Lesson 2 Flashcards
mise (mi-sha)
I (emphatic)
t(h)usa (Oo-sa/doo-sa)
You (emph.)
esan (ay-san)
He (emph.)
ise (ee-sha)
She (emph.)
sinne (sheen-ya)
We (emph.)
sibhse (sheev-she)
You pl. (emph.)
iadsan (ee-at-san)
They (emph.)
A note on when to use “is” versus “tha” for “to be”
When the predicate of a sentence is a noun, use “is.” When the predicate of a sentence is anything else (e.g. adjective, adverb, etc.) use “tha.”
A note on the pronunciation of “is”
“Is” is generally unstressed and is pronounced as “s.”
Is sinne an clas Gàidhlig (Is sheen-ya an clas Gaa-lik)
We are the Gaelic class
Tha Anna sgìth ach chan eil mise (Ha Ow-na skeeh, akh khan-eil mi-sha)
Ann is tired, but I’m not.
Ciamar a tha thusa (Ki-mer a haa-usa)
How are you (emph.)?
Cò thusa? (Co oo-sa)
Who are you (emph.)?
Is tusa Anna (Is doosa Ow-na)
You are Anna
Tidsear (tee-cher)
Teacher
Cha mhise Iain (Kha vi-sha Ee-ain)
I am not John
Chan esan Seumas (Khan yesan Shay-mus)
He is not James
Am mise Iain? (Am-mi-sha Ee-ain)
Am I John?
An esan Seumas (An yesan Shay-mus)
Is he James?
An ise Anna? Is i (Annisha Ow-na? Shee)
Is she Ann? Yes
An tusa Iain? Is mi (An doo-sa Ee-ain? ‘S me)
Are you John? Yes
Gender Rule 1
Feminine nouns are generally lenited after the definite article (nominative) and adjectives following feminine nouns are generally lenited
An gille beag (Un geel-ye bek/beg)
The little boy
A’ chaileag bheag (U khalak vek/veg)
The little girl
madain mhath (Ma-teen vah)
Good morning (Fem.)
Feasgar math (Fes-gur mah)
Good evening (Masc.)
Oidhche mhath (Oy-Hyu vah) “H” is asirated
Good night (Fem.)
Slàinte mhath (Slaan-cha vah)
Good health (Fem.)
Fear (Fair)
Generic Pronoun (Masc.) “One”
Tè (Chey)
Generic Pronoun (Fem.) “One”
Fear mòr (Fair More)
A big one (Masc.)
Tè bheag (Chey vek)
A little one (Fem.)
Leabhar (ye-a-war)
Book (Masc.)
Variations on “The,” the Nominative Definite Article (Masc.)
Am (before all labial sounds: b, f, m, p) An t- (before all vowels) An (otherwise)
Am fear (Um fair)
The man
Am balach (Um balach)
The boy
Am ministear (Um minis-cher)
The minister
Am peann (Um pey-ann) Difficult to write down. See Audio track 20
The pen
An t-uisge (Un doosh-ka/ga)
The rain
An t-airgead (Un tera-get)
The money
An t-ìm (Un cheem)
The butter
An t-eilean (Un chey-lan)
The island
An tidsear (Un dee-cher)
The teacher
An sagart (Un sack-urst)
The priest
An taigh (Un tuy)
The house
An loch (Un law-kh)
The lake
Variations on “The,” the Nominative Definite Article (Fem.)
A’+ lenition (before all lenitable consonants (except d t s f,) i.e. before b c g m p) An t- (before s sl sr sn, but NOT before sg sp st sm) An+ lenition (before f (which becomes fh, pronounced like h) An (otherwise, i.e. before all vowels, d n t l r and sg sp st sm)
