Active or passive
Gnìomhach no fulangach
At A2 we learned that we need to use a structure with ga if we use a pronoun as the object of a verbal noun.
These sentences are gnìomhach (active):
In B1 Cuspair 14 we saw that we can use structures with ga to make sentences with a passive meaning.
In these sentences the subject doesn't do the action but undergoes the action (the action is done to the subject), and the structure with ga always refers back to the gender or number of the object.
These sentences express a fulangach (passive) continuous meaning:
| Tha an òraid ga t oirt seachad. | òraid (f) | The speech is being given. |
| Tha an saoghal ga mh illeadh. | saoghal (m) | The world is being destroyed. |
| Tha a' bhuaidh ga f aicinn. | buaidh (f) | The effect is being seen. |
| Tha na beòthaichean gam m arbhadh. | beòthaichean (m, pl) | The animals are being killed. |
We haven't done much translation into Gaelic so far.
Why don't you have a go at this task?
Look at the list of verbs below, and then see if you can translate these sentences into Gaelic.
You can write or type this, if you find it easier.
| caomhain! | v | save, protect! | a' caomhnadh | vn | saving, protecting | |
| glèidh! | v | maintain, preserve! | a' gleidheadh | vn | maintaining, preserving | |
| lùghdaich! | v | decrease, reduce! | a' lùghdachadh | vn | decreasing, reducing | |
| sguir! | v | stop, cease! | a' sgur | vn | stopping, ceasing |
| Is enough energy being saved just now? | lùth, m |
| ____________________________________________ | |
| Is the environment being preserved? | àrainneachd, f |
| ____________________________________________ | |
| Carbon in the atmosphere is not being reduced yet. | carbon san àile, m |
| ____________________________________________ | |
| Are trips by aeroplane being reduced? | cuairtean le itealan, pl |
| ____________________________________________ | |
| Oil exploration isn't being stopped so far. | rannsachadh ola |
| ____________________________________________ |
Ciamar a chaidh dhut? How did you get on?
| Is enough energy being saved just now? | lùth m |
| A bheil lùth gu leòr ga shàbhaladh an–dràsta? | |
| Is the environment being preserved? | àrainneachd f |
| A bheil an àrainneachd ga caomhnadh? | |
| Carbon in the atmosphere is not being reduced yet. | carbon san àile m |
| Chan eile carbon san àile ga lùghdachadh fhathast. | |
| Are trips by aeroplane being reduced? | cuairtean le itealan pl |
| A bheil cuairtean le itealan gan lùghdachadh? | |
| Oil exploration isn't being stopped so far. | rannsachadh ola |
| Chan eil rannsachadh ola ga sgur gu ruige seo. |