Hi all, I am a complete beginner, I have been toying about with the idea of learning the Irish language for sometime but recently took the plunge and have joined a local class and I am now looking for support and help from people like yourselves. My class are breaking up for a mid-term break next week and I have joined the one and only beginners class in the school, the teacher has set us a task, with no pressure involved at all, that we have to initiate a conversation in the pub after you have just walked in, where a native speaker you meet asks you,'would you like a drink',' what would you like to drink','would you like something to eat', etc.
If anyone can help me in any way with this I would be most grateful.
Thanks

We're always happy to help. Why don't you take a stab at it first, and we'll help you sort it out? That's the best way to learn, really.

For example, if I were that native speaker (I'm not, by the way, but let's pretend) and I asked you "Ar mhaith leat deoch?" (would you like a drink?), how might you respond?

Redwolf

Can I play, can I huh? Can I!?! Usually it is me asking for help, and I am only at the beginner stage with Munster dialect. Please take advice from more experienced members, they are very generous with help. This is a good exercise, well for me any way. From my early Liam O'Maonlai lessons comes a very stiff conversation:

Would you like a drink? Ar mhaith leat deoch?
I am thirsty. Tá tart orm.
I have some Irish. Please speak slowly. Tá roinnt Gaeilge agam. Labhair go mall le do thoil.
A pint of lager (beer) please. Pionta beoir le do thoil.
Thank you. Go raibh maith agat.
I am hungry. Tá ocras orm.
Would you like a ham sandwich or a toasted cheese sandwich? Ar mhaith leat ceapaire liabháis, nó ceapaire caise tóstáilte?
I don’t understand. Can you repeat that please. Ni thuigim. Abair sin aris le do thoil?
I would like a toasted ham sandwich for lunch. Ba mhaith liom ceapaire liabháis tóstáilta don lón.
Would you like to come to dinner? Ar mhaith leat teacht chuig dinnéir?
Can you make a dinner booking for me? An feidir leat airithint dinnéir a dheanam dom?
Thank you very much. Go raibh mile maith agat.
Where is the nearest guest house? Ca bhfuil an teach loistin is gaire?
And you’ll see it on your right, 200 metres later. Agus feicfidh tú é ar dheis, dhá chéad méadar ar aghaidh.
That’s great, thank you very much. Sin iontach, go raibh mile maith agat.
What stout do you sell? Cén leann dubh atá ar diol agat?
A pint of stout and a glass of lager, please. Pionta leann dubh agus gloine beorach, le do thoil.
Oh, it’s pouring rain. Oh, ta se ag stealladh baisti.
It will snow tonight. Ta sneachta air anocht.
When does the bar close? Cathain a dhúnann an béar?
The bar closes at midnight. Dúnann an béar ag meán oiche.

Good luck with that,
JulieA

Those are great, Julie, but I was kind of hoping he'd come up with phrases himself, from the class he's been taking. I suspect that's what the teacher wanted. Dredging them up out of memory and applying them is one way to get useful phrases "pegged" in your mind.

As this is an adult taking a class, rather than a kid asking for help with homework, we don't actually have a requirement that he take a stab at it himself first, but it's still a good policy from a teaching standpoint.

Oh...one spelling correction: It's "beár," not "béar" ("béar" means "bear" and is pronounced as such)

Redwolf

Here are a few more suggestions -

What would you like to drink? - Cad é ba mhaith leat le hól?
Would you like to drink something? Yes - An mbeidh deoch agat? Beidh
I would like a glass of beer - Ba mhaith liom gloine leanna.
Give me two pints of beer, please. - Tabhair dom dhá phionta leanna, le do thoil.
The same again. - An rud céanna arís.
Another pint? Here it is - Aon seans ar phionta eile? Seo é
This is my round. - Seo mo sheal - or - Seal s'agamsa.
Would you like another one? - Ar mhaith leat ceann eile?
Yes I would - Ba mhaith.
No I wouldn't - Níor mhaith.

You can say this when you raise your glass/jar/pint -
- Go mbeirimid beo ar an am seo arís!

not forgetting - Cá bhfuil an leithreas le do thoil?

or as Bríd would say, 'Ar mhaith leat sandwich ham'!!! viewtopic.php?f=28&t=1437&p=11767&hilit=ceapaire+ham#p11767

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Makes good sense Redwolf, think his homework helped me more than him. "Dredging" phrases up is a perfect description. Thanks,
JulieA

For my round could you not say mo bhabhta, which means turn and round, but also something given in exchange, which is pretty much what the round system is, exchanging drinks

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Bíonn rudaí maithe mall

Yes of course - a round of drinks is - babhta dí. Seal would be a turn (to pay for drinks) rather than a round, strictly speaking, though as it comes from the Appletree Irish Phrase Book, I'm wondering whether this is what they would say in Ulster.
Glasses round! - Gloine do gach duine!
This round of drinks is on me - Ormsa an deoch seo - or - Ormsa an ceann seo - are other ways of saying it.