Bi (irregular verb)
The irregular verb bi is one of two verbs "to be" in Gaelic. It is often called the substantive be (as opposed to the copula Is). It is used
Bi is also used as the primary auxiliary
Bi is one of 11 irregular verbs in Gaelic.
Contents
Uses
Bi is never used to connect two noun phrases (John is a doctor, John is the doctor), nor is it used as the clefting particle (It is Susan who left), for those constructions use the Copula Bi is however used in the following contexts:
- as the auxiliary in progressives
- as the auxiliary in perfects
- as the auxiliary in stative construction
- as the be verb used with adjectives, prepositional phrases, and adverbs
- as the auxiliary in 'nam 'nad 'na constructions marking professions and temporary states: Bha mi 'nam ghille 'nuair a ....
Summary of forms
- Independent forms of the verb bi are used without any particles.
- Unlike regular verbs, the dependent past tense particle do is never used with tha.
| context | independent | After Cha(n) | gun/nach | after a'/an/am question particle | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| basic forms | active | past | bha | robh | ||
| Present | tha | eil | bheil | |||
| Future | bidh/bithidh | bhi | bi | |||
| Relative Future | bi (used in negatives), bhios/bhitheas1 (used in positives) | |||||
| impersonal1 | past | bhatar or bhathar or bhathas | robhar | |||
| present | thatar or thathar or thathas | eilear or eileas | bheilear or bheileas | |||
| future | bithear | bhithear | bithear | |||
| relative future | --- | bhithear (after particles that trigger the relative future) | ||||
| Conditional Mood | active | bhitheadh/bhiodh (bhitinn2 in 1st sing) (bhitheamaid2,4 in 1st pl) |
bitheadh/biodh (bithinn2 in 1st sing) (bitheamaid2,4 in 1st pl) | |||
| impersonal | bhite or bhithist(e) | bite or bithist(e) | ||||
| Imperative Mood | 1st person | singular | bitheam2 | --- | ||
| plural | bitheamaid2 | |||||
| 2nd person | singular | bi2 | ||||
| plural | bithibh2 | |||||
| 3rd person | biodh/bitheadh | |||||
| verbal noun | a bhith 3 | |||||
Notes:
- 1 with the 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)
- 3 infinitive use only
- 4 rare
Non Conditional Moods (indicative, interrogative, negative)
Active Voice
Past tense
| Declarative | Question | Negative | Negative Question | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bha mi | an robh mi | Cha robh mi | nach robh mi |
| 2 | Bha thu | an robh thu | Cha robh thu | nach robh thu |
| 3 masc | Bha e | an robhl e | Cha robh e | nach robh e |
| 3 fem | Bha i | an robh i | Chan robh i | nach robh i |
| 1 pl | Bha sinn | an robh sinn | Cha robh sinn | nach robh sinn |
| 2 pl | Bha sibh | an robh sibh | Cha robh sibh | nach robh sibh |
| 3 pl | Bha iad | an robh iad | Cha robh iad | nach robh iad |
Present tense
| Declarative | Question | Negative | Negative Question | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tha mi | a' bheil mi | Chan eil mi | nach eil mi |
| 2 | Tha thu | a' bheil thu | Chan eil thu | nach eil thu |
| 3 masc | Tha e | a' bheil e | Chan eil e | nach eil e |
| 3 fem | Tha i | a' bheil i | Chan eil i | nach eil i |
| 1 pl | Tha sinn | a' bheil sinn | Chan eil sinn | nach eil sinn |
| 2 pl | Tha sibh | a' bheil sibh | Chan eil sibh | nach eil sibh |
| 3 pl | Tha iad | a' bheil iad | Chan eil iad | nach eil iad |
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 | bithidh mi | am bi mi | cha bhi mi | nach bi mi | a bhitheas mi |
| 2 | bithidh thu | am bi thu | cha bhi thu | nach bi thu | a bhitheas tu2 |
| 3 masc | bithidh e | am bi e | cha bhi e | nach bi e | a bhitheas e |
| 3 fem | bithidh i | am bi i | cha bhi i | nach bi i | a bhitheas i |
| 1 pl | bithidh sinn | am bi sinn | cha bhi sinn | nach bi sinn | a bhitheas sinn |
| 2 pl | bithidh sibh | am bi sibh | cha bhi sibh | nach bi sibh | a bhitheas sibh |
| 3 pl | bithidh iad | am bi iad | cha bhi iad | nach bi iad | a bhitheas 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. bhatar mi' means "I was been"
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
Past tense
| !Declarative | Question | Negative | Negative Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| bhatar | an robhar | cha robhar | nach robhar |
Present tense
The use of a passive in the present tense is odd, even in English. But here are the relevant forms if you should ever need them.
| Declarative | Question | Negative | Negative Question | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | thatar mi | a' bheilear mi | chan eilear mi | nach eilear mi |
| 2 | thatar thu | a' bheilear thu | chan eilear tu | nach eilear tu |
| 3 masc | thatar e | a' bheilear e | chan eilear e | nach eilear e |
| 3 fem | thatar i | a' bheilear i | chan eilear i | nach eilear i |
| 1 pl | thatar sinn | a' bheilear sinn | chan eilear sinn | nach eilear sinn |
| 2 pl | thatar sibh | a' bheilear sibh | chan eilear sibh | nach eilear sibh |
| 3 pl | thatar iad | a' bheilear iad | chan eilear iad | nach eilear iad |
Future tense
| Declarative | Question | Negative | Negative Question | Relative Future1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | bithear mi | am bithear mi | cha bhithear mi | nach bithear mi | a bhithear mi |
| 2 | bithear thu | am bithear thu | cha bhithear thu | nach bithear thu | a bhithear thu |
| 3 masc | bithear e | am bithear e | cha bhithear e | nach bithear e | a bhithear e |
| 3 fem | bithear i | am bithear i | cha bhithear i | nach bithear i | a bhithear i |
| 1 pl | bithear sinn | am bithear sinn | cha bhithear sinn | nach bithear sinn | a bhithear sinn |
| 2 | bithear sibh | am bithear sibh | cha bhithear sibh | nach bithear sibh | a bhithear sibh |
| 3 pl | bithear iad | am bithear iad | cha bhithear iad | nach bithear iad | a bhithear 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 | bhithinn1 | am bithinn | cha bhithinn | nach bithinn |
| 2 | bhiodh tu2 | am biodh tu | cha bhiodh tu | nach biodh tu |
| 3 masc | bhiodh e | am biodh e | cha bhiodh e | nach biodh e |
| 3 fem | bhiodh i | am biodh i | cha bhiodh i | nach biodh i |
| 1 pl | bhiodh sinn (bhiomaid3) | am biodh sinn (am biomaid3) | cha bhiodh sinn (cha bhiomaid3) | nach biodh sinn (nach biomaid3) |
| 2 pl | bhiodh sibh | am biodh sibh | cha bhiodh sibh | nach biodh sibh |
| 3 pl | bhiodh iad | am biodh iad | cha bhiodh iad | nach biodh 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
| Declarative | Question | Negative | Negative Question | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | bhite mi | am bite mi | cha bhite mi | nach bite mi |
| 2 | bhite thu | am bite thu | cha bhite thu | nach bite thu |
| 3 masc | bhite e | am bite e | cha bhite e | nach bite e |
| 3 fem | bhite i | am bite i | cha bhite i | nach bite i |
| 1 pl | bhite sinn | am bite sinn | cha bhite sinn | nach bite sinn |
| 2 pl | bhite sibh | am bite sibh | cha bhite sibh | nach bite sibh |
| 3 pl | bhite iad | am bite iad | cha bhite iad | nach bite 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 "Hear!". 1st and 3rd person imperatives translated loosely as "Let me be", "let us be", "let he/she/them be". The 1st person plural and third person imperatives are the same as the conditional forms except without lenition
| person | form | |
|---|---|---|
| singular | 1 | bitheam1 |
| 2 | bi1 | |
| 3 masc | biodh e | |
| 3 fem | biodh i | |
| plural | 1 | biomaid1 |
| 2 | bithibh1 | |
| 3 | biodh iad | |
Notes
- The 1st and 2nd person forms are used without subject pronouns.
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
