Beir (irregular verb)
The irregular verb beir means "to catch" or "give birth". Beir is one of 11 irregular verbs in Gaelic.
Contents
Uses
- can mean "bear"
- Can mean give birth to
- Rug + air "catch"/catch up
The verb beir is easily confused with the future and conditional independent forms of the verb thoir (i.e. bheir e He will take). They look similar, so watch out for these easily confused forms.
Summary of forms
- Independent forms of the verb beir are used without any particles.
- Dependent forms of the verb heir are used after an, nach, gun and other verbal particles (except cha).
- Cha takes dependent forms but lenites the verb.
| context | independent | After Cha | Dependent | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| basic forms | active | past1 | rug | do rug | |
| Future | beiridh | bheir | beir | ||
| Relative Future1 | --- | bheireas1 | |||
| impersonal1 | past | rugadh | do rugadh | ||
| future | beirear | bheirear | beirear | ||
| relative future | --- | bheirear | |||
| Conditional Mood | active | bheireadh1 (bheirinn2 in 1st singular) | beireadh1 (beirinn2 in 1st sing) | ||
| impersonal | bheirte | beirte | |||
| Imperative Mood | 2nd person | singular | beir2 | --- | |
| plural | beiribh2 | ||||
| verbal noun | beirsinn or breith | ||||
Notes:
- 1 with the past tense, relative future and impersonal forms of this verb, the pronoun tu is used instead of thu
- 2 these forms are not used with any subject, they contain the subject in the inflection of the verb (Pro-Drop)
Non Conditional Moods (indicative, interrogative, negative)
Active Voice
Past tense
| Declarative | Question | Negative | Negative Question | embedded | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | rug mi | an do rug mi | cha chuala mi | nach cuala mi | gun cuala mi |
| 2 | rug thu | an do rug thu | cha do rug thu | nach do rug thu | gun do rug thu |
| 3 masc | rug e | an do rug e | cha do rug e | nach do rug e | gun do rug e |
| 3 fem | rug i | an do rug i | cha do rug i | nach cuala i | gun do rug i |
| 1 pl | rug sinn | an do rug sinn | cha chuala sinn | nach do rug sinn | gun do rug sinn |
| 2 pl | rug sibh | an do rug sibh | cha chuala sibh | nach do rug sibh | gun do rug sibh |
| 3 pl | rug iad | an do rug iad | cha do rug iad | nach do rug iad | gun do rug iAd |
Present tense
As is common in Gaelic, there is no present tense form of the verb. When a simple present meaning ("I catch something") or a progressive meaning (I am catching something is intended, the periphrastic construction is used with the present tense of the verb bi (be), i.e., tha, along with the verbal noun.
Tha mi a' breith ... be.pres 1s prog hear.vn I'm catching/I catching ...
Future tense
The future tense in Gaelic is used to express the idea that an event will happen sometime after the speech time. Unlike English, the future tense can also be used with a present tense meaning, to express the idea that an action is habitual.
| Declarative | Question | Negative | Negative Question | Relative Future1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | beiridh mi | am beir mi | cha beir mi | nach beir mi | a bheireas mi |
| 2 | beiridh tu2 | am beir thu | cha beir thu | nach beir thu | a bheireas tu2 |
| 3 masc | beiridh e | am beir e | cha bheir e | nach beir e | a bheireas e |
| 3 fem | beiridh i | am beir i | cha bheir i | nach beir i | a bheireas i |
| 1 pl | beiridh sinn | am beir sinn | cha bheir sinn | nach beir sinn | a bheireas sinn |
| 2 pl | beiridh sibh | am beir sibh | cha bheir sibh | nach beir sibh | a bheireas sibh |
| 3 pl | beiridh iad | am beir iad | cha bheir iad | nach beir iad | a bheireas iad |
Note:
- the relative future is used after certain particles such as ma or the particle used with questions a.
- Note that in the relative future the pronoun tu is used in lieu of thu.
Impersonal/Passive Voice
Gaelic verbs don't technically have a Passive verb form. Instead the passive is typically represented through a periphrastic construction using the verbs Rach or Tha + the passive marker air. It does, however, have an impersonal form. The Impersonal is used to indicate an indeterminate subject. Rugadh can be best translated as "someone caught". Use of a pronoun is completely optional. So "rugadh" is a completely well-formed sentence. When used with a pronoun, the pronoun represents the logical object of the verb. So "rugadh mi" means "I was born" or "someone birthed me"
Since Gaelic doesn't distinguish between subject and object pronouns (unlike it's sibling Modern Irish), it is very difficult to determine if these pronouns are subjects or objects. We list them here as if they were subjects, with the understanding that the pronouns in the following tables represent the logical objects of the verb (the person who was caught or born, not the catcher or the parent).
Past tense
| Declarative | Question | Negative | Negative Question | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | rugadh mi | an do rugadh mi | cha do rugadh mi | nach do rugadh mi |
| 2 | rugadh tu1 | an do rugadh tu | cha do rugadh tu | nach do rugadh tu |
| 3 masc | rugadh e | an do rugadh e | cha do rugadh e | nach do rugadh e |
| 3 fem | rugadh i | an do rugadh i | cha do rugadh i | nach do rugadh i |
| 1 pl | rugadh sinn | an do rugadh sinn | cha do rugadh sinn | nach do rugadh sinn |
| 2 pl | rugadh sibh | an do rugadh sibh | cha do rugadh sibh | nach do rugadh sibh |
| 3 pl | rugadh iad | an do rugadh iad | cha do rugadh iad | nach do rugadh iad |
Notes:
- The pronoun tu is used here instead of thu
Present tense
The use of a passive in the present tense is odd, even in English, so we'll skip it here.
Future tense
Recall that the pronouns here are the notional objects, so "beirear mi" means "I was born"
| Declarative | Question | Negative | Negative Question | Relative Future1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | beirear mi | am beirear mi | cha bheirear mi | nach beirear mi | a bheirear mi |
| 2 | beirear thu | am beirear thu | cha bheirear thu | nach beirear thu | a bheirear thu |
| 3 masc | beirear e | am beirear e | cha bheirear e | nach beirear e | a bheirear e |
| 3 fem | beirear i | am beirear i | cha bheirear i | nach beirear i | a bheirear i |
| 1 pl | beirear sinn | am beirear sinn | cha bheirear sinn | nach beirear sinn | a bheirear sinn |
| 2 | beirear sibh | am beirear sibh | cha bheirear sibh | nach beirear sibh | a bheirear sibh |
| 3 pl | beirear iad | am beirear iad | cha bheirear iad | nach beirear iad | a bheirear iad |
Notes
- the relative future is used after certain particles such as a the particle used with questions, or ma "if".
Conditional Mood
Active
| Declarative | Question | Negative | Negative Question | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | bheirinn1 | am beirinn | cha bheirinn | nach beirinn |
| 2 | bheireadh tu2 | am beireadh tu | cha bheireadh tu | nach beireadh tu |
| 3 masc | bheireadh e | am beireadh e | cha bheireadh e | nach beireadh e |
| 3 fem | bheireadh i | am beireadh i | cha bheireadh i | nach beireadh i |
| 1 pl | bheireadh sinn (bheareamaid3) | am beireadh sinn (am beireamaid3) | cha bheireadh sinn (cha bheireamaid3) | nach beirinn sinn (nach beireamaid3) |
| 2 pl | bheireadh sibh | am beireadh sibh | cha bheireadh sibh | nach beireadh sibh |
| 3 pl | bheireadh iad | am beireadh iad | cha bheireadh iad | nach beireadh iad |
Notes:
- The 1st person singular form is never used with an overt pronoun, the verb contains the pronoun already.
- The pronoun tu is used here instead of thu
- The 1st person plural has a special inflected form, which like the first person singular is never used with a pronoun. This 1st person plural form is rarely used anymore.
passive
Recall that the pronouns here are notional objects so bheirte mi means "I would be born".
| Declarative | Question | Negative | Negative Question | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | bheirte mi | am beirte mi | cha bheirte mi | nach beirte mi |
| 2 | bheirte thu | am beirte thu | cha bheirte thu | nach beirte thu |
| 3 masc | bheirte e | am beirte e | cha bheirte e | nach beirte e |
| 3 fem | bheirte i | am beirte i | cha bheirte i | nach beirte i |
| 1 pl | bheirte sinn | am beirte sinn | cha bheirte sinn | nach beirte sinn |
| 2 pl | bheirte sibh | am beirte sibh | cha bheirte sibh | nach beirte sibh |
| 3 pl | bheirte iad | am beirte iad | cha bheirte iad | nach beirte iad |
Imperative Mood
The Imperative mood is used when giving a command. 2nd person imperatives are the most common. In English these are translated with by just the verb "Catch!".
- Beir (singular)
- beiribh (plural)
References
- Black, Ronald (2006) Cothrom Ionnsachaidh Peebles: Self-published.
- Byrne, Michel (2002) Gràmar na Gàidhlig. Eilean Leòdhais: Stòrlann-Acair.
- Deiseal Earranta tta (2006) Reference Cards: Sealbhairean Roimhearach/Riochdairean Roimhearach.
- Mark, Colin (2004) The Gaelic-English Dictionary/Am faclair Gàidhlig-Beurla. London: Routledge
- Mark, Colin (2006), Gaelic Verbs: Systemised and Simplified" 2nd Edition. Edinburgh: Steve Savage Publishers. http://www.savagepublishers.com/138.html
- Lamb, William (2003) Scottish Gaelic. 2nd edition. Munich: Lingcom Europa
