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Ciamar a thuirt thu sin?

How did you say that?

To ask questions such as cuin(e)? (when?), ciamar? (how?), càit(e)? (where?) with irregular past tense verbs, we need to remember the two parts of each verb:

  • the positive statement or answer: the independent form and  
  • the question, negative question and negative statement or answer: the dependent form. 

Let’s look at dèan (make/do) in the past tense. The question words which go with the independent form are: 

Ciamar

How

Who

What

Cuin(e)

When

Cia mheud

How many

Càit(e) (where) behaves differently by using the dependent form: 

RINN AN DO RINN 
Ciamar a rinn?  Càit an do rinn
rinn 
rinn 
Cuin a rinn 
Cia mheud a rinn 

You’ll be pleased to know that this pattern works for all verbs, regular and irregular. Let’s look at two more examples, featuring rach (go) and faic (see) 

CHAIDH AN DEACH 
Ciamar a chaidh?  Càit an deach
a chaidh 
a chaidh 
Cuin a chaidh 
Cia mheud a chaidh 
CHUNNAIC AM FACA 
Ciamar a chunnaic?  Càit am faca
chunnaic 
chunnaic 
Cuin a chunnaic 
Cia mheud a chunnaic