Language/Scottish-gaelic/Grammar/Future-Tense
Hi Scottish Gaelic learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about the future tense in Scottish Gaelic. We will look at how to form the future tense, as well as some examples of how it is used.
The future tense in Scottish Gaelic is formed by adding the suffix -idh or -eidh to the verb stem. This suffix is added to the end of the verb stem, and the verb stem is the part of the verb that remains after all other endings have been removed. For example, the verb stem of the verb "to write" is sgrìobh-. To form the future tense of this verb, the suffix -idh or -eidh is added to the end of the verb stem, giving us sgrìobh-idh or sgrìobh-eidh.
The suffix -idh is used when the verb stem ends in a consonant, while the suffix -eidh is used when the verb stem ends in a vowel. For example, the verb stem of the verb "to speak" is labh- and since it ends in a consonant, the suffix -idh is used to form the future tense, giving us labh-idh. The verb stem of the verb "to eat" is ith- and since it ends in a vowel, the suffix -eidh is used to form the future tense, giving us ith-eidh.
The future tense can be used to talk about things that will happen in the future. For example, if you want to say "I will go", you would say "Thèid mi". If you want to say "We will eat", you would say "Itheamaid".
The future tense can also be used to talk about things that are likely to happen in the future. For example, if you want to say "I will probably go", you would say "Thèid mi a bhith a' dol". If you want to say "We will probably eat", you would say "Itheamaid a bhith a' ithe".
Here are some examples of the future tense in action:
| Scottish Gaelic | Pronunciation | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Thèid mi | /heːdʲ mi/ | I will go |
| Itheamaid | /iəhəmədʲ/ | We will eat |
| Labhaidh sinn | /ləvədʲ ʃin/ | We will speak |
| Sgrìobhaidh e | /skriːvədʲ ɛ/ | He will write |
| Bheir iad | /vɛrʲ ɪəd/ | They will bring |
As you can see, the future tense in Scottish Gaelic is quite straightforward. Just remember to add the suffix -idh or -eidh to the end of the verb stem, depending on whether the verb stem ends in a consonant or a vowel.
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