Some simple ways to type grave accents in MS Windows, depending on which version you use. The grave accent ` is next to the number 1 at top of keyboard
à, è, ì, ò, ù Ctrl+`, release and type letter;
À, È, Ì, Ò, Ù Ctrl+Shift+`, release and type letter
OR
Alt key + character code on the numeric keypad on right of keyboard (laptops will vary). Ensure that the NUMLOCK is on.
àAlt+133 or 0224
èAlt+138 or 0232
ìAlt+141 or 0236
ò Alt+149 or 0242
ù Alt+151 or 0249
À Alt+0192
È Alt+0200
Ì Alt+0204
Ò Alt+0210
Ù Alt+0217
Mac
Push and hold a character to bring up a menu and choose.
E.g. hold the letter e to choose the letter è
What is the Gaelic Alphabet?
> Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu
SpeakGaelic always gives you a sound file for the word you are learning. For more information on individual sounds, visit LearnGaelic’ Sounds section https://learngaelic.scot/sounds/index.jsp
What are slender and broad vowels?
The slender vowels are e and i.
All the others are broad.
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Extra step for small screens
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In A2, we saw gnìomhairean riaghailteach san tràth theachdail (regular verbs in the future tense). To make the future tense we add ‑idh or ‑aidh to the root form, in most cases.
For the negative form we used Cha + root (command form), lenited where possible, with the exception of some verbs beginning with t and d.
Root
Primary (Positive statement)
Secondary (negative statement)
cuir!
cuiridh
cha chuir
put!
will put
will not put
ionnsaich!
ionnsaichidh
chan ionnsaich
learn!
will learn
won’t learn
And we use An …? and Nach …? to make the question forms.
Secondary (question)
Secondary (negative question)
Secondary
an cuir …?
nach cuir …?
… gun cuir …
will … put?
won’t … enjoy …?
… that … will put …
an ionnsaich …?
nach ionnsaich …?
… gun ionnsaich …
will … learn …?
won’t … learn …?
… that … will learn
An cuir thu ceist air an tidsear?
Cuiridh
Cha chuir
An ionnsaich thu cànan eile?
Ionnsaichidh
Chan ionnsaich
Note that there are some regular verbs which slightly shorten their root when adding -idh, but we’ll cover that in a future topic. Here are just a few:
Root
Primary (Positive statement)
Secondary (negative statement)
bruidhinn!
bruidhnidh
cha bhruidhinn
speak
will speak
won’t speak
freagair
freagraidh
cha fhreagair
answer!
will answer.
won’t answer.
Again, we use An …? and Nach …? to make the question forms.
Secondary (question)
Secondary (negative question)
Secondary
am bruidhinn …?
nach bruidhinn …?
… gum bruidhinn …
will … speak?
will speak
won’t speak
am freagair …?
nach freagair …?
… gum freagair …
will … answer?
won’t … answer …?
… that … will answer …
an innis …?
nach innis …?
… gun innis …
will … tell …?
won’t … tell …?
… that … will tell
Am bruidhinn thu ris an oide?
Bruidhnidh
Cha bhruidhinn
Am freagair sibh na ceistean gu lèir?
Freagraidh
Cha fhreagair
Nach innis iad dhi gu bheil rudeigin ceàrr?
Innsidh
Chan innis
And from A2 you’ll remember that we learned about an tràth teachdaildàimheach (the relative future tense) with the ending -as (or -eas):
Cuin a bhruidhneas …?
Cuin a bhruidhneas an tidsear ris?
When will … speak …?
When will the teacher speak to him?
Cò a fhreagras …?
Cò fhreagras a’ cheist sin?
Who will answer …?
Who will answer that question?
Dè a dh’innseas …?
Dè a dh’innseas sin dhut?
What will … tell …?
What will that tell you?
Ciamar a chuireas …?
Ciamar a chuireas mi Gàidhlig air a sin?
How will … put …?
How will I translate that into Gaelic?
Cia mheud a dh’ionnsaicheas …?
Cia mheud a dh’ionnsaicheas cànan eile?
How many will learn …?
How many (will) learn another language?
Nuair a bhruidhneas …
Nuair a bhruidhneas an tidsear ris, bidh e toilichte.
When … will speak …
When the teacher speaks (will speak) to him, he will be happy.
Ma chuireas …
Ma chuireas mi ceist orra, gheibh mi freagairt anns a’ bhad.
If … will put …
If I (will) ask them a question, I’ll get an answer right away.