Dè tha thu a' dèanamh? / What are you doing?

[poor_mouse]

...air a' choimpiutair, 's dòcha.

Chan eil fhios 'am mu dheidhinn 'airson'.

[Mairead]

A Mhàiri, tapadh leat; tha mi a' faireachdainn nas fheàrr. Is toil le na clann 'The Simpsons', mar sin tha iad ag iarraidh ga choimhead a-mhàin(?). Bha e soirbh. 'S toil leam Ovid agus Homer gu mòr, ach chan eil mi a' tuigsinn Laideann no Greugais clasaigeach, mar sin tha mi gan leugh sa' Bheurla. Dè tha thu a' leughadh le Plato? Leugh mi An Poblachd ann an 2012 airson chlas. 'S e m'ùghdar clasaigeach prìomhach a tha ann am Pausanias.

A Chaiptean, tha thu a' fuireach ann an Iowa--tha mi à Wisconsin! Tha mòran meadhan-siaraich ann an-seo. Tha mi a' fuireach ann an Alba a-nis ge-tà. Là matha na Neo-eisimeileachd dhuibh, a Mhàiri agus a Chaiptean! Tha mi a' dol a dh'àine-chaoire an-diugh còmhla ri Aimeireaganaich eile aig an taigh aig Canadach.

Mary, thank you; I am feeling better. The children like 'The Simpsons' so they only want to watch it. It was easy. I like Ovid and Homer a lot, but I don't understand Latin or Ancient Greek, so I read them in English. What are you reading by Plato? I read The Republic in 2012 for a class. My favourite classical author is Pausanias.

Captain, you live in Iowa--I am from Wisconsin! There are lots of Midwesterners here. I live in Scotland now though. Happy Independence Day to you, Mary and Captain! I am going to a BBQ today with other Americans at the house of a Canadian.

[faoileag]

An-dràsta tha mi ag obair air an coimpiutair agam a' dèanamh càirtean-ionnsachaidh airson a' phrogram Speaking Our Language. Tha mi an dòchas gun cuidichidh sin mi m' fhaclairean a cuimhneachadh! A-màireach, (uill an-diugh, tha i ceithir uairean sa mhadainn ) tha mise agus an teaghlach agam a' dol gu taigh-dhealbh airson* am film "Tammy" a choimhead; agus an uair sin tha sinn a' dol dhan bhaile airson an teintean-ealain a choimhead, bhon a tha Là na Neo-eisimeileachd ann anns Na SA!

At the moment I'm working on my computer making flash cards (study cards?) for the program Speaking Our Language. I'm hoping that will help me to remember my words! Tomorrow (well, today, it's four in the morning ) my family and I are going to a theater to see the film "Tammy"; and then we're going to town to see the fireworks, since it's Independence Day in the US!

*Do I need "airson" here? And any other corrections are welcome!

a' dèanamh chàirtean-ionnsachaidh - the continuous form takes the genitive plural (in writing at least - higher register).

gus coimhead air na teintean-ealain airson prògram SOL - SOL is in the genitive (invisibly) so no need to change case of earlier items, and no articles required"(="Genitive chain"). If 'program' ever needs genitivising, it's "prograim".

...gun cuidich sin mi cuimhneachadh air na faclan agam.

...*airson* - for 'in order to' is OK, but as 'airson' tends to be over-used by English-speakers, 'gus' is a useful and common alternative. Rinn mi X gus Y a dhèanamh. I did X in order to do Y.

gus coimhead air na teintean-ealain...

[coempa]

Yay, 's e neach-teagaisg a' th'annam a-nis! Tha mi ag ionnsaich Beurla do na daoine. Tha mi ag ionnsaich do seann-duine cuideachd. Tha e ag ionnsachadh Beurla, a chors 's gun bidh e a' dòl gu Sealainn Nuadh.
Tha mi tinn an-diugh.

Yay, I am a teacher now. I teach people English. I am also teaching an old man. He is learning English because he is going to New Zealand.
I am ill today.

A Mhairead, eadar-theangaichte mi Ovid à Laideann. Bha e glè inntinneach, ach bha e glè dhoirbh cuideachd.

Mairead, I lanstrated Ovid from Latin. It was very interesting but it was also very difficult.

[Màiri na Coille]

A Mhàiri, tapadh leat; tha mi a' faireachdainn nas fheàrr. Is toil le na clann 'The Simpsons', mar sin tha iad ag iarraidh ga choimhead a-mhàin(?). Bha e soirbh. 'S toil leam Ovid agus Homer gu mòr, ach chan eil mi a' tuigsinn Laideann no Greugais clasaigeach, mar sin tha mi gan leugh sa' Bheurla. Dè tha thu a' leughadh le Plato? Leugh mi An Poblachd ann an 2012 airson chlas. 'S e m'ùghdar clasaigeach prìomhach a tha ann am Pausanias.

Leugh mi Euthyphro agus Crito bho Plato. Cha do leugh mi riamh Pausanias idir!

Tha mi a' dol gu Wyoming a-màireach! Tha mi air bhioran gu mòr. Tha am màileid agam làn, agus tha mi deiseil... Chan urrainn dhomh a dh'fhuireach! Chì mi a h-uile duine ann an cola-deug!

I read Euthyphro and Crito from Plato. I have never read Pausanias at all!

I'm going to Wyoming tomorrow! I'm so excited. My suitcase is full, and I'm ready... I can't wait! I'll see everyone in two weeks!

[coempa]

Bidh mi a' dol gun Alba an ath-seachdain!!

I'm going to Scotland next week!

Enjoy your holiday, Mary!

[Mairead]

Meal do naidheachd, a choempa! Bu toil leam a bhith ag ionnsachadh Beurla. Tha mi 'n dòchas gum bi thu a' faireachdainn nas fheàrr! 'S e eadar-theangachadh doirbh a tha ann sin. (Chan eil mi air ga dhèanamh(?), ach tha fios agam gum bheil e doirbh.)

Congratulations, coempa! I would like to teach English. I hope you feel better! That is a difficult tr*nsl*t**n. (I have not done it, but I know it is hard.)

A few suggestions, coempa: Instead of 'Tha mi ag ionnsaich' you want 'Tha mi ag ionnsachadh' (which you did have once). To make the verb 'eadar-theangaichte' in the past tense, you put a DH' in front of it, so dh'eadar-theangaichte. Also, I think it's more common to say 'tìdsear' for 'teacher' (that's what my teacher says, at least!)

A Mhàiri, chan eil mi air leugh Euthypro agus Crito. Tha Pausanias a' sgrìobhadh mu siubhail anns a' Ghreug chlasaigeach. Tha buaidh-astair diofaraichte aige. Tha mi 'n dòchas gum bi do bhòidse mhath!

Mary, I haven't read Euthyphro and Crito Pausanias writes about travel in ancient Greece. He has a different perspective. I hope you have a good trip!

EDIT: A Choempa, càite a tha thu a' dol ann an Alba?

[coempa]

Bidh mi a' dol gul Glaschu agus Dun Eideann agus Inbhir Nis.

I will be going to Glasgow and Edinburgh and Inverness.

[faoileag]

Hi Coempa,

'gu' is not the standard word for 'to' with places - that is 'a' (a parallel for 'do').

Tha mi a' dol a Ghlaschu / a Dhùn E. / a dh'Inbhir Nis / a dh'Alba (though sometimes the dh' before a vowel is dropped - regional or personal preference, I think)

'a' means 'to the place and into it'.

'gu' means 'as far as the place and not necessarily any further' - think of it as the second part of the pair 'bho... gu---' (from..to..).

Bha mi a' dràibheadh bho Ghlaschu gu Inbhir Nis nuair a thachair an tubaist. I was driving from G to I when the accident happened.

(Also for times: bho àm gu àm - from time to time; bho trì gu sia uairean - from 3 till 6)

[Mairead]

Glè mhath! Am bheil thu air dhol a dh'Alba a-riamh? Agus am bheil thu a' dol a Loch Nis? Chan eil mi air dhol a Ghlaschu idir, ach 's toil leam Dùn Èideann agus Inbhir Nis gu mòr. Tha mi a' dol a Dhùn Èideann Dimàirt oir tha iad a' dol tìdsearan bho an aimsir a chaidh seachad (?). Tha mòran cèilichean againn an t-seachdain-sa uile! Tha an nighean-bràthar-athar aig mo mhàthair agus a nighean a-màireach. Tha iad a' fuireach ann an Virginia, agus cha mhi gan aithne dhomh (?).

Awesome! Have you gone to Scotland before? And are you going to Loch Ness? I haven't been to Glasgow at all, but I love Edinburgh and Glasgow. I am going to Edinburgh on Tuesday because teachers of times past are coming. We have lots of visitors all this week! My mother's cousin and her daughter are coming tomorrow. They live in Virginia, and I don't know them.

[faoileag]

Hi a Mhairead,

Nach math a rinn thu - well done! You've obviously been learning the Perfect form with 'air'.
Unfortunately it's not used in Gaelic nearly as much as in English.
I've never been... is usually just Cha robh mi riamh...

There is also a short word for 'cousin' in Gaelic if you don't want/need to describe the exact relationship: co-ogha (a fellow-grandchild - think about it! )

For not knowing a person or a place or subject at all, I would go for the easier multi-purpose : Chan eil mi eòlach air - I am not familiar with / I have no knowledge of... > Chan eil mi eòlach orra idir.

If you do want to use the 'Is aithne dhomh' construction (note that it uses the 'is' verb, not 'tha'), it would be: Chan aithne dhomh iad idir.

'aithne' has an element of 'recognition' in it, so is used a lot in that context:
An saoghal mar as aithne dhuinn - the world as we know it
Cò an duine ud? An aithne dhut e? 'S e / Chan e. - Who's that man? Do you know (recognise) him? Yes/No.

[poor_mouse]

Is toil le na clann 'The Simpsons', mar sin tha iad ag iarraidh ga choimhead a-mhàin(?).

Is toil leis a' chlann... (dative with "the"; genetive: na cloinne).
...tha iad ag iarraidh coimhead riutha a-mhàin -- ach chan eil mi cinnteach (I'm not sure).

[poor_mouse]

'S e eadar-theangachadh doirbh a tha ann sin. (Chan eil mi air ga dhèanamh(?), ach tha fios agam gum bheil e doirbh.)

A few suggestions, coempa: Instead of 'Tha mi ag ionnsaich' you want 'Tha mi ag ionnsachadh' (which you did have once). To make the verb 'eadar-theangaichte' in the past tense, you put a DH' in front of it, so dh'eadar-theangaichte.

A Mhàiri, chan eil mi air leugh Euthypro agus Crito. Tha Pausanias a' sgrìobhadh mu siubhail anns a' Ghreug chlasaigeach.

'Chan eil mi air a dhèanamh', 's dòcha ("ga" - from ag(aig)+a, that is only for continues).
Agus 'chan eil mi air Euthypro agus Crito a leughadh'.

'Tha mi ag ionnsachadh' - ceart gu leòr (OK).

'eadar-theangaichte' - it's past participle (or is it past passive?), mar eisimpleir: Tha an leabhar seo eadar-theangaichte le Maired.
Simple past: dh'eadar-theangaich: Dh'eadar-theangaich Mairead an leabhar seo.
mu shiubhail

[Mairead]

Mile taing, a phoor-mouse. Does 'mu' lenite? I've never been quite sure as to its usage. Dè tha thusa a dèanamh, a phoor-mouse? (Besides helping us with grammar! )

[poor_mouse]

'S dòcha gur e sèimheachadh a tha le "mu", mar eisimpleir: mu choinneamh, mu dheireadh (ach mun cuairt).
Ach chan eil mi cinnteach an ann daonnan a tha seo.

Probably yes, but I am not sure if it is always so.

Obh-obh, tha mi glè thrang aig an oifis agam an-dràsda!
Chan eil na cùisean a' dòl mar bu chòir agus 's ann ormsa a tha uallach nan gnòthaichean, oir a tha an àrd-phrògramair againne air falbh air saor-làithean.
Nach ann san oifis a-mhàin a tha mi ag obair; nì mi mòran san taigh gus a h-uile rud a chur ceart san oifis.
'S mise Luchag Bhochd gu dearbh!

I am very busy now: things do not go as they sould at our ofice, and the responsibility is on me, because our chief programmer is on holiday.
I am working not only at ofice; I do much at home to put all the things right in the oifice.
My name is really Poor Mouse!