Gnàth-chùrsa làitheil anns a Gàidhlig/Daily routine in Gaelic (for sentence/verb/tense practice)

[Polygot2017]

I thought it might be good to start a post to write some sentences about daily routine in Gàidhlig, as I think it would be good practice with different verbs, tenses and other vocabulary etc. Feel free to join in if you want. I'll start, (mainly with the habitual present tense). I want to add that I'm still very much learning Gàidhlig, so please could any experienced speakers correct any mistakes?

- A h-uile latha, bidh mi a' dùsgadh eadar seachd uairean agus ochd uairean anns a' mhadain.
Every day, I wake up between 7 and 8 O'clock in the morning.

- Bidh mi ag èirigh, (agus) an uair sin cuir aodach orm, an uair sin bidh mi a' dèanamh cupa cofaidh. Chan urrainn dhomh a' tòiseachadh an latha gun chupa cofaidh.
I get up, (and) then I get dressed, then I make a cup of coffee. I cannot start the day without a cup of coffee

- Bidh mi cuir air an coimpiutair agus a' leughadh rudeigin anns an eadar-lìon, mar is trice anns an cànanain diofrach.
I switch on my computer and read something on the internet, usually in different languages

- Na dhèidh sin, bidh mi ag ullachadh rudeigin ri bracaist, an uair sin bidh mi ag ionnsachadh cànanain.
After that, I prepare something for breakfast, then I study/learn languages

- Bidh mi a' chleachdadhaidh seinn agus bidh mi a' cluich an giotàr na keyboard.
I practice singing and I play the guitar or keyboard

- Bidh mi ag obair feasgar eadar Diluain agus Dihaoine. Bidh mi a' tòiseachadh obair aig leth-uair an dèidh ceithir agus bidh mi a' crìochnachadh aig leth-uair an dèidh ochd.
I work in the evening between Monday and Friday. I start work at 4.30pm and I finish at 8.30pm

- Mar is trice, bidh mi a' coiseachd a dh’obair, ach uaireannan bidh mi a’ gabhail bus na taxi, a chor 's gun chan urrainn dhomh a' dràibheadh fathast. Ach tha mi an dòchas gu bheil ag ionnsachadh a' dràibheadh am-bliadhna.
Usually I walk to work, but sometimes I take the bus or a taxi, because I do not drive yet. But I hope to learn to drive this year

- Bidh mi a’ ruighinn dhachaigh aig naoi uairean, an uair sin bidh mi a' còcaireachd rudeigin ri dinner, an uair sin bidh mi a' tàmh rè greis/car greis.
I arrive home at 9pm, then I cook something for dinner, then I rest for a while

- Mar is trice, bidh mi a’ dol dhan leabaidh eadar meadhan-oidhche agus uair ann a' mhadian, na nuair tha mi a’ faireachdainn sgith.
Usually, I go to bed between midnight and one o'clock in the morning, or when I feel tired

[faoileag]

Nach math a rinn thu!

Didn't you do well!

Everything is easy to understand and you've got a good grasp of the "bidh mi a'...." form for habitual actions.
There are just a few small slips, and a couple of constructions you have not had yet. I'll comment on the most useful ones.

I'm presuming you haven't yet learned the simple Future form, e.g. dùisgidh mi - I will wake / I regularly wake (stem + -(a)idh), so you are using the continuous form (bidh mi a' dùsgadh - I will be waking). Gaelic does like the continuous form, particularly if visualising the action as a vivid description, but for a long factual list like yours, once you learn the simple Future form, that would be better.

But as long as you are using the "bidh mi" form, remember to use the verbal noun, not the stem.
An uair sin bidh mi a' cur...
Bidh mi a' cur air an coimpiutair not bidh mi cuir.


After "'s urrainn dhomh" and other modal or introductory verbs, you need the bare verbal noun if there is no object, and object +a + lenited verbal noun if there is an object. (The latter construction is often called "Inversion" in grammar explanations - an Anglo-perspective, but possibly a useful label for English-speaking learners.) This is a very common feature of Gaelic so worth getting your head around.
's urrainn dhomh peantadh.
's urrainn dhomh dealbhan a pheantadh.
feumaidh mi falbh
feumaidh mi an taigh fhàgail

So: chan urrainn dhomh an latha a thòiseachadh...


One last wee item: gu/gun + chan = nach
a chionn 's nach urrainn dhomh dràibheadh fhathast
(I would say a chor 's gu is not as common as a chionn's gu / air sgàth 's gu for because.)

Cum ort!

[Polygot2017]

Nach math a rinn thu!

Didn't you do well!

Mòran taing!

I'm presuming you haven't yet learned the simple Future form, e.g. dùisgidh mi - I will wake / I regularly wake (stem + -(a)idh), so you are using the continuous form (bidh mi a' dùsgadh - I will be waking). Gaelic does like the continuous form, particularly if visualising the action as a vivid description, but for a long factual list like yours, once you learn the simple Future form, that would be better.

I've recently got to the chapter on the simple future tense in the 'Scottish Gaelic in Three Months' book and tape, and have also read the lesson on it on the Taic website, however I haven't really used or practiced it much, so I might try writing out the daily routine using that tense instead. I think I understand the simple future tense now - as for when you use 'idh' or 'aidh', on Taic it says you add either of those to the root 'depending on the spelling rule'. I presume that's talking about slender vs broad vowels and consonants, right? I know in the 'Scottish Gaelic In Three Months' book it says there's a rule 'slender with slender', 'broad with broad', so presumably you'd add 'idh' to the root if the previous vowel was i or e, and 'aidh' if the previous vowel was a, o or u?

Also, for the habitual future tense, can you use either the simple future tense form OR the future tense with 'Bidh (+ verbal noun)', ie are they basically interchangeable? In Taic lesson 55 it's called the 'habitual aspect', and using the simple future as the present habitual is referred to as the 'future finite tense'. It also says this form is preferred amongst younger speakers.

I just want to make sure I've understood this correctly anyway.

But as long as you are using the "bidh mi" form, remember to use the verbal noun, not the stem.
An uair sin bidh mi a' cur...
Bidh mi a' cur air an coimpiutair not bidh mi cuir.

I had a bit of trouble finding the correct verbs for 'switch on' and 'switch off' (as in switching electrical items on/off). I had to look them up in some other sources because they aren't clear on faclair.com or in the learngaelic.net dictionary. I'm still not sure about the correct verbs in Gaelic for these to be honest.

For switch on, I found 'cuir air', so is that the correct form?

On Faclair, for 'switch off', it has 'cuir ás (solas)', ie switch off a light, but doesn't list the verbal noun. So if the 'cuir ás' is the imperative/command form? If so, what is the verbal noun? I've also seen 'cuir dheth' listed in another book, but have no idea what form of the verb that is. I just want to be able to say simple everyday sentences like 'I switched off the tv' or 'can you switch on the light?' etc.

After "'s urrainn dhomh" and other modal or introductory verbs, you need the bare verbal noun if there is no object, and object +a + lenited verbal noun if there is an object. (The latter construction is often called "Inversion" in grammar explanations - an Anglo-perspective, but possibly a useful label for English-speaking learners.) This is a very common feature of Gaelic so worth getting your head around.
's urrainn dhomh peantadh.
's urrainn dhomh dealbhan a pheantadh.
feumaidh mi falbh
feumaidh mi an taigh fhàgail

So: chan urrainn dhomh an latha a thòiseachadh...

Ok, so when saying stuff with 'can' in Gaelic, you have to put the 2nd verb at the end of the sentence/clause, and lenite the verbal noun? Ok, so my sentence 'I can't start the day without a cup of coffee' should actually be 'chan urrainn dhomh an latha gun chupa cofaidh a thòiseachadh' ? Or does the 'gun chupa cofaidh' go after 'a thòiseachadh'?

One last wee item: gu/gun + chan = nach
a chionn 's nach urrainn dhomh dràibheadh fhathast
(I would say a chor 's gu is not as common as a chionn's gu / air sgàth 's gu for because.)

Ok. Again, I haven't really used 'because' in Gaelic very much, but I will start using the more common forms from now on. Also, speaking of conjunctions, is 'na' the correct/most common word for 'or'?

Once I get some more spare time, I'll try writing a daily routine in some other tenses.

[faoileag]

Future:
Putting it very simply, the continuous Future form Bidh mi a'.... is roughly equivalent to the English "I will be doing", and you're less likely to say "I'm regularly doing ..." than "I regularly do", so for listing a factual set of daily activities, the simple/finite Future would be more usual.
Where both forms are available in Gaelic (Fut. and Past), the continuous form is best suited to painting a vivid picture, e.g. scene-setting, or imagining the action happening, or conveying the ongoing/lengthy nature of the activity.
Bha mi dìreach a' coimhead air an telebhisean nuair a thàinig am posta.
Bidh thu a' faireachdainn tinn air a' bhàt'-aiseig ma bhios e ro stoirmeil. (ma bhios - if it will be, if it is)
Bidh mise a' dràibheadh dhan obair nuair a tha thusa a' falbh air làithean-saora.

Verb stems, verbal nouns:
Dictionaries always give the stem first, then the verbal noun, e.g. cuir, cur; tòisich, tòiseachadh.
The stem is also the singular imperative.
Cuir fios thugam! Let me know! Cuir dheth an solas!
The verbal noun is the form used with tha mi a'.... (and in many other structures, e.g. "inversion").
Tha mi a' cur fòn gu mo mhàthair.
Bidh mi a' cur fios thugad a dh'aithghearr.
Feumaidh mi fòn a chur gu caraidean ann an Ameireaga.
Chan urrainn dhomh an latha a thòiseachadh gun chupa cofaidh. (only the actual object comes before the second verb, not the extras).

Or:
no or neo. Both common. (NOT "na".)