Books and other items printed in Gaelic from 1841 to 1870 > Stéidhean a' Ghràmair Ghaëlig

86 ETYMOLOGY.
NEGATIVE FOBMS.
Its particles are, cha n-, cha,
ni'm, or ni n, nach, not ; as,
Present.
Cha n-'eil, mì, Iam not, &c.
Ni'm beil, or ni bheil mì, lam
not, &c.
Nach 'eil mì ? am I not ? &c.
Past.
Charobh*mì,ì r . .
Ni'nrobh mZ\ Iw(U ™*>* a r
Nach robh mì? was I not,
&c.?t
Future.
Cha bhi mì, 1 / shall not be,
Ni'm bi mì, J &c.
Nach bi mì ? shall I not be ?
&c.
FOCLACHADH.
CONDITIONAL FOBMS.
Its conjunctions are, ged nach,
though not ; mur, if not ; as,
Present.
Ged nach 'eil mì, though I am
not, &c.
Mur 'eil mì, \if I am not,
Mur h-'eil mì, J &c.
Past.
Ged nach robh mì, though Iwas
not, or had not been, &c.
Mur robh mì, if I was not, or
had not been, &c. t
Future.
Ged nach bi mì, though I shall
not be, &c.
Mur bi mì, iflshall not be, &c.
Obs. 1. — Nach renders the verb both interrogative and negative
in all the tenses. The particle ni'm, ni'n, or ni, is chiefly used
in old books. Mur is often followed by h- before a vowel ; as,
mur h-eil m\ ; mur h-toc mì, &c.
Obs. 2. — After the relative pronouns a, am, &c, the forms
beil, robh, and bi, of the verb " Bi," are affirmative ; as, " an
leabhar air àm beil mì," the book on which I am. " Far an
robh ìad," where they webe. They may be thus inflected with
the relative, governed by a preposition : —
Pbesent, air am beil mì, on which I am, &c. Past, air an
robh mì, on which I was, or had been. Futube, air am bi mì,
on which I shall be, &c.
Obs. 3. — The forms 'eil, robh, bi, are always used after the
neo;ative relative nach ; as, fear nàch 'eil, a man who is not ;
fear nàch robh, fear nàch bi.
Obs. 4. — " Am bheil," of the interrogative of bi, is oftener
used than " am beil ;" but the latter seems to be the correct
form, because the particle am does not aspirate b in any other
part of this verb, or in any part whatever of any other verb
beginning with b ; as, am bi, am bitheadh, am buail ¥
* Cha roih, mur rdbh, are, in some Northern districts, pronounced cha d'robh,
mur d'robh, a contracted form of cha do robh, mur do rdbh.
t The Perfect and Pluperfect Tenses are formed, as in pp. 84 , 85, by prefixing
the particles ; as, cha, n-'eil mì iar bhi, &c. ; cha robh mì iar bhi, &c. ; mur 'eil
mi iar bhi, &c.