3 The affimitive answer to “an robh” is “bha”, e.g.:
An robh thu sgith? Bha
Were you tired? Yes
4 The negative to “an robh” is “cha robh” (cha ro.: e.g:
An robh sibh anns an achadh an diugh? Cha robh)
Were you in the field today? No
Cha robh mi anns an taigh
I was not at home.
5 As in the present tense, “nach” asks a negative question, e.g:
Nach robh Mairi trang? Bha/Cha robh
Was not Mary busy? Yes/No
6. Before masculine singular nouns, in their primary form, beginning with b, f, m, or p, the definite article changes from “an” to “am”. e.g,:
am balach (em bal-ach) the lad
am fear (en fer) the man
am maide (em ma-cho) the stick
am peann (em peaun) the pen
7. After the simple prepositions-e.g. “air” on, “aig” at, “anns” in, “leis” (lash) with, “ris,” (resh) to-masculine nouns beginning with b, m, p, c, and g when used in conjunction with the definite article are aspirated, and the definitwe article changes to “a”, thus forming what is known as the datiove case, e.g.:
THa an duine anns a, bhata.
(ha en doonn-e auns e vaat-e)
THe man is uin the boat
THa am bata air a” chladach
(ha em baat e ar e chlat-ech) chu
THe boat is on the shore
N.B The simple prepositions “thar”, “re”, “chun” and “trid” govern the genitive case; and after “search”, “eader”, “gus” and “mar” the noun remains the nomitive form.
8. The following examples of definite and indefinite forms should be carefully noted:
leis a’ chu (lash e choo) with the dog
le c’u (la koo) with a dog
anns a’ bata (auns e vaat-e) in the boat
*ann am barta (aun em baat-e) in a boat
ris a bhalach (resh e val-ech) to the lad
ri balach (re bal-ech) to a lad
air a’ mhonadh (ar e von agh) on the moor
air monadh (ar mon egh) on a moor
Assertive Forms of the Verb “To Be”; possession with “le”
Present Tense
is mi (is me) it is I
is tu (is too) it is you (sing)
its e (is e) it is he, it is it
is i (is e) it is she, it is it
is sinn (is shenn) it is we
is sibh (is shev) it is you (pl)
is iad (is eat) it is they
Past Tense
bu mhi (boo ve) it was I
bu tu (boo too) it was you (sing)
b’e (be) it was he, it was it
b’i (be) it was she, it was it
bu sinn (boo shenn) it was we
bu sibh (boo shev) it was you (pl)
b’iad (beat) it was they
Questions
QUESTION YES NO
am mi?
is it I? etc ‘s mi cha mhi
an tu ‘s tu cha tu
an e? ‘s e (she) chan e (cha nne)
an sinn? (is) sinn cha sinn
an sibh? (is) sibh cha sibh
an iad? ‘s iad (sheat) chan iad (cha nneat)
am bu mhi?
was it I? etc bhu mhi cha bu mhi
am bu tu? bu tu cha bu tu
am b’e? b’e cha b’e
am b’i? b’i cha b’i
am bu sinn? bu sinn cha bu sinn
am bu sibh? bu sibh cha bu sibh
am b’iad? b’iad cha b’iad
October 1
3. By far the most commo form of question from the assertive form is “an?” (a nne) is it? The affirmitive answer to “an e?” is “s e” (she), which is the shortened form of “is e”, and the negative to “an e?” is “chan e” (chan nne). Here are some examples:
An e seo an taigh agadsa? ‘S e.
Is this your house? Yes (lit, it is)
An e sin an cu aig Calum? Chan e
Is that Calum’s dog? No (lit it is not)
Chan e Calum a tha anns an taigh
It is not Calum who is in the house
4. “An, ann?” (en aun) is it? is used instead of “an e?” when emphasis is required for adjectival and adverbial phrases. For e? Chan annxample, with the sentence “Chunniac mi an cu aig an dorus”, if we wish to emphasis “an cu” we say “an e an cu a chunniac thu aig an dorus?” “Is is the dog you saw at the door?; but if we wish to emphasis the phrase “aig an dorus” we have to say “an ann aig an dorus a chunniac thu an cu?” Is it as the door that you saw the dog?” The affirmitive answer to “an ann?” is “s ann” (saun) which is shortened form of “is ann; the negative is “is ann?” is “chan ann”. The following examples should make the usage quite clear:
An ann aig ann teine a tha an cat? “S ann.
Is it at the fire the cat is? Yes
Amm b’ann anns an achadh a bha Calum an de? Cha b’ann
Was it in the field that Calum was yesterday? No.
Am b’ann an de a bha Calum anns an achadh? B’ann
Was it yesterday that Calum was in the field? Yes
An ann beag a tha Mairi? Chan ann.
Is it little that Mary is? No
Cha b’ann an de a bha sinn anns a’ bhaile
It was not yesterday that we were in the town.
5. The emphatic forms of the personal pronouns are often used with “is” and “bu”. These emphatic forms are:
mise (mish) sinne (shenn)
thusa (oosa) sibhse (shev-sha)
tusa (toosa) iadsan (eat-sen)
esan (esh-en or es an)
ise (esh-e)
They are, of course, used with other forms of the verb as occasion requires, e.g.:
Is mise a rinn sin.
I did that (lit. It is I who did that).
Bha thuisa anns a’ mhonadh ach bha mise aig a’ chladach
You were on the moor but I was at the shore.
Scottish Gaelic 