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Scottish Gaelic/Simple Sentences
Reference material by Wikibooks contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
Sentence structure and grammar
The simple sentence
In a simple English sentence, such as 'John drank milk' the subject comes first, then the verb, then the object. In Gaelic, however, the verb comes first, then the subject, then the object. An example of a sentence would therefore be:
dh'òl Iain bainne
John drank milk
Iain /'iən/ John; dh'òl /γəl/ drank; bainne /'banjə/ milk;
wordIPA pronunciationmeaningIain 'iənJohndh' òlγəldrankdh' òl Iainγəl 'iənIain drankbainne'banjəmilk
Other examples of the same type of sentence construction would be the following:
tha Anna fuar
/ha 'anə fuər/
Anna is cold
tha /ha/ is; Anna /'anə/ Anna; fuar /fuər/ cold;
dh'òl i sùgh
/γəl i su:/
she drank juice
i /i/ she; dh'òl /γəl/ drank; sùgh /su:/ juice
dh'òl e tì
/γəl e ti:/
he drank tea
e /e/ he; dh'òl /γəl/ drank; tì /ti:/ tea
chluich ì anns an taigh
/'xluix i 'awnsən təj/
she played in the house
ì /i/ she; chluich /'xluix/ played; anns an /'awnsən/ in the; taigh /təj/ house