Do in Irish (to, for): Prepositional Pronouns

Q: What does do mean in Irish?

do means to, for. With a pronoun it becomes one word: dom (to, for me), duit (to, for you), dó (to, for him / it).

Q: What is the Irish for to me?

dom. The preposition do and the pronoun mé fuse into one word; this is a prepositional pronoun (forainm réamhfhoclach).

What does “do” mean?

1to: Used to show who receives something, as in giving, telling or sending something to a person.Also: give to, tell to, send to.
2for: Used to show who something is done for or meant for.Also: made for, bought for, meant for.
3to (feelings and opinions): Used in some set phrases about what is right, necessary or good for a person, as in 'ba cheart duit' (you should).Also: should, ought to, had better.

Pronounced “duh” /d̪ˠə/.

“Do” with pronouns

In Irish you never say “do mé”. The preposition and the pronoun fuse into one word. Learn these 7 forms and you can use do with anyone. Click a form for its own page.

Pronoun	Irish	Meaning	Example
mé (me)	dom	to me	Tabhair an leabhar dom, le do thoil.Give me the book, please.
tú (you)	duit	to you	Seo bronntanas beag duit.Here is a little present for you.
sé (him / it)	dó	to him / it	Thug mé an t-airgead dó inné.I gave him the money yesterday.
sí (her / it)	di	to her / it	Inis an scéal di anois.Tell her the story now.
sinn (us)	dúinn	to us	Rinne Mam dinnéar deas dúinn.Mam made a nice dinner for us.
sibh (you (plural))	daoibh	to you (plural)	Tá mé buíoch daoibh go léir.I am grateful to you all.
siad (them)	dóibh	to them	Cheannaigh sé milseáin dóibh inniu.He bought sweets for them today.

“Do” before a noun

Do lenites the next word (séimhiú): the first letter takes an h, do pháiste.

do pháiste

to, for a child

Lenition (séimhiú) of the next word

don pháiste

to, for the child

With the article, don lenites the noun; d and t do not change

do na páistí

to, for the children

Plural: do na, no change

Becomes d’ before a vowel or fh: d’Áine (to Áine).

Thug mé úll do pháiste beag.

I gave an apple to a small child.

Léigh mé scéal don pháiste.

I read a story to the child.

Thug an múinteoir leabhair do na páistí.

The teacher gave books to the children.

Everyday phrases with “do”

Dia duit.

Hello. (literally 'God to you')

Dia is Muire duit.

Hello. (the reply to 'Dia duit')

Ba cheart duit dul abhaile.

You should go home.

Tabhair dom é.

Give it to me.

The other prepositions

Every simple preposition has its own set of pronoun forms.

agat aron asout of, from chuigto, towards chunto, towards, in order to deof, off, from faoiunder, about iin idirbetween, among lewith ófrom, since roimhbefore, in front of tharover, across, past tríthrough umaround, about, at (a time)

All prepositional pronouns in one table

“Do” in Irish: frequently asked questions

What does do mean in Irish?

do means to, for. With a pronoun it becomes one word: dom (to, for me), duit (to, for you), dó (to, for him / it).

What is the Irish for to me?

dom. The preposition do and the pronoun mé fuse into one word; this is a prepositional pronoun (forainm réamhfhoclach).

Does do change the next word?

Do lenites the next word (séimhiú): the first letter takes an h, do pháiste. Becomes d’ before a vowel or fh: d’Áine (to Áine).

How do I say hello in Irish?

Say 'Dia duit' to one person or 'Dia daoibh' to a group. The reply is 'Dia is Muire duit'.

When does 'do' become 'd''?

Before a vowel or 'fh', 'do' shortens to 'd'', as in 'd'Áine' (to Áine) or 'd'fhear' (to a man).

“Do” in Irish (to, for): Meaning and Prepositional Pronouns