Passives

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The Passive form can be formed using the verbs both 'be' and 'go'. Furthermore, 'be' can be formed using a transitive and a perfective particle.

The Passive

Bhrisd Iain a' ghloinne
break.PAST Iain the.sf glass.sf
'John broke the glass'
(Reed, 2008)


Bhrisd a' ghloinne
break.PAST the.sf glass.sf
'The glass broke'
(Reed, 2008)


Bha a' ghloinne brisde
be.PAST the.sf glass.sf break.va
'The glass was broken.'
(Reed, 2008)


Bha a' ghloinne brisde le Iain.
be.PAST the.sf glass.sf break.va *with Iain
'The glass was broken (*by John).'
Ungrammatical because verbal adjective disallows an agent
(Reed, 2008)

'Go' Passives

Chaidh a' ghloinne a brisdeadh.
go.PAST the.sf glass.sf poss.3sf break.va
'The glass was broken.'
(Reed, 2008)



Chaidh a' ghloinne a brisdeadh le Iain.
go.PAST the.sf glass.sf poss.3sf break.va with Iain
'The glass was broken by John.'
(Reed, 2008)


Perfective Transitive Particle Form

Bha a' ghloinne air a brisdeadh.
be.PAST the.sf glass.sf perf tran(poss.3sf) break.va
'The glass was broken.'
(Reed, 2008)


Bha a' ghloinne air a brisdeadh with Iain.
be.PAST the.sf glass.sf perf tran(poss.3sf) break.va with Iain
'The glass was broken by John.'
(Reed, 2008)

Verbal Adjective Constructions

Tha a' ghloinne air a brisde
be.PRES the.sf glass.sf break.va
'The glass was broken.'
(Reed, 2008)


Tha a' ghloinne air a brisde le Iain
be.PRES the.sf glass.sf break.va with Iain
'The glass was broken (*by John).'
(Reed, 2008)


The Prepositional Passive (Pseudopassive)

Chaidil George Washington anns an leabaidh seo.
sleep.pst George Washington in the bed seo.
'Geroge Washington slept in this bed.'
(Levin)
Bha an leabaidh seo air a cosg le George Washington.
be.pst the bed prox pass 3sg.f.poss use by George Washington
'This bed was used by George Washington.'
(Levin)
*Bha ann an leabaidh seo air a cadal le George Washington.
be.pst in the bed prox pass 3sg.f.poss sleep by George Washington
(Levin)
Bha an leabaidh seo air a cadal ann mar tha.
be.pst the bed prox pass 3sg.f.poss sleep in.3sg already
'This bed was slept in already.'
(Levin)