Fòram na Gàidhlig

Hi all. Hoping for a bit of advice on verbal nouns and when to use inversion. As in the example below, with correction by Marc.

LilithNoor wrote:
Feumaidh me ag ionnsachadh an tràth caithte. I must learn the past tense.

Feumaidh mi an tràth caithte ionnsachadh. Inversion with direct object apart from when you don't (see below).

But

Tha mi 'a nighe an aodaich-leapa

Following his advice on the weather thread I've refreshed my memory with TAIC 8, and read this thread http://www.foramnagaidhlig.net/foram/vi ... =11&t=2189 but am struggling to see where the exceptions are. Apologies if the answer is obvious- it's been 15 years since I last cracked a grammar textbook in anger, and French grammar is not a fat lot of help with Gaelic.

Ronald Black's "Cothrom Ionnsachaidh" will give you an in-depth explanation of inversion in layman's terms as well as with all the grammatical jargon.

Basically, in very simple terms, if you have

a) a modal verb (I have to, can, must, should etc) before a second verb

OR

b) an introductory phrase before your actual action ('second verb'), which shows your attitide to the following action (e.g. I want to, I'd like to, I'm expecting to, I hope to, I'm afraid to, I'd prefer to)

then you invert.

Examples:
Feumaidh mi leabhar a cheannach. - I have to buy a book.
Tha mi airson càr ùr a cheannach. I'd like to buy a new car.

********************

If you start with a verb of motion (most commonly dol and tighinn), there is NO inversion.
Instead, regard the 'a' as meaning 'to' + (lenited) verbal noun.

Tha mi a' dol a cheannach càr. I am going to buy a car. ("I am going to the buying of a car")

**************************

You can also combine these: > a modal verb/introductory phrase + a verb of motion + a further verb.

In that case you (exceptionally) put an 'a' before your dol and tighinn, and also lenite them.

Tha mi ag iarraidh a dhol a cheannach càr ùr. I want to go to buy a new car.

Mòran taing, that's really helpful.

So hopefully I have the hang of it:

Tha mi a ceannach càr - I'm buying a car

Tha mi a' dol a cheannach càr - I'm going to buy a car

Tha mi ag iarraidh càr a cheannach ach chan eil airgead agam - I want to buy a car but I have no money.

Feumaidh mi rothair a raighdeadh - I have to ride a bicycle (Suspect I have made a mistake as I've branched out from familiar verbs)

Apart from a minor slip (you forgot the apostrophe in "tha mi a' ceannach...") that's it. It's not as big and scary a thing as it first seems, is it?

Surprisingly understandable, in fact! Tapadh leibh!

Also:

There are those who will tell you that you absolutely have to use a bhith in between '"S toil" and a verbal noun e.g. '"S toil leam a bhith a' snàmh" and there are others who will tell you that that is utter nonsense and that "'S toil leam snàmh" is absolutely fine. Whichever you end up using, remember that "a bhith" breaks inversion the same way as a' dol and a' tighinn do.

'S toil leam seinn.
'S toil leam òrain a sheinn.
'S toil leam a bhith a' seinn.
'S toil leam a bhith a' seinn òrain.

MarcMacUilleim wrote:remember that "a bhith" breaks inversion the same way as a' dol and a' tighinn do.

It doesn't invert, but for a different reason from dol and tighinn.

Bith takes "a'/ag", which doesn't invert but dol and tighinn take "a [dh'] which doesn't invert.

Another way to look at it is that bhith is just the verbal noun of tha/bha, so it's just like "tha mi ag ionnsachadh rudeigin" etc.

Re: 's toil + verbal noun - there is a difference in focus depending on whether you use 'a bhith' or not. It's not a case of right / wrong, or always / never.


's toil leam a bhith a dannsadh - I like actually dancing myself, I do it, the doing of it gives me pleasure. An engaged, commited statement.

'S toil leam dannsadh - I like dance - as an art-form, as entertainment, and possibly also doing it myself. A neutral, non-commital statement.



We had a thread on this a while ago: http://www.foramnagaidhlig.net/foram/vi ... =11&t=2295