I've been using "cá fhad...?" to ask "how long...?" as in "how long have you been learning Irish?" (cá fhad atá tú ag foghlaim Gaeilge?"), but the occasional blank looks I'm getting make me wonder if that's a correct usage.

Given that it's other learners I'm asking, it's also possible that they're just not familiar with the term, or that I'm speaking too quickly, but I wan't to be sure I'm not using an incorrect idiom.

GRMA

Redwolf

The grammar and idiom are fine. 'Ca fhad is atá...' is used too, not to mention 'an Ghaeilge', but that would just make it more difficult for them. I'd think they're just unfamiliar with it.
There's also 'cén fhad' instead of 'cá fhad'.

Ceist ghramadaí: 'Fad' is masculine, so why is it 'cén fhad'? Something to do with abstracht nouns?

Maybe it's a Connachta Irish irregularity...?

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

We say "Cá bhfuil...?" but never "cá fhad...?".

For "how long..?" I'd say either -
Cén fhad..?
or
Cén t-achar .. ? [achar - can be distance as well as period of time]



But with that particular question I'd phrase it as -
An bhfuil tú i bhfad ag foghlaim Gaeilge?

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It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
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Yeah, it is always an fhaid is "as long as; as far as; while", i.e., lenited in Connemara (so why is fad marked "masculine" in the dictionary? ).

Cén fhaid is ... ? works as the question "how long ?".

It stumped me when I first heard a man from Gaoth Dobhair ask me "Cá fhad ?" as it just sounded like Cad ?.

Also said in Connacht are cáid (cá fhaid) and caideó (cá fhaid ó):

Caideó tháinig tú anseo ? "How long have you been here?"
Cáid ó tháinig tú thart sa gcoirnéal seo ? "How long have you been in this neck of the woods?"

But the past of the verb is used in that case.

Cá fhaid/Cáid go ... ? "How long till ... ?"

Cá fhaid/Cáid (+ an (interrogative)) ... ? "How long do/will, etc. ... ?"

Another way is using achar, as in cén t-achar:

Cén t-achar atá tú anseo ? "How long are you here ?"

I was taught from several sources that ag foghlaim na Gaeilge is more usual than ag foghlaim Gaeilge.

(Crossed with Bríd )

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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).

Cé chomh fada?

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Ahh That's why I didn't recognise them as the same words

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___________________________________________________________

It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
___________________________________________________________

Always? I've never heard it - ever! I'd say fad is or a fhad is.

Fad is marked masculine in the dictionary because it's masculine.

But why Cén fhad then - or should it be cén fad?

According to FGB, cá causes lenition when used with "abstract nouns denoting degree", which explains cá fhad. FGB doesn't state that cé does the same thing, but perhaps cén fhad is the result of confusion over what the c- word is inside cén? Some people say cá huair for "at what time", and others says cén t-am, so you can see why cé and cá might seem interchangeable in some cases.

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I'm not a native (or entirely fluent) speaker, so be sure to wait for confirmations/corrections, especially for tattoos.

Sorry, Scooby, I was talking about Connemara Irish, following on from Lughaidh and Errigal's comments. Fixed above to make it clearer.


Cén normally follows the simple rule of cé + an with an leniting feminine nouns. It may be that fad is masculine, but faid is feminine. Dinneen has examples of an fhaid as well.

And I think it is cá huair, rather than cá uair*, in CO (see FGB). Cén uair in Connemara.

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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).