Often, we find the things we try to say vary depending on what position we are in. For example, in a race:
As a participant, you would say
Ar aghaidh linn
Let’s go / onward (with us)
However, the organiser would say:
Imigí!
Go (leave)
If you recall, imigh would be a command to one person, while imigí would be a command to multiple people.
The imperative mood
With goodbyes, though, the person leaving says
Slán agat / Slán agaibh
Goodbye to you / Goodbye to ye
The person staying says
Slán leat / Slán libh
Goodbye to you / Goodbye to ye
If you are likely to confuse this, remember that the command imigh leat means “get out” or “leave”. Thus, the preposition le (with) is used by the person staying.
Of course, you can also choose the path of chaos, drop slán leat altogether and just use imigh leat.
The ones you’ll hear most often, and also the most standard set:
Fáilte romhat
You’re welcome
Ná habair é
Don’t say it
Don’t mention it
Ná bac é sin
Don’t mind it
If you’re going for a very Ulster response, you might say:
Go ndéana a mhaith duit
May it do you good
Go mba hé duit
The same to you
Note: Duit doesn't take séimhiú here because this phrase is a primarily Ulster phrase.
Dialects: Dia Dhaoibh, Y’all
Others you could consider
I’ve heard “ná bí imní ort”, but that is more “don’t worry” in a sense that isn’t in response to thank you. There’s also “fadhb ar bith”, which is “no problem”, but that’s a very English influenced phrasing. “Ní faic é” is the same, and literally means “not a matter”.
The imperative mood is basically an instruction or command mood, a way of saying things such that they are orders instead of statements. The imperative mood uses the most basic forms of verbs, that is to say, the ones in dictionaries. So where we would say ithim, ithfidh and so on, the basic form, ith, would be one used to give a command — the imperative mood.
When giving positive commands, we use the basic forms of verbs, that is to say:
Dún an bosca
We could also imply “you must” by adding “ort” (changing this to suit who this is directed to):
Brostaigh ort!
Think of it as it is upon you to do X.
When giving a negative command, the word ná is added. This would add a h- prefix to words beginning with a vowel:
Ná hoscail an bosca
Ná cloisim sin arís
Commanding Multiples
However, the dictionary form only applies when giving a command to one person. If you are directing multiple people, the verb ending changes:
Often, we find the things we try to say vary depending on what position we are in. For example, in a race:
As a participant, you would say
Ar aghaidh linn
Let’s go / onward (with us)
However, the organiser would say:
Imigí!
Go (leave)
If you recall, imigh would be a command to one person, while imigí would be a command to multiple people.
The imperative mood
With goodbyes, though, the person leaving says
Slán agat / Slán agaibh
Goodbye to you / Goodbye to ye
The person staying says
Slán leat / Slán libh
Goodbye to you / Goodbye to ye
If you are likely to confuse this, remember that the command imigh leat means “get out” or “leave”. Thus, the preposition le (with) is used by the person staying.
Of course, you can also choose the path of chaos, drop slán leat altogether and just use imigh leat.
The imperative mood is basically an instruction or command mood, a way of saying things such that they are orders instead of statements. The imperative mood uses the most basic forms of verbs, that is to say, the ones in dictionaries. So where we would say ithim, ithfidh and so on, the basic form, ith, would be one used to give a command — the imperative mood.
When giving positive commands, we use the basic forms of verbs, that is to say:
Dún an bosca
We could also imply “you must” by adding “ort” (changing this to suit who this is directed to):
Brostaigh ort!
Think of it as it is upon you to do X.
When giving a negative command, the word ná is added. This would add a h- prefix to words beginning with a vowel:
Ná hoscail an bosca
Ná cloisim sin arís
Commanding Multiples
However, the dictionary form only applies when giving a command to one person. If you are directing multiple people, the verb ending changes:
