Blair Collection > Elements of Gaelic grammar

9^ OF THE PARTS [Part If.
There is no distinction of Number or Person in the
Tenses of the Passive Voice.
Verbs which suffer a syncope in the Infinitive, suffer a
like syncope in the Pret. Aff. and Neg. throughout the
Future Tense, and in the Imperative.
Compound Tense.
The compound Tenses of the first order are made up of the
simple Tenses of the auxiliary 'Bi' and the Passive Par-
ticiple.
The compound Tenses of the second order are made up of
the simple Tenses of 'Bi' and the Infinitive preceded by the
Preposition 'iar' and the Possessive Pronoun corresponding
in Person to the Pronoun, or to the Noun, which is the
Nominative to the verb.
termination of the Pass. Part. /<?, as 'togta' raised, 'crochta''
suspended. This is done in direct opposition to the pronuncia-
tion, merely out of regard to the Irish Rule of Leathan ri leathan;
which in this case, as in many others, has been permitted to marr
the genuine orthography.
When a verb, whose characteristic vowel is broad, terminates
in a Liquid, the final consonant coalesces so closely with the / of
the Pass. Part, that the small ^o\xvià of the latter necessarily oc-
casions the like sound in pronouncing the former. Accordingly
the small sound of the Liquid is properly represented in writing,
by an i inserted before it. Thus '01' drink. Pass. Part, 'òilte'j
•pronn' pound, 'proinnte'*, 'crann' bar, 'crainnte'j 'sparr' ram,
'spairrte'j 'trus' pack, 'truiste'. But when the verb ends in a
mute, whether plain or aspirated, there is no such coalescence
between its final consonant and the adjected t of the Participle.
The final consonant, if it be pronounced, retains its broad sound.
There is no good reason for maintaining a correspondence of
vowels in the Participle, which ought therefore to be written, as
it is pronounced, without regard to Leathan ri leathan ; as 'tog'
raise^ Pass. Part, 'togte'; 'croch' hang, 'crochte'j 'sàth' thrust,
'sàthte'j 'cnamh' che^iv, 'cnamhte'.
The same observations apply, with equal force, to the Pret.
Subj.