We’ve seen in Cuspair 6, that a (who, whom, which, that) and its negative nach are used for relative clauses in Gaelic:
‘S e sin an postair. | + | Rinn i am postair. | = | ‘S e sin an nighean a rinn am postair. |
That’s the girl. | + | She made the poster. | = | That’s the girl who made the poster. |
An e seo an duine? | + | Cha d’ fhuair e duais. | = | An e seo an duine nach d’ fhuair duais. |
Is this the man? | + | He didn’t get a prize. | = | Is this the man who didn’t get a prize? |
This is also the a which follows ged a (though), mar a (as) and nuair a (when), as well as question words like carson a (why …), ciamar a, cuin a.
There was an example in our conversation.
‘S e sin an rud a thachair. Tha mi ag innse dhut!
That is what happened. I’m telling you!
However, sometimes this takes the form na in sentences, for example:
An e sin na thuirt Beathag ri Crìsdean?
Is that what Beth said to Christopher?
There were some examples in our conversation.
An e sin na thuirt e riut?
Is that what he said to you?
‘S e sin na thuirt e rium.
That’s what he said to me.
An e sin na thachair dha?
Is that what happened to him?
‘S e sin na chuala mise co-dhiù.
That’s what I heard anyway.