Gus/Mus + Future tense

[MartinJ]

I'm used to the "an" bit of a future tense disappearing after a preposition..

Thus : the negative of "an tèid?" is "nach tèid?" not "nach an tèid" - I've always assumed this to be a pronunciation issue.

Ach seall!

"gus an tig" but "mus tèid". And this can't possibly be down to pronunciation.

As far as I can see "far/gus/caite" all keep the "an" but "nach/mus/mura" all lose it.

Am I correct on this point and can anybody say why gus/mus work in this contradictory way?

Le meas, MartinJ

[GunChleoc]

You will just have to remember which word does what.

Pattern 1 - essentially a relative pronoun in the positive form:

am fear a bhios
am fear nach bi

far a bhios
far nach bi

nuair a bhios
nuair nach bi

ma bhios
mura bi

Pattern 2 - essentially like a yes/no question with something stuck in front:

gus am bi
gus nach bi

càite am bi
càite nach bi

am bi
nach bi

mus bi (a little quirk here without the "am")
much nach bi

[MartinJ]

Tapadh leat. At least I wasn't imagining this.

How about "It 'mus bi' 'gus am bi'"? The others are easier to remember.

MJ

[GunChleoc]

You'll just have to memorize that "mus" is a special case. There is no way around that.