A couple of "essays"

[GunChleoc]

Rinn thu uabhasach math, tha a h-uile rud ceart a-nis!

An dèidh na sgoile... Tha sin ceart, ach faodaidh tu ràdh cuideachd: Às dèidh na sgoile... cha robh ach sràc a dhìth (you were only missing the accent)

[sr3nitygirl]

Co-dhiù, mholainn dhuibh leughadh an leabhar "Rathad Chaluim", Tha mi a' smaoineachadh gun còrd e ruibh!
Anyway, I would recommend you read the book "Calums Road". I think you will enjoy it!

Looking at this, I got a strong feeling that I had to use the inverted nominal with the verbal noun, thus...

Co-dhiù, mholainn dhuibh an leabhar "Rathad Chaluim" a leughadh. Tha mi a' smaoineachadh gun còrd e ruibh!



I have a feeling something similar is going on here as well, in that I need to use the inverted nominal but I confess this is still a difficult area for me, and I went in way over my head with these

Chuir Calum roimhe a' thogail an rathad aige-fhèin.
Calum decided to build his own road

Chuir Calum roimhe an rathad aige-fhèin a thogail. (perhaps?)

Dh'fheumadh na daoine a' choiseachd no a' ghabhail bàta a' ruigsinn na bailtean ann an Ratharsair a Tuath.
The people would have to walk or take a boat to reach the towns in North Raasay.

Dh'fheumadh na daoine a choiseachd no bàta a ghabhail na bailtean a ruigsinn ann an Ratharsair a Tuath.

I'm pretty sure that a choiseachd needs to be in the 'infinitive' since 'the people would need to be in the act of walking', but I could be wrong.
Clearly, more study on this is required!

[faoileag]

Glè mhath!

Only the last one is still not quite right.

Dh'fheumadh na daoine a choiseachd no bàta a ghabhail na bailtean a ruigsinn ann an Ratharsair a Tuath

Dh'fheumadh na daoine coiseachd no bàta a ghabhail gus/airson na bailtean a ruigsinn...


Avoid thinking in terms of 'infinitives' - what Gaelic uses in these inversions is the verbal noun.
If there's no object, just use the bare verbal noun. If there's an object, put it before the verbal noun, add 'a' and lenite the v.n.

gus/airson + inversion = in order to

[sr3nitygirl]

Mìle taing a Fhaoileag.

That's a very useful explanation

[sr3nitygirl]

Seo e a-rithist.

The remaining correction is (hopefully) in green

Bu toigh leam innseadh dhuibh mu dhèidhinn leabhair inntinnich.
I'd like to tell you about an interesting book

'S e "Rathad Chaluim" an t-ainm a th' air, no "Calums Road" anns a' Bheurla
It's name is "Calums Road".

'S e an sgeulachd bhrosnachail a th' innte mu Chalum MacLeòid.
It's the inspiring story of Calum MacLeod

Rugadh Calum MacLeòid ann an naoi ceud deug a h-aon deug ann an Glaschu.
Calum was born in 1911 in Glasgow

Bha athair na sheòladair.
His father was a sailor

An ath-bhliadhna, thàinig Calum fhèin is a mhàthair gu Arnais Mu Dheas ann an Ratharsair a Tuath.
The next year, Calum and his mother came to South Arnish in North Raasay.

Thogadh Calum ann an Arnais is dh'fhuirich e an sin fad a bheatha.
Calum was raised in Arnish and lived there his whole life

Nuair a bha e aig an sgoil, dh'ionnsaich e gu buileach anns a' Ghàidhlig.
When he was at school, he learned entirely in Gaelic

Às dèidh na sgoile, bha e na chroitear.
After he finished at school, he was a crofter

Dh'obair e anns an taigh-sholais air Eilean Rònaidh cuideachd.
He worked in the lighthouse on Rona, too

Ach, bha na daoine a' falbh bho Ratharsair a Tuath.
But the people were leaving from North Raasay

Carson a bha iad a' falbh?
Why were they leaving?

Uill,, cha robh rathad ann gu Ratharsair a Tuath.
Well, there wasn't a road to North Raasay

Bha ceann an rathaid faisg air Caisteal Bhròchail, dhà mhìle bho Arnish.
The end of the road was near Castle Brochail, two miles from Arnish

Dh'fheumadh na daoine coiseachd no bàta a ghabhail gus na bailtean a ruigsinn ann an Ratharsair a Tuath.
The people would have to walk or take a boat to reach the towns in North Raasay.

Cha thogadh a' Chomhairle rathad ann.
The council wouldn't build a road there

Chuir Calum roimhe an rathad aige-fhèin a thogail.
Calum decided to build his own road

Thug e eadar deich is còig deug bliadhna a dhèanamh.
It took him between 10 and 15 years to make

Bha a sgeulachd-san anns na pàipearan is air an rèidio is telebhisean.
His story was in the papers and on the radio and television


Bha Calum na sgrìobhadair cuideachd, is sgrìobh e sgeulachd mu Na Fuadaichean ann an Eilean Ratharsair.
Calum was also a writer, and he wrote a story about The Clearances on Raasay


'S e "Fàsachadh An-Iochdmhor Ratharsair" an t-ainm a bh' air, no "The Cruel Clearances of Raasay".
It was called The Cruel Clearances of Raasay


Co-dhiù, mholainn dhuibh an leabhar "Rathad Chaluim" a leughadh. Tha mi a' smaoineachadh gun còrd e ruibh!
Anyway, I would recommend you read the book "Calums Road". I think you will enjoy it!

A Fhaoileag is a Ghunchleoc,
Ceud mìle mìle taing a-rithist!

This has been a very useful exercise for me.
I'm sure there will be more "essays" on the way (actually I have to write another one; our instructor gives us optional "homework" which is why these two essays exist in the first place!)


I freely admit that:
(a) I make silly mistakes because I'm sometimes a little careless, and
(b) I sometimes get in over my head trying to do things I perhaps shouldn't do at my learning stage.

But I am all about pushing my limits, and if I fall over from time to time, so be it. I just need to make sure I learn from my mistakes
I'm so glad that you all are here to help us all out!

[GunChleoc]

I got where I am today by doing a) and b). I still do a) a lot!

One tiny thing to make the meaning more exact:

Thug e eadar deich is còig deug bliadhna a dhèanamh.
It took between 10 and 15 years to make


Thug e eadar deich is còig deug bliadhna dha dhèanamh.
It took him between 10 and 15 years to make

It's an andvanced structure, so well done!

[sr3nitygirl]

Thug e eadar deich is còig deug bliadhna dha dhèanamh.
It took him between 10 and 15 years to make

So it's literally "It took ... to him..."?

This has been a good exercise, thanks again.
It's given me a lot to think about as well as a wee boost just right when I needed it

[GunChleoc]

Tha mi toilichte seo a chluinntinn

So it's literally "It took ... to him..."?

Yep.

[sr3nitygirl]

Tha mi a' sgrìobh an sgeulachd eile...
I am writing another story...

A bheil an t-eagal oirbh fhathast?
Are you afraid yet?

An ath sheachdain, bidh i a' chlas-feasgair Gàidhlig mu dheireadh leis AGA airson am bliadhna.
Next week, It will be the last Gaelic class with the AGA for this year.

Tha mi ag iarradh sgrìobhadh rudeigin math, ach dè?
I want to write something good, but what?

'S dòcha, sgrìobhaidh mi rudeigin mu dhèidhinn far an do rugadh mi... Obar Bhrothaig!
Perhaps I'll write something about where I was born.... Arbroath

[GunChleoc]

Bhiodh e inntinneach cluinntinn mu dheidhinn Obar Bhrothaig!
It would be interesting to hear about Arbroath


an sgeulachd eile... = the other story. sgeulachd eile... = another story

Time expression and yes/no work a bit differently in Gaelic:

A bheil an t-eagal oirbh fhathast? - are you still afraid?
A bheil an t-eagal oirbh mar-thà? - are you afraid yet?
Nach eil an t-eagal oirbh fhathast? - aren't you afraid yet?
Chan eil an t-eagal oirbh fhathast! - you aren't afraid anymore!

bidh an clas ..... mu dheireadh ann. or: 'S e an clas .... mu dheireadh a bhios ann

Tha mi ag iarradh rudeigin math a sgrìobhadh

[sr3nitygirl]

Tapadh leat a-rithist, a GhunChleoc.

Cha do sgrìobh mi an sgeulachd... cha robh an tìde gu leòr agam

Ach, sgrìobhaidh mi e a dh'aithghearr co-dhiù...

"'s e cleachdadh a nì teòma "..

[sr3nitygirl]

Well, I came up with something. I'm sure there are a few "nasties" in there
But, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and I've never been shy of sticking my neck out...


Obar Bhrothaig - Am baile far an do rugadh mi agus far an do thogadh mi.
Arbroath - the town where I was born and where I was raised.


Cò às a tha mise? Tha mise à Obar Bhrothaig. 'S e baile ann an Alba an Ear a th' ann.
Where am I from? I am from Arbroath. It's a town in Eastern Scotland.

Tha Obar Bhrothaig air a' Chosta an Ear, agus 's e port-iasgaich a th' ann.
Arbroath is on the East Coast and it is a fishing port.

Uill, 's e port-iasgaich a bh' ann. An-diugh, chan eil mòran bàtaichean-iasgaich ann idir.
Well, it was a fishing port. Today, there aren't a lot of fishing boats there at all.

Gus na seachdadan, bha an t-iasgach glè mhath anns a' Chuan Tuathach is bha bàtaichean-iasgaich gu leòr ann an Obar Bhrothaig is na bailtean eile air a' chosta an ear.
Until the seventies, the fishing was very good in the North Sea and there were plenty of fishing boats in Arbroath and the other towns on the East Coast.

Dh'atharraich sin nuair a thàinig riaghailtean na iasgaich ùr bhon Aonadh Eòrpach.
That changed when new fishing rules came from the E.U.

Nise, tha na cabhlaichean-iasgaich glè bheag.
Now, the fishing fleets are very small.



An ann trì cheud deug is fichead, bha Taisbeanadh Obar Bhrothaig air a sgrìobhadh ann an Abaid Obar Bhrothaig.
In 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath was written in Arbroath Abbey.


An-diugh, 's e an tobhta eachdraidheil cudromach a tha ann an abaid.
Today, the abbey is an important historical ruin.

Ma tha sibh a' dol do dh' Obar Bhrothaig, mholainn dhuibh gum feuch am blas de "Arbroath Smokie"!
If you are going to Arbroath, I would recommend that you try the taste of an "Arbroath Smokie"!


EDIT: corrections shown in bold.

[Thrissel]

No nasties that I see, just

air an Costa -> air a' Chosta
anns an Cuan -> anns a' Chuan
dhan t-Aonadh Eòrpach -> dhan Aonadh Eòrpach

[sr3nitygirl]

...all of which are simple dative-case mistakes on my part... I always seem to do that
I went in and fixed those.

Tapah leat, a Thrisseil

[Thrissel]

...all of which are simple dative-case mistakes on my part... I always seem to do that

I still do them every now and then myself...