Well, you're right, of course; there are lots of learning materials that are made by people who are apparently incapable of explaining simple ideas in simple terms.

Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing about your last post.

OK. Well, next time, I'll just say "well, yeah, I know that bhfuil doesn't look anything like tá or bí, but it is. So stick the little question thingy "an" on the front to make it a question, and don't ask why." Will that satisfy your desire for a "simple answer"?

In case you missed it, the whole point of my answer was that these are different forms of the SAME VERB. You may or may not like grammatical terminology, but it exists for a reason, and one of those reasons is to help clarify these differences. You don't want to use them? Fine...don't use them. But there's no need to be snarky about resources (and people) who do.

Redwolf

Is this your pathetic way of making fun of me? I'm not impressed.

"In case you missed it" the whole purpose of my post was to explain something simple in a simple way. I also encouraged him to focus on learning the language and not be intimidated by linguistic jargon. I'm sorry that you have a problem with that.

Jaysus...something sure put your knickers in a twist tonight!

This was an incredibly rude comeback to a simple statement (bolding mine):



You give it to me, you're going to get it right back.

Redwolf

So, you think there's nothing rude about saying, "Jaysus...something sure put your knickers in a twist tonight!" I'd be embarrassed to talk to anybody that way.

Are YOU a person who has made learning materials that do not explain simple ideas in simple terms? Why do you think that that post refers to you personally?

Okay, you two. Stop bickering please. A variety of approaches to explaining things is welcome here.

Some people relate to the jargon, others don't, but there is no need for anyone to be snarky about how other people try to explain something.

The fact is that bí, like common verbs in many languages, has become an assemblage of several verb parts: bí "to be"; tá, which originally meant "to stand"; and fuil, which is an old dependent form. So whether it is one verb or several verbs depends on how you look at it.

The negative of tá is níl, which comes from ní fhuil. The fh is silent and the two i sounds on either side have elided together to form one word.

For the difference between tá and bíonn, consider the following two sentences:

Tá sé fuar i nDoire anocht. "It is cold in Derry tonight." (An actual occurrence)

Bíonn sé fuar i nDoire sa gheimhreadh. "It is cold in Derry in the winter." (A tendency)

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

I see what you mean, Breandán – I think I flew off the handle a bit.

Bí, bíonn, tá srl -is that what they call a lexeme?

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