If any of you have ever studied Spanish, you may recall that it has two verbs for expressing
      the English word "to be". Gaelic has two such verbs also, and I would like to look at one of
      them this week.
      Bi is used to join a noun (or pronoun) with an adjective, as in "Jamie is Scottish" or
      "Claire is wise". It is declined in the present tense as follows:

      tha mi (HA mee) I am
      tha thu (HA hoo) You (sing.) are
      tha e (HA aye) he is; it is
      tha i (HA ee) she is; it is
      tha sinn (HA sheen) we are
      tha sibh (HA sheev) You (pl.) are
      tha iad (HA eeit) they are

      For example:

      1). Tha e mor. He is big.
      2). Tha mi sona. I am happy.
      3). Tha Laoghaire leisg. Laoghaire is lazy.

      Remember that in Gaelic word order for most declarative sentences, the verb comes first.

      Here are some vocabulary words to get you started.

      dona (DO nah) bad
      breagha (BRAY ava) beautiful
      snog (SNOK) nice
      ciallach (CHEEA lak) sensible
      fallain (FAL ain) healthy
      fuar (FOO ar) cold
      gorach (GO rahk) stupid
      trang (TRAHK) busy

      Now try writing these in Gaelic. Remember to follow V(erb) + N(oun)(or pronoun) +
      A(djective).

      1). We are busy.
      2). Claire is beautiful.
      3). Fergus is nice.
      4). She is stupid. (Laoghaire of course)
      5). He is wet.
      6). I am cold.

      And here are the answers:

      1). Tha sinn trang.
      2). Tha Claire breagha.
      3). Tha Fergus song.
      4). Tha i gorach.
      5). Tha e fliuch.
      6). Tha mi fuar.

      Tha sin uabhasach math! That's very good!

      Here is a line from a farming labor song:

      "Tha mi fallain, tha mi og."

      Did you read it correctly? I'll bet you did! It translates: "I am healthy, I am young."

      Now here's the tricky part. From time to time I'll try to explain a bit about how to "Think" in
      Gaelic. The verb Bi presents a good instance of the diomatic quality of Gaelic.

      To the Gaels all objects around us are imbued with their own unique spirit and purpose
      within the universe. Therefore, every object, every action has its own word unto itself. The
      Gael saw himself as part of this web of natural relationships; he did not view himself as
      acting upon objects but rather that he was an instrument of their use.

      So, the correct expression for "I have a pen." is "There is a pen at me." Translated into
      Gaelic it reads, Tha peann agam..

      However, you can establish relationship by using the possessive form "my" but that is
      another lesson I'm afraid!

      Latha math an-drasda Bye for now!
 
 

      Debbie F.