A cairde:

I am trying to get an understanding of using a Present Perfect verb in Irish. I heard these two types of sentences in the Donegal Gaeltacht and I'm not sure of the difference. I don't remember exactly how I heard the second one so just comment on the applicable one.

1. Tá an féar bainte agam. "I have the hay cut".

2. Tá mé i ndiaidh an féar a bhaint. "I'm after the hay to cut".
Tá mé i ndiaidh ag baint an féar. "I'm after cutting the hay".

Would either of these translate to: I have cut the hay?

Then as a corollary, how would I express the following past perfect and future perfect in Irish? I don't even know if they exist:

3. I had cut the hay.

4. I will have cut the hay.

Slán, agus go raibh maith agat,
Faberm

Bhí an féar bainte agam.

Beidh an féar bainte agam.

I think I'm right in saying that!

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Ag lorg cómhra as Gaeilge? Bígí linn - http://www.foramnagaeilge.com

I'm not sure on that. I asked someone in Donegal about those "Bhí" and "Beidh" structures and they didn't seem to get what
I was saying, but they were not very conversant on grammatical terms. We'll see what others say, and what about my statements 1 and 2?
Any comments?
Faberm

Yes, both of them do, roughly. Tá mé i ndiaidh ag baint an fhéir is dodgy grammar, though. I don’t recall hearing such a construction myself (which is not to say it’s not used), but it doesn’t make much sense grammatically. I’d avoid it if I were you.

Tá mé i ndiaidh an féar a bhaint = ‘I have cut the hay’ (or ‘mown the lawn’, for that matter).
Tá an féar bainte agam = ‘The hay is cut (and I’m the one who cut it)’.

The former focuses on the completion of the action itself: the cutting of the hay is something that you have finished doing.
The latter focuses on the state the object is now in: because you’ve finished cutting the hay, the hay is now in a state of being all cut and ready.


Very simple. Since the present perfect is made with the present-tense form tá (just like the English present perfect is made with the present-tense ‘I have’), the past perfect/pluperfect is made with the past-tense form bhí (corresponding to ‘I had’), and the future perfect with the future-tense form beidh (corresponding to ‘I will have’).

Bhí an féar (díreach) bainte agam / bhí mé (díreach) i ndiaidh an féar a bhaint, nuair a thoisigh sé ag cur báistí = ‘I had (just) cut the hay when it started to rain’.
Beidh an féar bainte agam roimh nóin = ‘I’ll have the hay cut before noon’.

I can’t think of a context where it would sound normal and logical in Irish to highlight the aspect of your having finished the action in the future, though. All the examples I can come up with sound more natural using the tá X déanta agam construction.

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Not a native speaker.

Always wait for at least three people to agree on a translation, especially if it’s for something permanent.

My translations are usually GU (Ulster Irish), unless CO (Standard Orthography) is requested.

As kokoshneta says, 'Tá mé i ndaidh ag baint...' is bad - and I don't think yoou'd ever hear it from a native speaker. 'Tá mé i ndiaidh an féar a bhaint' vvould be 'I'm after cutting the hay' [I've cut the hay] in Hiberno-English - not the vvay you have it.

No doubt you'll get the same ansvver on Daltaí as Insect Overlord and kokoshneta have given you here.

I think, 'Táim tar éis'.... rud éigin a dhéanamh is fine.

Edited to express my disappointment that I heard no trumpets when I pressed 'submit' for my hundredth post...

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a Shaoirse!
(Faraor, níl troimpéad ar bith ann i measc na smileys).

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Níor chuala mé trómpeid ach bhráith mé iad. Comhghairdeas!

Comhghairdeas leat, a Shaoirse.



An bhfuil a fhios agat gur shroich Redwolf a 100 post cupla lá ó shin ?

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).