LESSON 1.


The Personal Pronouns in their simple form (with English equivalent in parenthesis):


mee (I)
oo (you)
eh (he)
ee (she)
shin (we)
shiu (you)
ad (they)


(The word oo (you) is used when speaking to ONE person only, shiu being, strictly, plural: but shiu is often, out of politeness, substituted for oo).



The Verb "to be."


Present tense, affirmative form, ta.


ta mee (I am)
t'ou, ta oo (you are)
t'eh, ta eh (he is)
t'ee, ta ee (she is)
ta shin (we are)
ta shiu (you are)
t'ad, ta ad (they are)


T'eh, when meaning 'it is' is often written te.


It will be seen that in Manx the nominative is placed AFTER the verb.


Cur Gaelg orroo shoh

  1. she is.
  2. you are. (plural
  3. they are.
  4. he is.
  5. we are.
  6. I am.
  7. you are. (singular)

Present tense, interrogative or dependent form, vel.



vel mee? (am I?)
vel oo? (are you?)
vel eh? (is he?)
vel ee (is she?)
vel shin? (are we?)
vel shiu? (are you?)
vel ad? (are they?)



Present tense, negative, cha nel.

cha nel mee (I am not)
cha nel oo (you are not)
cha nel eh (he is not)
cha nel ee (she is not)
cha nel shin (we are not)
cha nel shiu (you are not)
cha nel ad (they are not)


Instead of the colloquial form cha nel, the more literary form cha vel may be used



Present tense, interrogative negative, nagh vel.

nagh vel mee? (am I not?)
nagh vel oo? (are you not?)
nagh vel eh? (is he not?)
nagh vel ee? (is she not?)
nagh vel shin? (are we not?)
nagh vel shiu? (are you not?)
nagh vel ad? (are they not?)


In the spoken language, nagh is sometimes shortened to ny, but in the written language ny is only used in the imperative (see later).

Cur Baarle orroo shoh.

  1. nagh vel shin?
  2. cha nel oo
  3. nagh vel ad?
  4. vel shin?
  5. nagh vel eh?
  6. vel shiu?
  7. cha nel mee
  8. nagh vel ee?
The Irregular Verbs.

The following nine verbs. together with the Verb representing 'to be,' are the chief Irregular verbs of the Manx language. They are in such constant use that scarcely a sentence can be found which does not contain one or more of them.

Verbal-noun, or Infinitive.

cheet (coming)
goll (going)
cur, or coyrt (giving or putting)
goaill (taking)
gra (saying)
jannoo (doing)
clashtyn (hearing)
fakin (seeing)
feddyn, or geddyn (finding, getting)

Imperative, singular.

abbyr (say)
clasht (hear)
cur (give, put)
fow (find, or get)
gow (take)
immee (go)
jean (do)
jeeagh (see, look)
tar (come you)

All the above should be memorised and the following two exercises in translation done without reference to the verbs, etc.

1.— Cur Baarle orroo shoh.


  1. Vel oo goll? Ta mee goll. Cha nel mee goll.
  2. Vel ee cheet? T'ee cheet. Cha nel ee cheet.
  3. Nagh vel oo cheet? Cha nel mee cheet; ta mee goll.
  4. Vel oo clashtyn? Ta mee clashtyn.
  5. Vel ad goll? Vel shiu goll? Vel shin goll?
  6. Vel eh goll? T'eh goll. Cha nel eh goll. T'eh cheet.
  7. Vel oo fakin?
  8. Tar! Abbyr! Jeeagh! Immee!
  9. Ta mee gra.
  10. Ta mee fakin dy vel eh goll.
2.—Cur Gaelg orroo shoh.

  1. I am coming.
  2. Are you (singular) going?
  3. I am not going.
  4. Is he coming?
  5. He is coming.
  6. She is going.
  7. Are they coming?
  8. They are coming.
  9. Am I not going?
  10. You are not going, you are coming.
  11. Is he going?
  12. He is going.
  13. Are you (plural) going?
  14. We are not going, we are coming.
  15. I am not coming.
  16. You see that he is going.
  17. Are they going?
  18. They are going.
  19. Come! Go!
  20. Do you see? (are you seeing?).


(It will be seen that in the present tense the three English forms, "I am going," "I go," and "I do go.' are to be translated into Manx by the one form "ta mee goll.").



Phrases for learning and use.

  1. Vel oo goll thie? (Are you going home?) Ta (yes). Cha nel (no).

  2. Jeeagh quoi ta cheet! (Look who's coming!).

  3. Nagh vel eh cheet? (Isn't he coming?).

  4. Moghrey mie! (Good morning!). Oie vie! (Good-night!)

  5. Cre'n aght ta shiu? (What is the way you are? = How are you?).

  6. Ta mee goll as gaccan. (I'm going and grumbling).