One thing the writers of Lost probably didn’t expect is that the title of their show could simply provide an opportunity to conjugate a verb.  But why not?

If “caillte” means lost, what are the other forms and idioms connected to this verb?

It’s a first-conjugation verb with a slender root (caill, with “i” being the slender vowel).  So we add the slender forms of the endings (as opposed to casaim, casann tú, etc., which use the broad endings).  Here are some of the forms:

Caillim, I lose.  Caillim m’eochracha go minic.

Cailleann tú, sé, sí, muid, sibh, siad. 

Caill can also mean “miss,” as in “not catch.”

Cailleann na moilleadóirí sin an traein go minic. 

Chaill mé, tú, etc.  I lost, you lost, etc. 

I almost wrote “Chaill mé mo chroí i San Francisco” but then realized that one’s really “D’fhág mé mo chroí i San Francisco” (I Left My Heart in San Francisco).  Funny thing is, about 11,700 people (or bots or disembodied programs or whatever) have done the same thing and left the cyberfootprint of it online.  Per my latest search.  Brón orm, a Antaine, pé scéal é.

Caillfidh mé [KAIL-hee may], I will lose, etc.  Caillfidh mé an traein mar is moilleadóir mé.

The saorbhriathar (autonomous form) in the past tense:

Cailleadh aréir é.  He died last night (lit. he was lost). 

Cailleadh go hóg í.  She died young. 

And quite charmingly,

Cailleadh go leor leat, Enough (money, etc.) was wasted on you.

Then there’s the verbal noun, also spelled “cailleadh”

Tá sé ag cailleadh an chluiche.  He is losing the game.

And the command form (imperative)

Ná caill an bus.  Don’t miss the bus.

And finally, and now immortally, the verbal adjective,

caillte, lost

An bhfuil na heochracha caillte agat?  Have you lost the keys?

caillte leis an bhfuacht [… lesh un WOO-ukht]  perished with (the) cold

Caillte i Spás.  I’ll leave that for you to translate. 

Gluais: an cluiche, the game, and an chluiche, of the game; moilleadóir, dawdler