Bilingual transcription: Nouns or adjectives

Bilingual transcription: Ainmearan no buadhairean

Watch this clip where Joy gives us some of her favourite useful phrases. 

The possessive pronouns : mo, do, a, ar, ur, an are used in a variety of constructions in Gaelic.

One of these is air and a verbal noun, [air+ a verbal noun] to express a state someone or something is in, like air mo nàrachadh , embarrassed, literally ‘on my shaming’. The possessive word needs to agree with the person or thing being described, so air mo nàrachadh is used if the subject is mi: Bha mi air mo nàrachadh .

If Eilidh was embarrassed then we’d say Bha Eilidh air a nàrachadh .

And for a plural subject, Tha na balaich air an nàrachadh . ‘The boys are embarrassed’.

Other feelings expressed in the same way are: air mo shàrachadh , stressed out, or air mo liathadh , bored.

And the pattern can be used for many different states: Bha an doras air a dhùnadh , The door was shut ( dhùnadh , lenited, as doras is masculine). Tha an obair air a dèanamh .

The work is done, dèanamh , unlenited, as obair is feminine.