Hi all. New here so forgive me if there's a better thread to put this question in.

Dabbling in Duolingo (I know... ) and it's pretty good except it doesn't explain itself.

The part I don't get is why sometimes you'd say labhrainn and other times it's labhraim. Is there an easy explanation for when to use one or the other?

IF you mean labhrann with nn and not -inn, then it is this:


labhraim: I speak (most dialects have: labhraím)
labhrann tú: you speak (most dialects have labhraíonn tú)
labhrann sé: he speaks (most dialects have labhraíonn sé)

Obviously, it depends on dialect, as I would extend this:

labhraimíd: we speak (most dialects have labhraímid)
labhrann sibh: you plural speak (most dialects have labhraíonn sibh)
labhraid siad: they speak (most dialects have: labhraíonn siad)

It's part of the conjugation pattern.

It's just a difference of tense

labhraim = 'I speak' (present tense) (which is labhraím in most dialects as David mentioned);
labhrainn = 'I used to/would speak' (past habitual, similar to imperfect tense in Spanish) (labhraínn in most dialects)

Take these examples:

labhraim (labhraím) le mo mháthair 'I speak with my mother'
labhrainn (labhraínn) le mo mháthair 'I used to speak to my mother (on a regular basis, e.g. every day)

_________________
I'm an intermediate speaker of the Corca Dhuibhne dialect of Irish and also have knowledge on the old spelling
Soir gaċ síar, fé ḋeireaḋ thíar

Ah, I get it now. Many thanks