Demonstratives
Demonstratives in Gaelic can take the form of (i) demonstrative adjectives, (ii) demonstrative pronouns, or (iii) demonstrative adverbs. Demonstrative adjectives pattern similarly to other adjectives in Scottish Gaelic in that they modify a noun and succeed it in the sentence. Demonstrative pronouns behave in a similar fashion to their pronoun counterparts in that they can take the place of a determiner phrase. The behavior of demonstrative adjectives is the most exceptional of the demonstratives in that they mark a difference between adverbs of location (I am here) versus adverbs of motion (I went here).
Scottish Gaelic marks demonstratives in reference to distance from the speaker. As seen in the table below, the three different levels correspond roughly to the English 'here', 'there', and 'yonder'. An interesting feature of these three levels is that they can be used to indicate spatial as well as temporal distance. When the 3rd degree demonstrative adjective (XXX) is used to describe a noun, then typically the noun is something out of sight for both the speaker and the listener. The 2nd degree demonstrative adjective (XXX), on the other hand, marks the noun in question as being something far away but within sight.
Demonstratives
| Degree | English | Pronoun | Adjective | ADV of movement | ADV of locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | this/here | seo | seo | an-seo | an-sheo |
| 2 | that/there | sin | sin | an-sin | an-shin |
| 3 | yonder | siud | ud | an-siud | an-shiud |
Transitivity
Demonstratives in Gaelic, just like those found in other languages, can be used in two different ways: transitively or intransitively. Transitive demonstratives are used on their own without any other elements such as in example (1). Intransitive demonstratives, on the other hand, are always collocated with a noun as demonstrated in example (2).
1) this is mine
2) this book is mine
Transitive demonstratives in Gaelic are created by combining an article, a noun, and a demonstrative particle, in that order. There are three demonstrative particles: seo proximate (this), sin distal (that), siud or 'ud or siud far distal (yonder).
3)
an cù seo the dog this 'this dog'
4)
an cù sin the dog that 'that dog'
5)
an cù 'ud/siud the dog yonder 'yonder dog'
If the noun is modified by an adjective, the adjective comes before the demonstrative particle:
6)
an cù mòr seo the dog big this 'this big dog'
Intransitive demonstratives in Gaelic do not need any other elements such as an article and a noun.
7)
Thoir dhomh seo give to.me this 'Give me this'
8)
Thoir dhomh sin give to.me that 'Give me that'
Tense
Demonstrative adjectives in Scottish Gaelic can be used to mark differences in tense. An above example highlights the difference in spatial relations between the 2nd and 3rd degree demonstratives 'XXX' and 'XXX', wherein the difference indicates whether or not the noun phrase in question is in view of the interlocutors. Similarly, the same demonstratives can be used to indicate temporal relations on a linear scale. When the 2nd degree 'XXX' is used, that is to indicate that there is a specific
