once you have completed an exercise, you can then click on the Seol (Send) button and receive feedback immediately. You’re told which answers were correct and which were incorrect, and you’re given the correct answers and a score.
• At the beginning of each unit, you’re told which aspects of grammar are the focus of that unit.
• In order to move from one screen to another all you need to do is click on the icon, which appears on the right-hand side, at the top and bottom of each screen. You can also click on any line of text under the words PLEAN AN AONAID on the left hand of the screen in order to access another part of the unit.
• An article appears in each unit, containing an exercise in which blanks must be filled. The aim of this exercise is to draw attention to various aspects of Irish grammar, some of which are contained in the unit and in other units in the course as well. This gives the user the opportunity to see grammar in context, rather than out of context – the latter being something that often happens when grammar is taught.
• When you have filled all the blanks in an article, you can click on Seol (Send) in order to find out which of your answers were correct and which were incorrect. If you click on the icon, you are given an explanation of the answer.
• A section titled Saibhreas na Gaeilge, containing ten idioms, appears at the end of each unit. Having learned these useful sentences, the user is then given the opportunity to try some exercises based on those idioms.
• Having studied all the course material, and having completed all the exercises, the user may then undertake the Scrúdú Ceannchúrsa, which appears after Unit 25.
• On the last page of each unit, an leathanach scoir, you’re given an overview of the work that you’ve done in that unit and your total score for the unit. You’re given several choices as well: to continue to the next unit, to go back on the unit that you have just completed, or go back to the very beginning of the course.

Using the course

• There is a total of 25 units in the Gramadach gan Stró! course and we recommend that you study one unit per week. Do not continue to a new unit until you have successfully completed all the exercises in that unit.
• Doing exercises once is not enough – it is better to try them a few times.
• Having studied all the course material, and having completed all the exercises, the user may then undertake the Scrúdú Ceannchúrsa (End of Course Exam), which appears after Unit 25.

Forum

A forum has been provided for the Gramadach gan Stró! course. Those registered for Gramadach gan Stró! have an opportunity to send messages to the forum and discuss questions regarding grammar, translation, vocabulary, etc.

When can I begin the course?

Immediately! Students study the course independently of a teacher. This means that you can improve your Irish in the office or from the comfort of your home, at your own pace, and at whatever time suits you.

What happens if I have a question?

Write it on the forum! You’ll be able to contact other learners through this discussion forum. You can send messages, ask and answer questions, and express ideas there. Members of the Gaelchultúr team keep an eye on the forum, so they’ll be able to answer any tricky questions.