About this phrase

Céard is an interrogative pronoun that means what.

Atá is the direct relative particle combined with the present tense of the irregular verb bí, meaning be.

Uait is the second person, singular, of the prepositional pronoun formed from the simple preposition ó, meaning from.

Thus, céard atá uait?: what do you want? (literally, 'what is it that is from you?').

Alternative phrases

• Céard is very much a Connacht and an Ulster word.
• In Munster, the pronoun cad, which is perfectly valid within the constrictions of the official standard, is used in both the spoken and the written forms:
  • Cad atá uait?.
  • Cad atá uaidh? (what do you want?).
  • Cad atá uathu? (what does he want?).
  • ⁊rl…
• In naturalistic speech, these are usually realised as
  • Cad 'tá uait?.
  • Cad 'tá uaidh?.
  • ⁊rl…
  with the initial vowel of atá lost in haplology.

Prepositional pronouns formed from the preposition ó

• uaim: from me.
• uait: from you.
• uaidh: from him; from it (masculine).
• uaithi: from her; from it (feminine).
• uainn: from us.
• uaibh: from ye (plural).
• uathu: from them.

The same prepositional pronouns' emphatic forms

• uaim-se: from me.
• uait-se: from you.
• uaidh-sean: from him; from it (masculine).
• uaithi-se: from her; from it (feminine).
• uainn-ne: from us.
• uaibh-se: from ye (plural).
• uathu-san: from them.

Notes

Ó is commonly used to express want or need:

• Tá airgead uaim (I want money).
• An bhfuil peann uait? (do you need a pen?).
• Níl uaithi ach beagán cabhrach (she only needs a little help).
• ⁊rl…