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An tràth caithte

The past tense

Anna and Iain used a lot of past tenses in their conversation. We’ll give you an overview here of how to form the past tense. 

The past tense of regular verbs 

We will use question and answer format to show you how to form it. 

How do you form the past tense of regular verbs? 

First you need to find out the command form, (also known as the imperative root or basic form) of the verb.  

Imperative means the verb used to give instructions and it is listed in most dictionaries. In the LearnGaelic dictionary, we show this with an exclamation point. 

Does the command form start with one of the following consonants b, c, d, g, m, p, s, t? 

If the command form starts with one of the consonants:  b, c, d, g, m, p, s, t then the word lenites when it is in the past tense. 

Coisich -> choisich

Walk -> walked 

 Does the imperative start with one of the vowels a, e, i, o, u? 

If the imperative starts with one of the vowels a, e, i, o, u then the word begins with dh’ in the past tense. 

Ith -> dh’ith 

eat -> ate 

òl -> dh’ol 

drink -> drank 

Does the imperative start with one of the following consonants: l, n, r, sg, sm, sp or st? 

If the imperative starts with one of the consonants:  l,n,r, sg, sm, sp or st then the word stays the same when it is in the past tense 

leugh -> leugh 

read -> read 

sgrìobh -> sgrìobh 

write -> wrote 

Does the imperative start with f + a vowel? 

If the imperative starts with f + a vowel, then the word begins with dh’ and it lenites when it is in the past tense.

fuirich -> dh’fhuirich 

stay -> stayed 

Imperative / Òrdugh  Do this / Dèan seo Example / Eisimpleir 
b, c, d, f, g, m, p, s, t + h  tog-> thog
a,e,i,o,u + dh’ Ith -> dh’ith 
l,n,r, sg, sm, sp and st – Leugh -> leugh 
F+ a,e,i,o,u Dh’ + h  Fuirich -> Dh’fhuirich