Basic Irish: A Grammar and Workbook

I've just completed the exercises in this workbook. I've learned a lot, but it's been a bit of a slog.As a workbook, I think the title is a bit misleading. It's called Basic Irish, but it definitely isn't for beginners. For context: I came to this book having completed Duolingo Irish, the first eight modules of Dublin City University's 'Introduction to Irish Language and Culture', and the Irish Sentence Builders workbook, and I found some of the exercises hard work and a bit lengthy. I felt some questions required a level of Irish not covered in the book. There's a huge amount of material, densely packed, so you definitely get your money's worth. But just be aware this is more of a college textbook than a phrasebook to help you prepare for a visit to your Granny in the Old Country.As a reference grammar though, this work really comes into its own. It introduces each subject in instalments of manageable size and with reasonable clarity (though oftentimes the explanations required a level of English grammatical knowledge beyond the level suggested in the introduction). It will definitely be a keeper, and I'll go back to it and revisit the relevant chapters whenever I feel the need to re-work trickier concepts. I found the lesson on the Genitive particularly helpful.To sum up: as a workbook it's helpful but challenging. As a reference book, it's extremely useful and I will refer to it often. If you're a rather new beginner, maybe just finished Duolingo and looking for something with basic exercises in simple sentences to help cement the concepts you've learned, Irish Sentence Builders might be a better choice.

This is a good foundation book to revise and renew your early school Irish learning. It is very precise without being too esoteric. I would recommend it. Hugh

Instruction are easy to follow. Units are well set out. A good backup for my class lessons.Some dialect differences between the book and my teacher, but all part of the language learning process.

Ich mag diese Grammatik, da die Übungen am Ende jeder Lektion einem die Gelegenheit geben, das gelesene praktisch anzuwenden. Sehr zu empfehlen. Von Nancy Stenson gibt es übrigens auch eine Webseite mit Übungen zu "Learning Irish" von Micheal O'Siadhail.

I've been looking forward to writing this review since I read the first page of this book. My decision to purchase it was based on some of the reviews I read here, and' therefor I've felt the responsibility to `pay it forward' by adding my own review. I am a divergent language learner; I have not found success in working my way through basic language courses, and have felt like I was banging my head against the proverbial wall in trying to make progress the same way I saw others doing successfully. Felt like a dunderhead and a failure until I finally came to peace with knowing I had to design a way of learning that worked for me, made use of my strengths and aptitudes, and once I did that, this finally began to flow for me. I say this to give hope to others that might be struggling. It's such a great feeling when you hear the language coming out of your mouth, almost a `where did that come from?' feeling. This book is not, as has been said here, a basic instructional course. It is a very useful supplement, as intended, that `connects the dots'. Many, many a-ha! moments in reading this; things that I've noticed in the language but had no clear understanding of how it fit together into a cogent whole became clear in reading here. I've underlined so many points in here. I felt like I'd gotten my money's worth of the purchase in the first chapter.I'm not saying that I think this would work for everyone, but it has been the right book for me at the right time, and may be for you as well. I'm not saying that other grammar books are not good, but I feel now that when I've absorbed what this and her Intermediate book have to offer, I will be able to get more out of the other grammar books I have.Some suggestions: buy the hard copy, not the Kindle. I can't see myself having gotten nearly as much from a Kindle version. This is a book to do, not just to read. I find myself flipping back and forth, revisiting things as other points become clear, making `see pg X' notes in the margins.My other suggestion is one I haven't gotten around to but it's on the list: take it to a copy shop and have them trim the back off and put a spiral wire through as a binding. This will allow more interactive use.Comments have been made about the absence of audio files with this, and I have wished for that myself. But the author keeps referring readers back to local pronunciations for authenticity, and I think there's a lot of value to be gained in that, especially since I'm more interested in the Ulster dialect. I think she's avoiding by choice saying, "This is the One Right Way to Say Something'.The youtube video and accompanying printout to be found at Sounds and Spelling of Irish / Fuaimniú & Litriú na Gaeilge by Karen Reshkin may be helpful for those who are still working on understanding the letter/sound correspondence of the language.No one resource is going to do it all for everyone, but if you find a way of learning that feels like so much fun you have to force yourself to stop, rather than slogging through the chore of studying, you're on the right track for you. And that way will be different for different people--your happy-language-learning path will be someone else's do-I-have-to? Just wanted to offer encouragement to the strugglers. I'm far from where I hope to someday be, but now I'm just enjoying the journey and I know it'll just keep getting better. Wishing you all success.