Elements of Gaelic Grammar Part 22

_Plur._ _Plur._ 1 Do bhuail sinn sinn fein, Buailidh sinn sinn fein.

2 Do bhuail sibh sibh fein, Buailidh sibh sibh fein.

3 Do bhuail siad iad fein. Buailidh siad iad fein.

_Negative Mood._

Preterite. Future.

_Sing._ _Sing._ cha,{ 1 Do bhuail mi mi fein, Bhuail mi mi fein, &c. { _I struck not myself._ _I shall not strike myself._

_Subjunctive Mood._

_Sing._ _Sing._ 1 Bhuailinn mi fein, 1 Bhuaileas mi mi fein, _I would strike myself._ _I shall strike myself._

{103} _Imperative Mood._

_Sing._ _Plur._ 1 Buaileam mi fein, Buaileamaid sinn fein.

_Let me strike myself._ 2 Buail thu fein. Buailibh sibh fein.

3 Buaileadh e e fein. Buaileadh iad iad fein.

_Infinitive Mood._

'g am bhualadh fein, _striking myself_.

'g ad bhualadh fein, _striking thyself_.

'g a bhualadh fein, _striking himself_.

'g ar bualadh fein, _striking ourselves_.

'g 'ur bualadh fein, _striking yourselves_.

'g am bualadh fein, _striking themselves_.

iar mo bhualadh fein, _after striking myself_, &c.

gu mo bhualadh fein, _to strike myself_, &c.

Compound Tenses.

_Affirmative Mood._

Present. Preterite.

_1. Comp._ _1. Comp._ Ta mi 'g am bhualadh fein, Bha mi 'g am bhualadh fein, _I am striking myself._ _I was striking myself._

Future.

_1. Comp._ Bidh mi 'g am bhualadh fein, _I will be striking myself._

Present. Preterite.

_2. Comp._ _2. Comp._ Ta mi iar mo, &c. Bha mi iar mo, &c.

_I have struck myself._ _I had struck myself._

{104} Future.

_2. Comp._ Bidh mi iar mo, &c.

_I shall have struck_, &c.

_Negative Mood._

Present. Preterite.

_1. Comp._ _1. Comp._ Ni bheil mi 'g am, &c. Ni robh mi 'g am, &c.

_I am not striking myself._ _I was not striking myself._

Future.

_1. Comp._ Ni'm bi mi 'g am bhualadh fein.

_I shall not be striking myself._

Present. Preterite.

_2. Comp._ _2. Comp._ Ni bheil mi iar mo, &c. Ni robh mi iar mo, &c.

_I have not struck myself._ _I had not struck myself._

Future.

_2. Comp._ Ni'm bi mi iar mo, &c.

_I shall not have struck myself._

_Subjunctive Mood._

Preterite. Future.

_1. Comp._ _1. Comp._ Bhithinn 'g am, &c. Ma bhitheas mi 'g am, _I would be striking_, &c. _If I shall be striking_, &c.

_2. Comp._ _2. Comp._ Bhithinn iar mo, &c. Ma bhitheas mi iar mo, &c.

_I would have struck_, &c. _If I shall have struck_, &c.

{105} _Imperative Mood._ _Infinitive Mood._

_1. Comp._ Do bhith 'g am bhualadh fein, _To be striking myself._

Bitheam 'g am bhualadh fein, Iar bith 'g am bhualadh fein.

_Let me be striking myself._ _To have been striking myself._

From the foregoing example it appears that the Verb, in its reciprocating state, retains its original form throughout its several Moods, Tenses, and Persons. In the _simple Tenses_, the Personal p.r.o.noun immediately following the Verb is the Nominative to the Verb. The same p.r.o.noun repeated is to be understood as in the objective state. The word fein, corresponding to the English _self_, accompanies the last p.r.o.noun.

In the _compound Tenses_, the auxiliary Verb, as usual, is placed first; then follows the Personal p.r.o.noun as its Nominative, then the Prep. _ag_ abridged to _'g_ in the compound Tenses of the first order, iar in those of the second order; after which follows the Possessive p.r.o.noun, corresponding in Person to that which is the Nominative to the Verb; and lastly the Infinitive, which is the noun to the Possessive p.r.o.noun. Mo and do are here changed, by Metathesis and the subst.i.tution of one broad vowel for another, into am and ad. Ta mi 'g am bhualadh fein, rendered literally, is, _I am at my own striking, i.e., I am at the striking of myself_, equivalent to, _I am striking myself_. The reciprocal fein is sometimes omitted in the compound Tenses, but is generally retained in the 3d Persons, to prevent their being mistaken for the same persons when used without reciprocation: ta e 'g a bhualadh, _he is striking him_, ta e 'g a bhualadh fein, _he is striking himself_.

OF THE IMPERSONAL USE OF VERBS.

Intransitive Verbs, though they do not regularly admit of a Pa.s.sive Voice, yet are used _impersonally_ in the 3d Pers. Sing. of the Pa.s.sive Tenses.

This impersonal use of the Pa.s.sive of intransitive Verbs is founded on the same principle with the Latin Impersonals _concurritur_, _pugnatum est_, {106} &c., which are equivalent to _concursus fit_, _pugna facta est_. So in Gaelic, gluaisfear leam, _I will move_, Psal. cxvi. 9; gluaisfear leo, _they will move_, Psal. cxix. 3; ghuileadh leinn, _we did weep_, flebatur a n.o.bis, Psal. cx.x.xvii. 1, Edit. Edinb. 1787; cha bhithear saor o pheacadh, _there wanteth not sin_, Prov. x. 19.

To the cla.s.s of Impersonals ought to be referred a certain part of the Verb which has not yet been mentioned. It resembles in form the Fut. Negat.

Pa.s.sive; buailear, faicear, faighear, &c. In signification, it is Active, Present, and Affirmative. In the course of a narrative, when the speaker wishes to enliven his style by representing the occurrences narrated as present, and pa.s.sing actually in view, instead of the Preterite Tenses, he adopts the Part of the Verb now described, employing it in an impersonal acceptation, without a Nominative to it expressed. One or two examples will serve to exhibit the use and effect of this anomalous Tense:--Shuidh an g bhean air sgeir, is a suil air an lear. Chunnaic i long a' teachd air barraibh nan tonn. Dh' aithnich i aogas a leannain, is chlisg a cridhe 'n a com. Gun mhoille gun tamh, _buailear_ dh' fhios na traighe; agus _faighear_ an laoch, 's a dhaoine m' a thimchioll. In English thus: The young woman sat on a rock, and her eye on the sea. She spied a s.h.i.+p coming on the tops of the waves. She perceived the likeness of her lover, and her heart bounded in her breast. Without delay or stop, she _hastens_ to the sh.o.r.e; and _finds_ the hero, with his men around him. Again: Mar sin chuir sinn an oidhche tharuinn. 'S a' mhadainn dh' imich sinn air ar turus. O bha sinn 'n ar coigrich anns an tir, _gabhar_ suas gu mullach an t-sleibh, _direar_ an tulach gu grad, agus _seallar_ mu 'n cuairt air gach taobh. _Faicear_ thall fa 'r comhair sruth cas ag ruith le gleann c.u.mhann, &c. Thus we pa.s.sed the night. In the morning we pursued our journey. As we were strangers in the land, we _strike_ up to the top of the moor, _ascend_ the hill with speed, and _look_ around us on every side. We _see_ over against us a rapid stream, rus.h.i.+ng down a narrow valley, &c. {107}

The scrupulous chastenesss of style maintained in the Gaelic version of the Sacred Scriptures, has totally excluded this form of expression. It is, however, universally known and acknowledged, as an established idiom of the Gaelic, very common in the mouths of those who speak it, and in animated narration almost indispensable[71].

OF AUXILIARY VERBS.

It has been already shown how bi _be_, is used as an Auxiliary in the declension of all verbs. There are two other verbs which are occasionally employed in a similar capacity; the one with an Active the other with a Pa.s.sive effect. These are dean to _do_ or _make_, and rach to _go_.

The simple tenses of dean combined with the Infinitive of any verb, correspond to the English auxiliary _do_, _did_. It sometimes adds to the emphasis, but not to the sense. The following are examples of this Auxiliary combined with the Infinitive of an _Intransitive_ verb:--Rinn e seasamh _he made standing_, i.e., _he did stand;_ dean suidhe _make sitting_, i.e., _sit down_; dheanainn gul agus caoidh _I would make weeping {108} and lamentation_, i.e., _I would weep and lament._ The same arrangement takes place when the Auxiliary is combined with the Infinitive of a _Transitive_ verb, accompanied by a possessive p.r.o.noun; as, rinn e mo bhualadh _he made my striking_, i.e., _he made [or caused] the striking of me_, or, _he did strike me_; cha dean mi do mholadh, _I will not make your praising_, i.e., _I will not praise you_; dean do gharadh, _make your warming_, dean do gharadh fein, _make your own warming_, i.e., _warm yourself._