To ask questions such as cuin(e)? (when?), ciamar? (how?), càit(e)? (where?) with irregular past tense verbs, we need to remember the two parts of each verb:
Let’s look at dèan (make/do) in the past tense. The question words which go with the independent form are:
Ciamar
How
Cò
Who
Dè
What
Cuin(e)
When
Cia mheud
How many
Càit(e) (where) behaves differently by using the dependent form:
RINN | AN DO RINN |
Ciamar a rinn? | Càit an do rinn? |
Cò rinn? | |
Dè rinn? | |
Cuin a rinn? | |
Cia mheud a rinn? |
You’ll be pleased to know that this pattern works for all verbs, regular and irregular. Let’s look at two more examples, featuring rach (go) and faic (see)
CHAIDH | AN DEACH |
Ciamar a chaidh? | Càit an deach? |
Cò a chaidh? | |
Dè a chaidh? | |
Cuin a chaidh? | |
Cia mheud a chaidh? |
CHUNNAIC | AM FACA |
Ciamar a chunnaic? | Càit am faca? |
Cò chunnaic? | |
Dè chunnaic? | |
Cuin a chunnaic? | |
Cia mheud a chunnaic? |