Hi there,

I tried posting this at IGT (where I was once a frequent poster), but no luck. I was wondering where the old IGT guard had gone and it appears many of them have come here.

I have a question for those more familiar with the way Irish is actually spoken in daily life around Ireland.

I've noticed that sometimes people use analytic verb forms (ex. tá mé, deir mé, ól mé, etc...) all the time, while others use synthetic forms (táim, ólaim, etc...).

So what's the deal? Are there rules governing this usage? Is it a dialectical thing? What's the preference of most fluent speakers (native or 2nd language)?

Many thanks to all.

it's mainly a dialectal thing.
Certain synthetic forms are only used in Munster ; others exist everywhere or almost ; certain exist only in certain places.
Actually the dialect that uses the biggest number and the most often these synthetic forms is Munster Irish.
In Ulster, people don't use many of them, only a few.

Táim is Munster
ólaim exists everywhere (but in certain Ulster dialects you can also hear ólann mé)
I don't think "ól mé" exists

In the present tense, the synthetic form with -(a)im is usual everywhere (except in the verb "tá": "táim" is Munster, Connachta and Ulster have "tá mé").

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Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

I see. So the synthetic forms are mandatory for all verbs except for « tá » in dialects which prefer the analytic forms instead for that precise verb.

Thanks very much.

the synthetic forms are mandatory in the "mé" person in the present tense in almost all dialects, except for the form"táim" which is only usual in Munster.

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