Elements of Gaelic Grammar Part 15

Future.

_1. Comp._ Ni'm bi mi buailte, _I shall not be struck,_ &c.

Present. Preterite.

_2. Comp._ _2. Comp._ Ni 'm bheil mi iar mo bhualadh, Ni'n robh mi iar mo bhualadh, _I have not been struck,_ &c. _I had not been struck,_ &c.

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Future.

_2. Comp._ Ni'm bi mi iar mo bhualadh, _I shall not have been struck,_ &c.

_Subjunctive Mood._

Preterite. Future.

_1. Comp._ _1. Comp._ Bhithinn buailte, Ma bhitheas mi buailte, _I would be struck,_ &c. _If I shall be struck,_ &c.

_2. Comp._ _2. Comp._ Bhithinn iar mo bhualadh, Ma bhitheas mi iar mo bhualadh, _I would have been struck,_ &c. _If I shall have been struck,_ &c.

_Imperative Mood._ _Infinitive Mood._ _1. Comp._ _1. Comp._ Bitheam buailte, Do bhith buailte, _Let me be struck,_ &c. _To be struck,_ &c.

_2. Comp._ _2. Comp._ Bitheam iar mo bhualadh, Do bhith iar mo bhualadh, _Let me have been struck,_ &c. _To have been struck,_ &c.

_Examples of Verbs of the Second Conjugation._

Orduich, _to appoint._

ACTIVE VOICE.

Simple Tenses

Preterite. Future.

_Affirmat._ Dh'orduich, Orduichidh, _Negat._ D'orduich, Orduich, _Subjunct._ Dh'orduichinn. Dh'orduicheas.

_Imperat._ Orduicheam. _Infinit._ Orduchadh.

Pa.s.sIVE VOICE.

_Affirmat._ Dh'orduicheadh, Orduichear, _Negat._ D'orduicheadh, Orduichear, _Subjunct._ Dh'orduichteadh. Dh'orduicheas.

_Imperat._ Orduichear. _Particip._ Orduichte.

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Folaich, _to hide._

ACTIVE VOICE.

Preterite. Future.

_Affirmat._ Dh'fholaich, Folaichidh, _Negat._ D'fholaich, Folaich, _Subjunct._ Dh'fholaichinn. Dh'fholaicheas.

_Imperat._ Folaicheam. _Infinit._ Folachadh.

Pa.s.sIVE VOICE.

_Affirmat._ Dh'fholaicheadh, Folaichear, _Negat._ D'fholaicheadh, Folaichear, _Subjunct._ Dh'fholaichteadh. Dh'fholaichear.

_Imperat._ Folaichtear. _Particip._ Folaichte.

The Compound tenses may be easily learned from those of the Verb Buail in the first Conjugation, being formed exactly in the same manner.

FORMATION OF THE TENSES.

_Of the Initial Form._

An Initial Consonant is aspirated in the Preterite Tense, through all the Moods and Voices, except in the Preterite Subjunctive after the Particles ni, mur, nach, gu, an, am. An initial Consonant is occasionally aspirated in the Future Tense, and in the Infinitive and Participle, indicating their connection with the preceding word.

In the first Conjugation, do is prefixed to the Pret. Aff. and Neg. Active and Pa.s.sive. However, it often is, and always may be, omitted before the Pret. Aff. It is sometimes omitted in the Pret. Neg. in verse, and in common conversation. In the second Conjugation, the same Particle do is prefixed to the Preterite through all the Moods and Voices, and to the Fut.

Subj. excepting only the Subjunctive Tenses after ni, mur, nach, gu, an, am. In this {77} Conjugation, do always loses the _o_ to avoid a _hiatus_, and the _d_ is aspirated in the Affirm. and Subjunct. Moods[49].

_Of the Termination._

In all regular Verbs, the Terminations adjected to the Root are, strictly speaking, the same in Verbs characterised by a small vowel. But where the first vowel of the Termination does not correspond in quality to the last vowel of the Root, it has become the constant practice to insert in the Termination a vowel of the requisite quality, in order to produce this correspondence. Thus a variety has been introduced into the Terminations even of regular Verbs, prejudicial to the uniformity of inflection, and of no use to ascertain either the sense or the p.r.o.nunciation[50]. In the foregoing examples of regular Verbs, the common mode of Orthography has been followed, but in the following rules the simple Terminations only are specified.

ACTIVE VOICE.

Simple Tenses.

The Theme or Root of the Verb is always found in the second Per. sing. of the imperative.

The _Preterite_ Affirm. and Negat. is like the Root, and has no distinction of Number or Person. In most of the editions of the Gaelic Psalms, some inflections of the {78} Preterite have been admitted, with good effect, from the Irish Verb; such as, bhuaileas _I struck_, bhuailis _thou didst strike_, bhuaileamar _we struck_, bhuaileadar _they struck_. The Pret.

Subj. is formed by adding to the Root _inn_ for the first pers. sing., and _adh_ for the other persons. The first pers. plur. also terminates in _amaid_.

The _Future_ Affirm. adds _idh_ to the Root; in the Negat. it is like the Root; and in the Subjunct. it adds _as_. A poetic Future Tense terminating in _ann_ or _onn_, is frequent in the Gaelic Psalms; as, gairionn _will call_, seasfann _will stand_, do bheirionn, _will give_, &c. The Future has no distinction of Number or Person. The Termination of the Future Affirm.

and Negat. in many Verbs was formerly _fidh_, like the Irish; of which many examples occur in the earlier editions of the Gaelic Psalms. In later Gaelic publications, the _f_ has been uniformly set aside[51]. The Termination of the first pers. and third pers. plur. is often incorporated with the corresponding p.r.o.noun; as, seinnam cliu _I will sing praise_, Psal. lxi. 8., Ni fuigham bas, ach mairfam beo, _I shall not die, but shall remain alive_, Ps. cxviii. 17., Ithfid, geillfid, innsid, _they will eat_, _they will submit_, _they will tell_, Ps. xxii, 26, 29, 31. [52].

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In the _Imperative_ Mood, the second pers. sing. is the Root of the Verb.

The other persons are distinguished by these Terminations; 1st pers. sing.

_am_, 3d pers. sing. _adh_, 1st pers. plur. _amaid_, 2d pers. plur. _ibh_, 3d pers. plur. _adh_.

The Terminations peculiar to the 1st pers. sing. and plur. of the Pret.

Subj. and of the Imperat. supply the place of the Personal p.r.o.nouns; as does also the Termination of the 2d pers. plur. of the Imperative.

The _Infinitive_ is variously formed.

_General Rule._ The Infinitive is formed by adding _adh_ to the Root; as, aom _bow, incline_, Infin. aomadh; ith _eat_, Infin. itheadh.

1. Some Verbs suffer a syncope in the penult syllable, and are commonly used in their contracted form; as,

_Imper._ _Infin._ Caomhain, _spare_, Caomhnadh.