Travelling to work
A' siubhal a dh'obair
We have asked the question Càit a bheil thu ag obair? (Where do you work?), but how to get there? We can use two of the ten irregular verbs we have in Gaelic: faigh (get) and rach (go).
Remember that these future tense questions and answers can also be used in a ‘habitual present’ sense to talk about what we do, not just what we will do:
What are the other ways of getting to work?
We can use another two irregular verbs: ruig (reach) and beir (bear/take/hold) in describing our travel to work. With beir we must use air (on) when talking about catching a bus or train.
| RUIG! (REACH) | ||
| An do ràinig? | R à inig | Cha do r à inig |
| Did reach? | Reached | Didn't reach |
| An ruig? | Ruigidh | Cha ruig |
| Will reach? | Will reach | Won't reach |
A very common saying featuring ruig is:
Ruigidh each mall muileann
It bears repeating! With beir we must use air (on) when talking about siubhal (travel): beir + air (catch), otherwise the meaning is completely different!
| BEIR + AIR (CATCH) | ||
| An do rug ... air? | Rug ... air | Cha do rug ... air |
| Did catch? | Caught | Didn't catch |
| Am beir ... air? | Beiridh ... air | Cha bheir ... air |
| Will catch? | Will catch | Won't catch |
We can also use beir air to talk about 'getting' someone or 'catching' someone.
Play with the sentences below. There are no wrong answers!
Am beir iad air
Will they catch
an trèana
the train
a’ bhus
the bus
a’ bhàt’aiseig
the ferry
an lioft
the lift
a’ phlèana
the plane
an tagsaidh
the taxi
ann an ùine?
in time?
An do ràinig i …?
An do ràinig i
Did she reach/arrive at
an stèisean
the station
am port
the port
am port-adhair
the airport
an oifis
the office
dhachaigh
home
a’ choinneamh
the meeting
aig an àm cheart?
at the right time?