Hallo Eilidh 's a h-uile duine:
Sgri\obh thu:
>Hallo Eideard,
>
>Bidh mi a' feuchainn :snamh
>
>Tha tidsear ag snamh anns an loch.
>A teacher is swimming in the lake.
* a' sna\mh* - remember it's "ag" with a vowel, e.g. Tha mi ag o\l. (I am
drinking) but "a" with a consonant - Tha mi a' sna\mh. Literally translated
these mean I am at drinking and I am at swimming, the *ag* and the *a* both
standing for "at".
>Shnamh am balach anns a' ghlumag.
>The boy was swimming in the pool.
Sin agad e. ( You have it.)
>Agus a nis:
>Tha 'n t-acras orm.(I am hungry)...The hunger is on me
>
>Tha an t-acras agam tholladh.( The hunger is boring a hole in me)....at me
>
>Tha mi sgith.( I am tired)
>
>Tha beagan Gaidhlig agam. (I have a little Gaelic)
>
>Why the different uses...especially with hunger or tiredness...or is this
>something too complex and better left to my classes.
>
>Hope my question is somewhat clear.
I'll try to answer, and maybe others can fill in what I've missed. There
are a lot of idioms in Gaelic, and some of them relate to conditions or
states that we undergo. Examples of these are:
Tha an t-acras orm. I' m hungry.
Tha am pathadh orm. I'm thirsty.
Tha cabhag orm. I'm in a hurray
Tha an cnatan orm. I have a cold
Tha an t-eagal orm. I'm afraid.
When you say " Tha an t-acras agam a' tholladh" what you are really saying
is "My hunger ( an t-acras agam) is eating a hole (in me)."
Finally, "sgi\th" (tired) just doesn't fit into the sort of idiom cited
above, and you would have to ask the Gaels why not, so you say "Tha mi
sgi\th," the way you would with most adjectives - Tha mi toilichte (I'm
happy\glad), tha mi trang (I'm busy), tha mi go\rach (I'm foolish) etc.
I hope this helps.
Eideard
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