Auxiliary Constructions

Substantive Auxiliary Constructions

Bha	Calum	ag	òl	uisge	beatha.
be.pst	Calum	asp	drinking	whiskey
'Calum was drinking whiskey.'

Tha	Calum	'na	thidsear.
be.pres	Calum	in.3sg.m	teacher
'Calum is a teacher.'

Tha	Calum	faiceallach.
be.pres	Calum	careful
'Calum is (being) careful.'

Tha	Calum	anns	a'bhùth.
be.pres	Calum	in	the shop
'Calum is in the shop.'

Inverted Copular Constructions

Is	mòr	an	duine	sin.
cop.pres	big	that	man
'That man is big.'

As indicated by the name of the construction, the predicate must precede the subject:

Is	an	duine	sin	mòr.
cop.pres	that	man		big
'That man is big.'

See Also

• Auxiliary (definition)
• Phrase (definition)
• Tense (definition)
• Aspect (definition)