Ah, tha mi gad thuigsinn, a Raghnaid. Uill, tha mo phàrantan às a Nuadh Eabhrac, ach nuair a bha mi còig bliadhna a dh'aois, chaidh sinn a Wisconsin. Ma tha thu à dùthaich eile, tha Wisconsin coltach ris Naudh Eabhrac, ach tha na cultaran uabhasach eu-coltach. ('S fìrinn a th' ann!) Agus tha sinn a' fuireach ann an Alba a-nis, gu bràth - tha cultar ùr agam, ach tha seann-cultar agam cuideachd; tha mi ag ionnsachadh rudan inbheach ann an dùthaich gum bheil e eu-coltach ris a' chultar aig mo phàrantan. 'Clann treas-cultair'!
I get you Rachel! My parents are from New York, but when I was five we moved to Wisconsin. If you're from another country, Wisconsin is similar to New York, but the cultures are incredibly different. (It's the truth!) And now we live in Scotland, for good - I have a new culture, but the old culture is in me too; I learn adult things in a country that's different from my parents' culture. 'Third culture kids'!
Tha avatar agam à dhealbh aig mo phiuthar anns an Cellardyke. Tha trì videothan Ghàidhlig agam anns an Youtube. My avatar is from a photo that my sister took in Cellardyke. I have three Gaelic videos on Youtube.
Tapadh leat. (Did the 'Thanks' button for posts disappear?)
Tha avatar agam à dhealbh aig mo phiuthar anns an Cellardyke. Tha trì videothan Ghàidhlig agam anns an Youtube. My avatar is from a photo that my sister took in Cellardyke. I have three Gaelic videos on Youtube.
Mairead wrote:(Did the 'Thanks' button for posts disappear?)
Yes it did - with the software upgrade. I found a replacement for it and converted the old "Thank you"s, but it was causing bugy, so I switched it off.
Rugadh mi ann an Inbhir Nis ach thogadh mi ann an Ros an Ear, no Machair Rois, faisg air Baile Dhubhthaich.
Tha mi a’ fuireach ann an Machair Alba a-nis ach tha mo theaghlach shuas anns a’ Ghàidhealtachd fhathast.
Dh’fhuirich mi ann an Glaschu airson còig bliadhna nuair a bha mi nam oilenach ach ’s ann an Dùn Èideann a tha mi a’ fuireach a-nis. Thàinig mi a-bhos an seo le mo chèile anns an Lùnastal.
’S toil leinn fuireach ann an Dùn Èideann ach tha na caraidean againn ann an Glaschu fhathast. Cò-dhiù, tha fear no dhà a’ gluasad a-nall.
I was born in Inverness but raised in Easter Ross near Tain.
I live in the lowlands now but my family are still up in the Highlands.
I stayed in Glasgow for five years when I was a student but its Edinburgh I'm staying in now. I came over here with my partner in August.
We like staying in Edinburgh but our friends are still in Glasgow. Anyway, one or two are moving over.
In the present tense the long construction, involving 'tha' and the verbal noun, covers both the continuous and simple present i.e.
Tha mi a' sgrìobhadh - I am writing, I write
In the past tense the long construction generally only covers the continuous and not the simple past tense i.e.
Bha mi a' sgrìobhadh - I was writing
ach
Sgrìobh mi - I wrote
Shuas sgrìobh mise 'dh'fhuirich mi ann an Glaschu'. This seems ok, however, fuireach alongside iarraidh, tuigsinn and smaoineachadh are exceptions to the rule. In the past tense, with the long construction, these work as if they were in the present tense (with both continuous and simple) i.e.
Bha mi ag iarraidh - I was wanting, I wanted
Bha mi a' tuigsinn - I was understanding, I understood
Bha mi a' smaoineachadh - I was thinking, I thought
agus, mu dheireadh
Bha mi a' fuireach (ann* an Glaschu) - I was staying/ living in Glasgow, I stayed/ lived in Glasgow
*Aon rud eile, I hadn't realised the 'ann' is often dropped. Interesting.
What happened with the present tense is that the form that corresponds to "Sgrìobh mi" in the past tense has become the future tense. So, for those meanings, you can use the future tense, e.g. for things that you do regularly, or for abilities - "Sgrìobhaidh mi gu tric"...
Tha thu ceart a’ GhunChleoc, ann am Machair Alba no anns a’ Ghalldachd mar a chanadh tu, ’s dòcha.
Agus mòran taing airson do mhìneachadh... glè chuideachdail. Cleachdaidh mi sin!
Cò às a tha thu fhèin? An e Gearmailteach a th’ annad? Tha tòrr Gearmailtis agad co-dhiù (leugh mi an làrach-lìn agad... gu math srònasach ).
Tha mo bhràthair a’ fuireach ann an Cologne an-dràsta. The e na oileanach thall an sin. Cuiridh e seachad bliadhna sa Ghearmailt. Tha mi a’ dol a chèilidh air an ath-bhliadhna.
You're right GunChleoc, in Machair Alba or the lowlands as you would say, perhaps.
Thanks for your explanation... very helpful. I will use that.
Where are you from yourself? Are you German? You have plenty German anyway (I read your website... quite nosey).
My brother is living in Cologne just now. He's a student there. He'll spend a year in Germany. I'm going to visit him next year.