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Guide to Irish to be, the substantive verb bí, tá & the copula is

2025-11-19T10:18:30Z

Muiris: /* Copula and adjectives */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Guide to Irish ''to be'', the substantive verb ''bí, tá'' & the copula ''is''}}
… or how to say ''I am…''?

This is one of the most challenging subjects to learners – this guide aims to explain it in a systematic and relatively comprehensive way. This guide is partially adapted from [[Guide to Scottish Gaelic to be, the linking verbs: substantive bi, tha & the copula is|Guide to Scottish Gaelic ''to be'']].

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First let’s define two terms:

* '''subject''' – the thing or person about whom the given sentence is, it is the main noun phrase in the sentence, eg. in the sentence “'''Tom''' has a cat” '''Tom''' is the subject, in the sentence “'''The people around here''' are very nice” '''the people around here''' are the subject.
* '''predicate''' of a linking or copular verb – the phrase that goes after ''is'' in English, eg. in “a cat is '''an animal'''” '''an animal''' is the predicate, in “the boat is '''on the sea'''” the predicate is '''on the sea''', thus the predicate is the thing that the subject is linked to with ''is''.<ref>The more proper term would be ''predicative'', while the ''predicate'' is generally the whole main verbal phrase of a clause. But ''predicate'' in the sense “information given about the subject in a copular clause” is pretty common in Irish and Gaelic linguistics.</ref>

Some sentence (and their more-or-less literal translations) below will be colour-coded. The {{color|blue|subject will be blue}}, {{color|DeepSkyBlue|pronouns standing for the subject light blue}}, {{color|green|predicates will be green}}, {{color|LimeGreen|pronouns standing for the predicates light green}}, and {{color|red|the copula or the ''bí'' verb themselves red}}. Other colours will be occasionally used to show connections of other parts of sentences with their translations.

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Irish has two separate words to translate the English ''to be'' verb depending on context.

The first one is the ''substantive verb '''bí'''''. The second one is the ''copula '''is'''''.

== The substantive verb ''bí'' ==

The form '''bí''' is what you’ll find as a headword in dictionaries, it is the singular imperative command form ''be!''.

In the present tense its independent form is '''tá''' and the dependent form is '''fuil''' – but you will typically see it mutated as ''bhfuil'' or ''fhuil'' more often (more on dependent forms later).

You use this verb for stating '''how''', '''where''' or '''when''' something is or what something is '''like''' – to describe something or state its whereabouts. That means that this verb takes '''only''' ''adverbs'', ''adjectives'', and ''prepositional phrases'' as its predicates:

* '''{{color|red|táim}} {{color|green|go maith}}''' — ''{{color|red|I am}} {{color|green|well}}'', here an adverb – '''go maith''' ''well'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tá}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|blasta}}''' — ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tasty}}'', here an adjective – '''blasta''' ''tasty'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tá}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|ar an mbord}}''' — ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|on the table}}'', here a prepositional phrase – '''ar an mbord''' ''on the table'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tá}} {{color|blue|sé seo}} {{color|green|salach}}''' — ''{{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|dirty}}'', again an adjective as the predicate.

When the predicate is an adjective, it stays in the base form – it doesn’t change to agree in number or gender with the subject. Compare:

* '''na cait mhóra''' — ''the big cats'' (with ''mhóra'' ‘big’ having plural form, and lenited after a plural noun formed by slenderization)
* with '''{{color|red|tá}} {{color|blue|na cait}} {{color|green|mór}}''' — ''{{color|blue|the cats}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|big}}'' (''mór'' staying in base unlenited form).

A few adjectives expressing subjective assessment typically get '''go''' before them when they’re predicates of the ''tá'' verb (this might be a remnant of the verb taking only adverbs as its predicates
in the remote past):

* '''Tá an fear go maith''' — ''the man is good'',
* '''Tá an cailín go hálainn''' — ''the girl is beautiful'',
* '''Tá an lá go deas''' — ''the day is nice'',
* '''Tá an aimsir go dona''' — ''the weather is bad'',
* '''Tá an samhradh go haoibhinn''' — ''the summer is splendid'',
* '''Tá an rós go breá''' — ''the rose is pretty'',
* '''Tá sé go holc''' — ''it is evil'',
* '''Tá sí go hiontach''' — ''she is wonderful''.

And so:
* '''{{color|red|tá}} {{color|blue|an pháirc mhór}} {{color|green|go breá}}''' — ''{{color|blue|the big field}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pretty}}'' – here ''mhór'' is lenited because it ''attributes'' a feminine noun ''páirc'' directly, but ''breá'' stays in the basic unlenited form because it is a ''predicate'' to the verb and not directly linked to the noun.

<div class="warningbox">'''Remember!''' You '''cannot''' use a noun phrase as a predicate of this verb, so you cannot say something like <s>''*tá sé fear''</s> – this sentence simply doesn’t make any sense in Irish, '''fear''' ''a man'' is a noun and as such cannot be a predicate here.</div>

When describing something with an adjective, it’s more traditional to use the copula. See [[#The copula is and how to say what or who something or someone is|below]] for that.

=== Existentials or ''there is…'' ===

'''Bí''' is also used for existential sentences like ''there is a dog in the house'' – this sentence means that ''a dog'' exists and that dog is located ''in the house''. English (like other Germanic languages) doesn’t like indefinite subjects of such sentences and starts them with a ''dummy subject'' '''there''' a bit as if defining this dummy ''there'' as ''a dog in the house''. Also that’s the reason why the story starts with ''In a hole in the ground '''there lived''' a hobbit'' and not simply <s>''… a hobbit lived''</s>. Many languages don’t do this and just straightforwardly say something like ''a dog is in the house'', that’s what happens in Irish:

* '''tá madra sa teach''' — ''there is a dog in the house'' – it’s a simple sentence with an indefinite subject '''madra''' ''a dog'' and a prepositional predicate '''sa teach''' ''in the house'' stating where the existing dog is.

But '''tá''' always needs ''some'' predicate. In some languages you could say something like ''good people are'' in the meaning ''there are good people, good people generally exist'' – but not in Irish. <ref>Although Old Irish permitted that.</ref> Here enters our friend the ''dummy predicate'' '''ann''' ''there, in general existence''. If you lack a predicate for an existential sentence, you just stick '''ann''' there:

* '''tá dea-dhaoine ann''' — ''there are good people'',
* but '''tá dea-dhaoine in Éirinn''' ''there are good people in Ireland'' without this ''ann'' (because '''in Éirinn''' already works as a predicate).

This '''ann''' might also mean ''here, there, somewhere around'' when the subject is definite as in

* '''tá Séamas ann''' — ''Séamas is here/there'' (Séamas is present and you can find him somewhere around).

=== The dependent form ''fuil'' ===

With some irregular verbs – ''bí'' among them – Irish requires the use of a separate ''dependent'' form after some ''dependent particles'', like the negating ''ní'' ‘not’, interrogative ''an?'' ‘does? is?…’, ''go'' ‘that’ (introducing subordinate clause in reported speech), etc.

The dependent form of '''tá''' ''is'' in present tense is '''fuil''' ''is''. But you’ll rarely, if ever, see this form on its own. In most dialects – outside of Munster – it '''always''' appears mutated, either lenited or eclipsed, and thus what you’ll see is rather:

* '''níl…''' for ''… is not…'' – it’s an irregular spelling of '''ní fhuil''' ('''ní''' causes lenition), since the ''fh'' is silent and thus the thing is pronounced /n´iːl´/; you’ll sometimes see it written as '''ní’l''' in older texts, and in Ulster dialects it sometimes keeps two syllables: /n´iː.ɪl´/;
* '''an bhfuil…?''' for ''is…?'' in yes-no questions;
* '''nach bhfuil…?''' for ''isn’t…?'', in the negative yes-no questions;
* '''go bhfuil…''' for ''that is…'' in reported speech;
etc.

So for example:

* '''{{color|red|níl}} {{color|blue|Tadhg}} {{color|green|sa teach}}''' — ''{{color|blue|Tadhg}} {{color|red|is not}} {{color|green|in the house}}'',
* '''{{color|red|nach bhfuil}} {{color|blue|sé sin}} {{color|green|go deas}}?''' — ''{{color|red|isn’t}} {{color|blue|that}} {{color|green|nice}}?'',
* '''is dóigh liom {{color|red|go bhfuil}} {{color|blue|brón}} {{color|green|air}}''' — ''I think that he is sad'' (lit. ''… {{color|red|that}} {{color|blue|sadness/sorrow}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|on him}}''),
etc.

In Munster dialects '''ná''' is used instead of '''nach''' before verbs for negative questions and in relative clauses, and it doesn’t cause any mutation, thus Munster texts do use unmutated '''fuil''':
* '''{{color|red|ná fuil}} {{color|blue|sé sin}} {{color|green|go deas}}?''' — ''{{color|red|isn’t}} {{color|blue|that}} {{color|green|nice}}?''.

The ''fuil'' form in general can also be inflected for persons, like ''tá'' can, so you’ll find '''nílim''' for ''I am not'', '''go bhfuilimid''' (or often in Munster texts '''go bhfuilimíd''') for ''that we are'', etc. (and in older, especially Munster, texts '''fuilir''' for ''you (sg.) are, thou art'', '''fuilid (siad)''' for ''they are'', and sometimes '''fuileann tú, fuileann sibh''' for ''thou art, ye are'' are used too; but they’re rare or nonexistent in other dialects and are not part of the standard Irish).

<div class="warningbox">'''Remember!''' The '''níl''' (< '''ní fhuil''') and '''bhfuil''' forms are used in dependent position where you’d use '''tá''' in independent positions. You can’t use them for copular meanings. See [[#Dependent form (present tense)|below]] for more about dependent forms of the copula.</div>

So, having that out of the way – how do you say ''he is a man''? Or ''you are the high king of Ireland''? Well… let’s look at the copula, shall we?

== The copula ''is'' and how to say ''what'' or ''who'' something or someone is ==

I intentionally avoid the word ''verb'' when writing about the copula, although you’ll often see it called ''the copula verb'' or ''the assertive verb'' or something like that. That’s because it has its own syntax and doesn’t really behave like a verb (and has fewer forms) so it is a bit of its own grammatical category in the Gaelic languages.

The present form is '''is''' and there is no imperative (so you’ll find it under '''is''' in dictionaries). This is sometimes shortened to '''’s''' after or before vowels.

You '''have to''' use the copula if you want to create a simple ''X is Y'' sentence and the predicate is a noun phrase (there are some idiomatic phrases without the copula but they don’t translate literally, we’ll look at them later).

There are quite a few different patterns involving the copula – sorry, I don’t think I can make it any shorter.

=== General remarks and syntax ===

Irish copula is an unstressed element that '''is not''' a separate word in its own right – it '''cannot''' exist separate from its predicate. Thus it will always be followed by ''something''.

And the general syntax of the copua is:

<blockquote>is {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}</blockquote>

but in identification sentences additional pronouns are inserted, see [[#Identification – definite predicates|below]].

=== Classification – indefinite predicates ===

When the predicate is indefinite – you want to state ''what kind of thing'' something or someone is, like in ''he is '''a doctor''''', ''I am '''a student''''', ''Irish is '''a Celtic language''''', ''cats are '''animals''''', then there are a few different ways. The most straightforward is to use the copula directly:

==== is {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} (VPS) ====

This is basically the basic syntax of the copula, {{smallcaps|V[erb] P[redicate] S[ubject]}}, as mentioned above.

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|é}}''' — ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a sandwich}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|múinteoir}} {{color|blue|mé}}''' — ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|a teacher}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|iasc}} {{color|blue|breac}}''' — ''{{color|blue|a trout}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a fish}}''.

When the subject is definite, a “subsubject” pronoun is often added before it:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|cailín cróga}} {{color|blue|Síle}}''' or '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|cailín cróga}} {{color|DeepSkyBlue|í}} {{color|blue|Síle}}''' — ''{{color|blue|Síle}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a brave girl}}'' (''{{color|DeepSkyBlue|she}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a brave girl}}, {{color|blue|Síle}}'').
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|peileadóir}} {{color|blue|Tadhg}}''' or '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|peileadóir}} {{color|DeepSkyBlue|é}} {{color|blue|Tadhg}}''' — ''{{color|blue|Tadhg}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a footballer}}''.

This pronoun is common in some Connacht and Munster dialects but isn’t required in the standard language and you’ll often see this kind of clauses without it in older literature.

==== Copula and adjectives ====

The copula is sometimes used with adjective predicates when describing more permanent features (while the substantive verb is used for more temporary states – though it’s not a strict rule by any means).

Thus to say ''{{color|blue|the house}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|big}}'' you might say:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|mór}} ({{color|DeepSkyBlue|é}}) {{color|blue|an teach}}''' (the pronoun before the subject is ''very'' common in this kind of sentences),

while ''I’m sad'' could be expressed with '''táim brónach''' since being sad is just a temporary state of a person – being '''mór''' ''big'' is a permanent inherent feature of the house so it’s more natural to link it with the copula.

or you can hear in a song:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|briste}} {{color|blue|mo chroí}}''' — ''{{color|blue|my heart}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|broken}}''

which sounds a bit more serious than ''tá mo chroí briste''.

The book ''Fiche blian ag fás'' by Muiris Ó Súilleabháin starts with the words (the form ''gur'' is explained [[#Dependent form (present tense)|later]]):

* '''Níl aon bhaol ná {{color|red|gur}} {{color|green|breá}} {{color|DeepSkyBlue|í}} {{color|blue|an óige}}''' — ''There’s no fear but {{color|red|that}} {{color|blue|(the) youth}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|wonderful}}'' (or ‘the one certain thing is that youth is wonderful’).

You’ll sometimes also hear '''is maith sin''' for ''that is good''.

Another very common use of the copula with adjectives is as follows:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|fuar}} {{color|teal|an oíche}} {{color|blue|í}}''' — ''it is a cold night'', very literally ''{{color|teal|the night}} – {{color|blue|it}} – {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|cold}}'' or ''{{color|teal|the night}} that {{color|blue|it}} is, {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|cold}}'',
* '''is maith an fear é''' — ''he is a good man'' (''the man that he is, is good''),
* '''is mór an teach é''' — ''it is a big house'' (''the house that it is, is big'').

In this construction the predicate is the adjective (''fuar, maith, mór''), and the subject is complex, composed of a definite noun phrase and a pronoun.

==== {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} is ea {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ====

Beside the basic classification, another type exists.

This is the default structure used in Munster dialects, where the simple ''is X Y'' is rarer, the above examples expressed using this construction are:

* '''{{color|green|ceapaire}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|ea}} {{color|blue|é}}''' — ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a sandwich}}'' (''{{color|green|a sandwich}}, {{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|it}}),
* '''{{color|green|múinteoir}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|ea}} {{color|blue|mé}}''' — ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|a teacher}}'',
* '''{{color|green|iasc}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|ea}} {{color|blue|breac}}''' — ''{{color|blue|a trout}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a fish}}'',
* '''{{color|green|cailín cróga}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|ea}} ({{color|DeepSkyBlue|í}}) {{color|blue|Síle}}''' — ''{{color|blue|Síle}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a brave girl}}''.

The ''ea'' element here is the old neuter pronoun ‘it’ which stands for indefinite predicate, a sentence like '''{{color|green|fear}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|ea}} {{color|blue|é}}''' ''he is a man'' says literally: ''{{color|green|a man}} – {{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|it}}'' with '''ea''' ''it''
referring back to '''fear''' ''a man''.

<div class="warningbox">'''Nota bene''': Since the copula comes ''after'' the predicate and it is '''not''' relative, when using this construction in subordinate clauses the '''go''' ‘that’ particle
appears twice:

* '''tá a fhios agam gur {{color|green|fear}} {{color|red|gurb}} {{color|LimeGreen|ea}} {{color|blue|é}}''' — ''I know {{color|red|that}} {{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a man}}''

The second '''gur(b)''' means ‘that … is’ and the first ''gur'' is pleonastic, inserted there only to syntactically fit the predicate ''fear'' in the sentence. One could imagine saying something like
''*'''fear''', tá a fhios agam gurb '''ea''' é'' instead – but it’s not the common form of such sentences.</div>

There are other constructions for classification though, most common of them is probably:

==== (is) {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} atá i {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} is what is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' or ''what is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} is {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩''. Saying that ''thing1 is in thing2'' is just a Gaelic way of stating that ''thing2'' is ''thing1''. Note that this uses the '''bí''' verb – but its predicate is not a noun. Thus:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|ceapaire}} {{color|teal|atá}} {{color|blue|ann}}''' — ''it is a sandwich'', but literally something like: ''{{color|teal|(it, the thing) that is}} {{color|blue|in it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a sandwich}}'' or ''what’s in it is a sandwich'' – notice that a prepositional phrase '''ann''' ''in it'' is the predicate of '''tá''', not a noun;
* '''{{color|green|múinteoir}} {{color|teal|atá}} {{color|blue|ionam}}''' — ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|(the thing) that is}} {{color|blue|in me}} (is) {{color|green|a teacher}}'' or ''what’s in me is a teacher'' – again a prepositional phrase '''ionam''' ''in me'' is the predicate of '''tá''',

[TODO: more examples]

The copula is very often omitted in this construction.

==== tá {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ina {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} is '''in its''' {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' ('''ina''' here means ''in his/her/its'' and will be replaced by appropriate form agreeing with the subject, eg. '''táim i mo…''' for ''I am in my…'', '''tá tú i do…''' for ''you (sg.) are in your…'', etc.). This one is interesting as it uses the '''substantive verb''' and not the copula – but note that the actual predicate in the Irish sentence is the phrase '''in its {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}''' – so actually a prepositional phrase.

This structure is often used to state one’s profession but is not restricted to such use:

* '''{{color|red|táim}} {{color|green|i mo mhúinteoir}}''' — ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|red|I am}} {{color|green|in my teacher}}'' – ''only'' the '''tá''' verb, but the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''i mo mhúinteoir''' ''in my teacher'';
* '''{{color|red|tá}} {{color|blue|an Ghaeilge}} {{color|green|ina teanga Cheilteach}}''' — ''Irish is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|the Irish}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in her Celtic language}}'' the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''na teanga Cheilteach''' ''in her Celtic language'' (feminine non-leniting '''ina''' ''in her'' because the word '''Gaeilge''' is feminine, ''Irish language'' is a she in Irish ;-));
* '''{{color|red|tá}} {{color|blue|siad}} {{color|green|ina ndochtúirí}}''' — ''they are doctors'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|they}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|in their doctors}}'';
* '''{{color|red|tá}} {{color|blue|sé}} {{color|green|ina chara liom}}''' — ''he is a friend of mine'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in his friend of mine}}''.

This construction is more often used with temporary states rather than permanent ones. That’s why it tends to be used when stating one’s profession, you say ''I (currently) am a teacher'' (but maybe in 3 years I’ll be doing something else) – because of this hint of non-permanent description it’s often used in past tense to give description that is no longer true:

* '''nuair a {{color|red|bhí}} {{color|blue|mé}} {{color|green|i mo bhuachaill óg}}…''' — ''when I was a young boy (but I no longer am)…'', literally ''the-time that {{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|was}} {{color|green|in my young boy}}…''

but it ''doesn’t have to'' mean the state is temporary – it just doesn’t suggest that it is permanent as strongly as [[#is ⟨predicate⟩ ⟨subject⟩ (VPS)|simple VPS clause]] tends to.

==== seo/sin/siúd {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

When the subject is a demonstrative (a word like ‘this’, ‘that’), ie. to express sentences like ‘this is a cat’, ‘that over there is a house’, an alternative structure is available which doesn’t have an explicit copula and the demonstrative itself takes its role.

That is, instead of saying (using the regular [[#is ⟨predicate⟩ ⟨subject⟩ (VPS)|VPS]] syntax):
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|cat}} {{color|blue|é seo}}''' — ''{{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a cat}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|teach}} {{color|blue|é siúd}}''' — ''{{color|blue|that over there}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a house}}'', ''yonder is a house'',
you can say:
* '''{{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|cat}}''' — ''{{color|blue|this}} is {{color|green|a cat}}'', ''here is a cat'',
* '''{{color|blue|siúd}} {{color|green|teach}}''' — ''{{color|blue|that over there/yonder}} is {{color|green|a house}}''.

You’ll also hear things like '''sin fíor''' ‘that is true’ (lit. ‘that is truth’) beside the more regular '''is fíor sin'''. Note that this type of sentences is used with noun predicates (to way ''what'' this or that is).

The original meaning of this type of sentences is actually ‘here / there / over there is X’ rather than ‘this / that is X’, and although they are today understood as copular sentences – historically they ''did not'' actually involve the copula, see [[Notes on Classical Gaelic Grammar#Demonstratives: ag so, ag sin, ag súd|the article on Classical Gaelic]] for more about the history behind them.

Because the demonstratives start with ''s-'' and this type of sentences have copular meaning, over time they had been reanalyzed by speakers as having the copula ''is'' at the beginning and were generalized to other tenses and constructions. Basically ''seo teach'' got reanalyzed as ''is eo teach'' and today, especially in some Connacht and Munster dialects, you can get sentences like eg.:

* '''b’eo teach''' — ''this was a house'',
* '''dúirt sé gurb’in fear''' — ''he said that that was a man'',
* '''{{color|red|nach}} {{color|blue|in}} {{color|green|atá uait}}?''' — ''{{color|red|isn’t}} {{color|blue|that}} {{color|green|what you want}}?'',
and similar.

Those forms are also sometimes written as ''shin, sheo, shiúd'' but the ''sh'' is not pronounced (eg. the last example above could be written as '''nach shin atá uait?''' instead).

When the predicate is definite (a specific item or person rather than a general idea) in Connacht and Munster the syntax differs slightly – an additional pronoun is inserted before the predicate, see [[#seo/sin/siúd (é/í/iad) ⟨predicate⟩|below]], but in Ulster sentences like '''seo mo theach''' for ''this is my house'' without the pronoun are common too.

=== Identification – definite predicates ===

As a general rule in Irish (but not a ''strict'' one – see [[#Definite nouns directly after the copula|below]] for exceptions), since at least late Old Irish, the copula isn’t directly followed by a definite noun. It is separated from definite predicates with a pronoun. Because of that, if the predicate is ''definite'' – that is if you identify the subject as some specific person or thing ('''''the''' teacher'', ''my brother'', ''Colm'', ''the high-king of Ireland'') rather than simply stating what ''kind of thing'' the subject is – then an additional “subpredicate” pronoun appears before it.

==== is (é/í/iad) {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} (VpPS) ====

The subpredicate ''generally'' agrees in gender and number with the predicate.

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|green|mo cheapaire}} {{color|blue|é}}''' — ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my sandwich}}'', note that additional ''é'', agreeing with the predicate ''mo cheapaire'' ‘my sandwich’, appeared before it;
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|green|an cineál céanna feamainne}} {{color|blue|í}}''' — ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the same type of seaweed}}'' – note that the subject ''í'' ‘it’ is feminine (as it presumably refers to the feminine word ''feamainn'' ‘seaweed’) but the subpredicate ''é'' agrees with the predicate (an example from ''Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla'');
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|í}} {{color|green|Máire}} {{color|blue|an múinteoir}}''' — ''{{color|blue|the teacher}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Máire}}'', or in better English ''Máire is the teacher'' (when answering the question “Who is the teacher?” – ie. giving the identity of the teacher, ‘Mary’ being the information given);
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|í}} {{color|green|an múinteoir}} {{color|blue|Máire}}''' — ''{{color|blue|Máire}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the teacher}}'' (when answering the question “Who is Máire?”, “the teacher” being the new information) – note that here ''í'' agrees with ''Máire'' (the subject) and not with ''an múinteoir'' – when the predicate denotes a person, the subpredicate generally agrees with the gender associated with the person;
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|green|deartháir Choilm}} {{color|blue|Séamas}}''' — ''{{color|blue|Séamas}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Colm’s brother}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|í}} {{color|green|an Ghaeilge}} {{color|blue|teanga na Gaeltachta}}''' — ''{{color|blue|the language of the Gaeltacht}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Irish}}'' (or ''Irish is the language of the Gaeltacht'', but ''Irish'' is the information given);
* '''cuir i gcás {{color|red|gurb}} {{color|LimeGreen|í}} {{color|green|an fhírinne féin}} {{color|blue|é}}''' — ''suppose {{color|red|that}} {{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the truth itself}}'' – the subject is generic ''é'' ‘it’, the subpredicate ''í'' agrees with predicate ''an fhírinne'' ‘the truth’, a feminine noun.

When a definite noun standing directly after the copula is defined by a relative clause, the article is traditionally often omitted:
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|green|rud}} {{color|blue|é}} {{color|green|is éagsamhlaighe}} (…) {{color|orange|dár airigheas riamh}}''' — ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the most extraordinary thing}} {{color|orange|of all that I’ve ever heard}}'' – note that the first ''é'' is the subpredicate separating the definite ''rud (…) is éagsamhlaighe dár airigheas riamh'' from the copula, the second ''é'' is the subject ‘it’,
sometimes the article is omitted even without the relative clause:
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|í}} {{color|green|cúis}} {{color|blue|é}}''' — ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the reason}}''.

The rule about subpredicate agreeing with the predicate isn’t very strict though. As noted above, it gets overriden by the perceived gender when talking about persons (''is í an múinteoir Máire''), but it is sometimes ignored in other cases too:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|green|an chloch is mó ar a phaidrín}} {{color|blue|é}}''' — ''it is his greatest concern'' (lit. ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the greatest stone on his prayer}}'')
with the subpredicate ''é'' despite ''an chloch'' being a feminine noun. In this case the masculine ''é'' might be transferred from the [[#VpSP|VpSP]] structure where ''an chloch is mó…'' ‘the greatest concern’ would be the subject.

[TODO: elaborate]

==== VpSP ====

There is sometimes a need to state the subject before the predicate (since generally subject is the ''theme'', topic of a sentence, and the predicate is the ''rheme'', new information, it’s a natural tendency – all languages with some freedom of word order prefer stating the rheme later). In this case the ''sub-predicate pronoun'' actually fulfills the role of the predicate of the copula and it refers to the noun phrase that comes later, this gives us the {{smallcaps|V[erb] p[redicate] S[ubject] P[redicate]}} structure. This is the type from which the [[#is (é/í/iad) ⟨predicate⟩ ⟨subject⟩ (VpPS)|previous one (VpPS)]] developed.

Sometimes, especially in Munster the word '''ná''' (which can be understood as ‘namely, that is’ in this context) is inserted before the rheme-predicate. Thus one can find this in Peadar Ua Laoghaire’s prose:

* '''agus {{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|blue|ainm a bhí air}} ná {{color|green|Séadna}}''' — ''and his name was Séadna'', literally: ''and {{color|blue|(the) name he had}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|it}}, (namely) {{color|green|Séadna}}''.

Also note that in Muskerry Irish (the dialect of Peadar Ua Laoghaire) the word '''ainm''' ''name'' is feminine – so the pronoun '''é''' clearly disagrees with the subject here.

When no ''ná'' is present there might be more vocal stress put on the pronoun and a pause might be heard after the subject. This also means that a sentence like:
* '''is é Mícheál D. Ó hUigínn uachtarán na hÉireann''' can be understood as either:
:* VpPS: '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|green|Mícheál D. Ó hUigínn}} {{color|blue|uachtarán na hÉireann}}''' — ''(the person being) the president of Ireland is Michael D. Higgins'' (ie. answering the question ‘who is the president of Ireland?’), literally: ''{{color|blue|the president of Ireland}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Michael D. Higgins}},
:* or VpSP: '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|blue|Mícheál D. Ó hUigínn}}, {{color|green|uachtarán na hÉireann}}''' — ''{{color|blue|Michael D. Higgins}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|this / him}}: {{color|green|the president of Ireland}}'' (ie. answering the question ‘who is Michael D. Higgins?’),
depending on how the words are stressed in pronunciation.

This structure is required when the predicate is a subordinate clause, when stating facts, opinions, reporting what someone said, etc. – the subordinate clause is always pushed till the end and substituted with '''é''' ''it'':

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|blue|mo thuairim}} {{color|green|go bhfuil sé as a mheabhair}}''' – ''I’m of the opinion that he’s out of his mind'', literally ''{{color|blue|my opinion}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|it}}: {{color|green|that he is out of his mind}}'',

it’s also required when the predicate is a clause (a regular verbal or a verbal noun one) – common when stating meanings of words, reasons of events, etc.:
* '''{{color|red|ba}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|blue|aidhm an Chonartha}} {{color|green|‘Teanga na Gaeilge a choinneáil á labhairt in Éirinn’}}''' – ''{{color|blue|the purpose of the League}} {{color|red|was}} ({{color|LimeGreen|it}}:) {{color|green|‘to keep the Irish Language spoken in Ireland’}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|blue|an bhrí}} atá leis na litreacha BBC ná {{color|green|British rud éigin Corporation}}''' – ''{{color|blue|the meaning}} of the letters BBC {{color|red|is}} ({{color|LimeGreen|it}}, namely:) {{color|green|British something Corporation}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|blue|an fáth}} gur tugadh Spioróg air ná {{color|green|go raibh duine uasal darbh ainm Spioróg ina chónaí i mBun Abhna}} agus (…)''' – ''{{color|blue|the reason}} why it was called Spioróg {{color|red|is}} ({{color|LimeGreen|it}}, namely:) {{color|green|that there was a noble man called Spioróg living in Bun Abhna}} and (…)''.

Note that the words '''tuairim''' ''opinion'', '''aidhm''' ''aim, purpose'', '''brí''' ''force, meaning'' are feminine, so in the first examples the pronoun '''é''' stands for the whole '''go…''' ''that…'' phrase and disagrees with the subject '''mo thuairim''' ''my opinion''; in the second example it stands for the infinitival phrase '''teanga … a choinneáil …''' ''to keep the language…'' and also disagrees with the subject '''aim an Chonartha''' ''the purpose of the (Gaelic) League'', etc.

==== 1st and 2nd person: ''mise'', ''tusa'' ====

The 1st and 2nd person pronouns in identification clauses always come first – as if they always were the predicate. The pronouns also generally are with the emphatic suffixes (''mise'' instead of ''mé'' ‘I’, ''tusa'' for ''tú'' ‘you, thou’, ''sinne'' or ''muidne'' for ''sinn, muid'' ‘we’,
''sibhse'' for ''sibh'' ‘you, y’all’):

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|mise}} {{color|blue|an múinteoir}}''' — ''{{color|green|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|blue|the teacher}}'' (or more literally: ''the teacher is me'');
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|mise}} {{color|blue|Séamas}}''' — ''{{color|green|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|blue|Séamas}}'' (or more literally: ''Séamas is me'');
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tusa}} {{color|blue|ardrí na hÉireann}}''' — ''{{color|green|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|blue|the high-king of Ireland}}'' (or more literally: ''the high-king of Ireland is you'');
[TODO: more examples]

The above sentence work well as responses to questions like ''cé hé an múinteoir?'' ‘who is the teacher?’, ''cé hé Séamas?'' ‘who is Séamas?’, etc. – ie. the pronoun is the response. They may ''also'' be used when responding to ''cé (hé) thusa?'' ‘who are you?’ (ie. giving ''an múinteoir'' ‘the teacher’,
''Séamas'', etc. as the information) – but to note explicitly that the focus is ''not'' on the pronoun, the non-emphatic form might be used:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|mé}} {{color|green|an múinteoir}}''' — ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|the teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|mé}} {{color|green|Séamas}}''' — ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|Séamas}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tú}} {{color|green|ardrí na hÉireann}}''' — ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the high-king of Ireland}}'';
[TODO: more examples]

Here the pronouns '''mé''' ''I'', '''tú''' ''you'', '''sinn''' or '''muid''' ''we'', '''sibh''' ''ye'' are merely the topic, the context of the sentence, and what follows is the rheme, the focus, the new information given.

<div class="warningbox">'''Note''' that the word order differs from classification. To say ‘I am '''a''' teacher’ you say:

* '''is múinteoir mé''',

but to state ‘I am '''the''' teacher’ you say:

* '''is mé an múinteoir''' or '''is mise an múinteoir'''.</div>

=== Demonstratives (é seo, é sin, é siúd) ===

When the subject is a 3rd person demonstrative pronoun, like '''é seo''' ‘this’ (masc.), '''í sin''' ‘that (one)’ (fem.), it tends to be placed in the predicate slot regardless of context.

So a sentence like '''is é seo mo theach''' can be understood two ways and answer two types of questions:
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|é seo}} {{color|blue|mo theach}}''' — ''{{color|blue|my house}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|this one}}'' (saying ''which house is the one of yours''),
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|é seo}} {{color|green|mo theach}}''' — ''{{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my house}}'' (saying ''what this is'').

And thus:
* '''is í seo m’iníon''' — ''this is my daughter'' (responding to either ''who is this?'' or ''which one is your daughter?''),
* '''b’í sin an chathair ba threise acu''' — ''that was the strongest city of their''.

But sometimes – although ''very rarely'' – the normal identification can be used in the latter context (answering ‘what/who is this?’), eg. Peadar Ua Laoghaire in his ''Lúcián'' has:
* '''Mise hErmés agus {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|é Ploutos}} {{color|blue|é seo}}''' — ''I am Hermes and {{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Plutus}}''

this form used showing that ''Plutus'', being a god and a personification of wealth, is someone significant (''is é seo Ploutos'' would be used otherwise).

==== seo/sin/siúd (é/í/iad) {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

But, similar to [[#seo/sin/siúd ⟨predicate⟩|classification]] when the demonstrative is the subject being equated to another noun, there is a shorter form. In Ulster dialects it generally looks the same as in the case of classification, but in Connacht and Munster an additional pronoun appears before the predicate.

So to say things like ‘this is my house’, instead of using the common identification syntax:
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|é seo}} {{color|green|mo theach}}''' — ''{{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my house}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|é sin}} {{color|green|toil Dé}}''' — ''{{color|blue|that}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the will of God}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|í seo}} {{color|green|m’iníon}}''' — ''{{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my daughter}}'',
you can also say:
* '''{{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|é mo theach}}''' — ''{{color|blue|this}} is {{color|green|my house}}'',
* '''{{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|é toil Dé}}''' — ''{{color|blue|that}} is {{color|green|the will of God}}'',
* '''{{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|í m’iníon}}''' — ''{{color|blue|this}} is {{color|green|my daughter}}''.

But in texts from earlier 19th century, and also today in Ulster, you’ll see the same type without the pronoun:
* '''seo mo theach''' — ''this is my house''.

=== Personal names – identification versus classification ===

When a ''proper noun'' (like a personal name, or a place name) is the predicate of the copula, there is a clear distinction in Irish between talking about ''the person'' (or ''the place'', etc.) referred to by that name, ie. the identification, and talking about ''the name itself'', in which case it becomes
classification.

And thus a sentence like ''Mary is the teacher'' (giving information about ''the teacher'', informing that it’s ''Mary'' who’s teaching) you use the identification structure:
* '''is í Máire an múinteoir''' — lit. ''the teacher is Mary'' – this tells us ''which person'' is the teacher – the one specific human being we know by the name ''Máire'',
but when giving '''a name''' of a person, you use the classification structure:
* '''is Máire an múinteoir''' — ''the teacher is Mary'', ''the teacher’s name is Máire'', literally ''the teacher is “a Mary”''.

The latter sentence means that ''the teacher'' belongs to a set of all the ''Máire''-s – it doesn’t identify ''the teacher'' with any specific person! It merely states their name.

Similarly one says for example:
* '''tá mé ag ceapadh {{color|red|gur}} {{color|green|Cáit}} {{color|blue|a bhí uirthi}}''' – ''I am thinking that her name was Cáit'', lit. ''… {{color|red|that}} {{color|blue|(the name) that was on her}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Cáit}}'',
* '''dúirt sé gur Pádraig ainm a mhic''' — ''he said that his son’s name is Pádraig'',
* '''{{color|red|ní}} {{color|green|Aill an Tuim}} is mó {{color|blue|a thugaidís uirthi}}, ach Aill an Mhairnéalaigh''' — ''{{color|red|it’s not}} {{color|green|Aill an Tuim}} {{color|blue|that they called it}} most, but Aill an Mhairnéalaigh''.

Or in the 17th century Keating wrote:
* ''is follus fós a hannálaibh Éireann gurab Alba fá hainm don chrích sin'' which in Modern Irish would be '''is follas fós as annála Éireann gurb Alba ab ainm don chríoch sin''' — ''it is furthermore clear from Irish annals that that country’s name was Alba'' (ie. Scotland).

The same distinction exists in other grammatical persons between the identification:
* '''ní mise Máire''' — ''I am not Máire'' (ie. that ''Máire'' person is not me),
and classification:
* '''ní Máire mé ach Áine''' — ''I am not Máire but Áine'' (ie. my name is not ''Máire'' but ''Áine'').

=== Definite nouns directly after the copula ===
The pattern of inserting a pronoun between the copula and definite predicate (see [[#Identification – definite predicates|above]]) is not a strict rule. There are certain contexts where definite predicates are commonly allowed to stand directly after the copula.

The main exception is after the copula in a relative clause which itself serves as a subject of another copular clause. This sounds complicated but basically it boils down to '''is X is Y''' sentence meaning ‘(the one) '''who/which is''' Y, is X’. An example of this would be:
* '''gá chur ’n‑a luighe ar na Iúdaígh {{color|red|gur b’}}{{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|green|Íosa}} {{color|blue|is Críost ann}}''' — ''testifying to the Jews that Jesus was Christ'', lit. ''testifying it to the Jews {{color|red|that}} {{color|blue|who is Christ}} {{color|red|was}} {{color|green|Jesus}}'' (translation of ''Acts'' 18:5 by Ua Laoghaire). Note that ''Críost'' is the predicate of the relative copula and there’s no pronoun between them:
:: … '''{{color|blue|(an té)}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Críost}} ann''' — … ''{{color|blue|(the one)}} {{color|red|who is}} {{color|green|Christ}}'', the subject is not expressed directly here.

This structure is common in a certain type of questions in Irish, eg.:
* '''cad is ainm duit?''' — ''what’s your name?'', more literally: ''what is it, (the thing) that is (the) name to you?'',
* '''cad is brí leis?''' — ''what does it mean?'', more literally: ''what is it, (the thing) that is (the) meaning with it?''
and also in answers to such questions:
* '''Tadhg is ainm dom''' — ''my name is Tadh'' (''what is my name is Tadhg''),
* '''is é sin is brí leis''' — ''the meaning of it is that''.

Note that '''ainm duit''' and '''brí leis''' here have definite meanings (‘your name, the name that you have’ and ‘the meaning of it’) even though there is no article before them.

Outside of this context, the copula followed by a definite noun phrase may occur in some older archaising texts.<ref>O’Nolan notes for example a poem by Keating having ''gidh Eabhra teanga is seanda / gidh Laidin is léigheannda…'' ‘although the oldest language is Hebrew, although the most learned language is Latin…’) – but even in Classical Gaelic poetry this isn’t common. The pronoun is commonly inserted already in Old Irish.</ref>

=== Other uses of copula ===

Contrary to the ''substantive verb'', copula isn’t that restricted in what kind of predicates it takes. And in some common expressions it actually takes prepositional phrases, adjectives, and other grammatical creatures as its predicates.

==== Fronting – additional emphasis on the focus of the sentence ====

A very common use of copula is ''fronting'' – moving some part of a sentence to put emphasis on it – to explicitly mark it as the ''focus'', the ''main point'' of the sentence. The rest of the sentence, with the main verb, is put in a relative clause then. Compare:

* '''tá an cat ar an mbord''' — ''the cat is on the table'' – no fronting, no copula, neutral sentence,
* '''is é an cat atá ar an mbord''' — ''it’s '''the cat''' that is on the table'' – '''an cat''' fronted – it’s the predicate of the copula, the sentence underlines the fact that the thing on the table is '''the cat''' (as opposed to a cup, for example),
* '''is ar an mbord atá an cat''' — ''it’s '''on the table''' that the cat is'' – '''ar an mbord''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the location of the cat is '''on the table'''.

Note that a subpredicate pronoun (''é, í, iad'') will appear if a definite noun phrase is being fronted (''is '''é''' an cat…''). There will be no pronoun otherwise (''is ar an mbord…'').

Also note that the subject of the copula in the fronted sentence is a relative clause. Sometimes you can think of it as elliptical, eliding some noun – like you could add a noun to the second sentence:
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|green|an cat}} {{color|blue|(an t-ainmhí) atá ar an mbord}}''' — ''{{color|blue|(the animal) that is on the table}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the cat}}'',
but it doesn’t work for the third sentence (or when an adverbial or a prepositional phrase is fronted in general). That’s just the general syntax of fronting in Irish – a relative clause can be the subject of the copula.<ref>Sometimes in such cases in Old Irish the “subject” was a regular
non-relative clause, it became relative in later Old Irish due to analogy with other types of fronting. See Pádraig MacCoisdealbha (1998) ''The Syntax of the Sentence in Old Irish'', edited by Graham R. Isaac, De Gruyter</ref>

In fronting the copula is very commonly elided.

* [TODO: examples]

When fronting an adverb, the '''go''' part disappears:

* [TODO: examples]

==== Other set phrases and constructions ====

===== is {{smallcaps|⟨adjective⟩}} le/do… =====

The copula is used in many idiomatic expressions involving adjectives, like for example:

* '''is maith liom Alba''' — ''I like Scotland'',
* '''is fearr liom Éire''' — ''I prefer Ireland''.

This expression ''is maith le X Y'', literally ‘Y is good with X’, is part of a broader construction expressing subjective feeling or opinion. Thus the underlying meaning of a sentence like
* '''is maith liom arán a ithe''' – ''I like eating bread''
is ''eating bread is good in my opinion'' or ''I find eating bread good'', that is ''eating bread'' feels good to me.

This construction can be used with many adjectives and sometimes nouns to express one’s feeling or opinion, some more idiomatic than other:
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|cuma liom}} {{color|blue|é}}''' – ''I don’t care about it'', literally ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|same to me}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|fada liom}} {{color|blue|go mbead i gCorca Dhuibhne}}''' — ''I long to be in Dingle Peninsula'', more literally: ''I find it (= the time) long until I will be in Dingle Peninsula'', literally: ''{{color|blue|(the time) until I will be in D. P.}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|long with me}}'',
* '''is dóigh liom go bhfuil an ceart agat''' — ''I think that you are right'', more literally: ''I find it likely that you are right'',
* '''is fuath leis an Béarla''' — ''he hates the English language'' (''the English language is a hate with him''),
* '''an cuimhin leat an rud sin?''' — ''do you remember that thing?'' (''do you find that thing to be a memory?''; or perhaps ''is that thing a memory of yours?''),
* '''is cás leis é''' — ''he cares for it, it is of concern to him'' (''it is a concern to him''),
* '''is beag liom é''' — ''it’s of little concern to me'' (''I find it little/insignificant''),
sometimes their meaning by extension is more “objective”:
* '''is féidir leat é a dhéanamh''' — ''you can do it'' (''it’s possible to you to do it''),
* '''is gnách liom é sin a dhéanamh''' – ''it is customary for me to do that, I’m in the habit of doing that'' (''doing that is customary to me'').

A more involved example from Ua Laoghaire’s ''Séadna'' would be:
* '''geallaim dhuit {{color|red|gurbh}} {{color|LimeGreen|é}} {{color|blue|ab fhada leis}} {{color|green|go raibh sé amuigh}}''' — ''I promise you that what he longed for was to be outside'', more literally: ''{{color|red|that}} {{color|blue|what he found long}} {{color|red|was}} {{color|LimeGreen|it}}: {{color|green|(the time) until he was outside}}''.

On the other hand, when ''objective'' truths are expressed, the preposition '''do''' is used. Compare:
* '''is maith liom milseáin''' — ''I like sweets''
with:
* '''is maith dom glasraí''' — ''vegetables are good for me''.

So also:
* '''is fearr duit a bheith ansin''' — ''you should (rather) be there'', ''it is better for you to be there'',
* '''is éigean dom Gaeilge a fhoghlaim''' — ''I must learn Irish'' (''learning Irish is a necessity for me'').

O’Nolan gives also such example showing the difference between the two prepositions:
* '''{{color|blue|an rud is féidir leat}}, {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|féidir duit}} {{color|DeepSkyBlue|é}}''' — ''the thing you think you can do, you can do it'', or ''{{color|blue|the thing you find possible}}, {{color|DeepSkyBlue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|possible for you}}'' (but note that ''is féidir le…'' is used in general for ‘can, be able to’, not just about the opinion).

Some phrases like that developed meanings a little bit further removed from their literal reading – they’ll often be listed in dictionaries. And example is:
* '''ní mór dom é sin a dhéanamh''' — ''I need to/must do that''
which comes from saying that ‘doing that is not big=excessive for me’, thus it is something ''I should to'' or ''I must do'' (it’s not excessive, it’s the normal expected concern).

=== Dependent form (present tense) ===

As mentioned [[#The dependent form fuil|earlier]], some particles in the Irish language – like leniting '''ní''' ''not'', or eclipsing '''an?''' ''is? does?'', '''nach?''' ''isn’t? doesn’t?'', etc. – require the '''dependent''' form of a verb. For the substantive verb that form is ''fuil''. But what happens with the copula?

Generally, the dependent form of the copula '''is''' in the present tense is ''zero''. That is, in the present tense the copula ''disappears'' in the dependent positions. But the particles with the copular meaning also stop leniting and eclipsing. Thus:

* '''ní hé Séamas rí Shasana''' — ''James is not the king of England'',
* '''nach í Máire banríon na hAlban?''' — ''isn’t Máire the queen of Scotland?'',
* '''nach múinteoir thú?''' – ''aren’t you a teacher?''
* '''ní múinteoir atá ionat''' — ''you are not a teacher'',
* '''an iascairí sibh?''' — ''are y’all fishers?'',
* '''an ar an mbord atá an cat?''' — ''is it on the table that the cat is?''

In Munster – where the negative interrogative and relative particle is '''ná''' – it changes to '''nách''' in the copular meaning:

* '''nách múinteoir thú?''' – ''aren’t you a teacher?'',
* '''dúirt sé nách mac léinn í''' – ''he said that she isn’t a student''.

The dependent present tense copula also adds an '''-r''' to '''go''' and changes the spelling of the vowel ('''go''' + '''is''' → '''gur'''):

* '''dúirt sí gur mac léinn atá ionat''' — ''she said that you are a student'',
* '''deirtear gur áit aerach Mullach an Chlasaigh''' — ''it’s said that Mullach an Chlasaigh is an eerie place''.

In certain cases before vowels – especially before adjectives, adverbs, the pronouns '''é, í, iad, ea''', this '''gur''' changes to '''gurb''':
* '''táim ag smaoineamh gurb é Iain an té a ghoid fobhríste''' — ''I am thinking that Iain is the one who stole underpants'',
* '''admhaím gurb áille cónaí cois farraige ná in áit eile''' — ''I admit that it’s lovlier to live by the sea than in another place'' (lit. ''… that living by the sea is lovlier than in another place''),
* '''m’anam ag Dia gurb í an fhírinne a deirim''' — ''(on) my soul to God that it’s the truth that I say''.

This '''-r(b)''' is also used in ''indirect relative clauses'' and in relative clauses after prepositions:
* '''an duine ar maith leis an rud sin''' — ''the person who likes that thing'',
* '''an duine lenar maith an rud sin''' — ''the person who likes that thing'',
* '''cén tír arb as duit?''' — ''which country are you from?''
* [TODO: more examples]

== Past and future tenses ==

=== The substantive verb ''bí'' ===
Past forms of the verb '''bí''' are independent '''bhí''' and dependent '''raibh''', eg.:

* '''bhí mé sa bhád''' — ''I was in the boat'',
* '''an raibh tú sásta?''' — ''were you happy?'',
* '''dúirt sé go raibh tú brónach''' — ''he said that you were sad''.

The future form is '''beidh''', and it works both as an independent and dependent form. In dialects of Connacht and Ulster you’ll also get the relative form '''bheas''' in direct relative clauses (but we’ll not spend much time on it now):

* '''beidh an madra ansin''' — ''the dog will be there'',
* '''an duine a bheidh sa teach''' / '''a bheas sa teach''' — ''the man that will be in the house''.

The substantive verb also has a separate '''present habitual''' form expressing ''being'' that occurs repeatedly, once in a while – '''bíonn''' (also relative '''bhíos''', '''bhíonns'''):
* '''nach mbíonn Iain ag goid bríste gach lá?''' — ''doesn’t Iain steal trousers every day?'', lit. ''isn’t (habitually) Iain at stealing (of) trousers every day?'',

This verb has some more forms not mentioned here at all (like the autonomous forms, conditional, past habitual, subjunctive…). See [https://www.reimnigh.com/word/b%C3%AD '''the Réimnigh website'''] for the full paradigm (in the standard, and the 3 main dialectal areas).

=== The copula ===

The copula '''is''' has a past form '''ba''' which becomes '''b’''' before vowels (but not before pronouns in the standard), it generally lenites the following word – except for the pronouns. In dependent positions generally the past forms of the particles are used – so '''an?''' changes to '''ar?''', '''nach?''' becomes '''nár?''', '''ní''' becomes '''níor''', '''go''' becomes '''gur''', etc.

This form is also the ''conditional'', so it has two meanings: past ''was, were'' and conditional ''would be'':

* '''ba mise an múinteoir''' — ''I was the teacher'' or ''I would be the teacher'',
* '''ar mhaith leat bainne?''' — ''would you like milk'' (or less likely ''did you like milk?'')
* '''ar tusa an t-iascaire?''' — ''were you the fisher?'',
* '''ba í mo dheirfiúr Máire''' — ''Máire was my sister'',
* '''níor mhúinteoir é''' — ''he was not a teacher'',
* '''ba shaighdiúr í''' — ''she was a soldier''.

In the dependent forms before vowels '''-bh''' is added (thus the particles become: '''arbh?''', '''nárbh?''', '''níorbh''', '''gurbh'''…):
* '''arbh fhearr leat tae nó caife?''' — ''would you prefer tea or coffee?'',

In the conditional, after '''dá''' ‘if’, '''ba''' is used:
* '''dá mba mhúinteoir thú, ní fhéadfá é a dhéanamh''' — ''if you were a teacher, you wouldn’t be able to do it''.

And '''ba''' is also often used after '''go''' ‘that’ instead of the '''gur(bh)''' form:
* '''cheapas go mba mhaith an chomhairle í''' – ''I thought it was a good advice'' (lit. ''I thought the advice that it was, was good'').

The copula has '''no future form'''.<ref>Future forms of the copula existed in Old Irish and were still used in Classical Gaelic poetry (see [[Notes on Classical Gaelic Grammar#Forms]]),
Gearóid Ó Nualláin reported hearing relative '''bhus''' with a future meaning ‘that will be’ in early 20th century, there’s one example of that in [https://www.forasnagaeilge.ie/angum/croidhe-cainnte-ciarraighe/ ''Croidhe Cainnte C[h]iarraighe''] too.</ref>

To turn the ''(is) {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} atá i {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' construction into the past tense, you just use the past of the substantive verb (and optionally of the copula):

* '''(is) múinteoir a bhí ionat''' — ''you were a teacher'' (''a teacher is what was in you'') or '''ba mhúinteoir a bhí ionat''' (''a teachar was what was in you''),
* '''an iascaire a bhí ionat?''' or '''arbh iascaire a bhí ionat?''' — ''were you a fisher?''.

Generally in this type the copula stays in the present tense – if you were a teacher, the fact that you ''were'' a teacher is still true
''in the present'' (so ''it '''is''' a teacher that you were''). The past tense of the copula might be used to convey more remote past that has no bearing on the present –
for example when talking about someone long dead (''ba dhuine deas a bhí ann'' ‘he was a nice person’) or when telling a story about times long gone.

Similarly to turn it into the future, you just change '''tá''' into the future '''beidh''' (or relative future '''bheas'''):

* '''(is) iascaire a bheidh ionat''' ('''… a bheas ionat''') — ''you will be a fisher'',
* '''(is) athair ar fheabhas a bheidh ionat''' ('''… a bheas ionat''') — ''you will be an outstanding father''.

== Answering yes-no questions ==

Since Irish has no specific words meaning ''yes'' or ''no'' on their own, when answering ''yes-no'' questions in Irish, you have to repeat the verb of the question.

=== The ''bí'' verb ===

When a question begins with a form of the verb ''bí'', that is it starts with '''an bhfuil…?''' ''is..?'' or '''nach bhfuil…?''' ''isn’t…?'' (in Munster '''ná fuil…?'''), you have to answer with either '''tá''' for ''yes'' or '''níl''' for ''no''. The answer might use a form inflected for person.
For example when asked '''an bhfuil tú i do chónaí in Éirinn?''' ''do you live in Ireland?'' you might respond with:
* '''táim''' or '''tá''' for ''yes'',
* or '''nílim''', '''níl''' for ''no''.

It works in a similar way in other tenses. When asked '''an raibh tú in Éirinn anuraidh?''' ''were you in Ireland last year?'' you might respond with:
* '''bhí''' (''was'') or '''bhíos''' (''I was'') for ''yes'',
* '''ní raibh''' or '''ní rabhas''' for ''no''.

=== The copula ===

Since the copula '''can never''' stand on its own without a predicate, you have to repeat the predicate or use some pronoun to substitute it. In normal classification and identification sentences you typically substitute a pronoun for the predicate.

==== Classification ====
Since in classification clauses Irish uses the old neuter pronoun '''ea''' ''it'' to substitute the indefinite noun (cf. [[#⟨predicate⟩ is ea ⟨subject⟩|the ''X is ea Y'' structure above]]), that’s what you do after classification questions.

If asked '''an peann é seo?''' ''is this a pen?'' you respond with either:
* '''is ea''' for ''yes'' (literally ''(it) is it''),
* or '''ní hea''' for ''no''.

When asked '''an múinteoir tú?''' ''are you a teacher?'' you similarly would respond with either '''is ea''' or '''ní hea'''.

In the past or conditional you’d say either '''b’ea''' or '''níorbh ea'''.

This is also true for predicates that are names, so '''is ea''' and '''ní hea''' are also appropriate responses to questions like '''an Pádraig ainm a athar?''' ''is his father’s name Pádraig?''.

===== With adjectives =====

If the question has an adjective as its predicate, though, it’s customary to repeat the adjective. Thus:

* '''“An mór an teach é?”''' — ''Is it a big house?'' (lit. ''is the house, it, big?'')
: '''“Ní mór.”''' — ''No.'' (lit. ''is not big'')

or:

* '''“An fíor an scéal seo?”''' — ''Is this story true?''
: '''“Is fíor.”''' — ''Yes.'' (lit. ''is true'')

==== Identification ====
In identification you need to use the appropriate pronoun matching with the predicate.

If asked '''an é d’athair é?''' ''is he your father?'' you respond with:
* '''is é''' for ''yes'',
* or '''ní hé''' for ''no''.

If asked '''an tusa uachtarán na hÉireann?''' you respond with
* '''is mise''' if you happened to win the presidential elections in Ireland,
* or '''ní mise''' if not.

==== Other phrases ====
Very often, especially with idiomatic phrases, it’s common to repeat the head word of the predicate. And thus when asked '''an maith leat Éire?''' ''do you like Ireland?'' you would respond either:
* '''is maith''' for ''yes'',
* or '''ní maith''' if you’re a bad human being.

If the question is about a prepositional phrase, you can use the classification '''is ea / ní hea''' response to agree or disagree with the whole proposition of the question, or you can repeat the preposition to emphasize a specific place or relation. Eg. when asked '''an ar an mbord atá an cat?''' ''is it on the table that the cat is?'' you can say ''yes'' in two ways:
* '''is air''' which might emphasize that it is indeed '''''on''' it'' (and not ''under'' the table, nor on another table),
* or '''is ea''' which generally agrees with the idea of the cat being ''on the table''.
If you were to say ''no, but (the cat is) under it'' you’d express it with:
* '''ní hea, ach faoi''', lit. ''it’s not it, but under it'' where the '''ea''' ''it'' refers to the whole idea of being on the table, and then '''faoi''' ''under it'' gives corrected location.
If you were to say ''no, but (the cat is) on the other table'' you’d say:
* '''ní air, ach ar an mbord eile''', lit. ''it’s not on it, but on the other table'' – where '''air''' ''on it'' refers to a location on this specific table.

When asked '''an as Éirinn duit?''' ''are you from Ireland?'' you typically respond with '''is ea''' or '''ní hea''' – agreeing or disagreeing with the whole proposition (rather than saying something like ''is aisti'', lit ‘(I am) from her’ referring specifically back to the country in question).

The distinction between the choice of repeating the inflected preposition (''is air, is uirthi, is aisti'', etc.) versus the use of ''ea'' is basically the distinction between referring back to a specific definite object or place (which makes sense especially if contrasting with other specific object) and referring
to the whole general proposition (which makes more sense if the answer is contrasted eg. with other preposition, like the location ''on'' something as opposed to ''under'' it, or it’s a reference to a general location or origin).

For more about it see [https://archive.org/details/cu31924026508022/page/23/ ''Introduction to Studies in Modern Irish'', pp. 23–25] and [https://archive.org/details/cu31924026785174/page/8/ ''Studies in Modern Irish'' vol. 1, pp. 8–10].

== Other resourses ==

* [https://archive.org/details/cu31924026508022/page/n7/mode/2up ''Introduction to Studies in Modern Irish''], 1921, Gearóid Ó Nualláin – a guide-book for teachers (but useful for learners too) with notes on correct idiomatic usage of Irish syntax, starting with the copula;
* [https://archive.org/details/cu31924026785174/page/n5/mode/2up ''Studies in Modern Irish'', vol. 1], 1920, Gearóid Ó Nualláin – extensive explanations of elements of Irish syntax, with lots of examples from (mostly Munster) literature, starting with chapters on the copula; also has multiple translation exercises;
* [http://nualeargais.ie/gnag/gramadac.htm ''Gramadach na Gaeilge''] on the Nualéargais website, especially the page on [http://nualeargais.ie/gnag/bi.htm ''bí''] and [http://nualeargais.ie/gnag/kopul1.htm the copula] (if you know German, the German pages are better: [http://braesicke.de/gramadac.htm main page], [http://braesicke.de/bi.htm ''bí''], [http://braesicke.de/kopul1.htm the copula]);
* [https://www.forasnagaeilge.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/GGBC_19990-2.pdf ''Graiméar Gaeilge na mBráithre Críostaí''], 1999 – the most comprehensive Irish grammar dealing with Standard Irish, written in Irish, discusses the use and syntax of the copula in several places.

See also [[Irish/Introduction to Studies in Modern Irish]] on this wiki. The first few lessons focus on the copula.

== Footnotes ==
<references />

[[Category:Irish]]

Irish/Dialects

2024-03-15T00:34:33Z

Muiris: /* Textbooks focusing on a Munster dialect */

== Munster Irish ==

Irish exists in Munster in the counties of Cork, Kerry and Waterford. Evidence and recordings of the Irish spoken in other counties, such as Clare and Tipperary, does exist, but the language is not spoken natively there any more.

The traditional dialects of Munster are often split into two groups: West and East Munster. These categories best describe the dialects in the surviving Gaeltachts, with the dialects of the Gaeltachts of Counties Kerry and Cork making up the West Munster Group, and the [[Irish/Déise Irish | Déise dialect]] of Ring, Co. Waterford being the sole surviving dialect of the East Munster group.

=== Textbooks focusing on a Munster dialect ===
Teach Yourself Irish, 1961. Several versions exist of various qualities. PDFs are available with consent of publisher. Please make sure you have the 1961 edition, which focuses on the Irish of Muskerry, West Cork.

* [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f3cOHk6-GClmUBkPpw4x85ZtlHoO0nQV/view?usp=sharing Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Scanned] (dialectal Munster Irish)
* [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mXWSqVhYtVCcZa3hG5CGhXz-DIzdyZ_e/view?usp=sharing Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Audio] (dialectal Munster Irish)
* [https://drive.google.com/file/d/14r6uOpc_RgNdyccwTle7-9y6NbGh4sqN/view?usp=sharing Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Retypeset] (dialectal Munster Irish)
The retypeset version of Teach Yourself Irish has the audio built in and more reliable search, but it also has many typos also the person who retypeset it also added entirely inaccurate footnotes, so it is highly recommended to use it only for search and audio playback purposes.

== Connacht Irish ==

Connacht Irish is spoken in Counties Galway, Mayo and Meath. The dialect of Rath Cháirn, in Meath, is from Connemara when farmers were transplanted early in the 20th century. Various areas in each county, apart from Meath, still have Irish with their own subdialects. Recordings of other counties still can be found on various websites, and some scholarly works have been written about them.

=== Textbooks focusing on Connacht dialects ===
* [https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/natashasumner/files/buntus-1connacht_2018-19.pdf Buntús na Gaeilge]: An updated version of Hillers's course for Ulster Irish. This was updated after Hillers left Harvard to focus on Connacht Irish as opposed to Ulster Irish.
* '''Learning Irish, O'Siadhail.''' Hands down the best instruction book for Connacht Irish, focusing on the dialect of Cois Fharraige, in Connemara.
* '''Colloquial Irish 1 & 2.''' A popular coursebook designed around Connemara Irish containing audio done by actors from Ros na Rún. Less intense than Learning Irish.

Sadly, there are not many learning materials for Mayo Irish, though several books of stories in the dialect do exist as do several more linguistic oriented works.

=== Sounds of Connacht Irish ===
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDfFn1UMXB8 42 Príomhfhuaim Chonamara]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMOOU0I8IYA&pp=sAQA Consain Leathana v. Consain Chaola]

== Ulster Irish ==

The only extant dialects of Ulster Irish are those found in Donegal, though a fair number of dialects from across the province have documentation and recordings. The last speaker of Irish in Leinster actually spoke a dialect of East Ulster, following the more accurate north-south divide of the dialects as opposed to a per-province type view.

=== Textbooks ===
* [https://eolas38.wixsite.com/ultach/copy-of-aonad-1 Now You're Talking]: The best way to start with Ulster Irish isn't actually only a book, but also a TV series produced in the 1990s. The videos for Now You're Talking can be found on Youtube and [https://eolas38.wixsite.com/ultach/copy-of-aonad-1 here]. It's an audio-visual course that lets you hear some of the best Donegal Irish there is, and focuses on learning communicative phrases. The link given here includes an audio version and PDFs of the accompanying textbook.
* [https://bhillers.pages.iu.edu/buntus.html Buntús na Gaeilge]: A course designed by Baraba Hillers while she was at Harvard, a great text-based way to get into the Irish of Donegal. This is the one contained on Hillers's webpage at IU. The one at Harvard is a redesign of the course focusing on Connacht.

=== Sounds of Ulster Irish ===
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FmOP2myxd0&pp=sAQA 41 Príomhfuaim na Gaeilge -- Canúint Uladh]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gknNV197_c&pp=sAQA Consain Leathana v. Consain Chaola -- Canúint Uladh]

[[Category:Irish]]

Irish/Folklore

2024-03-04T20:16:05Z

Muiris:

== Folklore resources ==

[https://archive.org/details/handbookofirishf0000osui/page/n5/mode/2up A Handbook of Irish Folklore] by Seán Ó Súilleabháin is a good starting point.

A large collection of folklore is available in scanned and transcribed form on [https://www.duchas.ie/ dúchas.ie], the site of Cnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann, the national folklore collection.

[[Category:Irish]]

Irish/Folklore

2024-03-04T20:15:27Z

Muiris:

== Folklore resources ==

[https://archive.org/details/handbookofirishf0000osui/page/n5/mode/2up A Handbook of Irish Folklore] by Séan Ó Súilleabháin is a good starting point.

A large collection of folklore is available in scanned and transcribed form on [https://www.duchas.ie/ dúchas.ie], the site of Cnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann, the national folklore collection.

[[Category:Irish]]

Main Page

2024-03-04T20:14:34Z

Muiris:

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* [[Irish/Getting started | Getting started]]
* [[Irish/Resources | Resources]]
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* [[Irish/Irish Phonology | Irish Phonology]]
* [[Irish/Folklore | Folklore]]
* [[:Category:Text corpora#Irish | Searchable text corpora]]
* [[Irish/Present tense in -idh | A Guide to Present Tense Forms in -idh]]
* [[Guide to Irish to be, the substantive verb bí, tá & the copula is | Guide to Irish ''to be'' (''tá'' and ''is'')]]

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* [[Gaelic/Getting started | Getting started]]
* [[Gaelic/Resources | Resources]]
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* [[Guide to Scottish Gaelic to be, the linking verbs: substantive bi, tha & the copula is | Guide to Scottish Gaelic ''to be'' (''tha'' and ''is'')]]

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* [[Manx/Getting started | Getting started]]
* [[Manx/Resources | Resources]]
* [[:Category:Text corpora#Manx | Searchable text corpora]]

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* [[Welsh/Getting started | Getting started]]
* [[Welsh/Resources | Resources]]

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* [[Cornish/Getting started | Getting started]]
* [[Cornish/Resources | Resources]]

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* [[Breton/Getting started | Getting started]]
* [[Breton/Resources | Resources]]

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* [[:Category:Old Irish | '''Old Irish''' / '''Goídelc''' ]]
:* [[Old Irish/Resources | Resources]]
:* [[Old Irish/Guide to Old Irish spelling | Guide to Old Irish spelling]]
:* [[Old Irish/Morphology | Morphology]]

* [[:Category:Classical Gaelic | '''Classical Gaelic''' / '''Gáoidhealg''' ]]
:* [[Classical Gaelic/Resources | Resources]]
:* [[Notes on Classical Gaelic Grammar]]

* [[:Category:Primitive Irish | '''Primitive Irish''' and '''Ogham''' ]]
:* [[Primitive Irish/Introduction | Introduction]]

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* [https://discord.gg/f8Kwcfrywh Discord server]

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* [[Help:IPA Usage | IPA Usage]]
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Irish/Folklore

2024-03-04T20:14:05Z

Muiris: Created page with "== Folklore resources == [https://archive.org/details/handbookofirishf0000osui/page/n5/mode/2up A Handbook of Irish Folklore] by Séan Ó Súilleabháin is a good starting po..."

Irish/Dialects

2023-09-17T23:54:40Z

Muiris: /* Ulster Irish */

== Munster Irish ==

Irish exists in Munster in the counties of Cork, Kerry and Waterford. Evidence and recordings of the Irish spoken in other counties, such as Clare and Tipperary, does exist, but the language is not spoken natively there any more.

The traditional dialects of Munster are often split into two groups: West and East Munster. These categories best describe the dialects in the surviving Gaeltachts, with the dialects of the Gaeltachts of Counties Kerry and Cork making up the West Munster Group, and the [[Irish/Déise Irish | Déise dialect]] of Ring, Co. Waterford being the sole surviving dialect of the East Munster group.

=== Textbooks focusing on a Munster dialect ===
Teach Yourself Irish, 1961. Several versions exist of various qualities. PDFs are available with consent of publisher. Please make sure you have the 1961 edition, which focuses on the Irish of Muskerry, West Cork.

* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732764925994336406/TYI_MilesDillon_1961_Scanned.pdf Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Scanned] (dialectal Munster Irish)
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732765118319820840/TYI_mp3.zip Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Audio] (dialectal Munster Irish)
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732765046152888321/TYI_MilesDillion_1961_Retypeset.pdf Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Retypeset] (dialectal Munster Irish)
The retypeset version of Teach Yourself Irish has the audio built in and more reliable search, but it also has many typos also the person who retypeset it also added entirely inaccurate footnotes, so it is highly recommended to use it only for search and audio playback purposes.

== Connacht Irish ==

Connacht Irish is spoken in Counties Galway, Mayo and Meath. The dialect of Rath Cháirn, in Meath, is from Connemara when farmers were transplanted early in the 20th century. Various areas in each county, apart from Meath, still have Irish with their own subdialects. Recordings of other counties still can be found on various websites, and some scholarly works have been written about them.

=== Textbooks focusing on Connacht dialects ===
* [https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/natashasumner/files/buntus-1connacht_2018-19.pdf Buntús na Gaeilge]: An updated version of Hillers's course for Ulster Irish. This was updated after Hillers left Harvard to focus on Connacht Irish as opposed to Ulster Irish.
* '''Learning Irish, O'Siadhail.''' Hands down the best instruction book for Connacht Irish, focusing on the dialect of Cois Fharraige, in Connemara.
* '''Colloquial Irish 1 & 2.''' A popular coursebook designed around Connemara Irish containing audio done by actors from Ros na Rún. Less intense than Learning Irish.

Sadly, there are not many learning materials for Mayo Irish, though several books of stories in the dialect do exist as do several more linguistic oriented works.

=== Sounds of Connacht Irish ===
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDfFn1UMXB8 42 Príomhfhuaim Chonamara]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMOOU0I8IYA&pp=sAQA Consain Leathana v. Consain Chaola]

== Ulster Irish ==

The only extant dialects of Ulster Irish are those found in Donegal, though a fair number of dialects from across the province have documentation and recordings. The last speaker of Irish in Leinster actually spoke a dialect of East Ulster, following the more accurate north-south divide of the dialects as opposed to a per-province type view.

=== Textbooks ===
* [https://eolas38.wixsite.com/ultach/copy-of-aonad-1 Now You're Talking]: The best way to start with Ulster Irish isn't actually only a book, but also a TV series produced in the 1990s. The videos for Now You're Talking can be found on Youtube and [https://eolas38.wixsite.com/ultach/copy-of-aonad-1 here]. It's an audio-visual course that lets you hear some of the best Donegal Irish there is, and focuses on learning communicative phrases. The link given here includes an audio version and PDFs of the accompanying textbook.
* [https://bhillers.pages.iu.edu/buntus.html Buntús na Gaeilge]: A course designed by Baraba Hillers while she was at Harvard, a great text-based way to get into the Irish of Donegal. This is the one contained on Hillers's webpage at IU. The one at Harvard is a redesign of the course focusing on Connacht.

=== Sounds of Ulster Irish ===
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FmOP2myxd0&pp=sAQA 41 Príomhfuaim na Gaeilge -- Canúint Uladh]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gknNV197_c&pp=sAQA Consain Leathana v. Consain Chaola -- Canúint Uladh]

[[Category:Irish]]

A Guide to Irish Cases

2023-04-04T07:34:31Z

Muiris: /* Usage */

==Intro==

Different languages have different strategies for showing the relationships between parts of a sentence. In English, we tend to use small, 'filler' words and word order as tools to show these relationships; for example, when we want to show the spacial relationship between two objects, we use prepositions like 'on', 'below' or 'beside' depending on what best suits the relationship. Or perhaps when we want to show how one object is related to another, we put the two words together, like in the phrase 'grammar guide', the first word is describing some aspect of the second one, in this case it's showing what kind of guide it is. However, in some languages there is an extra variable that helps to show listeners these relationships; grammatical case.

==What are Cases?==

Cases are different forms of the same basic word that emphasise different roles the word has in the sentence, ie. Whether it's acting or is being acted upon, whether it's being affected by a preposition, whether it's related to another noun or not, etc. These forms can be relatively minor changes (cúblálaí 'manipulator'; an cúblálaí, a chúblálaí, an chúblálaí) or they can be fairly different (bean 'woman'; an bhean, a bhean, na mná), what underpins them all is that there is some change to the noun between the different forms.

In Irish there are 3 cases that all have their own jobs and provide different pieces of information about the state the noun is in. These are the common case (an tuiseal ainmneach), the genitive (an tuiseal ginideach) and the vocative (an tuiseal gairmeach).

*Whether a noun is singular or plural does not affect what case it is in.

==The Common Case==

The common case (tuiseal ainmneach) is the citation form of the word. That is, when we are simply naming the concept of something, for example, when listing dictionary entries. It is by far the most common form of the noun you will see in Irish

===Usage===

The common case descends historically from the merger of two different cases; the nominative and the accusative case. Originally the nominative showed which noun was the subject (ie. performing an action) and the accusative showed which was the object (ie. the noun having the action done to it), forming a system where the main grammatical distinction between nouns was whether they were the subject or the object. However, the accusative's form was rarely if ever distinct from that of the other cases, for some nouns it was identical to the nominative and for others it was identical to what's called the dative. As such this lead to it becoming subsumed by the nominative case to eliminate confusion and to regularise the paradigm, causing the two cases to merge into what's now the common case.

Despite previous instances of the accusative now being governed by nouns in the nominative form, the role of the accusative did not die out but rather became part of this new case's jurisdiction. for example, we use the common case to cover both the role of the subject and object as can be seen below.

*Feiceann an fear an bhean - The man sees the woman
*Feiceann an bhean an fear - The woman sees the man

No matter who is seen by whom, both bean 'woman' and fear 'man' stay the same and do not change. The reason they do not have change case is because the order of the words is fixed in simple sentences like this, the verb comes first, followed by the subject or the 'doer', and then finally by the object or the direct recipient of the action. This is in contrast to many other languages, such as German, where depending on the role of the noun as either subject or object it will change form. This is not how Irish behaves and it is for this reason that I've chosen the term 'common case' over the more traditional, latin-based designation of the 'nominative case' in order to avoid confusion due to its role as both subject and object in this kind of sentence. Nonetheless, I will append a German example for comparison using the German translation of man 'Der Mann' and the woman ' Die Frau' for the sake of clarity.

*''Der'' Mann sieht ''die'' Frau - ''The'' man sees ''the'' women
*''Die'' Frau sieht ''den'' Mann - ''The'' woman sees ''the'' man

(As we can see, when 'Mann' is the subject the word for the is 'der', but when it's the object this becomes 'den')

Another use of the historical accusative case was to turn a noun into an adverb, this use still survives today and has been assimilated to the common case. In order to see what I mean we must look at a few examples:

*Shuigh sé ''tamall'' ar an bhinse - He sat on the bench ''a while''
*D'fhan sé ''bliain'' sa Ghaeltacht - He stayed ''a year'' in the Gaeltacht
*Tá'n pub suite ''suas an cabhsa'' ón ollmhargadh - The pub is located ''up the lane'' from the supermarket
*Tránn an fharraige ''ciliméadar'' ón bhaile le lag trá - The sea receeds a ''kilometre'' from the town at low tide

In these examples, tamall 'a while', bliain 'a year', suas an cabhsa 'up the lane', and ciliméadar 'kilometre' are behaving like adverbs that describe the action ocurring in the sentence. In the first two examples the two bolded nouns are describing the length of time the action took place. eg. How long did he stay/sit there? ''a year/a while''. In the second two the nouns are describing the distance the action takes place over. eg. How far does it receed? ''a kilometre'', Where is it located from the supermarket? ''up the lane'', etc.

Lastly, there also exists a similar use of the common case being roughly equivalent to the English preposition 'per'. For example, some such phrases:

*Bhí siúl trí chéad ciliméadar ''an uair'' ar an ghaoth inné - The wind was at a speed of 300 kilometres ''per hour'' yesterday
*Beidh trí iontráil ''an chatagóir'' ann ar deireadh - There will be three entries ''per category'' in it by the end
*Cá mhéad atá ar na ticéidí? Cúig euro ''an duine'' - How much are the tickets? 5 euro ''per person''

===Morphology===

When in the common case, attributive adjectives (teach ''mór'', mór is an attributive adjective because it's attached to teach 'a house') and articles (eg. an, na) must be in specific forms to reflect not only the fact the noun is in the common case but also to match the noun's gender and number too.

For example, there are two forms of the definite article in the common case; ''an'' for singular nouns, and ''na'' for plural ones. As such we say an fear 'the man' but na fir 'the men'. Additionally, the article 'an' will cause lenition (also known as a séimhiú) on a feminine noun, eg. an pheil '(Gaelic) football' and an bhean 'the woman' but an fear 'the man' and an tábla 'the table'. However, there are special rules for this process in regards to the consonants d,n,t,l,s. D, n, t, l don't get lenited after the article, and s gets mutated to t. eg. an dáil 'the council', an tsráid 'the street' & an leac 'the slab'. In the case of words starting in a vowel nothing is added. To summarise:

*Common feminine nouns: an + lenition (séimhiú). eg. an Cháisc 'easter', an mhaidin 'the morning', an ghal 'the steam'
*DNTLS: an + no change. eg. an deoch 'the drink', an tír 'the country', an nead 'the nest'
*Vowel: an + no change. eg. an aiste 'the essay'

In the case of masculine nouns, an does not trigger any effects on nouns beginning in a consonant. However it does add a t prefix to words starting in a vowel, eg. an t-éacht 'the feat'. This is important to be aware of and to use as failure to add this prefix is only correct for feminine nouns, noetheless it remains a common error in non-native speech.

*Consonant initial nouns - an + no change. eg. an fear 'the man', an sruthán 'the stream', a ceol 'the music'
*vowel initial - an + t-. eg. an t-iasc 'the fish', an t-ólachán 'the drink' (a euphemism for alcohol)

Lastly, for the plural article 'na' the only change it causes is a h prefix to vowel initial nouns, eg. na hulcabháin 'the owls'.

*Consonant initial nouns - na + no change. eg. na seansálaithe 'the chancers', na múinteoirí 'the teachers', na creidimh 'the beliefs'
*Vowel initial nouns - na + h. eg. na hathruithe - 'the changes', na hamhráin 'the songs'

In the case of adjectives, the rules are much simpler. Masculine attributive adjectives, that is adjectives that are attached to nouns, receive no changes from their citation forms (eg. tábla ''mór''). Feminine atributive adjectives are lenited (eg. bean ''mhór''). And finally, plural adjectives receive either a final -e or -a dependingon the adjective (eg. daoine ''maithe'', dromchlaí ''sleamhna''). On top of this plural adjectives become lenited when the plural noun they're bound to ends in a slender consonant, eg. (daoine ''maithe'', but fir ''mhaithe'').

==The Genitive==

Irish/Resources

2022-09-24T14:39:13Z

Muiris: /* Textbooks */

=Free resources on the internet=

==Textbooks==
* [https://bhillers.pages.iu.edu/buntus.html Buntús na Gaeilge] (mostly Standard Irish with a preference for Ulster options, dialect differences are noted)
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732765046152888321/TYI_MilesDillion_1961_Retypeset.pdf Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Retypeset] (dialectal Munster Irish)
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732764925994336406/TYI_MilesDillon_1961_Scanned.pdf Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Scanned] (dialectal Munster Irish)
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732765118319820840/TYI_mp3.zip Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Audio] (dialectal Munster Irish)
The retypeset version of Teach Yourself Irish has the audio built in and more reliable search, but it also has typos and even stunning errors where the retypesetter has added incorrect footnotes.

==Video series==
* Now You're Talking (Ulster Irish)
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nz--LpYC30 Video series on Youtube]
** [https://eolas38.wixsite.com/ultach/copy-of-aonad-1 Textbook + Audio + Video]
* [http://www.ceimaraghaidh.ie/don-fhoghlaimeoir/ Céim Ar Aghaidh] (Ulster Irish, for advanced learners)

==Podcasts==
* [http://culturlann.org/beginner%20podcast Beginner Podcast series from Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin] (Ulster Irish)

==Spelling and Pronunciation==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIokUII7LX0 Introduction to the Irish spelling] (Video)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120321160459/http://www.ultach.dsl.pipex.com/ForLearners/UIPron.doc Ulster Irish, A Pronunciation Guide]
* [http://www.fuaimeanna.ie/en/ Fuaimeanna na Gaeilge] (Sounds of Irish with sample recordings in three dialects)
** A site to go along with the book ''Fuaimeanna na Gaeilge''. Contains recordings from native speakers of each main dialect area (specifically, Gaoth Dobhair in Donegal, An Ceathrú Rua in Connemara and Corca Dhuibhne in Kerry) pronouncing each phoneme in the language. The book contains lists of minimal pairs as well.
* [https://www.cogg.ie/wp-content/uploads/Understanding-Irish-Spelling-A-Handbook-for-Teachers-and-Learners-by-Dr.-Nancy-Stenson-and-Dr.-Tina-Hickey-1.pdf Understanding Irish Spelling: A Handbook for Teachers and Learners]
* [https://www.forasnagaeilge.ie/about/an-gum/focloir-poca/?lang=en Foclóir Póca - Description and Phonetic Guide] pdf and audio files containing an introduction to the standardised system of pronunciation sometimes known as "lárchanúint" (central dialect) devised by Dónall Ó Baoill

==Dictionaries (with pronunciation)==
* [https://www.teanglann.ie/en Teanglann]
** An online version of de Bhaldraithe's English-Irish Dictionary (EID) and Ó Dónall's Foclór Gaeilge-Béarla (FGB), as well as An Foclóir Beag and a grammar tab and pronunciation tab. Very handy to look up words.
* [https://www.focloir.ie/ New English-Irish Dictionary (NEID)]

==Grammar==
* Gramadach na Gaeilge (GnaG): An online grammar covering just about anything you can think of for Irish. Does contain some mistakes, but the most comprehensive free grammar you can find. (Sometimes a bit technical, but if you can deal with grammar terminology, very useful)
** [http://nualeargais.ie/gnag/gramadac.htm English translation of an older version]
** [http://braesicke.de/gramadac.htm German original version]
* [https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/caighdeanOifigiul/2017/2017-08-03_an-caighdean-oifigiuil-2017_en.pdf An Caighdeán Oifigiúil] (the official standard; written in Irish)
* [http://www.reimnigh.com/ Réimnigh]: Conjugation tables for common verbs (standard and all three major dialects)

==Media==
=== Raidió na Gaeltachta (RnaG) ===
[https://www.rte.ie/radio/rnag/ Raidió na Gaeltachta] is an Irish-language radio station. They broadcast a wide variety of programmes, including:

* [https://www.rte.ie/radio/rnag/adhmhaidin/ Adhmhaidin]: A(n) (inter)national current affairs show, with speakers from '''all over Ireland'''
* [https://www.rte.ie/radio/rnag/an-saol-o-dheas/ An Saol Ó Dheas]: Current affairs from '''Munster''', with speakers from the dialectal areas included
* [https://www.rte.ie/radio/rnag/barrscealta/ Barrscéalta]: Current affairs in '''Donegal''', usually with presenters from Gaoth Dobhair
* [https://www.rte.ie/radio/rnag/iris-aniar/ Iris Aniar]: Current affairs in '''Connacht''' and '''Meath''', with speakers from the dialectal areas included

=== TG4 ===
[https://www.tg4.ie TG4] is the Irish-language television station. Plays a variety of programmes from a variety of different topics. Most programmes only contain burnt-in English subs, but this is changing recently. Various recommended programmes include:

* [https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/lifestyle-tv-shows/?series=Comhr%C3%A1&genre=Saolchlar Comhrá]: A regular conversation show between iconic host Máirtín Tom Sheáinín and a different guest where he talks with them about their life experiences
* [https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/childrens-tv-shows/ Cúla4]: Kids programming on TG4. Good for children or those who want to practice with vocabulary/structures aimed at a child's ability. Might be boring for adults.
* [https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/news-stories/?series=Nuacht%20TG4&genre=Cursai%20Reatha Nuacht TG4]: The daily news show. High quality presenters. Contains no subtitles.
* [https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/drama-tv-shows/?series=Ros%20na%20R%C3%BAn%20(S25)&genre=Drama Ros na Rún]: An Irish-language soap opera, running since 1996 with over 1500 episodes. Later seasons have options for English subs or Irish subs. Earlier seasons and episodes can be found on YouTube.
* [https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/news-stories/?series=7%20L%C3%A1&genre=Cursai%20Reatha Seacht Lá]: Politics and the economy, regional, national and international affairs. Live debate on the major issues of the day with a panel of analysts, experts and political pundits. No subtitles.

=== Vifax ===
[https://vifax.maynoothuniversity.ie/ Vifax] is a website created and updated by Maynooth University, which takes clips from Nuacht TG4 and transcribes them. They also include questions at various levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced) to help guide listening and focus on listening ability. Very useful resource to practice listening ability.

There is also a helpful blog post about [http://gaeilgechonamara.com/how-to-best-use-vifax-at-any-level/ how to use Vifax at varying levels].

==Apps==
* [http://www.duolingo.com Duolingo]: It's all right when you have the right expectations. I found it useful for vocabulary and just practice in general, but I wouldn't recommend it as the only thing to use.
** The mobile apps don't provide to the tips page that each skill has in the web version. You can refer to [https://duome.eu/tips/en/ga duome.eu] to read them on mobile.

==Blogs and other dialectal resources==
Most of these blogs focus on specific regional dialects.

===Southern Scotland and East Ulster===

* [http://dalriada.scot/ dalriada.scot]: "Dail Riada" (Central Argyll), Southern Scotland
* [https://gaidhligarainn.blogspot.com/ gaidhligarainn.blogspot]: Arran, Southern Scotland
* [http://rathlingaelic.blogspot.com/ rathlingaelic.blogspot]: Rathlin
* [https://gaedhilgreachraidh.blogspot.com/ gaedhilgreachraidh.blogspot]: Rathlin
* [http://cluaindaimh.blogspot.com/ cluaindaimh.blogspot]: Cluain Daimh (Clonduff), co. Down
* [http://irishofthefews.blogspot.com/ irishofthefews.blogspot]: the Fews, south co. Armagh
* [http://oirialla.blogspot.com/ oirialla.blogspot]: Oriel
* [https://archive.org/details/mionaintnamieag00dubhgoog/ Mion-ċaint na Miḋe agus Ulaḋ (Pádraig Ó Dubhthaigh)]: a book from 1905 with information on the extinct Meath dialect
* [https://gaeltachtnaspeirini.blogspot.com/ gaeltachtnaspeirini.blogspot]: the Sperrins, co. Tyrone
* [https://inishowenirish.blogspot.com/ inishowenirish.blogspot]: Inishowen, co. Donegal

===West Ulster===

* [https://gaedhilgthoraighe.blogspot.com/ gaedhilgthoraighe.blogspot]: Tory, co. Donegal
* [https://ramasbearoide.blogspot.com/ ramasbearoide.blogspot]: mostly north co. Donegal
* [http://www.rannnafeirste.com/ rannnafeirste.com]: Rann na Feirste, co. Donegal

===Connaught===

* [http://gaeilgeiorrais.ie/index.php/canuinti-local-dialects gaeilgeiorrais.ie]: some resources for Iorras, co. Mayo
* [https://www.irishlanguageincountymayo.com/ irishlanguageincountymayo.com]: co. Mayo
* [http://gaeilgechonamara.com/ gaeilgechonamara.com]: Conamara, co. Galway
* [https://gaeiglenalachan.wordpress.com/ gaeiglenalachan.wordpress]: Mionlach, co. Galway

===West Munster===

* [https://corkirish.wordpress.com/ corkirish.wordpress]: co. Cork
* [https://muiris.net/ muiris.net]: most Cléire (Cape Clear), co. Cork

===East Munster===

* [https://tonyofloinn.weebly.com/gaelainn-oirthear-chorcaiacute.html/ tonyofloinn.weebly]: East Cork

===Leinster===

* [http://kilkennyirish.blogspot.com/ kilkennyirish.blogspot]: co. Kilkenny
* [https://gaeiligchillechoinnigh.blogspot.com/ gaeiligchillechoinnigh.blogspot]: co. Kilkenny
* [http://dublingaelic.blogspot.com/ dublingaelic.blogspot]: Dublin (the historical dialects, not post-revival)

===General===

* [https://www3.smo.uhi.ac.uk/oduibhin/index.htm Gaelic Resources - Ciarán Ó Duibhín] mostly West Ulster, some East Ulster and Scottish stuff

==Misc==
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262774160294412288/1009119722702385193/Bealoideas_Index.pdf Béaloideas index]

[[Category:Irish]]

Guide to Scottish Gaelic to be, the linking verbs: substantive bi, tha & the copula is

2022-08-24T19:30:41Z

Muiris: /* Fronting – topicalization or putting emphasis on part of sentence */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Guide to Scottish Gaelic ''to be'', the linking verbs: substantive ''bi, tha'' & the copula ''is''}}
… or how to say ''I am…''?

This is one of the subjects that seems to be quite challenging to learners (and understandably so!) – this guide aims to explain it in a systematic and relatively comprehensive way.

'''DISCLAIMER''': This is a copy of a guide originally posted on Duolingo forums and written '''not''' by a native Gaelic speaker, but rather just a foreign learner of Irish and Scottish Gaelic. The author ''believes'' that he has a reasonable understanding of those Gaelic verbs in question and most of the examples here are taken from other sources – but nevertheless there might be some mistakes here. If you spot any – don’t hesitate to point them out or correct them if you have an account on this wiki.

----

First let’s define two terms:

* '''subject''' – the thing or person about whom the given sentence is, it is the main noun phrase in the sentence, eg. in the sentence “'''Tom''' has a cat” '''Tom''' is the subject, in the sentence “'''The people around here''' are very nice” '''the people around here''' are the subject.
* '''predicate''' of a linking or copular verb – the phrase that goes after ''is'' in English, eg. in “a cat is '''an animal'''” '''an animal''' is the predicate, in “the boat is '''on the sea'''” the predicate is '''on the sea''', thus the predicate is the thing that the subject is linked to with ''is''.

----

Scottish Gaelic has two separate words to translate the English ''to be'' verb depending on context.

The first one is the ''substantive verb '''bi'''''. The second one is the ''copula '''is'''''.

== The substantive verb ''BI'' ==

The form '''bi''' is what you’ll find as a headword in dictionaries, it is the singular imperative command form ''be!''.

In the present tense its independent form is '''tha''' and the dependent form is '''(bh)eil''' (more on that in a minute).

You use this verb for stating '''how''', '''where''' or '''when''' something is or what something is '''like''' – for describing something and stating its whereabouts. That means that this verb takes '''only''' ''adverbs'', ''adjectives'', and ''prepositional phrases'' as its predicates:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|gu math}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|well}}'', here an adverb – '''gu math''' ''well'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|blasta}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tasty}}'', here an adjective – '''blasta''' ''tasty'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|air a’ bhòrd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|on the table}}'', here a prepositional phrase – '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|salach}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|dirty}}'', again an adjective as the predicate.

When the predicate is an adjective, it always stays in its base form, compare:

* '''na cait mhòra''' ''the big cats'' (with ''mhòra'' ‘big’ having plural form, and lenited after a plural noun formed by slenderization)
* with '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|na cait}} {{color|green|mòr}}''' ''{{color|blue|the cats}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|big}}'' (''mòr'' staying in base unlenited form).

And:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ phàirc mhòr}} {{color|green|brèagha}}''' ''{{color|blue|the big park}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pretty}}'' – here ''mhòr'' is lenited because it ''attributes'' a feminine noun ''pàirc'' directly, but ''brèagha'' stays in the basic unlenited form because it is a ''predicate'' to the verb and not directly linked to the noun.

<div class="warningbox">'''Remember!''' You '''cannot''' use a noun phrase as a predicate of this verb, so you cannot say something like <s>''*tha e fear''</s> – this sentence simply doesn’t make any sense in Gaelic, '''fear''' ''a man'' is a noun and as such cannot be a predicate here.</div>

=== Existentials or ''there is…'' ===

'''Bi''' is also used for existential sentences like ''there is a dog in the house'' – this sentence means that ''a dog'' exists and that dog is located ''in the house''. English (like other Germanic languages) doesn’t like indefinite subjects of such sentences and starts them with a ''dummy subject'' '''there''' a bit as if defining this dummy ''there'' as ''a dog in the house''. Also that’s the reason why the story starts with ''In a hole in the ground '''there lived''' a hobbit'' and not simply <s>''… a hobbit lived''</s>. Many languages don’t do this and just straightforwardly say something like ''a dog is in the house'', that’s what happens in Gaelic:

* '''tha cù anns an taigh''' ''there is a dog in the house'' – it’s a simple sentence with an indefinite subject '''cù''' ''a dog'' and a prepositional predicate '''anns an taigh''' ''in the house'' stating where the existing dog is.

But '''tha''' always needs ''some'' predicate. In some languages you could say something like ''good people are'' in the meaning ''there are good people, good people generally exist'' – but not in Gaelic. Here enters our friend the ''dummy predicate'' '''ann''' ''there, in general existence''. If you lack a predicate for an existential sentence, you just stick '''ann''' there:

* '''tha deagh dhaoine ann''' ''there are good people'',
* but '''tha deagh dhaoine ann an Alba''' ''there are good people in Scotland'' without this ''ann'' (because '''ann an Alba''' already works as a predicate).

This '''ann''' might also mean ''here, there, somewhere around'' when the subject is definite as in

* '''tha Seumas ann''' ''James is here/there'' (James is present and you can find him somewhere around).

So, having that out of the way – how do you say ''he is a man''? Or ''you are the king of Scotland''? Well… let’s look at the copula, shall we?

== The copula ''IS'' and how to say ''what'' or ''who'' something or someone is ==

I intentionally avoid the word ''verb'' when writing about the copula, although you’ll often see it called ''the copula verb'' or ''the assertive verb'' or something like that. That’s because it has its own syntax and doesn’t really behave like a verb (and has fewer forms) so it is a bit of its own grammatical category in the Gaelic language.

The present form is '''is''' and there is no imperative (so you’ll find it under '''is''' in dictionaries). This is often shortened to '''’s''' after or before vowels.

You '''have to''' use the copula if you want to create a simple ''X is Y'' sentence and the predicate is a noun phrase (there are some idiomatic phrases without the copula but they don’t translate literally, we’ll look at them later).

There are quite a few different patterns involving the copula – sorry, I don’t think I can make it any shorter.

=== Identification – definite predicates ===

If the predicate is ''definite'' – that is if you identify the subject as some specific person or thing ('''''the''' teacher'', ''my brother'', ''Calum'', ''the king of Scotland'') rather than simply stating what ''kind of thing'' the subject is, then the pattern is:

==== is (e/i/iad) {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|mise}} {{color|green|Calum}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|Calum}}'', the predicate is a definite noun – '''Calum''', some particular defined person – the copula is used directly;
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|an duine a chunnaic mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the person I saw}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|rìgh na h-Alba}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the king of Scotland}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|esan}} {{color|green|an tidsear}}''' ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|an ceapaire agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my sandwich}}'', the predicate again is a definite noun phrase – '''an ceapaire agam''' ''the sandwich of mine, my sandwich'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|an Tighearna}} {{color|green|mo bhuachaille}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Lord}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my shepherd}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|Seumas}} {{color|green|bràthair Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|James}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s brother}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|Màiri}} {{color|green|piuthar Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|Mairi}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s sister}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|cànan na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the language of Scottish Highlands}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s iad}} {{color|blue|na Gàidheil}} {{color|green|luchd na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Gaels}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the people of Gaeldom/Scottish Highlands}}''.

Note that if the subject is not a pronoun itself, then a pronoun '''e''', '''i''', or '''iad''' is inserted after the copula – it generally agrees in gender with the subject ('''’s e Seumas…''', '''’s i Màiri…''', '''’s i a’ Ghàidhlig…''', '''’s iad na Gàidheil…''').

Also generally emphatic pronouns ('''mise''', '''tusa''', '''esan''', '''ise''', '''iadsan''', etc.) are used in such sentences. But note ''’s e…'' for ‘it is’ (''esan'' suggests a sentient being, so you would still use ''e'' for ‘it’ here).

But there is a tendency to use '''e''' regardless of the gender and number, eg. '''’s e a’ chaileag sin mo phiùthar''' ''that girl is my sister'', '''’s e na daoine sin na dotairean''' ''those people are the doctors'' , or old proverb '''’s e do shùil do cheannaiche''' ''your eye is your merchant'' – even though '''do shùil''' is feminine, here ''I think'' that '''e''' agrees with the predicate '''do cheannaiche''' ''your merchant'' (in that case it’d be an archaic feature here).

If the subject is itself a pronoun (like '''mise''' or '''tusa'''), then no other pronoun is inserted. Often the copula in such sentences is dropped (so just '''mise Calum''', '''thusa an duine…''').

If the subject is '''seo''' ''this'', '''sin''' ''that'', or '''siud''' ''that over there, yonder'' then the copula is commonly dropped (and you’ll see those sentences without copula in the Duolingo course a lot):

* '''’s e {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' or commonly just '''{{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} is {{color|green|my cat}}'';
* '''’s i {{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' or commonly '''{{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' ''{{color|blue|that}} is {{color|green|my mother}}''.

=== Classification – indefinite predicates ===

When the predicate is indefinite – you want to state ''what kind of thing'' something or someone is, like in ''he is '''a doctor''''', ''I am '''a student''''', ''Gaelic is '''a Celtic language''''', ''cats are '''animals''''', then there are a few different ways. First let’s look at the most straightforward – but '''very''' poetic/archaic and high-brow way that you wouldn’t use in a normal conversation, but it’s helpful to understand. The general syntax of the copula is:

==== is {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ''(archaic, poetic)'' ====

This was historically the original syntax of the copula. And thus in the older poetic language you’d say:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|e}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a sandwich}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tidsear}} {{color|blue|mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|a teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|iasg}} {{color|blue|breac}}''' ''{{color|blue|a trout}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a fish}}''.

But as I wrote above, that wouldn’t be used commonly today. And Duolingo generally '''won’t accept''' such sentences.

Instead different idiomatic periphrastic phrases are used. The most common one is probably

==== ’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} is what is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' or ''it’s {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} that is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}''. Saying that ''thing1 is in thing2'' is just a Gaelic way of stating that ''thing2'' is ''thing1''. Thus:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann}}''' ''it is a sandwich'', but literally something like: ''{{color|teal|a sandwich}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in it}}'' or ''it’s a sandwich that is in it'' – notice that a prepositional phrase '''ann''' ''in it'' is the predicate of '''tha''', not a noun;
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|tidsear}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annam}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a teacher}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in me}}'' or ''it’s a teacher that is in me'' – again a prepositional phrase '''annam''' ''in me'' is the predicate of '''tha''';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag chrodha}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann am Mòrag}}''' ''Morag is a brave girl'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a brave girl}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in Morag}}'' or ''it’s a brave girl that is in Morag'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|cànan Ceilteach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|anns a’ Ghàidhlig}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a Celtic language}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in the Gaelic}}'' or ''it’s a Celtic language that is in the Gaelic'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag bhòidheach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|innte}}''' ''she is a beautiful girl'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|a beautiful girl}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in her}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|oileanaich}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annta}}''' ''they are students'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|students}} {{color|red|are (it, this)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in them}}''.

The pronoun is always '''e''' in this type of sentences. Also notice how to say ‘it is a sandwich’ you have to say ''’s e ceapaire '''a th’ ann''''' and the ''’s e ceapaire'' part on its own doesn’t work.

I ''believe'' that’s because historically this sentence is just like the archaic one above, ''’s e ceapaire…'' meant really ‘a sandwich is it…’ where ''ceapaire'' ‘a sandwich’ was the subject and ''e'' ‘it’ was just a placeholder predicate anticipating what will be said later: ''a th’ ann'' ‘that is in it’. Kinda like ''a sandwich is this – what is in it''. Thus '''e''' ''it'' stands for the relative clause '''a tha ann an…''' ''that is in'', and since the relative clause is just ''it'', doesn’t have a gender or number of its own, the generic '''e''' is used and ''’s e ceapaire…'' is just an abruptly unfinished sentence missing something. I’m not ''entirely sure'' if I interpret this correctly though.

If the subject is '''seo''', '''sin''', '''siud''', then the ''ann an'' part is dropped:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cù}} {{color|blue|a tha seo}}''' ''this is a dog'', lit. ''{{color|green|a dog}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is this}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cat}} {{color|blue|a tha sin}}''' ''that is a cat'', lit. ''{{color|green|a cat}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is that}}''.

This is one exception to the ''no noun phrase predicates to the '''tha''' verb'' (but then ''seo'' and ''sin'' aren’t really nouns, so…).

But you might also encounter the regular '''’s e cù a th’ ann an seo''', lit. ''a dog is what is '''in this''''' – but this is rarer. Also, if ''ann an seo'' is present, it might sound and be written also as ''ann a sheo'' or similar.

==== tha {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} na {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} is '''in its''' {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' ('''na''' here means ''in his/her/its'' and will be replaced by appropriate form agreeing with the subject, eg. '''tha mi nam…''' for ''I am in my…'', '''tha thu nad…''' for ''you (sg.) are in your…'', etc.). This one is interesting as it uses the '''substantive verb''' and not the copula – but note that the actual predicate in the Gaelic sentence is the phrase '''in its {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}''' – so actually a prepositional phrase.

This structure is often used to state one’s profession but is not restricted to such use:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam thidsear}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|in my teacher}}'' – ''only'' the '''tha''' verb, but the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''nam thidsear''' ''in my teacher'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|na cànan Ceilteach}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|the Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in her Celtic language}}'' the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''na cànan Ceilteach''' ''in her Celtic language'' (feminine non-leniting '''na''' ''in her'' because the word '''Gàidhlig''' is feminine, ''Gaelic'' is a she in Gaelic ;-));
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|iad}} {{color|green|nan dotairean}}''' ''they are doctors'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|they}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|in their doctors}}'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|na charaid dhomh}}''' ''he is a friend of mine'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in his friend to me}}''.

This construction is more often used with temporary states rather than permanent ones. That’s why it tends to be used when stating one’s profession, you say ''I (currently) am a teacher'' (but maybe in 3 years I’ll be doing something else) – because of this hint of non-permanent description it’s often used in past tense to give description that is no longer true:

* '''nuair a {{color|red|bha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam bhalach òg}}…''' ''when I was a young boy (but I no longer am)…'', literally ''the-time that {{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|was}} {{color|green|in my young boy}}…''

but it ''doesn’t have to'' mean the state is temporary – it just doesn’t suggest that it is permanent as strongly as [[#’s e ⟨predicate⟩ a th’ ann an ⟨subject⟩|''’s e Y a th’ ann an X'']] tends to.

And finally:

==== seo/sin/siud {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

Similarly to the identification sentences, you can also just say ''’s e seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' or ''seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' to classify ''this'', and the same goes for ''sin'' and ''siud'':

* '''(’s e) seo bogsa mòr''' ''this is a big box'',
* '''(’s e) sin cat''' ''that is a cat'',
* '''(’s e) siud cù''' ''that over there/yonder is a dog''.

=== Other uses of copula ===

Contrary to the ''substantive verb'', copula isn’t that restricted in what kind of predicates it takes. And in some common expressions it actually takes prepositional phrases, adjectives, and other grammatical creatures as its predicates.

==== Fronting – topicalization or putting emphasis on part of sentence ====

A very common use of copula is ''fronting'' – moving some part of a sentence to put emphasis on it – to make it the ''topic'', the ''main point'' of the sentence. The rest of the sentence, with the main verb, is put in a relative clause then. Compare:

* '''tha an cat air a’ bhòrd''' ''the cat is on the table'' – no fronting, no copula, neutral sentence,
* '''’s e an cat a tha air a’ bhòrd''' ''it is '''the cat''' that is on the table'' – '''an cat''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the thing on the table is '''the cat''',
* '''’s ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat''' ''it is '''on the table''' that the cat is'' – '''air a’ bhòrd''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the location of the cat is '''on the table'''.

Notice that in Gaelic '''’s ann''' is generally used if the fronted element is not a noun (like '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' is a full prepositional phrase), other examples would be:

* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|à Obair Dheathain}} {{color|blue|a tha e}}''' ''he is '''from Aberdeen''''' (''{{color|red|it is}} {{color|green|from Aberdeen}} {{color|blue|that he is}}''),
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|air oidhche fhuar gheamhraidh}} {{color|blue|a thachair e rium}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|'''on a cold winter’s night'''}} {{color|blue|that he met me}}'',
* or even '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|a’ cluiche anns an iodhlann}} {{color|blue|a tha iad}}''' ''they are playing in the yard'' (''it is playing in the yard that they are''), or very literally, ''{{color|red|it’s}} {{color|green|at playing in the yard}} {{color|blue|that they are}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|an-dè}} {{color|blue|a bha sinn ga dhèanamh}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|yesterday}} {{color|blue|that we were doing it}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|gu làidir}} {{color|blue|a bhuaileas e an t-iarann}}''' ''{{color|red|(it’s)}} {{color|green|strongly}} {{color|blue|(that) he strikes the iron}}''.

There is a way to front an adverb that's a bit more archaic which doesn’t need ''’s ann'', but the '''gu''' disappears, compare the last example above with these:

* '''{{color|blue|thog e}} {{color|green|gu h-aotrom}} {{color|red|i}}''' ''{{color|blue|he lifted}} {{color|red|her}} {{color|green|lightly}}'',
* but '''is {{color|green|aotrom}} {{color|blue|a thog e}} {{color|red|i}}''' '''''lightly''' he lifted her'' (lit. ''it is {{color|green|lightly}} {{color|blue|that he lifted}} {{color|red|her}}''),
* or in an old poem '''’s {{color|green|daingeann}} {{color|blue|a bhuail iad às gach taobh sibh}}''' ''{{color|green|fiercely}} {{color|blue|they struck you from every side}}'' (from ''Cumha Ni Mhic Raonuill'', ''Ni Mhic Raonuill’s Lament'').

==== Emphasis when describing ====

In older language the copula was used to state more permanent features (while the substantive verb was used for temporary states – in this way those two verbs ''were'' historically similar to Spanish verbs ''ser'' and ''estar'') – this usage isn’t very common today, but you’ll find it in poetry, and perhaps in some longer sentences in more regular speech:

* '''is fuar an oidhche i''' ''the night is cold'' or ''it is a cold night'',
* '''is math am fear e''' ''the man is good'' or ''he is a good man'',
* '''is brònach mi''' ''I am sad'',
* '''is bochd nach robh iadsan cho dìcheallach''' ''it’s a pity that they were not so dilligent'' (lit. ''that they were not so dilligent is unfortunate'').

Notice that if a simple noun phrase (like '''an oidhche''' ''the night'' in the first example or '''am fear''' ''the man'' in the second) is the subject, then it is followed by a pronoun agreeing with it.

This archaic structure is very common in one particular phrase:

* '''is math sin''' ''that is good''

(but ''tha sin math'' is also grammatically correct way to say ''that is good'')

==== Other set phrases and constructions ====

Copula is part of the phrase for ''I like'' and ''I prefer'' in Gaelic:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|toigh leam}} {{color|blue|an t-àite seo}}''' (or: '''is toil leam…''') ''I like this place'', very literally ''{{color|blue|this place}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pleasant/delight with me}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|green|fheàrr le Seumas}} {{color|blue|Èirinn}}''' ''James prefers Ireland'', very literally ''{{color|blue|Ireland}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|better with James}}''.

There are more types of such phrases (like ''is {{smallcaps|⟨adjective⟩}} leam'' or ''orm'') in Gaelic – but I don’t know them too well, so will probably edit this in the future when I gather more examples.

== Dependent forms ==

So what about the dependent form I mentioned? You use it after some particles that generally require the dependent forms of verbs. Some of them are: the negating '''cha(n)''' ''not'', the interrogative (questioning) '''a(n/m)?''' ''is? does?'', the negative interrogative '''nach?''' ''is not? does not?'', the question word '''càit(e) a(n/m)?''' ''where?'', '''gu(n/m)''' ''that'' introducing indirect speech, etc.

As I wrote, the dependent form of the substantive verb '''bi''' in present tense is '''(bh)eil''':

* '''chan eil mi gu math''' ''I am not well'' – here the verb '''tha''' changed to the dependent form '''eil''',
* '''a bheil an ceapaire air a’ bhòrd?''' ''is the sandwich on the table?'' – here the dependent '''bheil''' is used,
* '''thuirt i gu bheil thu an sin''' ''she said that you are there''.

As for the difference between '''eil''' and '''bheil''':

* use '''eil''' if the particle lenites – that is, '''chan''', and also '''nach''' which lenites only initial ''f-'' (historically ''(bh)eil'' actually started with ''f-'', see below),
* use '''bheil''' if the particle ends in ''-n'' or ''-m'' and does not lenite, but remove the final ''-m, -n'' (like '''an/am''' → '''a bheil''', '''gun/gum''' → '''gu bheil''').

(In Classical Gaelic the historical dependent form was actually ''fuil'' which lenited to ''fhuil'', eg. ''chan fhuil'' ‘is not’, and was eclipsed to ''bhfuil'' in eg. ''go bhfuil…'' ‘that is…’ – you’ll still find these forms in modern Irish – that’s the reason for the disappearing '''bh''').

The dependent form of the copula '''is''' in the present tense is ''zero'', that is, in the present tense the copula generally ''disappears'' in the dependent positions. Thus:

* '''chan e Seumas rìgh Shasainn''' ''James is not the king of England'',
* '''nach i Màiri bànrigh na h-Alba?''' ''isn’t Mairi the queen of Scotland?'',
* '''chan e tidsear a th’ annad''' ''you are not a teacher'',
* '''an e iasgairean a th’ annaibh?''' ''are y’all fishers?'',
* '''an ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat?''' ''is it on the table that the cat is?''.

But it replaces the ''-n'' with ''-r'' in '''gun''' ('''gun''' + '''is''' → '''gur'''):

* '''thuirt i gur e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'',
* '''tha mi a’ smaoineachadh gur e Iain am fear a ghoid drathais''' ''I am thinking that Iain is the one who stole underpants''.

Sometimes you’ll see '''gur''' also prefixing '''h-''' to vowels: '''thuirt i gur h-e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'', '''smaoinich sinn gur h-ann a’ goid a bha e''' ''we thought that stealing he was'' (lit. ''that it’s at stealing that he was'').

== Past and future tenses ==

Past forms of the verb '''bi''' are independent '''bha''' and dependent '''robh''', eg.:

* '''bha mi anns a’ bhàta''' ''I was in the boat'',
* '''an robh thu toilichte?''' ''were you happy?'',
* '''thuirt e gun robh thu brònach''' ''he said that you were sad''.

And the future and present habitual forms are indep. '''bidh''' (you’ll sometimes see longer '''bithidh''') and dep. '''bi''' and also relative '''bios''' (or '''bitheas''') which we’ll not spend much time on now:

* '''bidh an cù an sin''' ''the dog will be there'',
* '''nach bi Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha?''' ''doesn’t Iain steal trousers every day?'', lit. ''isn’t (habitually) Iain at stealing (of) trousers every day?'',
* '''thuirt Màiri rium gum bi (Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha)''' ''Mairi told me that (Iain) does (steal trousers every day)'',
* '''an duine a bhios anns an taigh''' ''the man that will be in the house''.

The copula '''is''' has only a past form '''bu''' which becomes '''b’''' before vowels, this is both independent and dependent form, it’s itself never lenited, and it generally lenites the following word but not ''t'' or pronouns ''tu, sibh, sinn''.

This form is also a ''conditional'', so it has too meanings: past ''was, were'' and conditional ''would be'':

* '''bu mhise an tidsear''' ''I was the teacher'' or ''I would be the teacher'',
* '''am bu toigh leat bainne?''' ''would you like milk'' (or less likely ''did you like milk?'')
* '''am bu tusa an t-iasgair?''' ''were you the fisher?'',
* '''b’ i Màiri mo phiuthar''' ''Mairi was my sister'',
* or archaic '''cha bu tidsear e''' ''he was not a teacher'', '''bu shaighdear i''' ''she was a soldier''.

To turn the ''’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' construction into the past tense, you just use the past of the substantive verb (and optionally of the copula):

* '''’s e tidsear a bh’ annad''' ''you were a teacher'' (''a teacher is what was in you'') or '''b’ e tidsear a bh’ annad''' (''a teachar was what was in you''),
* '''an e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' or '''am b’ e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' ''were you a fisher?''.

Similarly to turn it into the future, you just change '''tha''' into the future relative '''bhios''':

* '''’s e iasgair a bhios annad''' ''you will be a fisher'',
* '''’s e athair air leth a bhios annad''' ''you will be an outstanding father''.

== Answering yes-no questions ==

In the sections on dependent forms and past/future tenses you saw how to form yes-no questions involving copula and the substantive verb. Now briefly on answering them.

Gaelic does not have a single ''yes'' and ''no'' words. To give positive or negative answer to a question you just repeat the verb.

Thus if one asks you '''a bheil thu gu math?''' ''are you well?'' you can reply with:

* '''tha''' for ''yes'',
* '''chan eil''' for ''no'',

or if one asks you '''an robh thu ann an Alba?''' ''were you in Scotland?'', you reply with:

* '''bha''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha robh''' for ''no''.

Notice that the form of the verb agrees with the question – if the present tense '''a bheil…?''' was asked, then the answer is present tense '''tha''' or '''chan eil''', if the question is past tense '''an robh?''' then the answer also is in past '''bha''' or '''cha robh'''.

Notice also that you don’t need to repeat the whole sentence, just the verb is enough – the subject and the predicate are already known from context – the question asked.

That’s not true for copula – it '''cannot''' stand on its own, it is always unstressed and so it '''always''' needs a predicate.

Thus if one asks you '''an toigh leat Alba?''' or '''an toil leat Alba''' ''do you like Scotland?'' you answer with:

* '''is toigh''' or '''is toil''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha toigh''' or '''cha toil''' if you are a bad human being.

Or if someone asks you '''an tusa Màiri?''' ''are you Mairi?'', you answer:

* '''is mi''',
* or '''cha mhi'''.

== Other resourses ==

Other explanations on the web:

* [https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/45459577/Guide-to-Scottish-Gaelic-%E2%80%98to-be%E2%80%99-the-linking-verbs-substantive-%E2%80%98bi-tha%E2%80%99-the-copula-%E2%80%98is%E2%80%99 The original ''Guide'' on Duolingo forums]
* [https://puxill.livejournal.com/350730.html ''Supplemental Notes on Using the Defective Verb "IS"'']

Literature:

* ''Gaelic Verbs Systemised and Simplified'' by Colin B.D. Mark (he calls the copula ''the assertive verb'')
* ''Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks'' by Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh (Lesson 2 introduces copula of identification, Lesson 5 introduces classification sentences and deals with fronting, Lesson 10 deals with indirect speech and '''gur''')
* [https://archive.org/details/gaelicgrammarcon00cald/page/256/mode/2up ''A Gaelic Grammar'' by George Calder], 1923, linked is the part on copula – it is old but gives a lot of examples of fronting.

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ceud mìle taing do Joy Dunlop agus do joannejoanne12 airson a’ cheartachaidh agus a’ chuideachaidh!

[[Category:Gaelic]]

Guide to Scottish Gaelic to be, the linking verbs: substantive bi, tha & the copula is

2022-08-17T18:47:57Z

Muiris: /* ’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Guide to Scottish Gaelic ''to be'', the linking verbs: substantive ''bi, tha'' & the copula ''is''}}
… or how to say ''I am…''?

This is one of the subjects that seems to be quite challenging to learners (and understandably so!) – this guide aims to explain it in a systematic and relatively comprehensive way.

'''DISCLAIMER''': This is a copy of a guide originally posted on Duolingo forums and written '''not''' by a native Gaelic speaker, but rather just a foreign learner of Irish and Scottish Gaelic. The author ''believes'' that he has a reasonable understanding of those Gaelic verbs in question and most of the examples here are taken from other sources – but nevertheless there might be some mistakes here. If you spot any – don’t hesitate to point them out or correct them if you have an account on this wiki.

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First let’s define two terms:

* '''subject''' – the thing or person about whom the given sentence is, it is the main noun phrase in the sentence, eg. in the sentence “'''Tom''' has a cat” '''Tom''' is the subject, in the sentence “'''The people around here''' are very nice” '''the people around here''' are the subject.
* '''predicate''' of a linking or copular verb – the phrase that goes after ''is'' in English, eg. in “a cat is '''an animal'''” '''an animal''' is the predicate, in “the boat is '''on the sea'''” the predicate is '''on the sea''', thus the predicate is the thing that the subject is linked to with ''is''.

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Scottish Gaelic has two separate words to translate the English ''to be'' verb depending on context.

The first one is the ''substantive verb '''bi'''''. The second one is the ''copula '''is'''''.

== The substantive verb ''BI'' ==

The form '''bi''' is what you’ll find as a headword in dictionaries, it is the singular imperative command form ''be!''.

In the present tense its independent form is '''tha''' and the dependent form is '''(bh)eil''' (more on that in a minute).

You use this verb for stating '''how''', '''where''' or '''when''' something is or what something is '''like''' – for describing something and stating its whereabouts. That means that this verb takes '''only''' ''adverbs'', ''adjectives'', and ''prepositional phrases'' as its predicates:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|gu math}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|well}}'', here an adverb – '''gu math''' ''well'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|blasta}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tasty}}'', here an adjective – '''blasta''' ''tasty'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|air a’ bhòrd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|on the table}}'', here a prepositional phrase – '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|salach}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|dirty}}'', again an adjective as the predicate.

When the predicate is an adjective, it always stays in its base form, compare:

* '''na cait mhòra''' ''the big cats'' (with ''mhòra'' ‘big’ having plural form, and lenited after a plural noun formed by slenderization)
* with '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|na cait}} {{color|green|mòr}}''' ''{{color|blue|the cats}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|big}}'' (''mòr'' staying in base unlenited form).

And:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ phàirc mhòr}} {{color|green|brèagha}}''' ''{{color|blue|the big park}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pretty}}'' – here ''mhòr'' is lenited because it ''attributes'' a feminine noun ''pàirc'' directly, but ''brèagha'' stays in the basic unlenited form because it is a ''predicate'' to the verb and not directly linked to the noun.

<div class="warningbox">'''Remember!''' You '''cannot''' use a noun phrase as a predicate of this verb, so you cannot say something like <s>''*tha e fear''</s> – this sentence simply doesn’t make any sense in Gaelic, '''fear''' ''a man'' is a noun and as such cannot be a predicate here.</div>

=== Existentials or ''there is…'' ===

'''Bi''' is also used for existential sentences like ''there is a dog in the house'' – this sentence means that ''a dog'' exists and that dog is located ''in the house''. English (like other Germanic languages) doesn’t like indefinite subjects of such sentences and starts them with a ''dummy subject'' '''there''' a bit as if defining this dummy ''there'' as ''a dog in the house''. Also that’s the reason why the story starts with ''In a hole in the ground '''there lived''' a hobbit'' and not simply <s>''… a hobbit lived''</s>. Many languages don’t do this and just straightforwardly say something like ''a dog is in the house'', that’s what happens in Gaelic:

* '''tha cù anns an taigh''' ''there is a dog in the house'' – it’s a simple sentence with an indefinite subject '''cù''' ''a dog'' and a prepositional predicate '''anns an taigh''' ''in the house'' stating where the existing dog is.

But '''tha''' always needs ''some'' predicate. In some languages you could say something like ''good people are'' in the meaning ''there are good people, good people generally exist'' – but not in Gaelic. Here enters our friend the ''dummy predicate'' '''ann''' ''there, in general existence''. If you lack a predicate for an existential sentence, you just stick '''ann''' there:

* '''tha deagh dhaoine ann''' ''there are good people'',
* but '''tha deagh dhaoine ann an Alba''' ''there are good people in Scotland'' without this ''ann'' (because '''ann an Alba''' already works as a predicate).

This '''ann''' might also mean ''here, there, somewhere around'' when the subject is definite as in

* '''tha Seumas ann''' ''James is here/there'' (James is present and you can find him somewhere around).

So, having that out of the way – how do you say ''he is a man''? Or ''you are the king of Scotland''? Well… let’s look at the copula, shall we?

== The copula ''IS'' and how to say ''what'' or ''who'' something or someone is ==

I intentionally avoid the word ''verb'' when writing about the copula, although you’ll often see it called ''the copula verb'' or ''the assertive verb'' or something like that. That’s because it has its own syntax and doesn’t really behave like a verb (and has fewer forms) so it is a bit of its own grammatical category in the Gaelic language.

The present form is '''is''' and there is no imperative (so you’ll find it under '''is''' in dictionaries). This is often shortened to '''’s''' after or before vowels.

You '''have to''' use the copula if you want to create a simple ''X is Y'' sentence and the predicate is a noun phrase (there are some idiomatic phrases without the copula but they don’t translate literally, we’ll look at them later).

There are quite a few different patterns involving the copula – sorry, I don’t think I can make it any shorter.

=== Identification – definite predicates ===

If the predicate is ''definite'' – that is if you identify the subject as some specific person or thing ('''''the''' teacher'', ''my brother'', ''Calum'', ''the king of Scotland'') rather than simply stating what ''kind of thing'' the subject is, then the pattern is:

==== is (e/i/iad) {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|mise}} {{color|green|Calum}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|Calum}}'', the predicate is a definite noun – '''Calum''', some particular defined person – the copula is used directly;
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|an duine a chunnaic mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the person I saw}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|rìgh na h-Alba}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the king of Scotland}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|esan}} {{color|green|an tidsear}}''' ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|an ceapaire agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my sandwich}}'', the predicate again is a definite noun phrase – '''an ceapaire agam''' ''the sandwich of mine, my sandwich'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|an Tighearna}} {{color|green|mo bhuachaille}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Lord}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my shepherd}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|Seumas}} {{color|green|bràthair Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|James}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s brother}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|Màiri}} {{color|green|piuthar Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|Mairi}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s sister}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|cànan na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the language of Scottish Highlands}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s iad}} {{color|blue|na Gàidheil}} {{color|green|luchd na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Gaels}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the people of Gaeldom/Scottish Highlands}}''.

Note that if the subject is not a pronoun itself, then a pronoun '''e''', '''i''', or '''iad''' is inserted after the copula – it generally agrees in gender with the subject ('''’s e Seumas…''', '''’s i Màiri…''', '''’s i a’ Ghàidhlig…''', '''’s iad na Gàidheil…''').

Also generally emphatic pronouns ('''mise''', '''tusa''', '''esan''', '''ise''', '''iadsan''', etc.) are used in such sentences. But note ''’s e…'' for ‘it is’ (''esan'' suggests a sentient being, so you would still use ''e'' for ‘it’ here).

But there is a tendency to use '''e''' regardless of the gender and number, eg. '''’s e a’ chaileag sin mo phiùthar''' ''that girl is my sister'', '''’s e na daoine sin na dotairean''' ''those people are the doctors'' , or old proverb '''’s e do shùil do cheannaiche''' ''your eye is your merchant'' – even though '''do shùil''' is feminine, here ''I think'' that '''e''' agrees with the predicate '''do cheannaiche''' ''your merchant'' (in that case it’d be an archaic feature here).

If the subject is itself a pronoun (like '''mise''' or '''tusa'''), then no other pronoun is inserted. Often the copula in such sentences is dropped (so just '''mise Calum''', '''thusa an duine…''').

If the subject is '''seo''' ''this'', '''sin''' ''that'', or '''siud''' ''that over there, yonder'' then the copula is commonly dropped (and you’ll see those sentences without copula in the Duolingo course a lot):

* '''’s e {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' or commonly just '''{{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} is {{color|green|my cat}}'';
* '''’s i {{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' or commonly '''{{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' ''{{color|blue|that}} is {{color|green|my mother}}''.

=== Classification – indefinite predicates ===

When the predicate is indefinite – you want to state ''what kind of thing'' something or someone is, like in ''he is '''a doctor''''', ''I am '''a student''''', ''Gaelic is '''a Celtic language''''', ''cats are '''animals''''', then there are a few different ways. First let’s look at the most straightforward – but '''very''' poetic/archaic and high-brow way that you wouldn’t use in a normal conversation, but it’s helpful to understand. The general syntax of the copula is:

==== is {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ''(archaic, poetic)'' ====

This was historically the original syntax of the copula. And thus in the older poetic language you’d say:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|e}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a sandwich}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tidsear}} {{color|blue|mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|a teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|iasg}} {{color|blue|breac}}''' ''{{color|blue|a trout}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a fish}}''.

But as I wrote above, that wouldn’t be used commonly today. And Duolingo generally '''won’t accept''' such sentences.

Instead different idiomatic periphrastic phrases are used. The most common one is probably

==== ’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} is what is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' or ''it’s {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} that is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}''. Saying that ''thing1 is in thing2'' is just a Gaelic way of stating that ''thing2'' is ''thing1''. Thus:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann}}''' ''it is a sandwich'', but literally something like: ''{{color|teal|a sandwich}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in it}}'' or ''it’s a sandwich that is in it'' – notice that a prepositional phrase '''ann''' ''in it'' is the predicate of '''tha''', not a noun;
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|tidsear}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annam}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a teacher}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in me}}'' or ''it’s a teacher that is in me'' – again a prepositional phrase '''annam''' ''in me'' is the predicate of '''tha''';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag chrodha}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann am Mòrag}}''' ''Morag is a brave girl'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a brave girl}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in Morag}}'' or ''it’s a brave girl that is in Morag'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|cànan Ceilteach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|anns a’ Ghàidhlig}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a Celtic language}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in the Gaelic}}'' or ''it’s a Celtic language that is in the Gaelic'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag bhòidheach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|innte}}''' ''she is a beautiful girl'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|a beautiful girl}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in her}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|oileanaich}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annta}}''' ''they are students'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|students}} {{color|red|are (it, this)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in them}}''.

The pronoun is always '''e''' in this type of sentences. Also notice how to say ‘it is a sandwich’ you have to say ''’s e ceapaire '''a th’ ann''''' and the ''’s e ceapaire'' part on its own doesn’t work.

I ''believe'' that’s because historically this sentence is just like the archaic one above, ''’s e ceapaire…'' meant really ‘a sandwich is it…’ where ''ceapaire'' ‘a sandwich’ was the subject and ''e'' ‘it’ was just a placeholder predicate anticipating what will be said later: ''a th’ ann'' ‘that is in it’. Kinda like ''a sandwich is this – what is in it''. Thus '''e''' ''it'' stands for the relative clause '''a tha ann an…''' ''that is in'', and since the relative clause is just ''it'', doesn’t have a gender or number of its own, the generic '''e''' is used and ''’s e ceapaire…'' is just an abruptly unfinished sentence missing something. I’m not ''entirely sure'' if I interpret this correctly though.

If the subject is '''seo''', '''sin''', '''siud''', then the ''ann an'' part is dropped:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cù}} {{color|blue|a tha seo}}''' ''this is a dog'', lit. ''{{color|green|a dog}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is this}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cat}} {{color|blue|a tha sin}}''' ''that is a cat'', lit. ''{{color|green|a cat}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is that}}''.

This is one exception to the ''no noun phrase predicates to the '''tha''' verb'' (but then ''seo'' and ''sin'' aren’t really nouns, so…).

But you might also encounter the regular '''’s e cù a th’ ann an seo''', lit. ''a dog is what is '''in this''''' – but this is rarer. Also, if ''ann an seo'' is present, it might sound and be written also as ''ann a sheo'' or similar.

==== tha {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} na {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} is '''in its''' {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' ('''na''' here means ''in his/her/its'' and will be replaced by appropriate form agreeing with the subject, eg. '''tha mi nam…''' for ''I am in my…'', '''tha thu nad…''' for ''you (sg.) are in your…'', etc.). This one is interesting as it uses the '''substantive verb''' and not the copula – but note that the actual predicate in the Gaelic sentence is the phrase '''in its {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}''' – so actually a prepositional phrase.

This structure is often used to state one’s profession but is not restricted to such use:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam thidsear}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|in my teacher}}'' – ''only'' the '''tha''' verb, but the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''nam thidsear''' ''in my teacher'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|na cànan Ceilteach}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|the Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in her Celtic language}}'' the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''na cànan Ceilteach''' ''in her Celtic language'' (feminine non-leniting '''na''' ''in her'' because the word '''Gàidhlig''' is feminine, ''Gaelic'' is a she in Gaelic ;-));
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|iad}} {{color|green|nan dotairean}}''' ''they are doctors'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|they}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|in their doctors}}'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|na charaid dhomh}}''' ''he is a friend of mine'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in his friend to me}}''.

This construction is more often used with temporary states rather than permanent ones. That’s why it tends to be used when stating one’s profession, you say ''I (currently) am a teacher'' (but maybe in 3 years I’ll be doing something else) – because of this hint of non-permanent description it’s often used in past tense to give description that is no longer true:

* '''nuair a {{color|red|bha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam bhalach òg}}…''' ''when I was a young boy (but I no longer am)…'', literally ''the-time that {{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|was}} {{color|green|in my young boy}}…''

but it ''doesn’t have to'' mean the state is temporary – it just doesn’t suggest that it is permanent as strongly as [[#’s e ⟨predicate⟩ a th’ ann an ⟨subject⟩|''’s e Y a th’ ann an X'']] tends to.

And finally:

==== seo/sin/siud {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

Similarly to the identification sentences, you can also just say ''’s e seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' or ''seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' to classify ''this'', and the same goes for ''sin'' and ''siud'':

* '''(’s e) seo bogsa mòr''' ''this is a big box'',
* '''(’s e) sin cat''' ''that is a cat'',
* '''(’s e) siud cù''' ''that over there/yonder is a dog''.

=== Other uses of copula ===

Contrary to the ''substantive verb'', copula isn’t that restricted in what kind of predicates it takes. And in some common expressions it actually takes prepositional phrases, adjectives, and other grammatical creatures as its predicates.

==== Fronting – topicalization or putting emphasis on part of sentence ====

A very common use of copula is ''fronting'' – moving some part of a sentence to put emphasis on it – to make it the ''topic'', the ''main point'' of the sentence. The rest of the sentence, with the main verb, is put in a relative clause then. Compare:

* '''tha an cat air a’ bhòrd''' ''the cat is on the table'' – no fronting, no copula, neutral sentence,
* '''’s e an cat a tha air a’ bhòrd''' ''it is '''the cat''' that is on the table'' – '''an cat''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the thing on the table is '''the cat''',
* '''’s ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat''' ''it is '''on the table''' that the cat is'' – '''air a’ bhòrd''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the location of the cat is '''on the table'''.

Notice that in Gaelic '''’s ann''' is generally used if the fronted element is not a noun (like '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' is a full prepositional phrase), other examples would be:

* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|à Obair Dheathain}} {{color|blue|a tha e}}''' ''he is '''from Aberdeen''''' (''{{color|red|it is}} {{color|green|from Aberdeen}} {{color|blue|that he is}}''),
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|air oidhche fhuar gheamhraidh}} {{color|blue|a thachair e rium}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|'''on a cold winter’s night'''}} {{color|blue|that he met me}}'',
* or even '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|a’ cluiche anns an iodhlann}} {{color|blue|a tha iad}}''' ''they are playing in the yard'' (''it is playing in the yard that they are''), or very literally, ''{{color|red|it’s}} {{color|green|at playing in the yard}} {{color|blue|that they are}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|an-dè}} {{color|blue|a bha sinn ga dhèanamh}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|yesterday}} {{color|blue|that we were doing it}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|gu làidir}} {{color|blue|a bhuaileas e an t-iarann}}''' ''{{color|red|(it’s)}} {{color|green|strongly}} {{color|blue|(that) he strikes the iron}}''.

A bit more archaic way to front an an adverb doesn’t need ''’s ann'', but the '''gu''' disappears, compare the last example above with these:

* '''{{color|blue|thog e}} {{color|green|gu h-aotrom}} {{color|red|i}}''' ''{{color|blue|he lifted}} {{color|red|her}} {{color|green|lightly}}'',
* but '''is {{color|green|aotrom}} {{color|blue|a thog e}} {{color|red|i}}''' '''''lightly''' he lifted her'' (lit. ''it is {{color|green|lightly}} {{color|blue|that he lifted}} {{color|red|her}}''),
* or in an old poem '''’s {{color|green|daingeann}} {{color|blue|a bhuail iad às gach taobh sibh}}''' ''{{color|green|fiercely}} {{color|blue|they struck you from every side}}'' (from ''Cumha Ni Mhic Raonuill'', ''Ni Mhic Raonuill’s Lament'').

==== Emphasis when describing ====

In older language the copula was used to state more permanent features (while the substantive verb was used for temporary states – in this way those two verbs ''were'' historically similar to Spanish verbs ''ser'' and ''estar'') – this usage isn’t very common today, but you’ll find it in poetry, and perhaps in some longer sentences in more regular speech:

* '''is fuar an oidhche i''' ''the night is cold'' or ''it is a cold night'',
* '''is math am fear e''' ''the man is good'' or ''he is a good man'',
* '''is brònach mi''' ''I am sad'',
* '''is bochd nach robh iadsan cho dìcheallach''' ''it’s a pity that they were not so dilligent'' (lit. ''that they were not so dilligent is unfortunate'').

Notice that if a simple noun phrase (like '''an oidhche''' ''the night'' in the first example or '''am fear''' ''the man'' in the second) is the subject, then it is followed by a pronoun agreeing with it.

This archaic structure is very common in one particular phrase:

* '''is math sin''' ''that is good''

(but ''tha sin math'' is also grammatically correct way to say ''that is good'')

==== Other set phrases and constructions ====

Copula is part of the phrase for ''I like'' and ''I prefer'' in Gaelic:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|toigh leam}} {{color|blue|an t-àite seo}}''' (or: '''is toil leam…''') ''I like this place'', very literally ''{{color|blue|this place}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pleasant/delight with me}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|green|fheàrr le Seumas}} {{color|blue|Èirinn}}''' ''James prefers Ireland'', very literally ''{{color|blue|Ireland}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|better with James}}''.

There are more types of such phrases (like ''is {{smallcaps|⟨adjective⟩}} leam'' or ''orm'') in Gaelic – but I don’t know them too well, so will probably edit this in the future when I gather more examples.

== Dependent forms ==

So what about the dependent form I mentioned? You use it after some particles that generally require the dependent forms of verbs. Some of them are: the negating '''cha(n)''' ''not'', the interrogative (questioning) '''a(n/m)?''' ''is? does?'', the negative interrogative '''nach?''' ''is not? does not?'', the question word '''càit(e) a(n/m)?''' ''where?'', '''gu(n/m)''' ''that'' introducing indirect speech, etc.

As I wrote, the dependent form of the substantive verb '''bi''' in present tense is '''(bh)eil''':

* '''chan eil mi gu math''' ''I am not well'' – here the verb '''tha''' changed to the dependent form '''eil''',
* '''a bheil an ceapaire air a’ bhòrd?''' ''is the sandwich on the table?'' – here the dependent '''bheil''' is used,
* '''thuirt i gu bheil thu an sin''' ''she said that you are there''.

As for the difference between '''eil''' and '''bheil''':

* use '''eil''' if the particle lenites – that is, '''chan''', and also '''nach''' which lenites only initial ''f-'' (historically ''(bh)eil'' actually started with ''f-'', see below),
* use '''bheil''' if the particle ends in ''-n'' or ''-m'' and does not lenite, but remove the final ''-m, -n'' (like '''an/am''' → '''a bheil''', '''gun/gum''' → '''gu bheil''').

(In Classical Gaelic the historical dependent form was actually ''fuil'' which lenited to ''fhuil'', eg. ''chan fhuil'' ‘is not’, and was eclipsed to ''bhfuil'' in eg. ''go bhfuil…'' ‘that is…’ – you’ll still find these forms in modern Irish – that’s the reason for the disappearing '''bh''').

The dependent form of the copula '''is''' in the present tense is ''zero'', that is, in the present tense the copula generally ''disappears'' in the dependent positions. Thus:

* '''chan e Seumas rìgh Shasainn''' ''James is not the king of England'',
* '''nach i Màiri bànrigh na h-Alba?''' ''isn’t Mairi the queen of Scotland?'',
* '''chan e tidsear a th’ annad''' ''you are not a teacher'',
* '''an e iasgairean a th’ annaibh?''' ''are y’all fishers?'',
* '''an ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat?''' ''is it on the table that the cat is?''.

But it replaces the ''-n'' with ''-r'' in '''gun''' ('''gun''' + '''is''' → '''gur'''):

* '''thuirt i gur e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'',
* '''tha mi a’ smaoineachadh gur e Iain am fear a ghoid drathais''' ''I am thinking that Iain is the one who stole underpants''.

Sometimes you’ll see '''gur''' also prefixing '''h-''' to vowels: '''thuirt i gur h-e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'', '''smaoinich sinn gur h-ann a’ goid a bha e''' ''we thought that stealing he was'' (lit. ''that it’s at stealing that he was'').

== Past and future tenses ==

Past forms of the verb '''bi''' are independent '''bha''' and dependent '''robh''', eg.:

* '''bha mi anns a’ bhàta''' ''I was in the boat'',
* '''an robh thu toilichte?''' ''were you happy?'',
* '''thuirt e gun robh thu brònach''' ''he said that you were sad''.

And the future and present habitual forms are indep. '''bidh''' (you’ll sometimes see longer '''bithidh''') and dep. '''bi''' and also relative '''bios''' (or '''bitheas''') which we’ll not spend much time on now:

* '''bidh an cù an sin''' ''the dog will be there'',
* '''nach bi Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha?''' ''doesn’t Iain steal trousers every day?'', lit. ''isn’t (habitually) Iain at stealing (of) trousers every day?'',
* '''thuirt Màiri rium gum bi (Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha)''' ''Mairi told me that (Iain) does (steal trousers every day)'',
* '''an duine a bhios anns an taigh''' ''the man that will be in the house''.

The copula '''is''' has only a past form '''bu''' which becomes '''b’''' before vowels, this is both independent and dependent form, it’s itself never lenited, and it generally lenites the following word but not ''t'' or pronouns ''tu, sibh, sinn''.

This form is also a ''conditional'', so it has too meanings: past ''was, were'' and conditional ''would be'':

* '''bu mhise an tidsear''' ''I was the teacher'' or ''I would be the teacher'',
* '''am bu toigh leat bainne?''' ''would you like milk'' (or less likely ''did you like milk?'')
* '''am bu tusa an t-iasgair?''' ''were you the fisher?'',
* '''b’ i Màiri mo phiuthar''' ''Mairi was my sister'',
* or archaic '''cha bu tidsear e''' ''he was not a teacher'', '''bu shaighdear i''' ''she was a soldier''.

To turn the ''’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' construction into the past tense, you just use the past of the substantive verb (and optionally of the copula):

* '''’s e tidsear a bh’ annad''' ''you were a teacher'' (''a teacher is what was in you'') or '''b’ e tidsear a bh’ annad''' (''a teachar was what was in you''),
* '''an e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' or '''am b’ e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' ''were you a fisher?''.

Similarly to turn it into the future, you just change '''tha''' into the future relative '''bhios''':

* '''’s e iasgair a bhios annad''' ''you will be a fisher'',
* '''’s e athair air leth a bhios annad''' ''you will be an outstanding father''.

== Answering yes-no questions ==

In the sections on dependent forms and past/future tenses you saw how to form yes-no questions involving copula and the substantive verb. Now briefly on answering them.

Gaelic does not have a single ''yes'' and ''no'' words. To give positive or negative answer to a question you just repeat the verb.

Thus if one asks you '''a bheil thu gu math?''' ''are you well?'' you can reply with:

* '''tha''' for ''yes'',
* '''chan eil''' for ''no'',

or if one asks you '''an robh thu ann an Alba?''' ''were you in Scotland?'', you reply with:

* '''bha''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha robh''' for ''no''.

Notice that the form of the verb agrees with the question – if the present tense '''a bheil…?''' was asked, then the answer is present tense '''tha''' or '''chan eil''', if the question is past tense '''an robh?''' then the answer also is in past '''bha''' or '''cha robh'''.

Notice also that you don’t need to repeat the whole sentence, just the verb is enough – the subject and the predicate are already known from context – the question asked.

That’s not true for copula – it '''cannot''' stand on its own, it is always unstressed and so it '''always''' needs a predicate.

Thus if one asks you '''an toigh leat Alba?''' or '''an toil leat Alba''' ''do you like Scotland?'' you answer with:

* '''is toigh''' or '''is toil''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha toigh''' or '''cha toil''' if you are a bad human being.

Or if someone asks you '''an tusa Màiri?''' ''are you Mairi?'', you answer:

* '''is mi''',
* or '''cha mhi'''.

== Other resourses ==

Other explanations on the web:

* [https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/45459577/Guide-to-Scottish-Gaelic-%E2%80%98to-be%E2%80%99-the-linking-verbs-substantive-%E2%80%98bi-tha%E2%80%99-the-copula-%E2%80%98is%E2%80%99 The original ''Guide'' on Duolingo forums]
* [https://puxill.livejournal.com/350730.html ''Supplemental Notes on Using the Defective Verb "IS"'']

Literature:

* ''Gaelic Verbs Systemised and Simplified'' by Colin B.D. Mark (he calls the copula ''the assertive verb'')
* ''Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks'' by Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh (Lesson 2 introduces copula of identification, Lesson 5 introduces classification sentences and deals with fronting, Lesson 10 deals with indirect speech and '''gur''')
* [https://archive.org/details/gaelicgrammarcon00cald/page/256/mode/2up ''A Gaelic Grammar'' by George Calder], 1923, linked is the part on copula – it is old but gives a lot of examples of fronting.

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ceud mìle taing do Joy Dunlop agus do joannejoanne12 airson a’ cheartachaidh agus a’ chuideachaidh!

[[Category:Gaelic]]

Guide to Scottish Gaelic to be, the linking verbs: substantive bi, tha & the copula is

2022-08-17T18:37:46Z

Muiris: /* Identification – definite predicates */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Guide to Scottish Gaelic ''to be'', the linking verbs: substantive ''bi, tha'' & the copula ''is''}}
… or how to say ''I am…''?

This is one of the subjects that seems to be quite challenging to learners (and understandably so!) – this guide aims to explain it in a systematic and relatively comprehensive way.

'''DISCLAIMER''': This is a copy of a guide originally posted on Duolingo forums and written '''not''' by a native Gaelic speaker, but rather just a foreign learner of Irish and Scottish Gaelic. The author ''believes'' that he has a reasonable understanding of those Gaelic verbs in question and most of the examples here are taken from other sources – but nevertheless there might be some mistakes here. If you spot any – don’t hesitate to point them out or correct them if you have an account on this wiki.

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First let’s define two terms:

* '''subject''' – the thing or person about whom the given sentence is, it is the main noun phrase in the sentence, eg. in the sentence “'''Tom''' has a cat” '''Tom''' is the subject, in the sentence “'''The people around here''' are very nice” '''the people around here''' are the subject.
* '''predicate''' of a linking or copular verb – the phrase that goes after ''is'' in English, eg. in “a cat is '''an animal'''” '''an animal''' is the predicate, in “the boat is '''on the sea'''” the predicate is '''on the sea''', thus the predicate is the thing that the subject is linked to with ''is''.

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Scottish Gaelic has two separate words to translate the English ''to be'' verb depending on context.

The first one is the ''substantive verb '''bi'''''. The second one is the ''copula '''is'''''.

== The substantive verb ''BI'' ==

The form '''bi''' is what you’ll find as a headword in dictionaries, it is the singular imperative command form ''be!''.

In the present tense its independent form is '''tha''' and the dependent form is '''(bh)eil''' (more on that in a minute).

You use this verb for stating '''how''', '''where''' or '''when''' something is or what something is '''like''' – for describing something and stating its whereabouts. That means that this verb takes '''only''' ''adverbs'', ''adjectives'', and ''prepositional phrases'' as its predicates:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|gu math}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|well}}'', here an adverb – '''gu math''' ''well'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|blasta}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tasty}}'', here an adjective – '''blasta''' ''tasty'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|air a’ bhòrd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|on the table}}'', here a prepositional phrase – '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|salach}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|dirty}}'', again an adjective as the predicate.

When the predicate is an adjective, it always stays in its base form, compare:

* '''na cait mhòra''' ''the big cats'' (with ''mhòra'' ‘big’ having plural form, and lenited after a plural noun formed by slenderization)
* with '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|na cait}} {{color|green|mòr}}''' ''{{color|blue|the cats}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|big}}'' (''mòr'' staying in base unlenited form).

And:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ phàirc mhòr}} {{color|green|brèagha}}''' ''{{color|blue|the big park}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pretty}}'' – here ''mhòr'' is lenited because it ''attributes'' a feminine noun ''pàirc'' directly, but ''brèagha'' stays in the basic unlenited form because it is a ''predicate'' to the verb and not directly linked to the noun.

<div class="warningbox">'''Remember!''' You '''cannot''' use a noun phrase as a predicate of this verb, so you cannot say something like <s>''*tha e fear''</s> – this sentence simply doesn’t make any sense in Gaelic, '''fear''' ''a man'' is a noun and as such cannot be a predicate here.</div>

=== Existentials or ''there is…'' ===

'''Bi''' is also used for existential sentences like ''there is a dog in the house'' – this sentence means that ''a dog'' exists and that dog is located ''in the house''. English (like other Germanic languages) doesn’t like indefinite subjects of such sentences and starts them with a ''dummy subject'' '''there''' a bit as if defining this dummy ''there'' as ''a dog in the house''. Also that’s the reason why the story starts with ''In a hole in the ground '''there lived''' a hobbit'' and not simply <s>''… a hobbit lived''</s>. Many languages don’t do this and just straightforwardly say something like ''a dog is in the house'', that’s what happens in Gaelic:

* '''tha cù anns an taigh''' ''there is a dog in the house'' – it’s a simple sentence with an indefinite subject '''cù''' ''a dog'' and a prepositional predicate '''anns an taigh''' ''in the house'' stating where the existing dog is.

But '''tha''' always needs ''some'' predicate. In some languages you could say something like ''good people are'' in the meaning ''there are good people, good people generally exist'' – but not in Gaelic. Here enters our friend the ''dummy predicate'' '''ann''' ''there, in general existence''. If you lack a predicate for an existential sentence, you just stick '''ann''' there:

* '''tha deagh dhaoine ann''' ''there are good people'',
* but '''tha deagh dhaoine ann an Alba''' ''there are good people in Scotland'' without this ''ann'' (because '''ann an Alba''' already works as a predicate).

This '''ann''' might also mean ''here, there, somewhere around'' when the subject is definite as in

* '''tha Seumas ann''' ''James is here/there'' (James is present and you can find him somewhere around).

So, having that out of the way – how do you say ''he is a man''? Or ''you are the king of Scotland''? Well… let’s look at the copula, shall we?

== The copula ''IS'' and how to say ''what'' or ''who'' something or someone is ==

I intentionally avoid the word ''verb'' when writing about the copula, although you’ll often see it called ''the copula verb'' or ''the assertive verb'' or something like that. That’s because it has its own syntax and doesn’t really behave like a verb (and has fewer forms) so it is a bit of its own grammatical category in the Gaelic language.

The present form is '''is''' and there is no imperative (so you’ll find it under '''is''' in dictionaries). This is often shortened to '''’s''' after or before vowels.

You '''have to''' use the copula if you want to create a simple ''X is Y'' sentence and the predicate is a noun phrase (there are some idiomatic phrases without the copula but they don’t translate literally, we’ll look at them later).

There are quite a few different patterns involving the copula – sorry, I don’t think I can make it any shorter.

=== Identification – definite predicates ===

If the predicate is ''definite'' – that is if you identify the subject as some specific person or thing ('''''the''' teacher'', ''my brother'', ''Calum'', ''the king of Scotland'') rather than simply stating what ''kind of thing'' the subject is, then the pattern is:

==== is (e/i/iad) {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|mise}} {{color|green|Calum}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|Calum}}'', the predicate is a definite noun – '''Calum''', some particular defined person – the copula is used directly;
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|an duine a chunnaic mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the person I saw}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|rìgh na h-Alba}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the king of Scotland}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|esan}} {{color|green|an tidsear}}''' ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|an ceapaire agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my sandwich}}'', the predicate again is a definite noun phrase – '''an ceapaire agam''' ''the sandwich of mine, my sandwich'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|an Tighearna}} {{color|green|mo bhuachaille}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Lord}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my shepherd}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|Seumas}} {{color|green|bràthair Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|James}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s brother}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|Màiri}} {{color|green|piuthar Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|Mairi}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s sister}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|cànan na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the language of Scottish Highlands}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s iad}} {{color|blue|na Gàidheil}} {{color|green|luchd na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Gaels}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the people of Gaeldom/Scottish Highlands}}''.

Note that if the subject is not a pronoun itself, then a pronoun '''e''', '''i''', or '''iad''' is inserted after the copula – it generally agrees in gender with the subject ('''’s e Seumas…''', '''’s i Màiri…''', '''’s i a’ Ghàidhlig…''', '''’s iad na Gàidheil…''').

Also generally emphatic pronouns ('''mise''', '''tusa''', '''esan''', '''ise''', '''iadsan''', etc.) are used in such sentences. But note ''’s e…'' for ‘it is’ (''esan'' suggests a sentient being, so you would still use ''e'' for ‘it’ here).

But there is a tendency to use '''e''' regardless of the gender and number, eg. '''’s e a’ chaileag sin mo phiùthar''' ''that girl is my sister'', '''’s e na daoine sin na dotairean''' ''those people are the doctors'' , or old proverb '''’s e do shùil do cheannaiche''' ''your eye is your merchant'' – even though '''do shùil''' is feminine, here ''I think'' that '''e''' agrees with the predicate '''do cheannaiche''' ''your merchant'' (in that case it’d be an archaic feature here).

If the subject is itself a pronoun (like '''mise''' or '''tusa'''), then no other pronoun is inserted. Often the copula in such sentences is dropped (so just '''mise Calum''', '''thusa an duine…''').

If the subject is '''seo''' ''this'', '''sin''' ''that'', or '''siud''' ''that over there, yonder'' then the copula is commonly dropped (and you’ll see those sentences without copula in the Duolingo course a lot):

* '''’s e {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' or commonly just '''{{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} is {{color|green|my cat}}'';
* '''’s i {{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' or commonly '''{{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' ''{{color|blue|that}} is {{color|green|my mother}}''.

=== Classification – indefinite predicates ===

When the predicate is indefinite – you want to state ''what kind of thing'' something or someone is, like in ''he is '''a doctor''''', ''I am '''a student''''', ''Gaelic is '''a Celtic language''''', ''cats are '''animals''''', then there are a few different ways. First let’s look at the most straightforward – but '''very''' poetic/archaic and high-brow way that you wouldn’t use in a normal conversation, but it’s helpful to understand. The general syntax of the copula is:

==== is {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ''(archaic, poetic)'' ====

This was historically the original syntax of the copula. And thus in the older poetic language you’d say:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|e}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a sandwich}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tidsear}} {{color|blue|mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|a teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|iasg}} {{color|blue|breac}}''' ''{{color|blue|a trout}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a fish}}''.

But as I wrote above, that wouldn’t be used commonly today. And Duolingo generally '''won’t accept''' such sentences.

Instead different idiomatic periphrastic phrases are used. The most common one is probably

==== ’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} is what is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' or ''it’s {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} that is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}''. Saying that ''thing1 is in thing2'' is just a Gaelic way of stating that ''thing2'' is ''thing1''. Thus:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann}}''' ''it is a sandwich'', but literally something like: ''{{color|teal|a sandwich}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in it}}'' or ''it’s a sandwich that is in it'' – notice that a prepositional phrase '''ann''' ''in it'' is the predicate of '''tha''', not a noun;
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|tidsear}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annam}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a teacher}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in me}}'' or ''it’s a teacher that is in me'' – again a prepositional phrase '''annam''' ''in me'' is the predicate of '''tha''';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag chrodha}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann am Mòrag}}''' ''Morag is a brave girl'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a brave girl}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in Morag}}'' or ''it’s a brave girl that is in Morag'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|cànan Ceilteach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|anns a’ Ghàidhlig}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a Celtic language}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in the Gaelic}}'' or ''it’s a Celtic language that is in the Gaelic'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag bhòidheach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|innte}}''' ''she is a beautiful girl'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|a beautiful girl}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in her}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|oileanaich}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annta}}''' ''they are students'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|students}} {{color|red|are (it, this)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in them}}''.

The pronoun is always '''e''' in this type of sentences. Also notice how to say ‘it is a sandwich’ you have to say ''’s e ceapaire '''a th’ ann''''' and the ''’s e ceapaire'' part on its own doesn’t work.

I ''believe'' that’s because historically this sentence is just like the archaic one above, ''’s e ceapaire…'' meant really ‘a sandwich is it…’ where ''ceapaire'' ‘a sandwich’ was the subject and ''e'' ‘it’ was just a placeholder predicate anticipating what will be said later: ''a th’ ann'' ‘that is in it’. Kinda like ''a sandwich is this – what is in it''. Thus '''e''' ''it'' stands for the relative clause '''a tha ann an…''' ''that is in'', and since the relative clause is just ''it'', doesn’t have a gender or number of its own, the generic '''e''' is used and ''’s e ceapaire…'' is just an abruptly unfinished sentence missing something. I’m not ''entirely sure'' if I interpret this correctly though.

If the subject is '''seo''', '''sin''', '''siud''', then the ''ann an'' part is dropped:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cù}} {{color|blue|a tha seo}}''' ''this is a dog'', lit. ''{{color|green|a dog}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is this}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cat}} {{color|blue|a tha sin}}''' ''that is a cat'', lit. ''{{color|green|a cat}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is that}}''.

This is one exception to the ''no noun phrase predicates to the '''tha''' verb'' (but then ''seo'' and ''sin'' aren’t really nouns, so…).

But you might also encouter the regular '''’s e cù a th’ ann an seo''', lit. ''a dog is what is '''in this''''' – but this is rarer. Also, if ''ann an seo'' is present, it might sound and be written also as ''ann a sheo'' or similar.

==== tha {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} na {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} is '''in its''' {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' ('''na''' here means ''in his/her/its'' and will be replaced by appropriate form agreeing with the subject, eg. '''tha mi nam…''' for ''I am in my…'', '''tha thu nad…''' for ''you (sg.) are in your…'', etc.). This one is interesting as it uses the '''substantive verb''' and not the copula – but note that the actual predicate in the Gaelic sentence is the phrase '''in its {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}''' – so actually a prepositional phrase.

This structure is often used to state one’s profession but is not restricted to such use:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam thidsear}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|in my teacher}}'' – ''only'' the '''tha''' verb, but the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''nam thidsear''' ''in my teacher'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|na cànan Ceilteach}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|the Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in her Celtic language}}'' the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''na cànan Ceilteach''' ''in her Celtic language'' (feminine non-leniting '''na''' ''in her'' because the word '''Gàidhlig''' is feminine, ''Gaelic'' is a she in Gaelic ;-));
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|iad}} {{color|green|nan dotairean}}''' ''they are doctors'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|they}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|in their doctors}}'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|na charaid dhomh}}''' ''he is a friend of mine'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in his friend to me}}''.

This construction is more often used with temporary states rather than permanent ones. That’s why it tends to be used when stating one’s profession, you say ''I (currently) am a teacher'' (but maybe in 3 years I’ll be doing something else) – because of this hint of non-permanent description it’s often used in past tense to give description that is no longer true:

* '''nuair a {{color|red|bha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam bhalach òg}}…''' ''when I was a young boy (but I no longer am)…'', literally ''the-time that {{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|was}} {{color|green|in my young boy}}…''

but it ''doesn’t have to'' mean the state is temporary – it just doesn’t suggest that it is permanent as strongly as [[#’s e ⟨predicate⟩ a th’ ann an ⟨subject⟩|''’s e Y a th’ ann an X'']] tends to.

And finally:

==== seo/sin/siud {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

Similarly to the identification sentences, you can also just say ''’s e seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' or ''seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' to classify ''this'', and the same goes for ''sin'' and ''siud'':

* '''(’s e) seo bogsa mòr''' ''this is a big box'',
* '''(’s e) sin cat''' ''that is a cat'',
* '''(’s e) siud cù''' ''that over there/yonder is a dog''.

=== Other uses of copula ===

Contrary to the ''substantive verb'', copula isn’t that restricted in what kind of predicates it takes. And in some common expressions it actually takes prepositional phrases, adjectives, and other grammatical creatures as its predicates.

==== Fronting – topicalization or putting emphasis on part of sentence ====

A very common use of copula is ''fronting'' – moving some part of a sentence to put emphasis on it – to make it the ''topic'', the ''main point'' of the sentence. The rest of the sentence, with the main verb, is put in a relative clause then. Compare:

* '''tha an cat air a’ bhòrd''' ''the cat is on the table'' – no fronting, no copula, neutral sentence,
* '''’s e an cat a tha air a’ bhòrd''' ''it is '''the cat''' that is on the table'' – '''an cat''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the thing on the table is '''the cat''',
* '''’s ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat''' ''it is '''on the table''' that the cat is'' – '''air a’ bhòrd''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the location of the cat is '''on the table'''.

Notice that in Gaelic '''’s ann''' is generally used if the fronted element is not a noun (like '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' is a full prepositional phrase), other examples would be:

* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|à Obair Dheathain}} {{color|blue|a tha e}}''' ''he is '''from Aberdeen''''' (''{{color|red|it is}} {{color|green|from Aberdeen}} {{color|blue|that he is}}''),
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|air oidhche fhuar gheamhraidh}} {{color|blue|a thachair e rium}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|'''on a cold winter’s night'''}} {{color|blue|that he met me}}'',
* or even '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|a’ cluiche anns an iodhlann}} {{color|blue|a tha iad}}''' ''they are playing in the yard'' (''it is playing in the yard that they are''), or very literally, ''{{color|red|it’s}} {{color|green|at playing in the yard}} {{color|blue|that they are}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|an-dè}} {{color|blue|a bha sinn ga dhèanamh}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|yesterday}} {{color|blue|that we were doing it}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|gu làidir}} {{color|blue|a bhuaileas e an t-iarann}}''' ''{{color|red|(it’s)}} {{color|green|strongly}} {{color|blue|(that) he strikes the iron}}''.

A bit more archaic way to front an an adverb doesn’t need ''’s ann'', but the '''gu''' disappears, compare the last example above with these:

* '''{{color|blue|thog e}} {{color|green|gu h-aotrom}} {{color|red|i}}''' ''{{color|blue|he lifted}} {{color|red|her}} {{color|green|lightly}}'',
* but '''is {{color|green|aotrom}} {{color|blue|a thog e}} {{color|red|i}}''' '''''lightly''' he lifted her'' (lit. ''it is {{color|green|lightly}} {{color|blue|that he lifted}} {{color|red|her}}''),
* or in an old poem '''’s {{color|green|daingeann}} {{color|blue|a bhuail iad às gach taobh sibh}}''' ''{{color|green|fiercely}} {{color|blue|they struck you from every side}}'' (from ''Cumha Ni Mhic Raonuill'', ''Ni Mhic Raonuill’s Lament'').

==== Emphasis when describing ====

In older language the copula was used to state more permanent features (while the substantive verb was used for temporary states – in this way those two verbs ''were'' historically similar to Spanish verbs ''ser'' and ''estar'') – this usage isn’t very common today, but you’ll find it in poetry, and perhaps in some longer sentences in more regular speech:

* '''is fuar an oidhche i''' ''the night is cold'' or ''it is a cold night'',
* '''is math am fear e''' ''the man is good'' or ''he is a good man'',
* '''is brònach mi''' ''I am sad'',
* '''is bochd nach robh iadsan cho dìcheallach''' ''it’s a pity that they were not so dilligent'' (lit. ''that they were not so dilligent is unfortunate'').

Notice that if a simple noun phrase (like '''an oidhche''' ''the night'' in the first example or '''am fear''' ''the man'' in the second) is the subject, then it is followed by a pronoun agreeing with it.

This archaic structure is very common in one particular phrase:

* '''is math sin''' ''that is good''

(but ''tha sin math'' is also grammatically correct way to say ''that is good'')

==== Other set phrases and constructions ====

Copula is part of the phrase for ''I like'' and ''I prefer'' in Gaelic:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|toigh leam}} {{color|blue|an t-àite seo}}''' (or: '''is toil leam…''') ''I like this place'', very literally ''{{color|blue|this place}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pleasant/delight with me}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|green|fheàrr le Seumas}} {{color|blue|Èirinn}}''' ''James prefers Ireland'', very literally ''{{color|blue|Ireland}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|better with James}}''.

There are more types of such phrases (like ''is {{smallcaps|⟨adjective⟩}} leam'' or ''orm'') in Gaelic – but I don’t know them too well, so will probably edit this in the future when I gather more examples.

== Dependent forms ==

So what about the dependent form I mentioned? You use it after some particles that generally require the dependent forms of verbs. Some of them are: the negating '''cha(n)''' ''not'', the interrogative (questioning) '''a(n/m)?''' ''is? does?'', the negative interrogative '''nach?''' ''is not? does not?'', the question word '''càit(e) a(n/m)?''' ''where?'', '''gu(n/m)''' ''that'' introducing indirect speech, etc.

As I wrote, the dependent form of the substantive verb '''bi''' in present tense is '''(bh)eil''':

* '''chan eil mi gu math''' ''I am not well'' – here the verb '''tha''' changed to the dependent form '''eil''',
* '''a bheil an ceapaire air a’ bhòrd?''' ''is the sandwich on the table?'' – here the dependent '''bheil''' is used,
* '''thuirt i gu bheil thu an sin''' ''she said that you are there''.

As for the difference between '''eil''' and '''bheil''':

* use '''eil''' if the particle lenites – that is, '''chan''', and also '''nach''' which lenites only initial ''f-'' (historically ''(bh)eil'' actually started with ''f-'', see below),
* use '''bheil''' if the particle ends in ''-n'' or ''-m'' and does not lenite, but remove the final ''-m, -n'' (like '''an/am''' → '''a bheil''', '''gun/gum''' → '''gu bheil''').

(In Classical Gaelic the historical dependent form was actually ''fuil'' which lenited to ''fhuil'', eg. ''chan fhuil'' ‘is not’, and was eclipsed to ''bhfuil'' in eg. ''go bhfuil…'' ‘that is…’ – you’ll still find these forms in modern Irish – that’s the reason for the disappearing '''bh''').

The dependent form of the copula '''is''' in the present tense is ''zero'', that is, in the present tense the copula generally ''disappears'' in the dependent positions. Thus:

* '''chan e Seumas rìgh Shasainn''' ''James is not the king of England'',
* '''nach i Màiri bànrigh na h-Alba?''' ''isn’t Mairi the queen of Scotland?'',
* '''chan e tidsear a th’ annad''' ''you are not a teacher'',
* '''an e iasgairean a th’ annaibh?''' ''are y’all fishers?'',
* '''an ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat?''' ''is it on the table that the cat is?''.

But it replaces the ''-n'' with ''-r'' in '''gun''' ('''gun''' + '''is''' → '''gur'''):

* '''thuirt i gur e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'',
* '''tha mi a’ smaoineachadh gur e Iain am fear a ghoid drathais''' ''I am thinking that Iain is the one who stole underpants''.

Sometimes you’ll see '''gur''' also prefixing '''h-''' to vowels: '''thuirt i gur h-e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'', '''smaoinich sinn gur h-ann a’ goid a bha e''' ''we thought that stealing he was'' (lit. ''that it’s at stealing that he was'').

== Past and future tenses ==

Past forms of the verb '''bi''' are independent '''bha''' and dependent '''robh''', eg.:

* '''bha mi anns a’ bhàta''' ''I was in the boat'',
* '''an robh thu toilichte?''' ''were you happy?'',
* '''thuirt e gun robh thu brònach''' ''he said that you were sad''.

And the future and present habitual forms are indep. '''bidh''' (you’ll sometimes see longer '''bithidh''') and dep. '''bi''' and also relative '''bios''' (or '''bitheas''') which we’ll not spend much time on now:

* '''bidh an cù an sin''' ''the dog will be there'',
* '''nach bi Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha?''' ''doesn’t Iain steal trousers every day?'', lit. ''isn’t (habitually) Iain at stealing (of) trousers every day?'',
* '''thuirt Màiri rium gum bi (Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha)''' ''Mairi told me that (Iain) does (steal trousers every day)'',
* '''an duine a bhios anns an taigh''' ''the man that will be in the house''.

The copula '''is''' has only a past form '''bu''' which becomes '''b’''' before vowels, this is both independent and dependent form, it’s itself never lenited, and it generally lenites the following word but not ''t'' or pronouns ''tu, sibh, sinn''.

This form is also a ''conditional'', so it has too meanings: past ''was, were'' and conditional ''would be'':

* '''bu mhise an tidsear''' ''I was the teacher'' or ''I would be the teacher'',
* '''am bu toigh leat bainne?''' ''would you like milk'' (or less likely ''did you like milk?'')
* '''am bu tusa an t-iasgair?''' ''were you the fisher?'',
* '''b’ i Màiri mo phiuthar''' ''Mairi was my sister'',
* or archaic '''cha bu tidsear e''' ''he was not a teacher'', '''bu shaighdear i''' ''she was a soldier''.

To turn the ''’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' construction into the past tense, you just use the past of the substantive verb (and optionally of the copula):

* '''’s e tidsear a bh’ annad''' ''you were a teacher'' (''a teacher is what was in you'') or '''b’ e tidsear a bh’ annad''' (''a teachar was what was in you''),
* '''an e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' or '''am b’ e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' ''were you a fisher?''.

Similarly to turn it into the future, you just change '''tha''' into the future relative '''bhios''':

* '''’s e iasgair a bhios annad''' ''you will be a fisher'',
* '''’s e athair air leth a bhios annad''' ''you will be an outstanding father''.

== Answering yes-no questions ==

In the sections on dependent forms and past/future tenses you saw how to form yes-no questions involving copula and the substantive verb. Now briefly on answering them.

Gaelic does not have a single ''yes'' and ''no'' words. To give positive or negative answer to a question you just repeat the verb.

Thus if one asks you '''a bheil thu gu math?''' ''are you well?'' you can reply with:

* '''tha''' for ''yes'',
* '''chan eil''' for ''no'',

or if one asks you '''an robh thu ann an Alba?''' ''were you in Scotland?'', you reply with:

* '''bha''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha robh''' for ''no''.

Notice that the form of the verb agrees with the question – if the present tense '''a bheil…?''' was asked, then the answer is present tense '''tha''' or '''chan eil''', if the question is past tense '''an robh?''' then the answer also is in past '''bha''' or '''cha robh'''.

Notice also that you don’t need to repeat the whole sentence, just the verb is enough – the subject and the predicate are already known from context – the question asked.

That’s not true for copula – it '''cannot''' stand on its own, it is always unstressed and so it '''always''' needs a predicate.

Thus if one asks you '''an toigh leat Alba?''' or '''an toil leat Alba''' ''do you like Scotland?'' you answer with:

* '''is toigh''' or '''is toil''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha toigh''' or '''cha toil''' if you are a bad human being.

Or if someone asks you '''an tusa Màiri?''' ''are you Mairi?'', you answer:

* '''is mi''',
* or '''cha mhi'''.

== Other resourses ==

Other explanations on the web:

* [https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/45459577/Guide-to-Scottish-Gaelic-%E2%80%98to-be%E2%80%99-the-linking-verbs-substantive-%E2%80%98bi-tha%E2%80%99-the-copula-%E2%80%98is%E2%80%99 The original ''Guide'' on Duolingo forums]
* [https://puxill.livejournal.com/350730.html ''Supplemental Notes on Using the Defective Verb "IS"'']

Literature:

* ''Gaelic Verbs Systemised and Simplified'' by Colin B.D. Mark (he calls the copula ''the assertive verb'')
* ''Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks'' by Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh (Lesson 2 introduces copula of identification, Lesson 5 introduces classification sentences and deals with fronting, Lesson 10 deals with indirect speech and '''gur''')
* [https://archive.org/details/gaelicgrammarcon00cald/page/256/mode/2up ''A Gaelic Grammar'' by George Calder], 1923, linked is the part on copula – it is old but gives a lot of examples of fronting.

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ceud mìle taing do Joy Dunlop agus do joannejoanne12 airson a’ cheartachaidh agus a’ chuideachaidh!

[[Category:Gaelic]]

Guide to Scottish Gaelic to be, the linking verbs: substantive bi, tha & the copula is

2022-08-17T15:15:41Z

Muiris: /* The copula IS and how to say what or who something or someone is */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Guide to Scottish Gaelic ''to be'', the linking verbs: substantive ''bi, tha'' & the copula ''is''}}
… or how to say ''I am…''?

This is one of the subjects that seems to be quite challenging to learners (and understandably so!) – this guide aims to explain it in a systematic and relatively comprehensive way.

'''DISCLAIMER''': This is a copy of a guide originally posted on Duolingo forums and written '''not''' by a native Gaelic speaker, but rather just a foreign learner of Irish and Scottish Gaelic. The author ''believes'' that he has a reasonable understanding of those Gaelic verbs in question and most of the examples here are taken from other sources – but nevertheless there might be some mistakes here. If you spot any – don’t hesitate to point them out or correct them if you have an account on this wiki.

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First let’s define two terms:

* '''subject''' – the thing or person about whom the given sentence is, it is the main noun phrase in the sentence, eg. in the sentence “'''Tom''' has a cat” '''Tom''' is the subject, in the sentence “'''The people around here''' are very nice” '''the people around here''' are the subject.
* '''predicate''' of a linking or copular verb – the phrase that goes after ''is'' in English, eg. in “a cat is '''an animal'''” '''an animal''' is the predicate, in “the boat is '''on the sea'''” the predicate is '''on the sea''', thus the predicate is the thing that the subject is linked to with ''is''.

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Scottish Gaelic has two separate words to translate the English ''to be'' verb depending on context.

The first one is the ''substantive verb '''bi'''''. The second one is the ''copula '''is'''''.

== The substantive verb ''BI'' ==

The form '''bi''' is what you’ll find as a headword in dictionaries, it is the singular imperative command form ''be!''.

In the present tense its independent form is '''tha''' and the dependent form is '''(bh)eil''' (more on that in a minute).

You use this verb for stating '''how''', '''where''' or '''when''' something is or what something is '''like''' – for describing something and stating its whereabouts. That means that this verb takes '''only''' ''adverbs'', ''adjectives'', and ''prepositional phrases'' as its predicates:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|gu math}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|well}}'', here an adverb – '''gu math''' ''well'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|blasta}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tasty}}'', here an adjective – '''blasta''' ''tasty'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|air a’ bhòrd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|on the table}}'', here a prepositional phrase – '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|salach}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|dirty}}'', again an adjective as the predicate.

When the predicate is an adjective, it always stays in its base form, compare:

* '''na cait mhòra''' ''the big cats'' (with ''mhòra'' ‘big’ having plural form, and lenited after a plural noun formed by slenderization)
* with '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|na cait}} {{color|green|mòr}}''' ''{{color|blue|the cats}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|big}}'' (''mòr'' staying in base unlenited form).

And:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ phàirc mhòr}} {{color|green|brèagha}}''' ''{{color|blue|the big park}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pretty}}'' – here ''mhòr'' is lenited because it ''attributes'' a feminine noun ''pàirc'' directly, but ''brèagha'' stays in the basic unlenited form because it is a ''predicate'' to the verb and not directly linked to the noun.

<div class="warningbox">'''Remember!''' You '''cannot''' use a noun phrase as a predicate of this verb, so you cannot say something like <s>''*tha e fear''</s> – this sentence simply doesn’t make any sense in Gaelic, '''fear''' ''a man'' is a noun and as such cannot be a predicate here.</div>

=== Existentials or ''there is…'' ===

'''Bi''' is also used for existential sentences like ''there is a dog in the house'' – this sentence means that ''a dog'' exists and that dog is located ''in the house''. English (like other Germanic languages) doesn’t like indefinite subjects of such sentences and starts them with a ''dummy subject'' '''there''' a bit as if defining this dummy ''there'' as ''a dog in the house''. Also that’s the reason why the story starts with ''In a hole in the ground '''there lived''' a hobbit'' and not simply <s>''… a hobbit lived''</s>. Many languages don’t do this and just straightforwardly say something like ''a dog is in the house'', that’s what happens in Gaelic:

* '''tha cù anns an taigh''' ''there is a dog in the house'' – it’s a simple sentence with an indefinite subject '''cù''' ''a dog'' and a prepositional predicate '''anns an taigh''' ''in the house'' stating where the existing dog is.

But '''tha''' always needs ''some'' predicate. In some languages you could say something like ''good people are'' in the meaning ''there are good people, good people generally exist'' – but not in Gaelic. Here enters our friend the ''dummy predicate'' '''ann''' ''there, in general existence''. If you lack a predicate for an existential sentence, you just stick '''ann''' there:

* '''tha deagh dhaoine ann''' ''there are good people'',
* but '''tha deagh dhaoine ann an Alba''' ''there are good people in Scotland'' without this ''ann'' (because '''ann an Alba''' already works as a predicate).

This '''ann''' might also mean ''here, there, somewhere around'' when the subject is definite as in

* '''tha Seumas ann''' ''James is here/there'' (James is present and you can find him somewhere around).

So, having that out of the way – how do you say ''he is a man''? Or ''you are the king of Scotland''? Well… let’s look at the copula, shall we?

== The copula ''IS'' and how to say ''what'' or ''who'' something or someone is ==

I intentionally avoid the word ''verb'' when writing about the copula, although you’ll often see it called ''the copula verb'' or ''the assertive verb'' or something like that. That’s because it has its own syntax and doesn’t really behave like a verb (and has fewer forms) so it is a bit of its own grammatical category in the Gaelic language.

The present form is '''is''' and there is no imperative (so you’ll find it under '''is''' in dictionaries). This is often shortened to '''’s''' after or before vowels.

You '''have to''' use the copula if you want to create a simple ''X is Y'' sentence and the predicate is a noun phrase (there are some idiomatic phrases without the copula but they don’t translate literally, we’ll look at them later).

There are quite a few different patterns involving the copula – sorry, I don’t think I can make it any shorter.

=== Identification – definite predicates ===

If the predicate is ''definite'' – that is you identify the subject to some specific person or thing ('''''the''' teacher'', ''my brother'', ''Calum'', ''the king of Scotland'') and not just state what ''kind of thing'' the subject is, then the pattern is:

==== is (e/i/iad) {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|mise}} {{color|green|Calum}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|Calum}}'', the predicate is a definite noun – '''Calum''', some particular defined person – the copula is used directly;
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|an duine a chunnaic mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the person I saw}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|rìgh na h-Alba}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the king of Scotland}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|esan}} {{color|green|an tidsear}}''' ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|an ceapaire agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my sandwich}}'', the predicate again is a definite noun phrase – '''an ceapaire agam''' ''the sandwich of mine, my sandwich'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|an Tighearna}} {{color|green|mo bhuachaille}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Lord}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my shepherd}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|Seumas}} {{color|green|bràthair Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|James}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s brother}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|Màiri}} {{color|green|piuthar Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|Mairi}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s sister}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|cànan na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the language of Scottish Highlands}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s iad}} {{color|blue|na Gàidheil}} {{color|green|luchd na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Gaels}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the people of Gaeldom/Scottish Highlands}}''.

Note that if the subject is not a pronoun itself, then a pronoun '''e''', '''i''', or '''iad''' is inserted after the copula – it generally agrees in gender with the subject ('''’s e Seumas…''', '''’s i Màiri…''', '''’s i a’ Ghàidhlig…''', '''’s iad na Gàidheil…''').

Also generally emphatic pronouns ('''mise''', '''tusa''', '''esan''', '''ise''', '''iadsan''', etc.) are used in such sentences. But note ''’s e…'' for ‘it is’ (''esan'' suggests a sentient being, so you would still use ''e'' for ‘it’ here).

But there is a tendency to use '''e''' regardless of the gender and number, eg. '''’s e a’ chaileag sin mo phiùthar''' ''that girl is my sister'', '''’s e na daoine sin na dotairean''' ''those people are the doctors'' , or old proverb '''’s e do shùil do cheannaiche''' ''your eye is your merchant'' – even though '''do shùil''' is feminine, here ''I think'' that '''e''' agrees with the predicate '''do cheannaiche''' ''your merchant'' (in that case it’d be an archaic feature here).

If the subject is itself a pronoun (like '''mise''' or '''tusa'''), then no other pronoun is inserted. Often the copula in such sentences is dropped (so just '''mise Calum''', '''thusa an duine…''').

If the subject is '''seo''' ''this'', '''sin''' ''that'', or '''siud''' ''that over there, yonder'' then the copula is commonly dropped (and you’ll see those sentences without copula in the Duolingo course a lot):

* '''’s e {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' or commonly just '''{{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} is {{color|green|my cat}}'';
* '''’s i {{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' or commonly '''{{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' ''{{color|blue|that}} is {{color|green|my mother}}''.

=== Classification – indefinite predicates ===

When the predicate is indefinite – you want to state ''what kind of thing'' something or someone is, like in ''he is '''a doctor''''', ''I am '''a student''''', ''Gaelic is '''a Celtic language''''', ''cats are '''animals''''', then there are a few different ways. First let’s look at the most straightforward – but '''very''' poetic/archaic and high-brow way that you wouldn’t use in a normal conversation, but it’s helpful to understand. The general syntax of the copula is:

==== is {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ''(archaic, poetic)'' ====

This was historically the original syntax of the copula. And thus in the older poetic language you’d say:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|e}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a sandwich}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tidsear}} {{color|blue|mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|a teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|iasg}} {{color|blue|breac}}''' ''{{color|blue|a trout}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a fish}}''.

But as I wrote above, that wouldn’t be used commonly today. And Duolingo generally '''won’t accept''' such sentences.

Instead different idiomatic periphrastic phrases are used. The most common one is probably

==== ’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} is what is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' or ''it’s {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} that is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}''. Saying that ''thing1 is in thing2'' is just a Gaelic way of stating that ''thing2'' is ''thing1''. Thus:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann}}''' ''it is a sandwich'', but literally something like: ''{{color|teal|a sandwich}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in it}}'' or ''it’s a sandwich that is in it'' – notice that a prepositional phrase '''ann''' ''in it'' is the predicate of '''tha''', not a noun;
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|tidsear}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annam}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a teacher}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in me}}'' or ''it’s a teacher that is in me'' – again a prepositional phrase '''annam''' ''in me'' is the predicate of '''tha''';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag chrodha}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann am Mòrag}}''' ''Morag is a brave girl'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a brave girl}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in Morag}}'' or ''it’s a brave girl that is in Morag'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|cànan Ceilteach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|anns a’ Ghàidhlig}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a Celtic language}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in the Gaelic}}'' or ''it’s a Celtic language that is in the Gaelic'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag bhòidheach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|innte}}''' ''she is a beautiful girl'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|a beautiful girl}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in her}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|oileanaich}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annta}}''' ''they are students'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|students}} {{color|red|are (it, this)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in them}}''.

The pronoun is always '''e''' in this type of sentences. Also notice how to say ‘it is a sandwich’ you have to say ''’s e ceapaire '''a th’ ann''''' and the ''’s e ceapaire'' part on its own doesn’t work.

I ''believe'' that’s because historically this sentence is just like the archaic one above, ''’s e ceapaire…'' meant really ‘a sandwich is it…’ where ''ceapaire'' ‘a sandwich’ was the subject and ''e'' ‘it’ was just a placeholder predicate anticipating what will be said later: ''a th’ ann'' ‘that is in it’. Kinda like ''a sandwich is this – what is in it''. Thus '''e''' ''it'' stands for the relative clause '''a tha ann an…''' ''that is in'', and since the relative clause is just ''it'', doesn’t have a gender or number of its own, the generic '''e''' is used and ''’s e ceapaire…'' is just an abruptly unfinished sentence missing something. I’m not ''entirely sure'' if I interpret this correctly though.

If the subject is '''seo''', '''sin''', '''siud''', then the ''ann an'' part is dropped:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cù}} {{color|blue|a tha seo}}''' ''this is a dog'', lit. ''{{color|green|a dog}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is this}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cat}} {{color|blue|a tha sin}}''' ''that is a cat'', lit. ''{{color|green|a cat}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is that}}''.

This is one exception to the ''no noun phrase predicates to the '''tha''' verb'' (but then ''seo'' and ''sin'' aren’t really nouns, so…).

But you might also encouter the regular '''’s e cù a th’ ann an seo''', lit. ''a dog is what is '''in this''''' – but this is rarer. Also, if ''ann an seo'' is present, it might sound and be written also as ''ann a sheo'' or similar.

==== tha {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} na {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} is '''in its''' {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' ('''na''' here means ''in his/her/its'' and will be replaced by appropriate form agreeing with the subject, eg. '''tha mi nam…''' for ''I am in my…'', '''tha thu nad…''' for ''you (sg.) are in your…'', etc.). This one is interesting as it uses the '''substantive verb''' and not the copula – but note that the actual predicate in the Gaelic sentence is the phrase '''in its {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}''' – so actually a prepositional phrase.

This structure is often used to state one’s profession but is not restricted to such use:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam thidsear}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|in my teacher}}'' – ''only'' the '''tha''' verb, but the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''nam thidsear''' ''in my teacher'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|na cànan Ceilteach}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|the Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in her Celtic language}}'' the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''na cànan Ceilteach''' ''in her Celtic language'' (feminine non-leniting '''na''' ''in her'' because the word '''Gàidhlig''' is feminine, ''Gaelic'' is a she in Gaelic ;-));
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|iad}} {{color|green|nan dotairean}}''' ''they are doctors'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|they}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|in their doctors}}'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|na charaid dhomh}}''' ''he is a friend of mine'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in his friend to me}}''.

This construction is more often used with temporary states rather than permanent ones. That’s why it tends to be used when stating one’s profession, you say ''I (currently) am a teacher'' (but maybe in 3 years I’ll be doing something else) – because of this hint of non-permanent description it’s often used in past tense to give description that is no longer true:

* '''nuair a {{color|red|bha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam bhalach òg}}…''' ''when I was a young boy (but I no longer am)…'', literally ''the-time that {{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|was}} {{color|green|in my young boy}}…''

but it ''doesn’t have to'' mean the state is temporary – it just doesn’t suggest that it is permanent as strongly as [[#’s e ⟨predicate⟩ a th’ ann an ⟨subject⟩|''’s e Y a th’ ann an X'']] tends to.

And finally:

==== seo/sin/siud {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

Similarly to the identification sentences, you can also just say ''’s e seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' or ''seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' to classify ''this'', and the same goes for ''sin'' and ''siud'':

* '''(’s e) seo bogsa mòr''' ''this is a big box'',
* '''(’s e) sin cat''' ''that is a cat'',
* '''(’s e) siud cù''' ''that over there/yonder is a dog''.

=== Other uses of copula ===

Contrary to the ''substantive verb'', copula isn’t that restricted in what kind of predicates it takes. And in some common expressions it actually takes prepositional phrases, adjectives, and other grammatical creatures as its predicates.

==== Fronting – topicalization or putting emphasis on part of sentence ====

A very common use of copula is ''fronting'' – moving some part of a sentence to put emphasis on it – to make it the ''topic'', the ''main point'' of the sentence. The rest of the sentence, with the main verb, is put in a relative clause then. Compare:

* '''tha an cat air a’ bhòrd''' ''the cat is on the table'' – no fronting, no copula, neutral sentence,
* '''’s e an cat a tha air a’ bhòrd''' ''it is '''the cat''' that is on the table'' – '''an cat''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the thing on the table is '''the cat''',
* '''’s ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat''' ''it is '''on the table''' that the cat is'' – '''air a’ bhòrd''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the location of the cat is '''on the table'''.

Notice that in Gaelic '''’s ann''' is generally used if the fronted element is not a noun (like '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' is a full prepositional phrase), other examples would be:

* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|à Obair Dheathain}} {{color|blue|a tha e}}''' ''he is '''from Aberdeen''''' (''{{color|red|it is}} {{color|green|from Aberdeen}} {{color|blue|that he is}}''),
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|air oidhche fhuar gheamhraidh}} {{color|blue|a thachair e rium}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|'''on a cold winter’s night'''}} {{color|blue|that he met me}}'',
* or even '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|a’ cluiche anns an iodhlann}} {{color|blue|a tha iad}}''' ''they are playing in the yard'' (''it is playing in the yard that they are''), or very literally, ''{{color|red|it’s}} {{color|green|at playing in the yard}} {{color|blue|that they are}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|an-dè}} {{color|blue|a bha sinn ga dhèanamh}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|yesterday}} {{color|blue|that we were doing it}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|gu làidir}} {{color|blue|a bhuaileas e an t-iarann}}''' ''{{color|red|(it’s)}} {{color|green|strongly}} {{color|blue|(that) he strikes the iron}}''.

A bit more archaic way to front an an adverb doesn’t need ''’s ann'', but the '''gu''' disappears, compare the last example above with these:

* '''{{color|blue|thog e}} {{color|green|gu h-aotrom}} {{color|red|i}}''' ''{{color|blue|he lifted}} {{color|red|her}} {{color|green|lightly}}'',
* but '''is {{color|green|aotrom}} {{color|blue|a thog e}} {{color|red|i}}''' '''''lightly''' he lifted her'' (lit. ''it is {{color|green|lightly}} {{color|blue|that he lifted}} {{color|red|her}}''),
* or in an old poem '''’s {{color|green|daingeann}} {{color|blue|a bhuail iad às gach taobh sibh}}''' ''{{color|green|fiercely}} {{color|blue|they struck you from every side}}'' (from ''Cumha Ni Mhic Raonuill'', ''Ni Mhic Raonuill’s Lament'').

==== Emphasis when describing ====

In older language the copula was used to state more permanent features (while the substantive verb was used for temporary states – in this way those two verbs ''were'' historically similar to Spanish verbs ''ser'' and ''estar'') – this usage isn’t very common today, but you’ll find it in poetry, and perhaps in some longer sentences in more regular speech:

* '''is fuar an oidhche i''' ''the night is cold'' or ''it is a cold night'',
* '''is math am fear e''' ''the man is good'' or ''he is a good man'',
* '''is brònach mi''' ''I am sad'',
* '''is bochd nach robh iadsan cho dìcheallach''' ''it’s a pity that they were not so dilligent'' (lit. ''that they were not so dilligent is unfortunate'').

Notice that if a simple noun phrase (like '''an oidhche''' ''the night'' in the first example or '''am fear''' ''the man'' in the second) is the subject, then it is followed by a pronoun agreeing with it.

This archaic structure is very common in one particular phrase:

* '''is math sin''' ''that is good''

(but ''tha sin math'' is also grammatically correct way to say ''that is good'')

==== Other set phrases and constructions ====

Copula is part of the phrase for ''I like'' and ''I prefer'' in Gaelic:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|toigh leam}} {{color|blue|an t-àite seo}}''' (or: '''is toil leam…''') ''I like this place'', very literally ''{{color|blue|this place}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pleasant/delight with me}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|green|fheàrr le Seumas}} {{color|blue|Èirinn}}''' ''James prefers Ireland'', very literally ''{{color|blue|Ireland}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|better with James}}''.

There are more types of such phrases (like ''is {{smallcaps|⟨adjective⟩}} leam'' or ''orm'') in Gaelic – but I don’t know them too well, so will probably edit this in the future when I gather more examples.

== Dependent forms ==

So what about the dependent form I mentioned? You use it after some particles that generally require the dependent forms of verbs. Some of them are: the negating '''cha(n)''' ''not'', the interrogative (questioning) '''a(n/m)?''' ''is? does?'', the negative interrogative '''nach?''' ''is not? does not?'', the question word '''càit(e) a(n/m)?''' ''where?'', '''gu(n/m)''' ''that'' introducing indirect speech, etc.

As I wrote, the dependent form of the substantive verb '''bi''' in present tense is '''(bh)eil''':

* '''chan eil mi gu math''' ''I am not well'' – here the verb '''tha''' changed to the dependent form '''eil''',
* '''a bheil an ceapaire air a’ bhòrd?''' ''is the sandwich on the table?'' – here the dependent '''bheil''' is used,
* '''thuirt i gu bheil thu an sin''' ''she said that you are there''.

As for the difference between '''eil''' and '''bheil''':

* use '''eil''' if the particle lenites – that is, '''chan''', and also '''nach''' which lenites only initial ''f-'' (historically ''(bh)eil'' actually started with ''f-'', see below),
* use '''bheil''' if the particle ends in ''-n'' or ''-m'' and does not lenite, but remove the final ''-m, -n'' (like '''an/am''' → '''a bheil''', '''gun/gum''' → '''gu bheil''').

(In Classical Gaelic the historical dependent form was actually ''fuil'' which lenited to ''fhuil'', eg. ''chan fhuil'' ‘is not’, and was eclipsed to ''bhfuil'' in eg. ''go bhfuil…'' ‘that is…’ – you’ll still find these forms in modern Irish – that’s the reason for the disappearing '''bh''').

The dependent form of the copula '''is''' in the present tense is ''zero'', that is, in the present tense the copula generally ''disappears'' in the dependent positions. Thus:

* '''chan e Seumas rìgh Shasainn''' ''James is not the king of England'',
* '''nach i Màiri bànrigh na h-Alba?''' ''isn’t Mairi the queen of Scotland?'',
* '''chan e tidsear a th’ annad''' ''you are not a teacher'',
* '''an e iasgairean a th’ annaibh?''' ''are y’all fishers?'',
* '''an ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat?''' ''is it on the table that the cat is?''.

But it replaces the ''-n'' with ''-r'' in '''gun''' ('''gun''' + '''is''' → '''gur'''):

* '''thuirt i gur e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'',
* '''tha mi a’ smaoineachadh gur e Iain am fear a ghoid drathais''' ''I am thinking that Iain is the one who stole underpants''.

Sometimes you’ll see '''gur''' also prefixing '''h-''' to vowels: '''thuirt i gur h-e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'', '''smaoinich sinn gur h-ann a’ goid a bha e''' ''we thought that stealing he was'' (lit. ''that it’s at stealing that he was'').

== Past and future tenses ==

Past forms of the verb '''bi''' are independent '''bha''' and dependent '''robh''', eg.:

* '''bha mi anns a’ bhàta''' ''I was in the boat'',
* '''an robh thu toilichte?''' ''were you happy?'',
* '''thuirt e gun robh thu brònach''' ''he said that you were sad''.

And the future and present habitual forms are indep. '''bidh''' (you’ll sometimes see longer '''bithidh''') and dep. '''bi''' and also relative '''bios''' (or '''bitheas''') which we’ll not spend much time on now:

* '''bidh an cù an sin''' ''the dog will be there'',
* '''nach bi Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha?''' ''doesn’t Iain steal trousers every day?'', lit. ''isn’t (habitually) Iain at stealing (of) trousers every day?'',
* '''thuirt Màiri rium gum bi (Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha)''' ''Mairi told me that (Iain) does (steal trousers every day)'',
* '''an duine a bhios anns an taigh''' ''the man that will be in the house''.

The copula '''is''' has only a past form '''bu''' which becomes '''b’''' before vowels, this is both independent and dependent form, it’s itself never lenited, and it generally lenites the following word but not ''t'' or pronouns ''tu, sibh, sinn''.

This form is also a ''conditional'', so it has too meanings: past ''was, were'' and conditional ''would be'':

* '''bu mhise an tidsear''' ''I was the teacher'' or ''I would be the teacher'',
* '''am bu toigh leat bainne?''' ''would you like milk'' (or less likely ''did you like milk?'')
* '''am bu tusa an t-iasgair?''' ''were you the fisher?'',
* '''b’ i Màiri mo phiuthar''' ''Mairi was my sister'',
* or archaic '''cha bu tidsear e''' ''he was not a teacher'', '''bu shaighdear i''' ''she was a soldier''.

To turn the ''’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' construction into the past tense, you just use the past of the substantive verb (and optionally of the copula):

* '''’s e tidsear a bh’ annad''' ''you were a teacher'' (''a teacher is what was in you'') or '''b’ e tidsear a bh’ annad''' (''a teachar was what was in you''),
* '''an e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' or '''am b’ e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' ''were you a fisher?''.

Similarly to turn it into the future, you just change '''tha''' into the future relative '''bhios''':

* '''’s e iasgair a bhios annad''' ''you will be a fisher'',
* '''’s e athair air leth a bhios annad''' ''you will be an outstanding father''.

== Answering yes-no questions ==

In the sections on dependent forms and past/future tenses you saw how to form yes-no questions involving copula and the substantive verb. Now briefly on answering them.

Gaelic does not have a single ''yes'' and ''no'' words. To give positive or negative answer to a question you just repeat the verb.

Thus if one asks you '''a bheil thu gu math?''' ''are you well?'' you can reply with:

* '''tha''' for ''yes'',
* '''chan eil''' for ''no'',

or if one asks you '''an robh thu ann an Alba?''' ''were you in Scotland?'', you reply with:

* '''bha''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha robh''' for ''no''.

Notice that the form of the verb agrees with the question – if the present tense '''a bheil…?''' was asked, then the answer is present tense '''tha''' or '''chan eil''', if the question is past tense '''an robh?''' then the answer also is in past '''bha''' or '''cha robh'''.

Notice also that you don’t need to repeat the whole sentence, just the verb is enough – the subject and the predicate are already known from context – the question asked.

That’s not true for copula – it '''cannot''' stand on its own, it is always unstressed and so it '''always''' needs a predicate.

Thus if one asks you '''an toigh leat Alba?''' or '''an toil leat Alba''' ''do you like Scotland?'' you answer with:

* '''is toigh''' or '''is toil''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha toigh''' or '''cha toil''' if you are a bad human being.

Or if someone asks you '''an tusa Màiri?''' ''are you Mairi?'', you answer:

* '''is mi''',
* or '''cha mhi'''.

== Other resourses ==

Other explanations on the web:

* [https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/45459577/Guide-to-Scottish-Gaelic-%E2%80%98to-be%E2%80%99-the-linking-verbs-substantive-%E2%80%98bi-tha%E2%80%99-the-copula-%E2%80%98is%E2%80%99 The original ''Guide'' on Duolingo forums]
* [https://puxill.livejournal.com/350730.html ''Supplemental Notes on Using the Defective Verb "IS"'']

Literature:

* ''Gaelic Verbs Systemised and Simplified'' by Colin B.D. Mark (he calls the copula ''the assertive verb'')
* ''Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks'' by Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh (Lesson 2 introduces copula of identification, Lesson 5 introduces classification sentences and deals with fronting, Lesson 10 deals with indirect speech and '''gur''')
* [https://archive.org/details/gaelicgrammarcon00cald/page/256/mode/2up ''A Gaelic Grammar'' by George Calder], 1923, linked is the part on copula – it is old but gives a lot of examples of fronting.

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ceud mìle taing do Joy Dunlop agus do joannejoanne12 airson a’ cheartachaidh agus a’ chuideachaidh!

[[Category:Gaelic]]

Guide to Scottish Gaelic to be, the linking verbs: substantive bi, tha & the copula is

2022-08-17T15:15:23Z

Muiris: /* The copula IS and how to say what or who something is */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Guide to Scottish Gaelic ''to be'', the linking verbs: substantive ''bi, tha'' & the copula ''is''}}
… or how to say ''I am…''?

This is one of the subjects that seems to be quite challenging to learners (and understandably so!) – this guide aims to explain it in a systematic and relatively comprehensive way.

'''DISCLAIMER''': This is a copy of a guide originally posted on Duolingo forums and written '''not''' by a native Gaelic speaker, but rather just a foreign learner of Irish and Scottish Gaelic. The author ''believes'' that he has a reasonable understanding of those Gaelic verbs in question and most of the examples here are taken from other sources – but nevertheless there might be some mistakes here. If you spot any – don’t hesitate to point them out or correct them if you have an account on this wiki.

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First let’s define two terms:

* '''subject''' – the thing or person about whom the given sentence is, it is the main noun phrase in the sentence, eg. in the sentence “'''Tom''' has a cat” '''Tom''' is the subject, in the sentence “'''The people around here''' are very nice” '''the people around here''' are the subject.
* '''predicate''' of a linking or copular verb – the phrase that goes after ''is'' in English, eg. in “a cat is '''an animal'''” '''an animal''' is the predicate, in “the boat is '''on the sea'''” the predicate is '''on the sea''', thus the predicate is the thing that the subject is linked to with ''is''.

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Scottish Gaelic has two separate words to translate the English ''to be'' verb depending on context.

The first one is the ''substantive verb '''bi'''''. The second one is the ''copula '''is'''''.

== The substantive verb ''BI'' ==

The form '''bi''' is what you’ll find as a headword in dictionaries, it is the singular imperative command form ''be!''.

In the present tense its independent form is '''tha''' and the dependent form is '''(bh)eil''' (more on that in a minute).

You use this verb for stating '''how''', '''where''' or '''when''' something is or what something is '''like''' – for describing something and stating its whereabouts. That means that this verb takes '''only''' ''adverbs'', ''adjectives'', and ''prepositional phrases'' as its predicates:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|gu math}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|well}}'', here an adverb – '''gu math''' ''well'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|blasta}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tasty}}'', here an adjective – '''blasta''' ''tasty'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|air a’ bhòrd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|on the table}}'', here a prepositional phrase – '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|salach}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|dirty}}'', again an adjective as the predicate.

When the predicate is an adjective, it always stays in its base form, compare:

* '''na cait mhòra''' ''the big cats'' (with ''mhòra'' ‘big’ having plural form, and lenited after a plural noun formed by slenderization)
* with '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|na cait}} {{color|green|mòr}}''' ''{{color|blue|the cats}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|big}}'' (''mòr'' staying in base unlenited form).

And:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ phàirc mhòr}} {{color|green|brèagha}}''' ''{{color|blue|the big park}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pretty}}'' – here ''mhòr'' is lenited because it ''attributes'' a feminine noun ''pàirc'' directly, but ''brèagha'' stays in the basic unlenited form because it is a ''predicate'' to the verb and not directly linked to the noun.

<div class="warningbox">'''Remember!''' You '''cannot''' use a noun phrase as a predicate of this verb, so you cannot say something like <s>''*tha e fear''</s> – this sentence simply doesn’t make any sense in Gaelic, '''fear''' ''a man'' is a noun and as such cannot be a predicate here.</div>

=== Existentials or ''there is…'' ===

'''Bi''' is also used for existential sentences like ''there is a dog in the house'' – this sentence means that ''a dog'' exists and that dog is located ''in the house''. English (like other Germanic languages) doesn’t like indefinite subjects of such sentences and starts them with a ''dummy subject'' '''there''' a bit as if defining this dummy ''there'' as ''a dog in the house''. Also that’s the reason why the story starts with ''In a hole in the ground '''there lived''' a hobbit'' and not simply <s>''… a hobbit lived''</s>. Many languages don’t do this and just straightforwardly say something like ''a dog is in the house'', that’s what happens in Gaelic:

* '''tha cù anns an taigh''' ''there is a dog in the house'' – it’s a simple sentence with an indefinite subject '''cù''' ''a dog'' and a prepositional predicate '''anns an taigh''' ''in the house'' stating where the existing dog is.

But '''tha''' always needs ''some'' predicate. In some languages you could say something like ''good people are'' in the meaning ''there are good people, good people generally exist'' – but not in Gaelic. Here enters our friend the ''dummy predicate'' '''ann''' ''there, in general existence''. If you lack a predicate for an existential sentence, you just stick '''ann''' there:

* '''tha deagh dhaoine ann''' ''there are good people'',
* but '''tha deagh dhaoine ann an Alba''' ''there are good people in Scotland'' without this ''ann'' (because '''ann an Alba''' already works as a predicate).

This '''ann''' might also mean ''here, there, somewhere around'' when the subject is definite as in

* '''tha Seumas ann''' ''James is here/there'' (James is present and you can find him somewhere around).

So, having that out of the way – how do you say ''he is a man''? Or ''you are the king of Scotland''? Well… let’s look at the copula, shall we?

== The copula ''IS'' and how to say ''what'' or ''who'' something or someone is ==

I intentionally avoid the word ''verb'' when writing about the copula, although you’ll often see it called ''the copula verb'' or ''the assertive verb'' or something like that. That’s because it has its own syntax and doesn’t really behave like a verb (and has fewer forms) so it is a bit of its own grammatical category in the Gaelic language.

The present form is '''is''' and there is no imperative (so you’ll find it under '''is''' in dictionaries). This is often shortened to '''’s''' after or before vowels.

You '''have to''' use the copula if you want to create a simple ''X is Y'' sentence and the predicate is a noun phrase (there are some idiomatic phrases without the copula but they don’t translate literally, we’ll look at them later).

There are quite a few different patterns involving the copula – sorry, I don’t think I can make it shorter.

=== Identification – definite predicates ===

If the predicate is ''definite'' – that is you identify the subject to some specific person or thing ('''''the''' teacher'', ''my brother'', ''Calum'', ''the king of Scotland'') and not just state what ''kind of thing'' the subject is, then the pattern is:

==== is (e/i/iad) {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|mise}} {{color|green|Calum}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|Calum}}'', the predicate is a definite noun – '''Calum''', some particular defined person – the copula is used directly;
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|an duine a chunnaic mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the person I saw}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|rìgh na h-Alba}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the king of Scotland}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|esan}} {{color|green|an tidsear}}''' ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|an ceapaire agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my sandwich}}'', the predicate again is a definite noun phrase – '''an ceapaire agam''' ''the sandwich of mine, my sandwich'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|an Tighearna}} {{color|green|mo bhuachaille}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Lord}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my shepherd}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|Seumas}} {{color|green|bràthair Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|James}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s brother}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|Màiri}} {{color|green|piuthar Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|Mairi}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s sister}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|cànan na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the language of Scottish Highlands}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s iad}} {{color|blue|na Gàidheil}} {{color|green|luchd na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Gaels}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the people of Gaeldom/Scottish Highlands}}''.

Note that if the subject is not a pronoun itself, then a pronoun '''e''', '''i''', or '''iad''' is inserted after the copula – it generally agrees in gender with the subject ('''’s e Seumas…''', '''’s i Màiri…''', '''’s i a’ Ghàidhlig…''', '''’s iad na Gàidheil…''').

Also generally emphatic pronouns ('''mise''', '''tusa''', '''esan''', '''ise''', '''iadsan''', etc.) are used in such sentences. But note ''’s e…'' for ‘it is’ (''esan'' suggests a sentient being, so you would still use ''e'' for ‘it’ here).

But there is a tendency to use '''e''' regardless of the gender and number, eg. '''’s e a’ chaileag sin mo phiùthar''' ''that girl is my sister'', '''’s e na daoine sin na dotairean''' ''those people are the doctors'' , or old proverb '''’s e do shùil do cheannaiche''' ''your eye is your merchant'' – even though '''do shùil''' is feminine, here ''I think'' that '''e''' agrees with the predicate '''do cheannaiche''' ''your merchant'' (in that case it’d be an archaic feature here).

If the subject is itself a pronoun (like '''mise''' or '''tusa'''), then no other pronoun is inserted. Often the copula in such sentences is dropped (so just '''mise Calum''', '''thusa an duine…''').

If the subject is '''seo''' ''this'', '''sin''' ''that'', or '''siud''' ''that over there, yonder'' then the copula is commonly dropped (and you’ll see those sentences without copula in the Duolingo course a lot):

* '''’s e {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' or commonly just '''{{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} is {{color|green|my cat}}'';
* '''’s i {{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' or commonly '''{{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' ''{{color|blue|that}} is {{color|green|my mother}}''.

=== Classification – indefinite predicates ===

When the predicate is indefinite – you want to state ''what kind of thing'' something or someone is, like in ''he is '''a doctor''''', ''I am '''a student''''', ''Gaelic is '''a Celtic language''''', ''cats are '''animals''''', then there are a few different ways. First let’s look at the most straightforward – but '''very''' poetic/archaic and high-brow way that you wouldn’t use in a normal conversation, but it’s helpful to understand. The general syntax of the copula is:

==== is {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ''(archaic, poetic)'' ====

This was historically the original syntax of the copula. And thus in the older poetic language you’d say:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|e}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a sandwich}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tidsear}} {{color|blue|mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|a teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|iasg}} {{color|blue|breac}}''' ''{{color|blue|a trout}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a fish}}''.

But as I wrote above, that wouldn’t be used commonly today. And Duolingo generally '''won’t accept''' such sentences.

Instead different idiomatic periphrastic phrases are used. The most common one is probably

==== ’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} is what is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' or ''it’s {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} that is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}''. Saying that ''thing1 is in thing2'' is just a Gaelic way of stating that ''thing2'' is ''thing1''. Thus:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann}}''' ''it is a sandwich'', but literally something like: ''{{color|teal|a sandwich}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in it}}'' or ''it’s a sandwich that is in it'' – notice that a prepositional phrase '''ann''' ''in it'' is the predicate of '''tha''', not a noun;
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|tidsear}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annam}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a teacher}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in me}}'' or ''it’s a teacher that is in me'' – again a prepositional phrase '''annam''' ''in me'' is the predicate of '''tha''';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag chrodha}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann am Mòrag}}''' ''Morag is a brave girl'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a brave girl}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in Morag}}'' or ''it’s a brave girl that is in Morag'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|cànan Ceilteach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|anns a’ Ghàidhlig}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a Celtic language}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in the Gaelic}}'' or ''it’s a Celtic language that is in the Gaelic'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag bhòidheach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|innte}}''' ''she is a beautiful girl'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|a beautiful girl}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in her}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|oileanaich}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annta}}''' ''they are students'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|students}} {{color|red|are (it, this)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in them}}''.

The pronoun is always '''e''' in this type of sentences. Also notice how to say ‘it is a sandwich’ you have to say ''’s e ceapaire '''a th’ ann''''' and the ''’s e ceapaire'' part on its own doesn’t work.

I ''believe'' that’s because historically this sentence is just like the archaic one above, ''’s e ceapaire…'' meant really ‘a sandwich is it…’ where ''ceapaire'' ‘a sandwich’ was the subject and ''e'' ‘it’ was just a placeholder predicate anticipating what will be said later: ''a th’ ann'' ‘that is in it’. Kinda like ''a sandwich is this – what is in it''. Thus '''e''' ''it'' stands for the relative clause '''a tha ann an…''' ''that is in'', and since the relative clause is just ''it'', doesn’t have a gender or number of its own, the generic '''e''' is used and ''’s e ceapaire…'' is just an abruptly unfinished sentence missing something. I’m not ''entirely sure'' if I interpret this correctly though.

If the subject is '''seo''', '''sin''', '''siud''', then the ''ann an'' part is dropped:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cù}} {{color|blue|a tha seo}}''' ''this is a dog'', lit. ''{{color|green|a dog}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is this}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cat}} {{color|blue|a tha sin}}''' ''that is a cat'', lit. ''{{color|green|a cat}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is that}}''.

This is one exception to the ''no noun phrase predicates to the '''tha''' verb'' (but then ''seo'' and ''sin'' aren’t really nouns, so…).

But you might also encouter the regular '''’s e cù a th’ ann an seo''', lit. ''a dog is what is '''in this''''' – but this is rarer. Also, if ''ann an seo'' is present, it might sound and be written also as ''ann a sheo'' or similar.

==== tha {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} na {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} is '''in its''' {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' ('''na''' here means ''in his/her/its'' and will be replaced by appropriate form agreeing with the subject, eg. '''tha mi nam…''' for ''I am in my…'', '''tha thu nad…''' for ''you (sg.) are in your…'', etc.). This one is interesting as it uses the '''substantive verb''' and not the copula – but note that the actual predicate in the Gaelic sentence is the phrase '''in its {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}''' – so actually a prepositional phrase.

This structure is often used to state one’s profession but is not restricted to such use:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam thidsear}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|in my teacher}}'' – ''only'' the '''tha''' verb, but the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''nam thidsear''' ''in my teacher'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|na cànan Ceilteach}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|the Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in her Celtic language}}'' the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''na cànan Ceilteach''' ''in her Celtic language'' (feminine non-leniting '''na''' ''in her'' because the word '''Gàidhlig''' is feminine, ''Gaelic'' is a she in Gaelic ;-));
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|iad}} {{color|green|nan dotairean}}''' ''they are doctors'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|they}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|in their doctors}}'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|na charaid dhomh}}''' ''he is a friend of mine'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in his friend to me}}''.

This construction is more often used with temporary states rather than permanent ones. That’s why it tends to be used when stating one’s profession, you say ''I (currently) am a teacher'' (but maybe in 3 years I’ll be doing something else) – because of this hint of non-permanent description it’s often used in past tense to give description that is no longer true:

* '''nuair a {{color|red|bha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam bhalach òg}}…''' ''when I was a young boy (but I no longer am)…'', literally ''the-time that {{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|was}} {{color|green|in my young boy}}…''

but it ''doesn’t have to'' mean the state is temporary – it just doesn’t suggest that it is permanent as strongly as [[#’s e ⟨predicate⟩ a th’ ann an ⟨subject⟩|''’s e Y a th’ ann an X'']] tends to.

And finally:

==== seo/sin/siud {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

Similarly to the identification sentences, you can also just say ''’s e seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' or ''seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' to classify ''this'', and the same goes for ''sin'' and ''siud'':

* '''(’s e) seo bogsa mòr''' ''this is a big box'',
* '''(’s e) sin cat''' ''that is a cat'',
* '''(’s e) siud cù''' ''that over there/yonder is a dog''.

=== Other uses of copula ===

Contrary to the ''substantive verb'', copula isn’t that restricted in what kind of predicates it takes. And in some common expressions it actually takes prepositional phrases, adjectives, and other grammatical creatures as its predicates.

==== Fronting – topicalization or putting emphasis on part of sentence ====

A very common use of copula is ''fronting'' – moving some part of a sentence to put emphasis on it – to make it the ''topic'', the ''main point'' of the sentence. The rest of the sentence, with the main verb, is put in a relative clause then. Compare:

* '''tha an cat air a’ bhòrd''' ''the cat is on the table'' – no fronting, no copula, neutral sentence,
* '''’s e an cat a tha air a’ bhòrd''' ''it is '''the cat''' that is on the table'' – '''an cat''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the thing on the table is '''the cat''',
* '''’s ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat''' ''it is '''on the table''' that the cat is'' – '''air a’ bhòrd''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the location of the cat is '''on the table'''.

Notice that in Gaelic '''’s ann''' is generally used if the fronted element is not a noun (like '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' is a full prepositional phrase), other examples would be:

* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|à Obair Dheathain}} {{color|blue|a tha e}}''' ''he is '''from Aberdeen''''' (''{{color|red|it is}} {{color|green|from Aberdeen}} {{color|blue|that he is}}''),
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|air oidhche fhuar gheamhraidh}} {{color|blue|a thachair e rium}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|'''on a cold winter’s night'''}} {{color|blue|that he met me}}'',
* or even '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|a’ cluiche anns an iodhlann}} {{color|blue|a tha iad}}''' ''they are playing in the yard'' (''it is playing in the yard that they are''), or very literally, ''{{color|red|it’s}} {{color|green|at playing in the yard}} {{color|blue|that they are}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|an-dè}} {{color|blue|a bha sinn ga dhèanamh}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|yesterday}} {{color|blue|that we were doing it}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|gu làidir}} {{color|blue|a bhuaileas e an t-iarann}}''' ''{{color|red|(it’s)}} {{color|green|strongly}} {{color|blue|(that) he strikes the iron}}''.

A bit more archaic way to front an an adverb doesn’t need ''’s ann'', but the '''gu''' disappears, compare the last example above with these:

* '''{{color|blue|thog e}} {{color|green|gu h-aotrom}} {{color|red|i}}''' ''{{color|blue|he lifted}} {{color|red|her}} {{color|green|lightly}}'',
* but '''is {{color|green|aotrom}} {{color|blue|a thog e}} {{color|red|i}}''' '''''lightly''' he lifted her'' (lit. ''it is {{color|green|lightly}} {{color|blue|that he lifted}} {{color|red|her}}''),
* or in an old poem '''’s {{color|green|daingeann}} {{color|blue|a bhuail iad às gach taobh sibh}}''' ''{{color|green|fiercely}} {{color|blue|they struck you from every side}}'' (from ''Cumha Ni Mhic Raonuill'', ''Ni Mhic Raonuill’s Lament'').

==== Emphasis when describing ====

In older language the copula was used to state more permanent features (while the substantive verb was used for temporary states – in this way those two verbs ''were'' historically similar to Spanish verbs ''ser'' and ''estar'') – this usage isn’t very common today, but you’ll find it in poetry, and perhaps in some longer sentences in more regular speech:

* '''is fuar an oidhche i''' ''the night is cold'' or ''it is a cold night'',
* '''is math am fear e''' ''the man is good'' or ''he is a good man'',
* '''is brònach mi''' ''I am sad'',
* '''is bochd nach robh iadsan cho dìcheallach''' ''it’s a pity that they were not so dilligent'' (lit. ''that they were not so dilligent is unfortunate'').

Notice that if a simple noun phrase (like '''an oidhche''' ''the night'' in the first example or '''am fear''' ''the man'' in the second) is the subject, then it is followed by a pronoun agreeing with it.

This archaic structure is very common in one particular phrase:

* '''is math sin''' ''that is good''

(but ''tha sin math'' is also grammatically correct way to say ''that is good'')

==== Other set phrases and constructions ====

Copula is part of the phrase for ''I like'' and ''I prefer'' in Gaelic:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|toigh leam}} {{color|blue|an t-àite seo}}''' (or: '''is toil leam…''') ''I like this place'', very literally ''{{color|blue|this place}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pleasant/delight with me}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|green|fheàrr le Seumas}} {{color|blue|Èirinn}}''' ''James prefers Ireland'', very literally ''{{color|blue|Ireland}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|better with James}}''.

There are more types of such phrases (like ''is {{smallcaps|⟨adjective⟩}} leam'' or ''orm'') in Gaelic – but I don’t know them too well, so will probably edit this in the future when I gather more examples.

== Dependent forms ==

So what about the dependent form I mentioned? You use it after some particles that generally require the dependent forms of verbs. Some of them are: the negating '''cha(n)''' ''not'', the interrogative (questioning) '''a(n/m)?''' ''is? does?'', the negative interrogative '''nach?''' ''is not? does not?'', the question word '''càit(e) a(n/m)?''' ''where?'', '''gu(n/m)''' ''that'' introducing indirect speech, etc.

As I wrote, the dependent form of the substantive verb '''bi''' in present tense is '''(bh)eil''':

* '''chan eil mi gu math''' ''I am not well'' – here the verb '''tha''' changed to the dependent form '''eil''',
* '''a bheil an ceapaire air a’ bhòrd?''' ''is the sandwich on the table?'' – here the dependent '''bheil''' is used,
* '''thuirt i gu bheil thu an sin''' ''she said that you are there''.

As for the difference between '''eil''' and '''bheil''':

* use '''eil''' if the particle lenites – that is, '''chan''', and also '''nach''' which lenites only initial ''f-'' (historically ''(bh)eil'' actually started with ''f-'', see below),
* use '''bheil''' if the particle ends in ''-n'' or ''-m'' and does not lenite, but remove the final ''-m, -n'' (like '''an/am''' → '''a bheil''', '''gun/gum''' → '''gu bheil''').

(In Classical Gaelic the historical dependent form was actually ''fuil'' which lenited to ''fhuil'', eg. ''chan fhuil'' ‘is not’, and was eclipsed to ''bhfuil'' in eg. ''go bhfuil…'' ‘that is…’ – you’ll still find these forms in modern Irish – that’s the reason for the disappearing '''bh''').

The dependent form of the copula '''is''' in the present tense is ''zero'', that is, in the present tense the copula generally ''disappears'' in the dependent positions. Thus:

* '''chan e Seumas rìgh Shasainn''' ''James is not the king of England'',
* '''nach i Màiri bànrigh na h-Alba?''' ''isn’t Mairi the queen of Scotland?'',
* '''chan e tidsear a th’ annad''' ''you are not a teacher'',
* '''an e iasgairean a th’ annaibh?''' ''are y’all fishers?'',
* '''an ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat?''' ''is it on the table that the cat is?''.

But it replaces the ''-n'' with ''-r'' in '''gun''' ('''gun''' + '''is''' → '''gur'''):

* '''thuirt i gur e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'',
* '''tha mi a’ smaoineachadh gur e Iain am fear a ghoid drathais''' ''I am thinking that Iain is the one who stole underpants''.

Sometimes you’ll see '''gur''' also prefixing '''h-''' to vowels: '''thuirt i gur h-e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'', '''smaoinich sinn gur h-ann a’ goid a bha e''' ''we thought that stealing he was'' (lit. ''that it’s at stealing that he was'').

== Past and future tenses ==

Past forms of the verb '''bi''' are independent '''bha''' and dependent '''robh''', eg.:

* '''bha mi anns a’ bhàta''' ''I was in the boat'',
* '''an robh thu toilichte?''' ''were you happy?'',
* '''thuirt e gun robh thu brònach''' ''he said that you were sad''.

And the future and present habitual forms are indep. '''bidh''' (you’ll sometimes see longer '''bithidh''') and dep. '''bi''' and also relative '''bios''' (or '''bitheas''') which we’ll not spend much time on now:

* '''bidh an cù an sin''' ''the dog will be there'',
* '''nach bi Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha?''' ''doesn’t Iain steal trousers every day?'', lit. ''isn’t (habitually) Iain at stealing (of) trousers every day?'',
* '''thuirt Màiri rium gum bi (Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha)''' ''Mairi told me that (Iain) does (steal trousers every day)'',
* '''an duine a bhios anns an taigh''' ''the man that will be in the house''.

The copula '''is''' has only a past form '''bu''' which becomes '''b’''' before vowels, this is both independent and dependent form, it’s itself never lenited, and it generally lenites the following word but not ''t'' or pronouns ''tu, sibh, sinn''.

This form is also a ''conditional'', so it has too meanings: past ''was, were'' and conditional ''would be'':

* '''bu mhise an tidsear''' ''I was the teacher'' or ''I would be the teacher'',
* '''am bu toigh leat bainne?''' ''would you like milk'' (or less likely ''did you like milk?'')
* '''am bu tusa an t-iasgair?''' ''were you the fisher?'',
* '''b’ i Màiri mo phiuthar''' ''Mairi was my sister'',
* or archaic '''cha bu tidsear e''' ''he was not a teacher'', '''bu shaighdear i''' ''she was a soldier''.

To turn the ''’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' construction into the past tense, you just use the past of the substantive verb (and optionally of the copula):

* '''’s e tidsear a bh’ annad''' ''you were a teacher'' (''a teacher is what was in you'') or '''b’ e tidsear a bh’ annad''' (''a teachar was what was in you''),
* '''an e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' or '''am b’ e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' ''were you a fisher?''.

Similarly to turn it into the future, you just change '''tha''' into the future relative '''bhios''':

* '''’s e iasgair a bhios annad''' ''you will be a fisher'',
* '''’s e athair air leth a bhios annad''' ''you will be an outstanding father''.

== Answering yes-no questions ==

In the sections on dependent forms and past/future tenses you saw how to form yes-no questions involving copula and the substantive verb. Now briefly on answering them.

Gaelic does not have a single ''yes'' and ''no'' words. To give positive or negative answer to a question you just repeat the verb.

Thus if one asks you '''a bheil thu gu math?''' ''are you well?'' you can reply with:

* '''tha''' for ''yes'',
* '''chan eil''' for ''no'',

or if one asks you '''an robh thu ann an Alba?''' ''were you in Scotland?'', you reply with:

* '''bha''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha robh''' for ''no''.

Notice that the form of the verb agrees with the question – if the present tense '''a bheil…?''' was asked, then the answer is present tense '''tha''' or '''chan eil''', if the question is past tense '''an robh?''' then the answer also is in past '''bha''' or '''cha robh'''.

Notice also that you don’t need to repeat the whole sentence, just the verb is enough – the subject and the predicate are already known from context – the question asked.

That’s not true for copula – it '''cannot''' stand on its own, it is always unstressed and so it '''always''' needs a predicate.

Thus if one asks you '''an toigh leat Alba?''' or '''an toil leat Alba''' ''do you like Scotland?'' you answer with:

* '''is toigh''' or '''is toil''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha toigh''' or '''cha toil''' if you are a bad human being.

Or if someone asks you '''an tusa Màiri?''' ''are you Mairi?'', you answer:

* '''is mi''',
* or '''cha mhi'''.

== Other resourses ==

Other explanations on the web:

* [https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/45459577/Guide-to-Scottish-Gaelic-%E2%80%98to-be%E2%80%99-the-linking-verbs-substantive-%E2%80%98bi-tha%E2%80%99-the-copula-%E2%80%98is%E2%80%99 The original ''Guide'' on Duolingo forums]
* [https://puxill.livejournal.com/350730.html ''Supplemental Notes on Using the Defective Verb "IS"'']

Literature:

* ''Gaelic Verbs Systemised and Simplified'' by Colin B.D. Mark (he calls the copula ''the assertive verb'')
* ''Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks'' by Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh (Lesson 2 introduces copula of identification, Lesson 5 introduces classification sentences and deals with fronting, Lesson 10 deals with indirect speech and '''gur''')
* [https://archive.org/details/gaelicgrammarcon00cald/page/256/mode/2up ''A Gaelic Grammar'' by George Calder], 1923, linked is the part on copula – it is old but gives a lot of examples of fronting.

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ceud mìle taing do Joy Dunlop agus do joannejoanne12 airson a’ cheartachaidh agus a’ chuideachaidh!

[[Category:Gaelic]]

Guide to Scottish Gaelic to be, the linking verbs: substantive bi, tha & the copula is

2022-08-17T14:26:59Z

Muiris: /* The substantive verb BI */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Guide to Scottish Gaelic ''to be'', the linking verbs: substantive ''bi, tha'' & the copula ''is''}}
… or how to say ''I am…''?

This is one of the subjects that seems to be quite challenging to learners (and understandably so!) – this guide aims to explain it in a systematic and relatively comprehensive way.

'''DISCLAIMER''': This is a copy of a guide originally posted on Duolingo forums and written '''not''' by a native Gaelic speaker, but rather just a foreign learner of Irish and Scottish Gaelic. The author ''believes'' that he has a reasonable understanding of those Gaelic verbs in question and most of the examples here are taken from other sources – but nevertheless there might be some mistakes here. If you spot any – don’t hesitate to point them out or correct them if you have an account on this wiki.

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First let’s define two terms:

* '''subject''' – the thing or person about whom the given sentence is, it is the main noun phrase in the sentence, eg. in the sentence “'''Tom''' has a cat” '''Tom''' is the subject, in the sentence “'''The people around here''' are very nice” '''the people around here''' are the subject.
* '''predicate''' of a linking or copular verb – the phrase that goes after ''is'' in English, eg. in “a cat is '''an animal'''” '''an animal''' is the predicate, in “the boat is '''on the sea'''” the predicate is '''on the sea''', thus the predicate is the thing that the subject is linked to with ''is''.

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Scottish Gaelic has two separate words to translate the English ''to be'' verb depending on context.

The first one is the ''substantive verb '''bi'''''. The second one is the ''copula '''is'''''.

== The substantive verb ''BI'' ==

The form '''bi''' is what you’ll find as a headword in dictionaries, it is the singular imperative command form ''be!''.

In the present tense its independent form is '''tha''' and the dependent form is '''(bh)eil''' (more on that in a minute).

You use this verb for stating '''how''', '''where''' or '''when''' something is or what something is '''like''' – for describing something and stating its whereabouts. That means that this verb takes '''only''' ''adverbs'', ''adjectives'', and ''prepositional phrases'' as its predicates:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|gu math}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|well}}'', here an adverb – '''gu math''' ''well'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|blasta}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tasty}}'', here an adjective – '''blasta''' ''tasty'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|air a’ bhòrd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|on the table}}'', here a prepositional phrase – '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|salach}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|dirty}}'', again an adjective as the predicate.

When the predicate is an adjective, it always stays in its base form, compare:

* '''na cait mhòra''' ''the big cats'' (with ''mhòra'' ‘big’ having plural form, and lenited after a plural noun formed by slenderization)
* with '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|na cait}} {{color|green|mòr}}''' ''{{color|blue|the cats}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|big}}'' (''mòr'' staying in base unlenited form).

And:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ phàirc mhòr}} {{color|green|brèagha}}''' ''{{color|blue|the big park}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pretty}}'' – here ''mhòr'' is lenited because it ''attributes'' a feminine noun ''pàirc'' directly, but ''brèagha'' stays in the basic unlenited form because it is a ''predicate'' to the verb and not directly linked to the noun.

<div class="warningbox">'''Remember!''' You '''cannot''' use a noun phrase as a predicate of this verb, so you cannot say something like <s>''*tha e fear''</s> – this sentence simply doesn’t make any sense in Gaelic, '''fear''' ''a man'' is a noun and as such cannot be a predicate here.</div>

=== Existentials or ''there is…'' ===

'''Bi''' is also used for existential sentences like ''there is a dog in the house'' – this sentence means that ''a dog'' exists and that dog is located ''in the house''. English (like other Germanic languages) doesn’t like indefinite subjects of such sentences and starts them with a ''dummy subject'' '''there''' a bit as if defining this dummy ''there'' as ''a dog in the house''. Also that’s the reason why the story starts with ''In a hole in the ground '''there lived''' a hobbit'' and not simply <s>''… a hobbit lived''</s>. Many languages don’t do this and just straightforwardly say something like ''a dog is in the house'', that’s what happens in Gaelic:

* '''tha cù anns an taigh''' ''there is a dog in the house'' – it’s a simple sentence with an indefinite subject '''cù''' ''a dog'' and a prepositional predicate '''anns an taigh''' ''in the house'' stating where the existing dog is.

But '''tha''' always needs ''some'' predicate. In some languages you could say something like ''good people are'' in the meaning ''there are good people, good people generally exist'' – but not in Gaelic. Here enters our friend the ''dummy predicate'' '''ann''' ''there, in general existence''. If you lack a predicate for an existential sentence, you just stick '''ann''' there:

* '''tha deagh dhaoine ann''' ''there are good people'',
* but '''tha deagh dhaoine ann an Alba''' ''there are good people in Scotland'' without this ''ann'' (because '''ann an Alba''' already works as a predicate).

This '''ann''' might also mean ''here, there, somewhere around'' when the subject is definite as in

* '''tha Seumas ann''' ''James is here/there'' (James is present and you can find him somewhere around).

So, having that out of the way – how do you say ''he is a man''? Or ''you are the king of Scotland''? Well… let’s look at the copula, shall we?

== The copula ''IS'' and how to say ''what'' or ''who'' something is ==

I intentionally avoid the word ''verb'' when writing about the copula, although you’ll often see it called ''the copula verb'' or ''the assertive verb'' or something like that. That’s because it has its own syntax and doesn’t really behave like a verb (and has fewer forms) so it is a bit of its own grammatical category in the Gaelic language.

The present form is '''is''' and there is no imperative (so you’ll find it under '''is''' in dictionaries). This is often shortened to '''’s''' after or before vowels.

You '''have to''' use the copula if you want to create a simple ''X is Y'' sentence and the predicate is a noun phrase (there are some idiomatic phrases without the copula but they don’t translate literally, we’ll look at them later).

There is quite a few different patterns involving the copula – sorry, I don’t think I can make it shorter.

=== Identification – definite predicates ===

If the predicate is ''definite'' – that is you identify the subject to some specific person or thing ('''''the''' teacher'', ''my brother'', ''Calum'', ''the king of Scotland'') and not just state what ''kind of thing'' the subject is, then the pattern is:

==== is (e/i/iad) {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|mise}} {{color|green|Calum}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|Calum}}'', the predicate is a definite noun – '''Calum''', some particular defined person – the copula is used directly;
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|an duine a chunnaic mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the person I saw}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|rìgh na h-Alba}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the king of Scotland}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|esan}} {{color|green|an tidsear}}''' ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|an ceapaire agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my sandwich}}'', the predicate again is a definite noun phrase – '''an ceapaire agam''' ''the sandwich of mine, my sandwich'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|an Tighearna}} {{color|green|mo bhuachaille}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Lord}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my shepherd}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|Seumas}} {{color|green|bràthair Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|James}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s brother}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|Màiri}} {{color|green|piuthar Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|Mairi}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s sister}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|cànan na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the language of Scottish Highlands}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s iad}} {{color|blue|na Gàidheil}} {{color|green|luchd na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Gaels}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the people of Gaeldom/Scottish Highlands}}''.

Note that if the subject is not a pronoun itself, then a pronoun '''e''', '''i''', or '''iad''' is inserted after the copula – it generally agrees in gender with the subject ('''’s e Seumas…''', '''’s i Màiri…''', '''’s i a’ Ghàidhlig…''', '''’s iad na Gàidheil…''').

Also generally emphatic pronouns ('''mise''', '''tusa''', '''esan''', '''ise''', '''iadsan''', etc.) are used in such sentences. But note ''’s e…'' for ‘it is’ (''esan'' suggests a sentient being, so you would still use ''e'' for ‘it’ here).

But there is a tendency to use '''e''' regardless of the gender and number, eg. '''’s e a’ chaileag sin mo phiùthar''' ''that girl is my sister'', '''’s e na daoine sin na dotairean''' ''those people are the doctors'' , or old proverb '''’s e do shùil do cheannaiche''' ''your eye is your merchant'' – even though '''do shùil''' is feminine, here ''I think'' that '''e''' agrees with the predicate '''do cheannaiche''' ''your merchant'' (in that case it’d be an archaic feature here).

If the subject is itself a pronoun (like '''mise''' or '''tusa'''), then no other pronoun is inserted. Often the copula in such sentences is dropped (so just '''mise Calum''', '''thusa an duine…''').

If the subject is '''seo''' ''this'', '''sin''' ''that'', or '''siud''' ''that over there, yonder'' then the copula is commonly dropped (and you’ll see those sentences without copula in the Duolingo course a lot):

* '''’s e {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' or commonly just '''{{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} is {{color|green|my cat}}'';
* '''’s i {{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' or commonly '''{{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' ''{{color|blue|that}} is {{color|green|my mother}}''.

=== Classification – indefinite predicates ===

When the predicate is indefinite – you want to state ''what kind of thing'' something or someone is, like in ''he is '''a doctor''''', ''I am '''a student''''', ''Gaelic is '''a Celtic language''''', ''cats are '''animals''''', then there are a few different ways. First let’s look at the most straightforward – but '''very''' poetic/archaic and high-brow way that you wouldn’t use in a normal conversation, but it’s helpful to understand. The general syntax of the copula is:

==== is {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ''(archaic, poetic)'' ====

This was historically the original syntax of the copula. And thus in the older poetic language you’d say:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|e}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a sandwich}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tidsear}} {{color|blue|mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|a teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|iasg}} {{color|blue|breac}}''' ''{{color|blue|a trout}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a fish}}''.

But as I wrote above, that wouldn’t be used commonly today. And Duolingo generally '''won’t accept''' such sentences.

Instead different idiomatic periphrastic phrases are used. The most common one is probably

==== ’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} is what is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' or ''it’s {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} that is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}''. Saying that ''thing1 is in thing2'' is just a Gaelic way of stating that ''thing2'' is ''thing1''. Thus:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann}}''' ''it is a sandwich'', but literally something like: ''{{color|teal|a sandwich}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in it}}'' or ''it’s a sandwich that is in it'' – notice that a prepositional phrase '''ann''' ''in it'' is the predicate of '''tha''', not a noun;
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|tidsear}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annam}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a teacher}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in me}}'' or ''it’s a teacher that is in me'' – again a prepositional phrase '''annam''' ''in me'' is the predicate of '''tha''';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag chrodha}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann am Mòrag}}''' ''Morag is a brave girl'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a brave girl}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in Morag}}'' or ''it’s a brave girl that is in Morag'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|cànan Ceilteach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|anns a’ Ghàidhlig}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a Celtic language}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in the Gaelic}}'' or ''it’s a Celtic language that is in the Gaelic'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag bhòidheach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|innte}}''' ''she is a beautiful girl'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|a beautiful girl}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in her}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|oileanaich}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annta}}''' ''they are students'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|students}} {{color|red|are (it, this)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in them}}''.

The pronoun is always '''e''' in this type of sentences. Also notice how to say ‘it is a sandwich’ you have to say ''’s e ceapaire '''a th’ ann''''' and the ''’s e ceapaire'' part on its own doesn’t work.

I ''believe'' that’s because historically this sentence is just like the archaic one above, ''’s e ceapaire…'' meant really ‘a sandwich is it…’ where ''ceapaire'' ‘a sandwich’ was the subject and ''e'' ‘it’ was just a placeholder predicate anticipating what will be said later: ''a th’ ann'' ‘that is in it’. Kinda like ''a sandwich is this – what is in it''. Thus '''e''' ''it'' stands for the relative clause '''a tha ann an…''' ''that is in'', and since the relative clause is just ''it'', doesn’t have a gender or number of its own, the generic '''e''' is used and ''’s e ceapaire…'' is just an abruptly unfinished sentence missing something. I’m not ''entirely sure'' if I interpret this correctly though.

If the subject is '''seo''', '''sin''', '''siud''', then the ''ann an'' part is dropped:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cù}} {{color|blue|a tha seo}}''' ''this is a dog'', lit. ''{{color|green|a dog}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is this}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cat}} {{color|blue|a tha sin}}''' ''that is a cat'', lit. ''{{color|green|a cat}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is that}}''.

This is one exception to the ''no noun phrase predicates to the '''tha''' verb'' (but then ''seo'' and ''sin'' aren’t really nouns, so…).

But you might also encouter the regular '''’s e cù a th’ ann an seo''', lit. ''a dog is what is '''in this''''' – but this is rarer. Also, if ''ann an seo'' is present, it might sound and be written also as ''ann a sheo'' or similar.

==== tha {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} na {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} is '''in its''' {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' ('''na''' here means ''in his/her/its'' and will be replaced by appropriate form agreeing with the subject, eg. '''tha mi nam…''' for ''I am in my…'', '''tha thu nad…''' for ''you (sg.) are in your…'', etc.). This one is interesting as it uses the '''substantive verb''' and not the copula – but note that the actual predicate in the Gaelic sentence is the phrase '''in its {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}''' – so actually a prepositional phrase.

This structure is often used to state one’s profession but is not restricted to such use:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam thidsear}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|in my teacher}}'' – ''only'' the '''tha''' verb, but the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''nam thidsear''' ''in my teacher'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|na cànan Ceilteach}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|the Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in her Celtic language}}'' the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''na cànan Ceilteach''' ''in her Celtic language'' (feminine non-leniting '''na''' ''in her'' because the word '''Gàidhlig''' is feminine, ''Gaelic'' is a she in Gaelic ;-));
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|iad}} {{color|green|nan dotairean}}''' ''they are doctors'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|they}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|in their doctors}}'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|na charaid dhomh}}''' ''he is a friend of mine'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in his friend to me}}''.

This construction is more often used with temporary states rather than permanent ones. That’s why it tends to be used when stating one’s profession, you say ''I (currently) am a teacher'' (but maybe in 3 years I’ll be doing something else) – because of this hint of non-permanent description it’s often used in past tense to give description that is no longer true:

* '''nuair a {{color|red|bha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam bhalach òg}}…''' ''when I was a young boy (but I no longer am)…'', literally ''the-time that {{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|was}} {{color|green|in my young boy}}…''

but it ''doesn’t have to'' mean the state is temporary – it just doesn’t suggest that it is permanent as strongly as [[#’s e ⟨predicate⟩ a th’ ann an ⟨subject⟩|''’s e Y a th’ ann an X'']] tends to.

And finally:

==== seo/sin/siud {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

Similarly to the identification sentences, you can also just say ''’s e seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' or ''seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' to classify ''this'', and the same goes for ''sin'' and ''siud'':

* '''(’s e) seo bogsa mòr''' ''this is a big box'',
* '''(’s e) sin cat''' ''that is a cat'',
* '''(’s e) siud cù''' ''that over there/yonder is a dog''.

=== Other uses of copula ===

Contrary to the ''substantive verb'', copula isn’t that restricted in what kind of predicates it takes. And in some common expressions it actually takes prepositional phrases, adjectives, and other grammatical creatures as its predicates.

==== Fronting – topicalization or putting emphasis on part of sentence ====

A very common use of copula is ''fronting'' – moving some part of a sentence to put emphasis on it – to make it the ''topic'', the ''main point'' of the sentence. The rest of the sentence, with the main verb, is put in a relative clause then. Compare:

* '''tha an cat air a’ bhòrd''' ''the cat is on the table'' – no fronting, no copula, neutral sentence,
* '''’s e an cat a tha air a’ bhòrd''' ''it is '''the cat''' that is on the table'' – '''an cat''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the thing on the table is '''the cat''',
* '''’s ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat''' ''it is '''on the table''' that the cat is'' – '''air a’ bhòrd''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the location of the cat is '''on the table'''.

Notice that in Gaelic '''’s ann''' is generally used if the fronted element is not a noun (like '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' is a full prepositional phrase), other examples would be:

* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|à Obair Dheathain}} {{color|blue|a tha e}}''' ''he is '''from Aberdeen''''' (''{{color|red|it is}} {{color|green|from Aberdeen}} {{color|blue|that he is}}''),
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|air oidhche fhuar gheamhraidh}} {{color|blue|a thachair e rium}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|'''on a cold winter’s night'''}} {{color|blue|that he met me}}'',
* or even '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|a’ cluiche anns an iodhlann}} {{color|blue|a tha iad}}''' ''they are playing in the yard'' (''it is playing in the yard that they are''), or very literally, ''{{color|red|it’s}} {{color|green|at playing in the yard}} {{color|blue|that they are}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|an-dè}} {{color|blue|a bha sinn ga dhèanamh}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|yesterday}} {{color|blue|that we were doing it}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|gu làidir}} {{color|blue|a bhuaileas e an t-iarann}}''' ''{{color|red|(it’s)}} {{color|green|strongly}} {{color|blue|(that) he strikes the iron}}''.

A bit more archaic way to front an an adverb doesn’t need ''’s ann'', but the '''gu''' disappears, compare the last example above with these:

* '''{{color|blue|thog e}} {{color|green|gu h-aotrom}} {{color|red|i}}''' ''{{color|blue|he lifted}} {{color|red|her}} {{color|green|lightly}}'',
* but '''is {{color|green|aotrom}} {{color|blue|a thog e}} {{color|red|i}}''' '''''lightly''' he lifted her'' (lit. ''it is {{color|green|lightly}} {{color|blue|that he lifted}} {{color|red|her}}''),
* or in an old poem '''’s {{color|green|daingeann}} {{color|blue|a bhuail iad às gach taobh sibh}}''' ''{{color|green|fiercely}} {{color|blue|they struck you from every side}}'' (from ''Cumha Ni Mhic Raonuill'', ''Ni Mhic Raonuill’s Lament'').

==== Emphasis when describing ====

In older language the copula was used to state more permanent features (while the substantive verb was used for temporary states – in this way those two verbs ''were'' historically similar to Spanish verbs ''ser'' and ''estar'') – this usage isn’t very common today, but you’ll find it in poetry, and perhaps in some longer sentences in more regular speech:

* '''is fuar an oidhche i''' ''the night is cold'' or ''it is a cold night'',
* '''is math am fear e''' ''the man is good'' or ''he is a good man'',
* '''is brònach mi''' ''I am sad'',
* '''is bochd nach robh iadsan cho dìcheallach''' ''it’s a pity that they were not so dilligent'' (lit. ''that they were not so dilligent is unfortunate'').

Notice that if a simple noun phrase (like '''an oidhche''' ''the night'' in the first example or '''am fear''' ''the man'' in the second) is the subject, then it is followed by a pronoun agreeing with it.

This archaic structure is very common in one particular phrase:

* '''is math sin''' ''that is good''

(but ''tha sin math'' is also grammatically correct way to say ''that is good'')

==== Other set phrases and constructions ====

Copula is part of the phrase for ''I like'' and ''I prefer'' in Gaelic:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|toigh leam}} {{color|blue|an t-àite seo}}''' (or: '''is toil leam…''') ''I like this place'', very literally ''{{color|blue|this place}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pleasant/delight with me}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|green|fheàrr le Seumas}} {{color|blue|Èirinn}}''' ''James prefers Ireland'', very literally ''{{color|blue|Ireland}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|better with James}}''.

There are more types of such phrases (like ''is {{smallcaps|⟨adjective⟩}} leam'' or ''orm'') in Gaelic – but I don’t know them too well, so will probably edit this in the future when I gather more examples.

== Dependent forms ==

So what about the dependent form I mentioned? You use it after some particles that generally require the dependent forms of verbs. Some of them are: the negating '''cha(n)''' ''not'', the interrogative (questioning) '''a(n/m)?''' ''is? does?'', the negative interrogative '''nach?''' ''is not? does not?'', the question word '''càit(e) a(n/m)?''' ''where?'', '''gu(n/m)''' ''that'' introducing indirect speech, etc.

As I wrote, the dependent form of the substantive verb '''bi''' in present tense is '''(bh)eil''':

* '''chan eil mi gu math''' ''I am not well'' – here the verb '''tha''' changed to the dependent form '''eil''',
* '''a bheil an ceapaire air a’ bhòrd?''' ''is the sandwich on the table?'' – here the dependent '''bheil''' is used,
* '''thuirt i gu bheil thu an sin''' ''she said that you are there''.

As for the difference between '''eil''' and '''bheil''':

* use '''eil''' if the particle lenites – that is, '''chan''', and also '''nach''' which lenites only initial ''f-'' (historically ''(bh)eil'' actually started with ''f-'', see below),
* use '''bheil''' if the particle ends in ''-n'' or ''-m'' and does not lenite, but remove the final ''-m, -n'' (like '''an/am''' → '''a bheil''', '''gun/gum''' → '''gu bheil''').

(In Classical Gaelic the historical dependent form was actually ''fuil'' which lenited to ''fhuil'', eg. ''chan fhuil'' ‘is not’, and was eclipsed to ''bhfuil'' in eg. ''go bhfuil…'' ‘that is…’ – you’ll still find these forms in modern Irish – that’s the reason for the disappearing '''bh''').

The dependent form of the copula '''is''' in the present tense is ''zero'', that is, in the present tense the copula generally ''disappears'' in the dependent positions. Thus:

* '''chan e Seumas rìgh Shasainn''' ''James is not the king of England'',
* '''nach i Màiri bànrigh na h-Alba?''' ''isn’t Mairi the queen of Scotland?'',
* '''chan e tidsear a th’ annad''' ''you are not a teacher'',
* '''an e iasgairean a th’ annaibh?''' ''are y’all fishers?'',
* '''an ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat?''' ''is it on the table that the cat is?''.

But it replaces the ''-n'' with ''-r'' in '''gun''' ('''gun''' + '''is''' → '''gur'''):

* '''thuirt i gur e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'',
* '''tha mi a’ smaoineachadh gur e Iain am fear a ghoid drathais''' ''I am thinking that Iain is the one who stole underpants''.

Sometimes you’ll see '''gur''' also prefixing '''h-''' to vowels: '''thuirt i gur h-e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'', '''smaoinich sinn gur h-ann a’ goid a bha e''' ''we thought that stealing he was'' (lit. ''that it’s at stealing that he was'').

== Past and future tenses ==

Past forms of the verb '''bi''' are independent '''bha''' and dependent '''robh''', eg.:

* '''bha mi anns a’ bhàta''' ''I was in the boat'',
* '''an robh thu toilichte?''' ''were you happy?'',
* '''thuirt e gun robh thu brònach''' ''he said that you were sad''.

And the future and present habitual forms are indep. '''bidh''' (you’ll sometimes see longer '''bithidh''') and dep. '''bi''' and also relative '''bios''' (or '''bitheas''') which we’ll not spend much time on now:

* '''bidh an cù an sin''' ''the dog will be there'',
* '''nach bi Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha?''' ''doesn’t Iain steal trousers every day?'', lit. ''isn’t (habitually) Iain at stealing (of) trousers every day?'',
* '''thuirt Màiri rium gum bi (Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha)''' ''Mairi told me that (Iain) does (steal trousers every day)'',
* '''an duine a bhios anns an taigh''' ''the man that will be in the house''.

The copula '''is''' has only a past form '''bu''' which becomes '''b’''' before vowels, this is both independent and dependent form, it’s itself never lenited, and it generally lenites the following word but not ''t'' or pronouns ''tu, sibh, sinn''.

This form is also a ''conditional'', so it has too meanings: past ''was, were'' and conditional ''would be'':

* '''bu mhise an tidsear''' ''I was the teacher'' or ''I would be the teacher'',
* '''am bu toigh leat bainne?''' ''would you like milk'' (or less likely ''did you like milk?'')
* '''am bu tusa an t-iasgair?''' ''were you the fisher?'',
* '''b’ i Màiri mo phiuthar''' ''Mairi was my sister'',
* or archaic '''cha bu tidsear e''' ''he was not a teacher'', '''bu shaighdear i''' ''she was a soldier''.

To turn the ''’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' construction into the past tense, you just use the past of the substantive verb (and optionally of the copula):

* '''’s e tidsear a bh’ annad''' ''you were a teacher'' (''a teacher is what was in you'') or '''b’ e tidsear a bh’ annad''' (''a teachar was what was in you''),
* '''an e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' or '''am b’ e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' ''were you a fisher?''.

Similarly to turn it into the future, you just change '''tha''' into the future relative '''bhios''':

* '''’s e iasgair a bhios annad''' ''you will be a fisher'',
* '''’s e athair air leth a bhios annad''' ''you will be an outstanding father''.

== Answering yes-no questions ==

In the sections on dependent forms and past/future tenses you saw how to form yes-no questions involving copula and the substantive verb. Now briefly on answering them.

Gaelic does not have a single ''yes'' and ''no'' words. To give positive or negative answer to a question you just repeat the verb.

Thus if one asks you '''a bheil thu gu math?''' ''are you well?'' you can reply with:

* '''tha''' for ''yes'',
* '''chan eil''' for ''no'',

or if one asks you '''an robh thu ann an Alba?''' ''were you in Scotland?'', you reply with:

* '''bha''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha robh''' for ''no''.

Notice that the form of the verb agrees with the question – if the present tense '''a bheil…?''' was asked, then the answer is present tense '''tha''' or '''chan eil''', if the question is past tense '''an robh?''' then the answer also is in past '''bha''' or '''cha robh'''.

Notice also that you don’t need to repeat the whole sentence, just the verb is enough – the subject and the predicate are already known from context – the question asked.

That’s not true for copula – it '''cannot''' stand on its own, it is always unstressed and so it '''always''' needs a predicate.

Thus if one asks you '''an toigh leat Alba?''' or '''an toil leat Alba''' ''do you like Scotland?'' you answer with:

* '''is toigh''' or '''is toil''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha toigh''' or '''cha toil''' if you are a bad human being.

Or if someone asks you '''an tusa Màiri?''' ''are you Mairi?'', you answer:

* '''is mi''',
* or '''cha mhi'''.

== Other resourses ==

Other explanations on the web:

* [https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/45459577/Guide-to-Scottish-Gaelic-%E2%80%98to-be%E2%80%99-the-linking-verbs-substantive-%E2%80%98bi-tha%E2%80%99-the-copula-%E2%80%98is%E2%80%99 The original ''Guide'' on Duolingo forums]
* [https://puxill.livejournal.com/350730.html ''Supplemental Notes on Using the Defective Verb "IS"'']

Literature:

* ''Gaelic Verbs Systemised and Simplified'' by Colin B.D. Mark (he calls the copula ''the assertive verb'')
* ''Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks'' by Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh (Lesson 2 introduces copula of identification, Lesson 5 introduces classification sentences and deals with fronting, Lesson 10 deals with indirect speech and '''gur''')
* [https://archive.org/details/gaelicgrammarcon00cald/page/256/mode/2up ''A Gaelic Grammar'' by George Calder], 1923, linked is the part on copula – it is old but gives a lot of examples of fronting.

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ceud mìle taing do Joy Dunlop agus do joannejoanne12 airson a’ cheartachaidh agus a’ chuideachaidh!

[[Category:Gaelic]]

Guide to Scottish Gaelic to be, the linking verbs: substantive bi, tha & the copula is

2022-08-17T14:24:27Z

Muiris: /* Existentials or there is… */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Guide to Scottish Gaelic ''to be'', the linking verbs: substantive ''bi, tha'' & the copula ''is''}}
… or how to say ''I am…''?

This is one of the subjects that seems to be quite challenging to learners (and understandably so!) – this guide aims to explain it in a systematic and relatively comprehensive way.

'''DISCLAIMER''': This is a copy of a guide originally posted on Duolingo forums and written '''not''' by a native Gaelic speaker, but rather just a foreign learner of Irish and Scottish Gaelic. The author ''believes'' that he has a reasonable understanding of those Gaelic verbs in question and most of the examples here are taken from other sources – but nevertheless there might be some mistakes here. If you spot any – don’t hesitate to point them out or correct them if you have an account on this wiki.

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First let’s define two terms:

* '''subject''' – the thing or person about whom the given sentence is, it is the main noun phrase in the sentence, eg. in the sentence “'''Tom''' has a cat” '''Tom''' is the subject, in the sentence “'''The people around here''' are very nice” '''the people around here''' are the subject.
* '''predicate''' of a linking or copular verb – the phrase that goes after ''is'' in English, eg. in “a cat is '''an animal'''” '''an animal''' is the predicate, in “the boat is '''on the sea'''” the predicate is '''on the sea''', thus the predicate is the thing that the subject is linked to with ''is''.

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Scottish Gaelic has two separate words to translate the English ''to be'' verb depending on context.

The first one is the ''substantive verb '''bi'''''. The second one is the ''copula '''is'''''.

== The substantive verb ''BI'' ==

The form '''bi''' is what you’ll find as a headword in dictionaries, it is the singular imperative command form ''be!''.

In the present tense its independent form is '''tha''' and the dependent form is '''(bh)eil''' (more on that in a minute).

You use this verb for stating '''how''', '''where''', '''when''', or what something is '''like''' – for describing something and stating its whereabouts. That means that this verb takes '''only''' ''adverbs'', ''adjectives'', and ''prepositional phrases'' as its predicates:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|gu math}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|well}}'', here an adverb – '''gu math''' ''well'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|blasta}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tasty}}'', here an adjective – '''blasta''' ''tasty'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|air a’ bhòrd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|on the table}}'', here a prepositional phrase – '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|salach}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|dirty}}'', again an adjective as the predicate.

When the predicate is an adjective, it always stays in its base form, compare:

* '''na cait mhòra''' ''the big cats'' (with ''mhòra'' ‘big’ having plural form, and lenited after a plural noun formed by slenderization)
* with '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|na cait}} {{color|green|mòr}}''' ''{{color|blue|the cats}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|big}}'' (''mòr'' staying in base unlenited form).

And:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ phàirc mhòr}} {{color|green|brèagha}}''' ''{{color|blue|the big park}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pretty}}'' – here ''mhòr'' is lenited because it ''attributes'' a feminine noun ''pàirc'' directly, but ''brèagha'' stays in the basic unlenited form because it is a ''predicate'' to the verb and not directly linked to the noun.

<div class="warningbox">'''Remember!''' You '''cannot''' use a noun phrase as a predicate of this verb, so you cannot say something like <s>''*tha e fear''</s> – this sentence simply doesn’t make any sense in Gaelic, '''fear''' ''a man'' is a noun and as such cannot be a predicate here.</div>

=== Existentials or ''there is…'' ===

'''Bi''' is also used for existential sentences like ''there is a dog in the house'' – this sentence means that ''a dog'' exists and that dog is located ''in the house''. English (like other Germanic languages) doesn’t like indefinite subjects of such sentences and starts them with a ''dummy subject'' '''there''' a bit as if defining this dummy ''there'' as ''a dog in the house''. Also that’s the reason why the story starts with ''In a hole in the ground '''there lived''' a hobbit'' and not simply <s>''… a hobbit lived''</s>. Many languages don’t do this and just straightforwardly say something like ''a dog is in the house'', that’s what happens in Gaelic:

* '''tha cù anns an taigh''' ''there is a dog in the house'' – it’s a simple sentence with an indefinite subject '''cù''' ''a dog'' and a prepositional predicate '''anns an taigh''' ''in the house'' stating where the existing dog is.

But '''tha''' always needs ''some'' predicate. In some languages you could say something like ''good people are'' in the meaning ''there are good people, good people generally exist'' – but not in Gaelic. Here enters our friend the ''dummy predicate'' '''ann''' ''there, in general existence''. If you lack a predicate for an existential sentence, you just stick '''ann''' there:

* '''tha deagh dhaoine ann''' ''there are good people'',
* but '''tha deagh dhaoine ann an Alba''' ''there are good people in Scotland'' without this ''ann'' (because '''ann an Alba''' already works as a predicate).

This '''ann''' might also mean ''here, there, somewhere around'' when the subject is definite as in

* '''tha Seumas ann''' ''James is here/there'' (James is present and you can find him somewhere around).

So, having that out of the way – how do you say ''he is a man''? Or ''you are the king of Scotland''? Well… let’s look at the copula, shall we?

== The copula ''IS'' and how to say ''what'' or ''who'' something is ==

I intentionally avoid the word ''verb'' when writing about the copula, although you’ll often see it called ''the copula verb'' or ''the assertive verb'' or something like that. That’s because it has its own syntax and doesn’t really behave like a verb (and has fewer forms) so it is a bit of its own grammatical category in the Gaelic language.

The present form is '''is''' and there is no imperative (so you’ll find it under '''is''' in dictionaries). This is often shortened to '''’s''' after or before vowels.

You '''have to''' use the copula if you want to create a simple ''X is Y'' sentence and the predicate is a noun phrase (there are some idiomatic phrases without the copula but they don’t translate literally, we’ll look at them later).

There is quite a few different patterns involving the copula – sorry, I don’t think I can make it shorter.

=== Identification – definite predicates ===

If the predicate is ''definite'' – that is you identify the subject to some specific person or thing ('''''the''' teacher'', ''my brother'', ''Calum'', ''the king of Scotland'') and not just state what ''kind of thing'' the subject is, then the pattern is:

==== is (e/i/iad) {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|mise}} {{color|green|Calum}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|Calum}}'', the predicate is a definite noun – '''Calum''', some particular defined person – the copula is used directly;
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|an duine a chunnaic mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the person I saw}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|rìgh na h-Alba}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the king of Scotland}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|esan}} {{color|green|an tidsear}}''' ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|an ceapaire agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my sandwich}}'', the predicate again is a definite noun phrase – '''an ceapaire agam''' ''the sandwich of mine, my sandwich'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|an Tighearna}} {{color|green|mo bhuachaille}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Lord}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my shepherd}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|Seumas}} {{color|green|bràthair Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|James}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s brother}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|Màiri}} {{color|green|piuthar Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|Mairi}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s sister}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|cànan na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the language of Scottish Highlands}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s iad}} {{color|blue|na Gàidheil}} {{color|green|luchd na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Gaels}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the people of Gaeldom/Scottish Highlands}}''.

Note that if the subject is not a pronoun itself, then a pronoun '''e''', '''i''', or '''iad''' is inserted after the copula – it generally agrees in gender with the subject ('''’s e Seumas…''', '''’s i Màiri…''', '''’s i a’ Ghàidhlig…''', '''’s iad na Gàidheil…''').

Also generally emphatic pronouns ('''mise''', '''tusa''', '''esan''', '''ise''', '''iadsan''', etc.) are used in such sentences. But note ''’s e…'' for ‘it is’ (''esan'' suggests a sentient being, so you would still use ''e'' for ‘it’ here).

But there is a tendency to use '''e''' regardless of the gender and number, eg. '''’s e a’ chaileag sin mo phiùthar''' ''that girl is my sister'', '''’s e na daoine sin na dotairean''' ''those people are the doctors'' , or old proverb '''’s e do shùil do cheannaiche''' ''your eye is your merchant'' – even though '''do shùil''' is feminine, here ''I think'' that '''e''' agrees with the predicate '''do cheannaiche''' ''your merchant'' (in that case it’d be an archaic feature here).

If the subject is itself a pronoun (like '''mise''' or '''tusa'''), then no other pronoun is inserted. Often the copula in such sentences is dropped (so just '''mise Calum''', '''thusa an duine…''').

If the subject is '''seo''' ''this'', '''sin''' ''that'', or '''siud''' ''that over there, yonder'' then the copula is commonly dropped (and you’ll see those sentences without copula in the Duolingo course a lot):

* '''’s e {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' or commonly just '''{{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} is {{color|green|my cat}}'';
* '''’s i {{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' or commonly '''{{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' ''{{color|blue|that}} is {{color|green|my mother}}''.

=== Classification – indefinite predicates ===

When the predicate is indefinite – you want to state ''what kind of thing'' something or someone is, like in ''he is '''a doctor''''', ''I am '''a student''''', ''Gaelic is '''a Celtic language''''', ''cats are '''animals''''', then there are a few different ways. First let’s look at the most straightforward – but '''very''' poetic/archaic and high-brow way that you wouldn’t use in a normal conversation, but it’s helpful to understand. The general syntax of the copula is:

==== is {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ''(archaic, poetic)'' ====

This was historically the original syntax of the copula. And thus in the older poetic language you’d say:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|e}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a sandwich}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tidsear}} {{color|blue|mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|a teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|iasg}} {{color|blue|breac}}''' ''{{color|blue|a trout}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a fish}}''.

But as I wrote above, that wouldn’t be used commonly today. And Duolingo generally '''won’t accept''' such sentences.

Instead different idiomatic periphrastic phrases are used. The most common one is probably

==== ’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} is what is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' or ''it’s {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} that is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}''. Saying that ''thing1 is in thing2'' is just a Gaelic way of stating that ''thing2'' is ''thing1''. Thus:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann}}''' ''it is a sandwich'', but literally something like: ''{{color|teal|a sandwich}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in it}}'' or ''it’s a sandwich that is in it'' – notice that a prepositional phrase '''ann''' ''in it'' is the predicate of '''tha''', not a noun;
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|tidsear}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annam}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a teacher}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in me}}'' or ''it’s a teacher that is in me'' – again a prepositional phrase '''annam''' ''in me'' is the predicate of '''tha''';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag chrodha}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann am Mòrag}}''' ''Morag is a brave girl'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a brave girl}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in Morag}}'' or ''it’s a brave girl that is in Morag'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|cànan Ceilteach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|anns a’ Ghàidhlig}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a Celtic language}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in the Gaelic}}'' or ''it’s a Celtic language that is in the Gaelic'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag bhòidheach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|innte}}''' ''she is a beautiful girl'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|a beautiful girl}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in her}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|oileanaich}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annta}}''' ''they are students'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|students}} {{color|red|are (it, this)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in them}}''.

The pronoun is always '''e''' in this type of sentences. Also notice how to say ‘it is a sandwich’ you have to say ''’s e ceapaire '''a th’ ann''''' and the ''’s e ceapaire'' part on its own doesn’t work.

I ''believe'' that’s because historically this sentence is just like the archaic one above, ''’s e ceapaire…'' meant really ‘a sandwich is it…’ where ''ceapaire'' ‘a sandwich’ was the subject and ''e'' ‘it’ was just a placeholder predicate anticipating what will be said later: ''a th’ ann'' ‘that is in it’. Kinda like ''a sandwich is this – what is in it''. Thus '''e''' ''it'' stands for the relative clause '''a tha ann an…''' ''that is in'', and since the relative clause is just ''it'', doesn’t have a gender or number of its own, the generic '''e''' is used and ''’s e ceapaire…'' is just an abruptly unfinished sentence missing something. I’m not ''entirely sure'' if I interpret this correctly though.

If the subject is '''seo''', '''sin''', '''siud''', then the ''ann an'' part is dropped:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cù}} {{color|blue|a tha seo}}''' ''this is a dog'', lit. ''{{color|green|a dog}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is this}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cat}} {{color|blue|a tha sin}}''' ''that is a cat'', lit. ''{{color|green|a cat}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is that}}''.

This is one exception to the ''no noun phrase predicates to the '''tha''' verb'' (but then ''seo'' and ''sin'' aren’t really nouns, so…).

But you might also encouter the regular '''’s e cù a th’ ann an seo''', lit. ''a dog is what is '''in this''''' – but this is rarer. Also, if ''ann an seo'' is present, it might sound and be written also as ''ann a sheo'' or similar.

==== tha {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} na {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} is '''in its''' {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' ('''na''' here means ''in his/her/its'' and will be replaced by appropriate form agreeing with the subject, eg. '''tha mi nam…''' for ''I am in my…'', '''tha thu nad…''' for ''you (sg.) are in your…'', etc.). This one is interesting as it uses the '''substantive verb''' and not the copula – but note that the actual predicate in the Gaelic sentence is the phrase '''in its {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}''' – so actually a prepositional phrase.

This structure is often used to state one’s profession but is not restricted to such use:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam thidsear}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|in my teacher}}'' – ''only'' the '''tha''' verb, but the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''nam thidsear''' ''in my teacher'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|na cànan Ceilteach}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|the Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in her Celtic language}}'' the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''na cànan Ceilteach''' ''in her Celtic language'' (feminine non-leniting '''na''' ''in her'' because the word '''Gàidhlig''' is feminine, ''Gaelic'' is a she in Gaelic ;-));
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|iad}} {{color|green|nan dotairean}}''' ''they are doctors'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|they}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|in their doctors}}'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|na charaid dhomh}}''' ''he is a friend of mine'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in his friend to me}}''.

This construction is more often used with temporary states rather than permanent ones. That’s why it tends to be used when stating one’s profession, you say ''I (currently) am a teacher'' (but maybe in 3 years I’ll be doing something else) – because of this hint of non-permanent description it’s often used in past tense to give description that is no longer true:

* '''nuair a {{color|red|bha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam bhalach òg}}…''' ''when I was a young boy (but I no longer am)…'', literally ''the-time that {{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|was}} {{color|green|in my young boy}}…''

but it ''doesn’t have to'' mean the state is temporary – it just doesn’t suggest that it is permanent as strongly as [[#’s e ⟨predicate⟩ a th’ ann an ⟨subject⟩|''’s e Y a th’ ann an X'']] tends to.

And finally:

==== seo/sin/siud {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

Similarly to the identification sentences, you can also just say ''’s e seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' or ''seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' to classify ''this'', and the same goes for ''sin'' and ''siud'':

* '''(’s e) seo bogsa mòr''' ''this is a big box'',
* '''(’s e) sin cat''' ''that is a cat'',
* '''(’s e) siud cù''' ''that over there/yonder is a dog''.

=== Other uses of copula ===

Contrary to the ''substantive verb'', copula isn’t that restricted in what kind of predicates it takes. And in some common expressions it actually takes prepositional phrases, adjectives, and other grammatical creatures as its predicates.

==== Fronting – topicalization or putting emphasis on part of sentence ====

A very common use of copula is ''fronting'' – moving some part of a sentence to put emphasis on it – to make it the ''topic'', the ''main point'' of the sentence. The rest of the sentence, with the main verb, is put in a relative clause then. Compare:

* '''tha an cat air a’ bhòrd''' ''the cat is on the table'' – no fronting, no copula, neutral sentence,
* '''’s e an cat a tha air a’ bhòrd''' ''it is '''the cat''' that is on the table'' – '''an cat''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the thing on the table is '''the cat''',
* '''’s ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat''' ''it is '''on the table''' that the cat is'' – '''air a’ bhòrd''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the location of the cat is '''on the table'''.

Notice that in Gaelic '''’s ann''' is generally used if the fronted element is not a noun (like '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' is a full prepositional phrase), other examples would be:

* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|à Obair Dheathain}} {{color|blue|a tha e}}''' ''he is '''from Aberdeen''''' (''{{color|red|it is}} {{color|green|from Aberdeen}} {{color|blue|that he is}}''),
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|air oidhche fhuar gheamhraidh}} {{color|blue|a thachair e rium}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|'''on a cold winter’s night'''}} {{color|blue|that he met me}}'',
* or even '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|a’ cluiche anns an iodhlann}} {{color|blue|a tha iad}}''' ''they are playing in the yard'' (''it is playing in the yard that they are''), or very literally, ''{{color|red|it’s}} {{color|green|at playing in the yard}} {{color|blue|that they are}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|an-dè}} {{color|blue|a bha sinn ga dhèanamh}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|yesterday}} {{color|blue|that we were doing it}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|gu làidir}} {{color|blue|a bhuaileas e an t-iarann}}''' ''{{color|red|(it’s)}} {{color|green|strongly}} {{color|blue|(that) he strikes the iron}}''.

A bit more archaic way to front an an adverb doesn’t need ''’s ann'', but the '''gu''' disappears, compare the last example above with these:

* '''{{color|blue|thog e}} {{color|green|gu h-aotrom}} {{color|red|i}}''' ''{{color|blue|he lifted}} {{color|red|her}} {{color|green|lightly}}'',
* but '''is {{color|green|aotrom}} {{color|blue|a thog e}} {{color|red|i}}''' '''''lightly''' he lifted her'' (lit. ''it is {{color|green|lightly}} {{color|blue|that he lifted}} {{color|red|her}}''),
* or in an old poem '''’s {{color|green|daingeann}} {{color|blue|a bhuail iad às gach taobh sibh}}''' ''{{color|green|fiercely}} {{color|blue|they struck you from every side}}'' (from ''Cumha Ni Mhic Raonuill'', ''Ni Mhic Raonuill’s Lament'').

==== Emphasis when describing ====

In older language the copula was used to state more permanent features (while the substantive verb was used for temporary states – in this way those two verbs ''were'' historically similar to Spanish verbs ''ser'' and ''estar'') – this usage isn’t very common today, but you’ll find it in poetry, and perhaps in some longer sentences in more regular speech:

* '''is fuar an oidhche i''' ''the night is cold'' or ''it is a cold night'',
* '''is math am fear e''' ''the man is good'' or ''he is a good man'',
* '''is brònach mi''' ''I am sad'',
* '''is bochd nach robh iadsan cho dìcheallach''' ''it’s a pity that they were not so dilligent'' (lit. ''that they were not so dilligent is unfortunate'').

Notice that if a simple noun phrase (like '''an oidhche''' ''the night'' in the first example or '''am fear''' ''the man'' in the second) is the subject, then it is followed by a pronoun agreeing with it.

This archaic structure is very common in one particular phrase:

* '''is math sin''' ''that is good''

(but ''tha sin math'' is also grammatically correct way to say ''that is good'')

==== Other set phrases and constructions ====

Copula is part of the phrase for ''I like'' and ''I prefer'' in Gaelic:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|toigh leam}} {{color|blue|an t-àite seo}}''' (or: '''is toil leam…''') ''I like this place'', very literally ''{{color|blue|this place}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pleasant/delight with me}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|green|fheàrr le Seumas}} {{color|blue|Èirinn}}''' ''James prefers Ireland'', very literally ''{{color|blue|Ireland}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|better with James}}''.

There are more types of such phrases (like ''is {{smallcaps|⟨adjective⟩}} leam'' or ''orm'') in Gaelic – but I don’t know them too well, so will probably edit this in the future when I gather more examples.

== Dependent forms ==

So what about the dependent form I mentioned? You use it after some particles that generally require the dependent forms of verbs. Some of them are: the negating '''cha(n)''' ''not'', the interrogative (questioning) '''a(n/m)?''' ''is? does?'', the negative interrogative '''nach?''' ''is not? does not?'', the question word '''càit(e) a(n/m)?''' ''where?'', '''gu(n/m)''' ''that'' introducing indirect speech, etc.

As I wrote, the dependent form of the substantive verb '''bi''' in present tense is '''(bh)eil''':

* '''chan eil mi gu math''' ''I am not well'' – here the verb '''tha''' changed to the dependent form '''eil''',
* '''a bheil an ceapaire air a’ bhòrd?''' ''is the sandwich on the table?'' – here the dependent '''bheil''' is used,
* '''thuirt i gu bheil thu an sin''' ''she said that you are there''.

As for the difference between '''eil''' and '''bheil''':

* use '''eil''' if the particle lenites – that is, '''chan''', and also '''nach''' which lenites only initial ''f-'' (historically ''(bh)eil'' actually started with ''f-'', see below),
* use '''bheil''' if the particle ends in ''-n'' or ''-m'' and does not lenite, but remove the final ''-m, -n'' (like '''an/am''' → '''a bheil''', '''gun/gum''' → '''gu bheil''').

(In Classical Gaelic the historical dependent form was actually ''fuil'' which lenited to ''fhuil'', eg. ''chan fhuil'' ‘is not’, and was eclipsed to ''bhfuil'' in eg. ''go bhfuil…'' ‘that is…’ – you’ll still find these forms in modern Irish – that’s the reason for the disappearing '''bh''').

The dependent form of the copula '''is''' in the present tense is ''zero'', that is, in the present tense the copula generally ''disappears'' in the dependent positions. Thus:

* '''chan e Seumas rìgh Shasainn''' ''James is not the king of England'',
* '''nach i Màiri bànrigh na h-Alba?''' ''isn’t Mairi the queen of Scotland?'',
* '''chan e tidsear a th’ annad''' ''you are not a teacher'',
* '''an e iasgairean a th’ annaibh?''' ''are y’all fishers?'',
* '''an ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat?''' ''is it on the table that the cat is?''.

But it replaces the ''-n'' with ''-r'' in '''gun''' ('''gun''' + '''is''' → '''gur'''):

* '''thuirt i gur e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'',
* '''tha mi a’ smaoineachadh gur e Iain am fear a ghoid drathais''' ''I am thinking that Iain is the one who stole underpants''.

Sometimes you’ll see '''gur''' also prefixing '''h-''' to vowels: '''thuirt i gur h-e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'', '''smaoinich sinn gur h-ann a’ goid a bha e''' ''we thought that stealing he was'' (lit. ''that it’s at stealing that he was'').

== Past and future tenses ==

Past forms of the verb '''bi''' are independent '''bha''' and dependent '''robh''', eg.:

* '''bha mi anns a’ bhàta''' ''I was in the boat'',
* '''an robh thu toilichte?''' ''were you happy?'',
* '''thuirt e gun robh thu brònach''' ''he said that you were sad''.

And the future and present habitual forms are indep. '''bidh''' (you’ll sometimes see longer '''bithidh''') and dep. '''bi''' and also relative '''bios''' (or '''bitheas''') which we’ll not spend much time on now:

* '''bidh an cù an sin''' ''the dog will be there'',
* '''nach bi Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha?''' ''doesn’t Iain steal trousers every day?'', lit. ''isn’t (habitually) Iain at stealing (of) trousers every day?'',
* '''thuirt Màiri rium gum bi (Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha)''' ''Mairi told me that (Iain) does (steal trousers every day)'',
* '''an duine a bhios anns an taigh''' ''the man that will be in the house''.

The copula '''is''' has only a past form '''bu''' which becomes '''b’''' before vowels, this is both independent and dependent form, it’s itself never lenited, and it generally lenites the following word but not ''t'' or pronouns ''tu, sibh, sinn''.

This form is also a ''conditional'', so it has too meanings: past ''was, were'' and conditional ''would be'':

* '''bu mhise an tidsear''' ''I was the teacher'' or ''I would be the teacher'',
* '''am bu toigh leat bainne?''' ''would you like milk'' (or less likely ''did you like milk?'')
* '''am bu tusa an t-iasgair?''' ''were you the fisher?'',
* '''b’ i Màiri mo phiuthar''' ''Mairi was my sister'',
* or archaic '''cha bu tidsear e''' ''he was not a teacher'', '''bu shaighdear i''' ''she was a soldier''.

To turn the ''’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' construction into the past tense, you just use the past of the substantive verb (and optionally of the copula):

* '''’s e tidsear a bh’ annad''' ''you were a teacher'' (''a teacher is what was in you'') or '''b’ e tidsear a bh’ annad''' (''a teachar was what was in you''),
* '''an e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' or '''am b’ e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' ''were you a fisher?''.

Similarly to turn it into the future, you just change '''tha''' into the future relative '''bhios''':

* '''’s e iasgair a bhios annad''' ''you will be a fisher'',
* '''’s e athair air leth a bhios annad''' ''you will be an outstanding father''.

== Answering yes-no questions ==

In the sections on dependent forms and past/future tenses you saw how to form yes-no questions involving copula and the substantive verb. Now briefly on answering them.

Gaelic does not have a single ''yes'' and ''no'' words. To give positive or negative answer to a question you just repeat the verb.

Thus if one asks you '''a bheil thu gu math?''' ''are you well?'' you can reply with:

* '''tha''' for ''yes'',
* '''chan eil''' for ''no'',

or if one asks you '''an robh thu ann an Alba?''' ''were you in Scotland?'', you reply with:

* '''bha''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha robh''' for ''no''.

Notice that the form of the verb agrees with the question – if the present tense '''a bheil…?''' was asked, then the answer is present tense '''tha''' or '''chan eil''', if the question is past tense '''an robh?''' then the answer also is in past '''bha''' or '''cha robh'''.

Notice also that you don’t need to repeat the whole sentence, just the verb is enough – the subject and the predicate are already known from context – the question asked.

That’s not true for copula – it '''cannot''' stand on its own, it is always unstressed and so it '''always''' needs a predicate.

Thus if one asks you '''an toigh leat Alba?''' or '''an toil leat Alba''' ''do you like Scotland?'' you answer with:

* '''is toigh''' or '''is toil''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha toigh''' or '''cha toil''' if you are a bad human being.

Or if someone asks you '''an tusa Màiri?''' ''are you Mairi?'', you answer:

* '''is mi''',
* or '''cha mhi'''.

== Other resourses ==

Other explanations on the web:

* [https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/45459577/Guide-to-Scottish-Gaelic-%E2%80%98to-be%E2%80%99-the-linking-verbs-substantive-%E2%80%98bi-tha%E2%80%99-the-copula-%E2%80%98is%E2%80%99 The original ''Guide'' on Duolingo forums]
* [https://puxill.livejournal.com/350730.html ''Supplemental Notes on Using the Defective Verb "IS"'']

Literature:

* ''Gaelic Verbs Systemised and Simplified'' by Colin B.D. Mark (he calls the copula ''the assertive verb'')
* ''Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks'' by Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh (Lesson 2 introduces copula of identification, Lesson 5 introduces classification sentences and deals with fronting, Lesson 10 deals with indirect speech and '''gur''')
* [https://archive.org/details/gaelicgrammarcon00cald/page/256/mode/2up ''A Gaelic Grammar'' by George Calder], 1923, linked is the part on copula – it is old but gives a lot of examples of fronting.

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ceud mìle taing do Joy Dunlop agus do joannejoanne12 airson a’ cheartachaidh agus a’ chuideachaidh!

[[Category:Gaelic]]

Guide to Scottish Gaelic to be, the linking verbs: substantive bi, tha & the copula is

2022-08-17T14:23:36Z

Muiris:

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Guide to Scottish Gaelic ''to be'', the linking verbs: substantive ''bi, tha'' & the copula ''is''}}
… or how to say ''I am…''?

This is one of the subjects that seems to be quite challenging to learners (and understandably so!) – this guide aims to explain it in a systematic and relatively comprehensive way.

'''DISCLAIMER''': This is a copy of a guide originally posted on Duolingo forums and written '''not''' by a native Gaelic speaker, but rather just a foreign learner of Irish and Scottish Gaelic. The author ''believes'' that he has a reasonable understanding of those Gaelic verbs in question and most of the examples here are taken from other sources – but nevertheless there might be some mistakes here. If you spot any – don’t hesitate to point them out or correct them if you have an account on this wiki.

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First let’s define two terms:

* '''subject''' – the thing or person about whom the given sentence is, it is the main noun phrase in the sentence, eg. in the sentence “'''Tom''' has a cat” '''Tom''' is the subject, in the sentence “'''The people around here''' are very nice” '''the people around here''' are the subject.
* '''predicate''' of a linking or copular verb – the phrase that goes after ''is'' in English, eg. in “a cat is '''an animal'''” '''an animal''' is the predicate, in “the boat is '''on the sea'''” the predicate is '''on the sea''', thus the predicate is the thing that the subject is linked to with ''is''.

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Scottish Gaelic has two separate words to translate the English ''to be'' verb depending on context.

The first one is the ''substantive verb '''bi'''''. The second one is the ''copula '''is'''''.

== The substantive verb ''BI'' ==

The form '''bi''' is what you’ll find as a headword in dictionaries, it is the singular imperative command form ''be!''.

In the present tense its independent form is '''tha''' and the dependent form is '''(bh)eil''' (more on that in a minute).

You use this verb for stating '''how''', '''where''', '''when''', or what something is '''like''' – for describing something and stating its whereabouts. That means that this verb takes '''only''' ''adverbs'', ''adjectives'', and ''prepositional phrases'' as its predicates:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|gu math}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|well}}'', here an adverb – '''gu math''' ''well'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|blasta}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tasty}}'', here an adjective – '''blasta''' ''tasty'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|an ceapaire}} {{color|green|air a’ bhòrd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the sandwich}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|on the table}}'', here a prepositional phrase – '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' – is the predicate;
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|salach}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|dirty}}'', again an adjective as the predicate.

When the predicate is an adjective, it always stays in its base form, compare:

* '''na cait mhòra''' ''the big cats'' (with ''mhòra'' ‘big’ having plural form, and lenited after a plural noun formed by slenderization)
* with '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|na cait}} {{color|green|mòr}}''' ''{{color|blue|the cats}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|big}}'' (''mòr'' staying in base unlenited form).

And:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ phàirc mhòr}} {{color|green|brèagha}}''' ''{{color|blue|the big park}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pretty}}'' – here ''mhòr'' is lenited because it ''attributes'' a feminine noun ''pàirc'' directly, but ''brèagha'' stays in the basic unlenited form because it is a ''predicate'' to the verb and not directly linked to the noun.

<div class="warningbox">'''Remember!''' You '''cannot''' use a noun phrase as a predicate of this verb, so you cannot say something like <s>''*tha e fear''</s> – this sentence simply doesn’t make any sense in Gaelic, '''fear''' ''a man'' is a noun and as such cannot be a predicate here.</div>

=== Existentials or ''there is…'' ===

'''Bi''' is also used for existential sentences like ''there is a dog in the house'' – this sentence means that ''a dog'' exists and that dog is located ''in the house''. English (like other Germanic languages) doesn’t like indefinite subjects of such sentences and starts them with a ''dummy subject'' '''there''' a bit as if defining this dummy ''there'' as ''a dog in the house''. Also that’s the reason why the story starts with ''In a hole in the ground '''there lived''' a hobbit'' and not simply <s>''… a hobbit lived''</s>. Many languages don’t do this and just straightforwardly say something like ''a dog is in the house'', that’s what happens in Gaelic:

* '''tha cù anns an taigh''' ''there is a dog in the house'' – it’s a simple sentence with an idenfinite subject '''cù''' ''a dog'' and a prepositional predicate '''anns an taigh''' ''in the house'' stating where the existing dog is.

But '''tha''' always needs ''some'' predicate. In some languages you could say something like ''good people are'' in the meaning ''there are good people, good people generally exist'' – but not in Gaelic. Here enters our friend the ''dummy predicate'' '''ann''' ''there, in general existence''. If you lack a predicate for an existential sentence, you just stick '''ann''' there:

* '''tha deagh dhaoine ann''' ''there are good people'',
* but '''tha deagh dhaoine ann an Alba''' ''there are good people in Scotland'' without this ''ann'' (because '''ann an Alba''' already works as a predicate).

This '''ann''' might also mean ''here, there, somewhere around'' when the subject is definite as in

* '''tha Seumas ann''' ''James is here/there'' (James is present and you can find him somewhere around).

So, having that out of the way – how do you say ''he is a man''? Or ''you are the king of Scotland''? Well… let’s look at the copula, shall we?

== The copula ''IS'' and how to say ''what'' or ''who'' something is ==

I intentionally avoid the word ''verb'' when writing about the copula, although you’ll often see it called ''the copula verb'' or ''the assertive verb'' or something like that. That’s because it has its own syntax and doesn’t really behave like a verb (and has fewer forms) so it is a bit of its own grammatical category in the Gaelic language.

The present form is '''is''' and there is no imperative (so you’ll find it under '''is''' in dictionaries). This is often shortened to '''’s''' after or before vowels.

You '''have to''' use the copula if you want to create a simple ''X is Y'' sentence and the predicate is a noun phrase (there are some idiomatic phrases without the copula but they don’t translate literally, we’ll look at them later).

There is quite a few different patterns involving the copula – sorry, I don’t think I can make it shorter.

=== Identification – definite predicates ===

If the predicate is ''definite'' – that is you identify the subject to some specific person or thing ('''''the''' teacher'', ''my brother'', ''Calum'', ''the king of Scotland'') and not just state what ''kind of thing'' the subject is, then the pattern is:

==== is (e/i/iad) {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|mise}} {{color|green|Calum}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|Calum}}'', the predicate is a definite noun – '''Calum''', some particular defined person – the copula is used directly;
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|an duine a chunnaic mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the person I saw}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|blue|tusa}} {{color|green|rìgh na h-Alba}}''' ''{{color|blue|you}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the king of Scotland}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|esan}} {{color|green|an tidsear}}''' ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|an ceapaire agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my sandwich}}'', the predicate again is a definite noun phrase – '''an ceapaire agam''' ''the sandwich of mine, my sandwich'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|an Tighearna}} {{color|green|mo bhuachaille}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Lord}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|my shepherd}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|blue|Seumas}} {{color|green|bràthair Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|James}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s brother}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|Màiri}} {{color|green|piuthar Chaluim}}''' ''{{color|blue|Mairi}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|Calum’s sister}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s i}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|cànan na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|the language of Scottish Highlands}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s iad}} {{color|blue|na Gàidheil}} {{color|green|luchd na Gàidhealtachd}}''' ''{{color|blue|the Gaels}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|the people of Gaeldom/Scottish Highlands}}''.

Note that if the subject is not a pronoun itself, then a pronoun '''e''', '''i''', or '''iad''' is inserted after the copula – it generally agrees in gender with the subject ('''’s e Seumas…''', '''’s i Màiri…''', '''’s i a’ Ghàidhlig…''', '''’s iad na Gàidheil…''').

Also generally emphatic pronouns ('''mise''', '''tusa''', '''esan''', '''ise''', '''iadsan''', etc.) are used in such sentences. But note ''’s e…'' for ‘it is’ (''esan'' suggests a sentient being, so you would still use ''e'' for ‘it’ here).

But there is a tendency to use '''e''' regardless of the gender and number, eg. '''’s e a’ chaileag sin mo phiùthar''' ''that girl is my sister'', '''’s e na daoine sin na dotairean''' ''those people are the doctors'' , or old proverb '''’s e do shùil do cheannaiche''' ''your eye is your merchant'' – even though '''do shùil''' is feminine, here ''I think'' that '''e''' agrees with the predicate '''do cheannaiche''' ''your merchant'' (in that case it’d be an archaic feature here).

If the subject is itself a pronoun (like '''mise''' or '''tusa'''), then no other pronoun is inserted. Often the copula in such sentences is dropped (so just '''mise Calum''', '''thusa an duine…''').

If the subject is '''seo''' ''this'', '''sin''' ''that'', or '''siud''' ''that over there, yonder'' then the copula is commonly dropped (and you’ll see those sentences without copula in the Duolingo course a lot):

* '''’s e {{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' or commonly just '''{{color|blue|seo}} {{color|green|an cat agam}}''' ''{{color|blue|this}} is {{color|green|my cat}}'';
* '''’s i {{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' or commonly '''{{color|blue|sin}} {{color|green|mo mhàthair}}''' ''{{color|blue|that}} is {{color|green|my mother}}''.

=== Classification – indefinite predicates ===

When the predicate is indefinite – you want to state ''what kind of thing'' something or someone is, like in ''he is '''a doctor''''', ''I am '''a student''''', ''Gaelic is '''a Celtic language''''', ''cats are '''animals''''', then there are a few different ways. First let’s look at the most straightforward – but '''very''' poetic/archaic and high-brow way that you wouldn’t use in a normal conversation, but it’s helpful to understand. The general syntax of the copula is:

==== is {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ''(archaic, poetic)'' ====

This was historically the original syntax of the copula. And thus in the older poetic language you’d say:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|e}}''' ''{{color|blue|it}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a sandwich}}'',
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|tidsear}} {{color|blue|mi}}''' ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|a teacher}}'';
* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|iasg}} {{color|blue|breac}}''' ''{{color|blue|a trout}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|a fish}}''.

But as I wrote above, that wouldn’t be used commonly today. And Duolingo generally '''won’t accept''' such sentences.

Instead different idiomatic periphrastic phrases are used. The most common one is probably

==== ’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} is what is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' or ''it’s {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} that is in {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}''. Saying that ''thing1 is in thing2'' is just a Gaelic way of stating that ''thing2'' is ''thing1''. Thus:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|ceapaire}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann}}''' ''it is a sandwich'', but literally something like: ''{{color|teal|a sandwich}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in it}}'' or ''it’s a sandwich that is in it'' – notice that a prepositional phrase '''ann''' ''in it'' is the predicate of '''tha''', not a noun;
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|tidsear}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annam}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a teacher}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in me}}'' or ''it’s a teacher that is in me'' – again a prepositional phrase '''annam''' ''in me'' is the predicate of '''tha''';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag chrodha}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|ann am Mòrag}}''' ''Morag is a brave girl'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a brave girl}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in Morag}}'' or ''it’s a brave girl that is in Morag'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|cànan Ceilteach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|anns a’ Ghàidhlig}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|teal|a Celtic language}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in the Gaelic}}'' or ''it’s a Celtic language that is in the Gaelic'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|caileag bhòidheach}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|innte}}''' ''she is a beautiful girl'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|a beautiful girl}} {{color|red|is (it, the thing)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in her}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|teal|oileanaich}} {{color|blue|a th’}} {{color|green|annta}}''' ''they are students'', but lit. ''{{color|teal|students}} {{color|red|are (it, this)}} {{color|blue|that is}} {{color|green|in them}}''.

The pronoun is always '''e''' in this type of sentences. Also notice how to say ‘it is a sandwich’ you have to say ''’s e ceapaire '''a th’ ann''''' and the ''’s e ceapaire'' part on its own doesn’t work.

I ''believe'' that’s because historically this sentence is just like the archaic one above, ''’s e ceapaire…'' meant really ‘a sandwich is it…’ where ''ceapaire'' ‘a sandwich’ was the subject and ''e'' ‘it’ was just a placeholder predicate anticipating what will be said later: ''a th’ ann'' ‘that is in it’. Kinda like ''a sandwich is this – what is in it''. Thus '''e''' ''it'' stands for the relative clause '''a tha ann an…''' ''that is in'', and since the relative clause is just ''it'', doesn’t have a gender or number of its own, the generic '''e''' is used and ''’s e ceapaire…'' is just an abruptly unfinished sentence missing something. I’m not ''entirely sure'' if I interpret this correctly though.

If the subject is '''seo''', '''sin''', '''siud''', then the ''ann an'' part is dropped:

* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cù}} {{color|blue|a tha seo}}''' ''this is a dog'', lit. ''{{color|green|a dog}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is this}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s e}} {{color|green|cat}} {{color|blue|a tha sin}}''' ''that is a cat'', lit. ''{{color|green|a cat}} {{color|red|is (it)}} {{color|blue|that is that}}''.

This is one exception to the ''no noun phrase predicates to the '''tha''' verb'' (but then ''seo'' and ''sin'' aren’t really nouns, so…).

But you might also encouter the regular '''’s e cù a th’ ann an seo''', lit. ''a dog is what is '''in this''''' – but this is rarer. Also, if ''ann an seo'' is present, it might sound and be written also as ''ann a sheo'' or similar.

==== tha {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} na {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

literally ''{{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}} is '''in its''' {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' ('''na''' here means ''in his/her/its'' and will be replaced by appropriate form agreeing with the subject, eg. '''tha mi nam…''' for ''I am in my…'', '''tha thu nad…''' for ''you (sg.) are in your…'', etc.). This one is interesting as it uses the '''substantive verb''' and not the copula – but note that the actual predicate in the Gaelic sentence is the phrase '''in its {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}''' – so actually a prepositional phrase.

This structure is often used to state one’s profession but is not restricted to such use:

* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam thidsear}}''' ''I am a teacher'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|am}} {{color|green|in my teacher}}'' – ''only'' the '''tha''' verb, but the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''nam thidsear''' ''in my teacher'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|a’ Ghàidhlig}} {{color|green|na cànan Ceilteach}}''' ''Gaelic is a Celtic language'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|the Gaelic}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in her Celtic language}}'' the predicate is a prepositional phrase '''na cànan Ceilteach''' ''in her Celtic language'' (feminine non-leniting '''na''' ''in her'' because the word '''Gàidhlig''' is feminine, ''Gaelic'' is a she in Gaelic ;-));
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|iad}} {{color|green|nan dotairean}}''' ''they are doctors'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|they}} {{color|red|are}} {{color|green|in their doctors}}'';
* '''{{color|red|tha}} {{color|blue|e}} {{color|green|na charaid dhomh}}''' ''he is a friend of mine'', but literally: ''{{color|blue|he}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|in his friend to me}}''.

This construction is more often used with temporary states rather than permanent ones. That’s why it tends to be used when stating one’s profession, you say ''I (currently) am a teacher'' (but maybe in 3 years I’ll be doing something else) – because of this hint of non-permanent description it’s often used in past tense to give description that is no longer true:

* '''nuair a {{color|red|bha}} {{color|blue|mi}} {{color|green|nam bhalach òg}}…''' ''when I was a young boy (but I no longer am)…'', literally ''the-time that {{color|blue|I}} {{color|red|was}} {{color|green|in my young boy}}…''

but it ''doesn’t have to'' mean the state is temporary – it just doesn’t suggest that it is permanent as strongly as [[#’s e ⟨predicate⟩ a th’ ann an ⟨subject⟩|''’s e Y a th’ ann an X'']] tends to.

And finally:

==== seo/sin/siud {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} ====

Similarly to the identification sentences, you can also just say ''’s e seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' or ''seo {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}}'' to classify ''this'', and the same goes for ''sin'' and ''siud'':

* '''(’s e) seo bogsa mòr''' ''this is a big box'',
* '''(’s e) sin cat''' ''that is a cat'',
* '''(’s e) siud cù''' ''that over there/yonder is a dog''.

=== Other uses of copula ===

Contrary to the ''substantive verb'', copula isn’t that restricted in what kind of predicates it takes. And in some common expressions it actually takes prepositional phrases, adjectives, and other grammatical creatures as its predicates.

==== Fronting – topicalization or putting emphasis on part of sentence ====

A very common use of copula is ''fronting'' – moving some part of a sentence to put emphasis on it – to make it the ''topic'', the ''main point'' of the sentence. The rest of the sentence, with the main verb, is put in a relative clause then. Compare:

* '''tha an cat air a’ bhòrd''' ''the cat is on the table'' – no fronting, no copula, neutral sentence,
* '''’s e an cat a tha air a’ bhòrd''' ''it is '''the cat''' that is on the table'' – '''an cat''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the thing on the table is '''the cat''',
* '''’s ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat''' ''it is '''on the table''' that the cat is'' – '''air a’ bhòrd''' fronted, the sentence underlines the fact that the location of the cat is '''on the table'''.

Notice that in Gaelic '''’s ann''' is generally used if the fronted element is not a noun (like '''air a’ bhòrd''' ''on the table'' is a full prepositional phrase), other examples would be:

* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|à Obair Dheathain}} {{color|blue|a tha e}}''' ''he is '''from Aberdeen''''' (''{{color|red|it is}} {{color|green|from Aberdeen}} {{color|blue|that he is}}''),
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|air oidhche fhuar gheamhraidh}} {{color|blue|a thachair e rium}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|'''on a cold winter’s night'''}} {{color|blue|that he met me}}'',
* or even '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|a’ cluiche anns an iodhlann}} {{color|blue|a tha iad}}''' ''they are playing in the yard'' (''it is playing in the yard that they are''), or very literally, ''{{color|red|it’s}} {{color|green|at playing in the yard}} {{color|blue|that they are}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|an-dè}} {{color|blue|a bha sinn ga dhèanamh}}''' ''{{color|red|it was}} {{color|green|yesterday}} {{color|blue|that we were doing it}}'',
* '''{{color|red|’s ann}} {{color|green|gu làidir}} {{color|blue|a bhuaileas e an t-iarann}}''' ''{{color|red|(it’s)}} {{color|green|strongly}} {{color|blue|(that) he strikes the iron}}''.

A bit more archaic way to front an an adverb doesn’t need ''’s ann'', but the '''gu''' disappears, compare the last example above with these:

* '''{{color|blue|thog e}} {{color|green|gu h-aotrom}} {{color|red|i}}''' ''{{color|blue|he lifted}} {{color|red|her}} {{color|green|lightly}}'',
* but '''is {{color|green|aotrom}} {{color|blue|a thog e}} {{color|red|i}}''' '''''lightly''' he lifted her'' (lit. ''it is {{color|green|lightly}} {{color|blue|that he lifted}} {{color|red|her}}''),
* or in an old poem '''’s {{color|green|daingeann}} {{color|blue|a bhuail iad às gach taobh sibh}}''' ''{{color|green|fiercely}} {{color|blue|they struck you from every side}}'' (from ''Cumha Ni Mhic Raonuill'', ''Ni Mhic Raonuill’s Lament'').

==== Emphasis when describing ====

In older language the copula was used to state more permanent features (while the substantive verb was used for temporary states – in this way those two verbs ''were'' historically similar to Spanish verbs ''ser'' and ''estar'') – this usage isn’t very common today, but you’ll find it in poetry, and perhaps in some longer sentences in more regular speech:

* '''is fuar an oidhche i''' ''the night is cold'' or ''it is a cold night'',
* '''is math am fear e''' ''the man is good'' or ''he is a good man'',
* '''is brònach mi''' ''I am sad'',
* '''is bochd nach robh iadsan cho dìcheallach''' ''it’s a pity that they were not so dilligent'' (lit. ''that they were not so dilligent is unfortunate'').

Notice that if a simple noun phrase (like '''an oidhche''' ''the night'' in the first example or '''am fear''' ''the man'' in the second) is the subject, then it is followed by a pronoun agreeing with it.

This archaic structure is very common in one particular phrase:

* '''is math sin''' ''that is good''

(but ''tha sin math'' is also grammatically correct way to say ''that is good'')

==== Other set phrases and constructions ====

Copula is part of the phrase for ''I like'' and ''I prefer'' in Gaelic:

* '''{{color|red|is}} {{color|green|toigh leam}} {{color|blue|an t-àite seo}}''' (or: '''is toil leam…''') ''I like this place'', very literally ''{{color|blue|this place}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|pleasant/delight with me}}'';
* '''{{color|red|’s}} {{color|green|fheàrr le Seumas}} {{color|blue|Èirinn}}''' ''James prefers Ireland'', very literally ''{{color|blue|Ireland}} {{color|red|is}} {{color|green|better with James}}''.

There are more types of such phrases (like ''is {{smallcaps|⟨adjective⟩}} leam'' or ''orm'') in Gaelic – but I don’t know them too well, so will probably edit this in the future when I gather more examples.

== Dependent forms ==

So what about the dependent form I mentioned? You use it after some particles that generally require the dependent forms of verbs. Some of them are: the negating '''cha(n)''' ''not'', the interrogative (questioning) '''a(n/m)?''' ''is? does?'', the negative interrogative '''nach?''' ''is not? does not?'', the question word '''càit(e) a(n/m)?''' ''where?'', '''gu(n/m)''' ''that'' introducing indirect speech, etc.

As I wrote, the dependent form of the substantive verb '''bi''' in present tense is '''(bh)eil''':

* '''chan eil mi gu math''' ''I am not well'' – here the verb '''tha''' changed to the dependent form '''eil''',
* '''a bheil an ceapaire air a’ bhòrd?''' ''is the sandwich on the table?'' – here the dependent '''bheil''' is used,
* '''thuirt i gu bheil thu an sin''' ''she said that you are there''.

As for the difference between '''eil''' and '''bheil''':

* use '''eil''' if the particle lenites – that is, '''chan''', and also '''nach''' which lenites only initial ''f-'' (historically ''(bh)eil'' actually started with ''f-'', see below),
* use '''bheil''' if the particle ends in ''-n'' or ''-m'' and does not lenite, but remove the final ''-m, -n'' (like '''an/am''' → '''a bheil''', '''gun/gum''' → '''gu bheil''').

(In Classical Gaelic the historical dependent form was actually ''fuil'' which lenited to ''fhuil'', eg. ''chan fhuil'' ‘is not’, and was eclipsed to ''bhfuil'' in eg. ''go bhfuil…'' ‘that is…’ – you’ll still find these forms in modern Irish – that’s the reason for the disappearing '''bh''').

The dependent form of the copula '''is''' in the present tense is ''zero'', that is, in the present tense the copula generally ''disappears'' in the dependent positions. Thus:

* '''chan e Seumas rìgh Shasainn''' ''James is not the king of England'',
* '''nach i Màiri bànrigh na h-Alba?''' ''isn’t Mairi the queen of Scotland?'',
* '''chan e tidsear a th’ annad''' ''you are not a teacher'',
* '''an e iasgairean a th’ annaibh?''' ''are y’all fishers?'',
* '''an ann air a’ bhòrd a tha an cat?''' ''is it on the table that the cat is?''.

But it replaces the ''-n'' with ''-r'' in '''gun''' ('''gun''' + '''is''' → '''gur'''):

* '''thuirt i gur e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'',
* '''tha mi a’ smaoineachadh gur e Iain am fear a ghoid drathais''' ''I am thinking that Iain is the one who stole underpants''.

Sometimes you’ll see '''gur''' also prefixing '''h-''' to vowels: '''thuirt i gur h-e oileanach a th’ annad''' ''she said that you are a student'', '''smaoinich sinn gur h-ann a’ goid a bha e''' ''we thought that stealing he was'' (lit. ''that it’s at stealing that he was'').

== Past and future tenses ==

Past forms of the verb '''bi''' are independent '''bha''' and dependent '''robh''', eg.:

* '''bha mi anns a’ bhàta''' ''I was in the boat'',
* '''an robh thu toilichte?''' ''were you happy?'',
* '''thuirt e gun robh thu brònach''' ''he said that you were sad''.

And the future and present habitual forms are indep. '''bidh''' (you’ll sometimes see longer '''bithidh''') and dep. '''bi''' and also relative '''bios''' (or '''bitheas''') which we’ll not spend much time on now:

* '''bidh an cù an sin''' ''the dog will be there'',
* '''nach bi Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha?''' ''doesn’t Iain steal trousers every day?'', lit. ''isn’t (habitually) Iain at stealing (of) trousers every day?'',
* '''thuirt Màiri rium gum bi (Iain a’ goid briogais a h-uile latha)''' ''Mairi told me that (Iain) does (steal trousers every day)'',
* '''an duine a bhios anns an taigh''' ''the man that will be in the house''.

The copula '''is''' has only a past form '''bu''' which becomes '''b’''' before vowels, this is both independent and dependent form, it’s itself never lenited, and it generally lenites the following word but not ''t'' or pronouns ''tu, sibh, sinn''.

This form is also a ''conditional'', so it has too meanings: past ''was, were'' and conditional ''would be'':

* '''bu mhise an tidsear''' ''I was the teacher'' or ''I would be the teacher'',
* '''am bu toigh leat bainne?''' ''would you like milk'' (or less likely ''did you like milk?'')
* '''am bu tusa an t-iasgair?''' ''were you the fisher?'',
* '''b’ i Màiri mo phiuthar''' ''Mairi was my sister'',
* or archaic '''cha bu tidsear e''' ''he was not a teacher'', '''bu shaighdear i''' ''she was a soldier''.

To turn the ''’s e {{smallcaps|⟨predicate⟩}} a th’ ann an {{smallcaps|⟨subject⟩}}'' construction into the past tense, you just use the past of the substantive verb (and optionally of the copula):

* '''’s e tidsear a bh’ annad''' ''you were a teacher'' (''a teacher is what was in you'') or '''b’ e tidsear a bh’ annad''' (''a teachar was what was in you''),
* '''an e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' or '''am b’ e iasgair a bh’ annad?''' ''were you a fisher?''.

Similarly to turn it into the future, you just change '''tha''' into the future relative '''bhios''':

* '''’s e iasgair a bhios annad''' ''you will be a fisher'',
* '''’s e athair air leth a bhios annad''' ''you will be an outstanding father''.

== Answering yes-no questions ==

In the sections on dependent forms and past/future tenses you saw how to form yes-no questions involving copula and the substantive verb. Now briefly on answering them.

Gaelic does not have a single ''yes'' and ''no'' words. To give positive or negative answer to a question you just repeat the verb.

Thus if one asks you '''a bheil thu gu math?''' ''are you well?'' you can reply with:

* '''tha''' for ''yes'',
* '''chan eil''' for ''no'',

or if one asks you '''an robh thu ann an Alba?''' ''were you in Scotland?'', you reply with:

* '''bha''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha robh''' for ''no''.

Notice that the form of the verb agrees with the question – if the present tense '''a bheil…?''' was asked, then the answer is present tense '''tha''' or '''chan eil''', if the question is past tense '''an robh?''' then the answer also is in past '''bha''' or '''cha robh'''.

Notice also that you don’t need to repeat the whole sentence, just the verb is enough – the subject and the predicate are already known from context – the question asked.

That’s not true for copula – it '''cannot''' stand on its own, it is always unstressed and so it '''always''' needs a predicate.

Thus if one asks you '''an toigh leat Alba?''' or '''an toil leat Alba''' ''do you like Scotland?'' you answer with:

* '''is toigh''' or '''is toil''' for ''yes'',
* or '''cha toigh''' or '''cha toil''' if you are a bad human being.

Or if someone asks you '''an tusa Màiri?''' ''are you Mairi?'', you answer:

* '''is mi''',
* or '''cha mhi'''.

== Other resourses ==

Other explanations on the web:

* [https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/45459577/Guide-to-Scottish-Gaelic-%E2%80%98to-be%E2%80%99-the-linking-verbs-substantive-%E2%80%98bi-tha%E2%80%99-the-copula-%E2%80%98is%E2%80%99 The original ''Guide'' on Duolingo forums]
* [https://puxill.livejournal.com/350730.html ''Supplemental Notes on Using the Defective Verb "IS"'']

Literature:

* ''Gaelic Verbs Systemised and Simplified'' by Colin B.D. Mark (he calls the copula ''the assertive verb'')
* ''Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks'' by Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh (Lesson 2 introduces copula of identification, Lesson 5 introduces classification sentences and deals with fronting, Lesson 10 deals with indirect speech and '''gur''')
* [https://archive.org/details/gaelicgrammarcon00cald/page/256/mode/2up ''A Gaelic Grammar'' by George Calder], 1923, linked is the part on copula – it is old but gives a lot of examples of fronting.

----
ceud mìle taing do Joy Dunlop agus do joannejoanne12 airson a’ cheartachaidh agus a’ chuideachaidh!

[[Category:Gaelic]]

Irish/Dialects

2022-05-22T14:46:02Z

Muiris:

== Munster Irish ==

Irish exists in Munster in the counties of Cork, Kerry and Waterford. Evidence and recordings of the Irish spoken in other counties, such as Clare and Tipperary, does exist, but the language is not spoken natively there any more.

The traditional dialects of Munster are often split into two groups: West and East Munster. These categories best describe the dialects in the surviving Gaeltachts, with the dialects of the Gaeltachts of Counties Kerry and Cork making up the West Munster Group, and the [[Irish/Déise Irish | Déise dialect]] of Ring, Co. Waterford being the sole surviving dialect of the East Munster group.

=== Textbooks focusing on a Munster dialect ===
Teach Yourself Irish, 1961. Several versions exist of various qualities. PDFs are available with consent of publisher. Please make sure you have the 1961 edition, which focuses on the Irish of Muskerry, West Cork.

* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732764925994336406/TYI_MilesDillon_1961_Scanned.pdf Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Scanned] (dialectal Munster Irish)
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732765118319820840/TYI_mp3.zip Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Audio] (dialectal Munster Irish)
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732765046152888321/TYI_MilesDillion_1961_Retypeset.pdf Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Retypeset] (dialectal Munster Irish)
The retypeset version of Teach Yourself Irish has the audio built in and more reliable search, but it also has many typos also the person who retypeset it also added entirely inaccurate footnotes, so it is highly recommended to use it only for search and audio playback purposes.

== Connacht Irish ==

Connacht Irish is spoken in Counties Galway, Mayo and Meath. The dialect of Rath Cháirn, in Meath, is from Connemara when farmers were transplanted early in the 20th century. Various areas in each county, apart from Meath, still have Irish with their own subdialects. Recordings of other counties still can be found on various websites, and some scholarly works have been written about them.

=== Textbooks focusing on Connacht dialects ===
* [https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/natashasumner/files/buntus-1connacht_2018-19.pdf Buntús na Gaeilge]: An updated version of Hillers's course for Ulster Irish. This was updated after Hillers left Harvard to focus on Connacht Irish as opposed to Ulster Irish.
* '''Learning Irish, O'Siadhail.''' Hands down the best instruction book for Connacht Irish, focusing on the dialect of Cois Fharraige, in Connemara.
* '''Colloquial Irish 1 & 2.''' A popular coursebook designed around Connemara Irish containing audio done by actors from Ros na Rún. Less intense than Learning Irish.

Sadly, there are not many learning materials for Mayo Irish, though several books of stories in the dialect do exist as do several more linguistic oriented works.

=== Sounds of Connacht Irish ===
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDfFn1UMXB8 42 Príomhfhuaim Chonamara]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMOOU0I8IYA&pp=sAQA Consain Leathana v. Consain Chaola]

== Ulster Irish ==

The only extant dialects of Ulster Irish are those found in Donegal, though a fair number of dialects from across the province have documentation and recordings. The last speaker of Irish in Leinster actually spoke a dialect of East Ulster, following the more accurate north-south divide of the dialects as opposed to a per-province type view.

=== Textbooks ===
* [https://eolas38.wixsite.com/ultach/copy-of-aonad-1 Now You're Talking]: The best way to start with Ulster Irish isn't actually only a book, but also a TV series produced in the 1990s. The videos for Now You're Talking can be found on Youtube and on the website Ultach.com. It's an audio-visual course that lets you hear some of the best Donegal Irish there is, and focuses on learning communicative phrases. The link given here includes an audio version and PDFs of the accompanying textbook.
* [https://bhillers.pages.iu.edu/buntus.html Buntús na Gaeilge]: A course designed by Baraba Hillers while she was at Harvard, a great text-based way to get into the Irish of Donegal. This is the one contained on Hillers's webpage at IU. The one at Harvard is a redesign of the course focusing on Connacht.

=== Sounds of Ulster Irish ===
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FmOP2myxd0&pp=sAQA 41 Príomhfuaim na Gaeilge -- Canúint Uladh]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gknNV197_c&pp=sAQA Consain Leathana v. Consain Chaola -- Canúint Uladh]

[[Category:Irish]]

Main Page

2022-03-11T22:57:25Z

Muiris:

<div style="padding: 5px; border:solid 2px #8B4500; background-color:#FFF5EE;">

{| border="0" cellpadding="10" style="background-color:#FFF5EE;" width="100%"
|-

| valign="top" width="33%" |
<div style="padding: 4px; text-align: center; font-size:130%; border-bottom: solid 2px #8B4500;">[[File:irish.png|16px|baseline]] [[:Category:Irish | Irish / Gaeilge]]</div>

* [[Irish/Getting started | Getting started]]
* [[Irish/Resources | Resources]]
* [[Irish/Dialects | Dialects of Irish]]
* [[Irish/Irish Phonology | Irish Phonology]]

| valign="top" width="33%" |
<div style="padding: 4px; text-align: center; font-size:130%; border-bottom: solid 2px #8B4500;">[[File:scottish.png|16px|baseline]] [[:Category:Gaelic | Scottish Gaelic / Gàidhlig]]</div>

* [[Gaelic/Getting started | Getting started]]
* [[Gaelic/Resources | Resources]]
* [[Guide to Scottish Gaelic to be, the linking verbs: substantive bi, tha & the copula is | Guide to Scottish Gaelic ''to be'' (''tha'' and ''is'')]]

| valign="top" width="33%" |
<div style="padding: 4px; text-align: center; font-size:130%; border-bottom: solid 2px #8B4500;">[[File:manx.png|16px|baseline]] [[:Category:Manx | Manx / Gaelg]]</div>

* [[Manx/Getting started | Getting started]]
* [[Manx/Resources | Resources]]

|}

{| border="0" cellpadding="10" style="background-color:#FFF5EE;" width="100%"
|-

| valign="top" width="33%" |

<div style="padding: 4px; text-align: center; font-size:130%; border-bottom: solid 2px #8B4500;">[[File:welsh.png|16px|baseline]] [[:Category:Welsh | Welsh / Cymraeg]]</div>

* [[Welsh/Getting started | Getting started]]
* [[Welsh/Resources | Resources]]

| valign="top" width="33%" |

<div style="padding: 4px; text-align: center; font-size:130%; border-bottom: solid 2px #8B4500;">[[File:cornish.png|16px|baseline]] [[:Category:Cornish | Cornish / Kernowek]]</div>

* [[Cornish/Getting started | Getting started]]
* [[Cornish/Resources | Resources]]

| valign="top" width="33%" |
<div style="padding: 4px; text-align: center; font-size:130%; border-bottom: solid 2px #8B4500;">[[File:breton.png|16px|baseline]] [[:Category:Breton | Breton / Brezhoneg]]</div>

* [[Breton/Getting started | Getting started]]
* [[Breton/Resources | Resources]]

|-

| valign="top" width="33%" |

<div style="padding: 4px; text-align: center; font-size:130%; border-bottom: solid 2px #8B4500;">Historical Irish / Gaelic</div>

* [[:Category:Old Irish | '''Old Irish''' / '''Goídelc''' ]]
:* [[Old Irish/Resources | Resources]]
:* [[Old Irish/Guide to Old Irish spelling | Guide to Old Irish spelling]]

* [[:Category:Classical Gaelic | '''Classical Gaelic''' / '''Gáoidhealg''' ]]
:* [[Notes on Classical Gaelic Grammar]]

| valign="top" width="33%" |

<div style="padding: 4px; text-align: center; font-size:130%; border-bottom: solid 2px #8B4500;">Community</div>

* [https://discord.gg/Z4z7AmW Discord server]

| valign="top" width="33%" |

<div style="padding: 4px; text-align: center; font-size:130%; border-bottom: solid 2px #8B4500;">[[:Category:Help | Help]]</div>

* [[Help:IPA Usage | IPA Usage]]

| valign="top" width="33%" |

|}
</div>

Irish/Dialects

2021-12-29T00:41:19Z

Muiris:

== Munster Irish ==

Irish exists in Munster in the counties of Cork, Kerry and Waterford. Evidence and recordings of the Irish spoken in other counties, such as Clare and Tipperary, does exist, but the language is not spoken natively there any more.

The traditional dialects of Munster are often split into two groups: West and East Munster. These categories best describe the dialects in the surviving Gaeltachts, with the dialects of the Gaeltachts of Counties Kerry and Cork making up the West Munster Group, and the [[Irish/Déise Irish | Déise dialect]] of Ring, Co. Waterford being the sole surviving dialect of the East Munster group.

=== Textbooks focusing on a Munster dialect ===
Teach Yourself Irish, 1961. Several versions exist of various qualities. PDFs are available with consent of publisher. Please make sure you have the 1961 edition, which focuses on the Irish of Muskerry, West Cork.

* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732765046152888321/TYI_MilesDillion_1961_Retypeset.pdf Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Retypeset] (dialectal Munster Irish)
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732764925994336406/TYI_MilesDillon_1961_Scanned.pdf Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Scanned] (dialectal Munster Irish)
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732765118319820840/TYI_mp3.zip Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Audio] (dialectal Munster Irish)
The retypeset version of Teach Yourself Irish has the audio built in and more reliable search, but it also has typos.

== Connacht Irish ==

Connacht Irish is spoken in Counties Galway, Mayo and Meath. The dialect of Rath Cháirn, in Meath, is from Connemara when farmers were transplanted early in the 20th century. Various areas in each county, apart from Meath, still have Irish with their own subdialects. Recordings of other counties still can be found on various websites, and some scholarly works have been written about them.

=== Textbooks focusing on Connacht dialects ===
* [https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/natashasumner/files/buntus-1connacht_2018-19.pdf Buntús na Gaeilge]: An updated version of Hillers's course for Ulster Irish. This was updated after Hillers left Harvard to focus on Connacht Irish as opposed to Ulster Irish.
* '''Learning Irish, O'Siadhail.''' Hands down the best instruction book for Connacht Irish, focusing on the dialect of Cois Fharraige, in Connemara.
* '''Colloquial Irish 1 & 2.''' A popular coursebook designed around Connemara Irish containing audio done by actors from Ros na Rún. Less intense than Learning Irish.

Sadly, there are not many learning materials for Mayo Irish, though several books of stories in the dialect do exist as do several more linguistic oriented works.

=== Sounds of Connacht Irish ===
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDfFn1UMXB8 42 Príomhfhuaim Chonamara]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMOOU0I8IYA&pp=sAQA Consain Leathana v. Consain Chaola]

== Ulster Irish ==

The only extant dialects of Ulster Irish are those found in Donegal, though a fair number of dialects from across the province have documentation and recordings. The last speaker of Irish in Leinster actually spoke a dialect of East Ulster, following the more accurate north-south divide of the dialects as opposed to a per-province type view.

=== Textbooks ===
* [https://eolas38.wixsite.com/ultach/copy-of-aonad-1 Now You're Talking]: The best way to start with Ulster Irish isn't actually only a book, but also a TV series produced in the 1990s. The videos for Now You're Talking can be found on Youtube and on the website Ultach.com. It's an audio-visual course that lets you hear some of the best Donegal Irish there is, and focuses on learning communicative phrases. The link given here includes an audio version and PDFs of the accompanying textbook.
* [https://bhillers.pages.iu.edu/buntus.html Buntús na Gaeilge]: A course designed by Baraba Hillers while she was at Harvard, a great text-based way to get into the Irish of Donegal. This is the one contained on Hillers's webpage at IU. The one at Harvard is a redesign of the course focusing on Connacht.

=== Sounds of Ulster Irish ===
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FmOP2myxd0&pp=sAQA 41 Príomhfuaim na Gaeilge -- Canúint Uladh]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gknNV197_c&pp=sAQA Consain Leathana v. Consain Chaola -- Canúint Uladh]

[[Category:Irish]]

Irish/Getting started

2021-09-11T13:19:15Z

Muiris: /* Dialects and Standard Irish */

== Some useful resources for beginners ==
Different people have different learning styles, but most learners of Irish want to follow some kind of course. You can start with one of the following:

* [https://eolas38.wixsite.com/ultach/copy-of-aonad-1 Now You're Talking] (or [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nz--LpYC30 just the videos on Youtube]) is centered around videos and a great way to become familiar with actual spoken Irish.
* [http://pages.iu.edu/~bhillers/buntus.html Buntús na Gaeilge] is a freely available text book, if you prefer reading instead.

The [[Irish/Resources|full list of resources]] has additional alternatives in case you find you don't like these, or you're interested in a specific other dialect.

If you're new to the Gaelic languages, the Irish spelling might look a bit intimidating at first. It's not inherently hard, and in fact more regular than English spelling, but probably different from what you're used to (and for good reasons - Irish has a lot more consonant sounds than the alphabet has letters, so it had to come up with some solution). So it's a good idea to explicitly learn something about Irish spelling first. You may want to watch this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIokUII7LX0 video about the basics of Irish spelling].

Finally, you'll often need a dictionary. [https://www.teanglann.ie/en Teanglann] is generally considered the best online dictionary, which actually contains a digitised version of three different dictionaries. It also has recordings for the pronunciation of many words in the three major dialects.

== Using the language ==
The best way for learning a language is not just getting input, but actively using it, because this forces you to think about how to express things and to look up unknown words. Feel free to join the Celtic Languages Discord server and just start chatting with whatever Irish you have. Of course, you can also ask questions about Irish there.

== The status of the Irish language ==
Something to be aware of when starting to learn Irish is that despite officially being the first language of Ireland and almost half of the Irish population reporting to speak Irish in the census, it really is a small minority language. Most people reporting in the census that they speak Irish aren't proficient speakers, but just learnt it to some level at school, where it is a mandatory subject. This leads to the rather unusual situation that learners outnumber native speakers by far.

What this means for you is that you'll encounter content made by other learners who might not have good Irish themselves. If you're interested in learning good Irish, don't trust random videos about Irish on Youtube. They probably contain errors.

== Dialects and Standard Irish ==
Irish is only a weakly standardised language. In particular, there is only a written standard (called ''An Caighdeán Oifigiúil''), but no standard pronunciation. So you'll always use the pronunciation of a particular dialect, even if you're keeping to the written standard otherwise.

Dialects are often discussed with Irish (especially on the Celtic Languages Discord server), and picking one will make sure that you learn a consistent form of the language. However, if you don't know yet which one to pick, don't worry. It's still one language and the dialects are close enough to each other so that people understand each other. So in this case, it's best to start with the standard and use any pronunciation (as long as it is valid in at least one dialect) - you can always switch to a specific dialect later.

[[Category:Irish]]

Irish/Resources

2021-09-10T22:10:16Z

Muiris: /* Apps */

=Free resources on the internet=

==Textbooks==
* [http://pages.iu.edu/~bhillers/buntus.html Buntús na Gaeilge] (mostly Standard Irish with a preference for Ulster options, dialect differences are noted)
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732765046152888321/TYI_MilesDillion_1961_Retypeset.pdf Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Retypeset] (dialectal Munster Irish)
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732764925994336406/TYI_MilesDillon_1961_Scanned.pdf Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Scanned] (dialectal Munster Irish)
* [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/262771796984463360/732765118319820840/TYI_mp3.zip Teach Yourself Irish 1961 - Audio] (dialectal Munster Irish)
The retypeset version of Teach Yourself Irish has the audio built in and more reliable search, but it also has typos.

==Video series==
* Now You're Talking (Ulster Irish)
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nz--LpYC30 Video series on Youtube]
** [https://eolas38.wixsite.com/ultach/copy-of-aonad-1 Textbook + Audio + Video]
* [http://www.ceimaraghaidh.ie/don-fhoghlaimeoir/ Céim Ar Aghaidh] (Ulster Irish, for advanced learners)

==Podcasts==
* [http://culturlann.org/beginner%20podcast Beginner Podcast series from Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin] (Ulster Irish)

==Spelling and Pronunciation==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIokUII7LX0 Introduction to the Irish spelling] (Video)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120321160459/http://www.ultach.dsl.pipex.com/ForLearners/UIPron.doc Ulster Irish, A Pronunciation Guide]
* [http://www.fuaimeanna.ie/en/ Fuaimeanna na Gaeilge] (Sounds of Irish with sample recordings in three dialects)
** A site to go along with the book ''Fuaimeanna na Gaeilge''. Contains recordings from native speakers of each main dialect area (specifically, Gaoth Dobhair in Donegal, An Ceathrú Rua in Connemara and Corca Dhuibhne in Kerry) pronouncing each phoneme in the language. The book contains lists of minimal pairs as well.
* [https://www.cogg.ie/wp-content/uploads/Understanding-Irish-Spelling-A-Handbook-for-Teachers-and-Learners-by-Dr.-Nancy-Stenson-and-Dr.-Tina-Hickey-1.pdf Understanding Irish Spelling: A Handbook for Teachers and Learners]

==Dictionaries (with pronunciation)==
* [https://www.teanglann.ie/en Teanglann]
** An online version of de Bhaldraithe's English-Irish Dictionary (EID) and Ó Dónall's Foclór Gaeilge-Béarla (FGB), as well as An Foclóir Beag and a grammar tab and pronunciation tab. Very handy to look up words.
* [https://www.focloir.ie/ New English-Irish Dictionary (NEID)]

==Grammar==
* Gramadach na Gaeilge (GnaG): An online grammar covering just about anything you can think of for Irish. Does contain some mistakes, but the most comprehensive free grammar you can find. (Sometimes a bit technical, but if you can deal with grammar terminology, very useful)
** [http://nualeargais.ie/gnag/gramadac.htm English translation of an older version]
** [http://braesicke.de/gramadac.htm German original version]
* [https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/caighdeanOifigiul/2017/2017-08-03_an-caighdean-oifigiuil-2017_en.pdf An Caighdeán Oifigiúil] (the official standard; written in Irish)
* [http://www.reimnigh.com/ Réimnigh]: Conjugation tables for common verbs (standard and all three major dialects)

==Media==
=== Raidió na Gaeltachta (RnaG) ===
[https://www.rte.ie/radio/rnag/ Raidió na Gaeltachta] is an Irish-language radio station. They broadcast a wide variety of programmes, including:

* [https://www.rte.ie/radio/rnag/adhmhaidin/ Adhmhaidin]: A(n) (inter)national current affairs show, with speakers from '''all over Ireland'''
* [https://www.rte.ie/radio/rnag/an-saol-o-dheas/ An Saol Ó Dheas]: Current affairs from '''Munster''', with speakers from the dialectal areas included
* [https://www.rte.ie/radio/rnag/barrscealta/ Barrscéalta]: Current affairs in '''Donegal''', usually with presenters from Gaoth Dobhair
* [https://www.rte.ie/radio/rnag/iris-aniar/ Iris Aniar]: Current affairs in '''Connacht''' and '''Meath''', with speakers from the dialectal areas included

=== TG4 ===
[https://www.tg4.ie TG4] is the Irish-language television station. Plays a variety of programmes from a variety of different topics. Most programmes only contain burnt-in English subs, but this is changing recently. Various recommended programmes include:

* [https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/lifestyle-tv-shows/?series=Comhr%C3%A1&genre=Saolchlar Comhrá]: A regular conversation show between iconic host Máirtín Tom Sheáinín and a different guest where he talks with them about their life experiences
* [https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/childrens-tv-shows/ Cúla4]: Kids programming on TG4. Good for children or those who want to practice with vocabulary/structures aimed at a child's ability. Might be boring for adults.
* [https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/news-stories/?series=Nuacht%20TG4&genre=Cursai%20Reatha Nuacht TG4]: The daily news show. High quality presenters. Contains no subtitles.
* [https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/drama-tv-shows/?series=Ros%20na%20R%C3%BAn%20(S25)&genre=Drama Ros na Rún]: An Irish-language soap opera, running since 1996 with over 1500 episodes. Later seasons have options for English subs or Irish subs. Earlier seasons and episodes can be found on YouTube.
* [https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/news-stories/?series=7%20L%C3%A1&genre=Cursai%20Reatha Seacht Lá]: Politics and the economy, regional, national and international affairs. Live debate on the major issues of the day with a panel of analysts, experts and political pundits. No subtitles.

=== Vifax ===
[https://vifax.maynoothuniversity.ie/ Vifax] is a website created and updated by Maynooth University, which takes clips from Nuacht TG4 and transcribes them. They also include questions at various levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced) to help guide listening and focus on listening ability. Very useful resource to practice listening ability.

There is also a helpful blog post about [http://gaeilgechonamara.com/how-to-best-use-vifax-at-any-level/ how to use Vifax at varying levels].

==Apps==
As for Duolingo, it's all right when you have the right expectations. I found it useful for vocabulary and just practice in general, but I wouldn't recommend it as the only thing to use.

[[Category:Irish]]

Irish/Resources

2021-08-06T23:20:01Z

Muiris: /* Textbooks */