Bheil

[treaclemine]

Tha fios agam 'A bheil ...?' (A bheil Gàidhlig agaibh?) agus (a-nis!) 'Caìt a bheil ...?' (Caìt a bheil mo theoclaidean?) ach chan eil mi a' tuigsinn, 'bheil'.

I know 'A bheil ...?' (Do you speak Scottish Gaelic?) and (now!) 'Caìt a bheil ...? (Where are my chocolates?) but I don't understand, 'bheil'.

I have seen it in a few places, just 'bheil' in a sentence, not 'a bheil' (the question form of 'tha') (of course, now I am at the computer, I can't find an example! Does anyone know what I mean?

Tapadh leibh ro làimh!

[Thrissel]

You also use it in "gu bheil - that is", as in

tha e ag ràdh gu bheil e fuar - he says that he's cold

And I think you sometimes simply omit the a in informal speech, something like saying Can't do it. instead of e.g. I can't do it. But don't take this for granted unless somebody else confirms it.

[treaclemine]

You also use it in "gu bheil - that is", as in

tha e ag ràdh gu bheil e fuar - he says that he's cold

And I think you sometimes simply omit the a in informal speech, something like saying Can't do it. instead of e.g. I can't do it. But don't take this for granted unless somebody else confirms it. :priob:

Hmm - that first rings bells. I'd be interested to know whether that is purely idiomatic or whether I can break down the meaning and still have sense e.g. what does bheil mean alone?

Tapadh leibh!

[Thrissel]

I'd say it's simply a form of "bi", used in certain situations - just like in English "are" is a form of "be" used in certain situations; you don't use "are" as a word on its own either.

Are they ready? - Are.

sounds rather strange, doesn't it?

[Seonaidh]

Mo-Threacail...

Chan eil mi cinnteach (I ain't sure like), but I suspect your "problem" is coming across things like "tha", "bheil" and "eil" all apparently meaning the Same Thing. Like, in Standard English, you get "I am", "I'm not", "Aren't I" - and you think nothing of it, innit?

But, like, English uses different bits for ME, HIM, US and so on - I AM, he IS, we ARE - but Gaelic, like Norwegian, does not. (jeg er, hann er, vi er; tha mi, tha e, tha sinn). Now, just think how puzzling this "am-is-are" business is for a Gael or Norwegian getting to grips with English!

So, when you come across the seemingly Quaint Custom of Gaelic using different verb thingies according to whether you're stating something, asking a question or saying not-something, it's no more (or less) complex than English. It's just different - and it's one of those things that makes it Gaelic.

While it's satisfying (particularly for those with geekish tendencies like me) to know why things are the way they are and how they developed that way, the Important Thing is to get used to it and speak it. Practice for the nicht:-

1. Tha mi aig an taigh.
2. A bheil Alastair aig an taigh?
3. Chan eil Sìle aig an taigh.
4. Och, nach eil?
5. Tha ise ag ràdh gu bheil i anns an sgoil an-diugh.
6. Tha mise ag ràdh nach eil mi anns an obair fhathast.

I think that just about covers it for the present of To Be. I take it you wouldn't be into Impersonal Forms as yet?

[treaclemine]

... It's just different - and it's one of those things that makes it Gaelic. ...
5. Tha ise ag ràdh gu bheil i anns an sgoil an-diugh. ... I take it you wouldn't be into Impersonal Forms as yet?

I do understand that (and no, I'm not!). I could cope with 'a bheil' as a unit together. But I couldn't find 'gu bheil' in any reference work. So I would have been stuck with your example 5, but now I parse this as:

"Is she at saying that is she in the school today."

which I then tr*nsl*t* as:

"She says that she is in school today."

A bheil sin ceart?

[GunChleoc]

Tha, tha sin ceart

Yes, that's correct

I always think of it as a grid:

1. positive statement form (tha)
2. negative statement form (eil - chan eil)

3. positive question form + subordinate clauses form (bheil - a bheil, gu bheil)
4. negative question form (eil - nach eil)

When you start on the future tense, you will encounter yet another form - the so-called relative form. Don't worry about it as yet though - one thing at a time.

You should skip the impersonal Seonaidh mentioned for now, since this will be too much to remember, unless you're curious and already want to know what it looks like.

[treaclemine]

Tapadh leibh!