Relative Pronouns

For positive relative clauses the relative pronouns who, which and that are all expressed by the word a. This conjugates with the independent form of the verb :

Sin am fear a bha air an loch - That's the man who was on the loch

Seo an cat a bha fon chathair - This is the cat which was under the chair

For negative relative clauses the relative pronouns who, which and that  are all expressed by the negative particle nach. The dependent form of the verb is used :

An ise a' chaileag nach robh anns an sgoil? - Is she the girl who was not in school?

Is mise nach eil ag iarraidh seinn - It's I who does not want to sing

There is an important relative pronoun na which can be translated as what and all that :

Seo na tha agam de dh'airgead * - This is all the money that I have (lit. This is all that I have of money)

* de dh' is the usual form before an indefinite noun beginning with a vowel

The Relative Future Form of the Verb

This is a special form of the future verb which occurs only after the relative pronouns a and na (not after the negative relative pronoun nach, when the root of the verb is used †). It is formed by adding  -eas or -as (according to the spelling rule) to the root of the verb. The verb is also lenited whenever possible :

'S mise a bhitheas an sin a-nochd * - It's I who will be there tonight

'S ise a sheinneas aig a' chèilidh - It's she who will sing at the ceilidh

'S i do mhàthair nach bi toilichte - It's your mother who will not be happy

* the relative future of the verb To Be bhitheas is usually shortened to bhios in unstressed situations

The Relative Prepositional Pronoun

For relative clauses introduced by a preposition the interrogative forms of the verb are used :

An esan am fear ris an robh thu a' bruidhinn? - Is he the man to whom you were talking?

'S e seo am baile anns am bi mi a' fuireach - This is the town in which I stay

'S ise a' chaileag leis a bheil am peann - She's the girl who owns the pen (lit. ... to whom the pen is)

Tha iomadh eilean ann air nach eil daoine a' fuireach - There's many an island on which no-one lives

In some dialects an alternative form somewhat analogous to the poorer grammatical form in spoken English is found. The structure is based on the relative pronouns a and nach. In this case, however, a prepositional pronoun agreeing in both gender and plurality with the subject is used. It is included here for completeness and many do not regard it as good practice :

An esan am fear a bha thu a' bruidhinn ris ? - Is he the man whom you were talking to?

'S iadsan na fir a bha mi a' bruidhinn riutha ? - They are the men whom I was talking to?

'S ise a' chaileag a bha thu a' bruidhinn rithe ? - She's the girl whom I was talking to?

NEW WORDS

EXERCISE 1 Translate into English

1.An e sin an tè a tha ag obair anns a' bhanca? 'S e	2.Seo am bogsa anns am biodh sinn ga chumail
3.Is mise a shnàmhas thairis air an abhainn	4.Is iadsan na daoine ris an robh sinn a' bruidhinn
5.'S esan am bàrd a choisinneas cliù mòr aig a' Mhòd	6.'S e sin an loch air an robh sinn an-dè
7.'S e an speur an rìoghachd anns am bi an iolaire ag itealaich	8.Chan eil fios agam na tha aca anns a' bhaga
9.Is e purpaidh an dath a tha air an fhraoch an-dràsta	10.'S iad a bha toilichte leis na bha aca de dh'airgead
11.'S ann anns a' choille sin a tha am fear ag obair	12.Siud an drochaid air am bi sinn a' coiseachd
13.'S esan an duine a dhìricheas a' bheinn sin	14.A' chaileag air an robh am falt liath
15.'S e sin an nighean leis a bheil e a' falbh	16.B' e sgian mhòr a bha aige na phòcaid
17.B' ann air an luch a bha an iolaire a' coimhead	18.Siud an gleann trom (tro + am) bi sinn a' coiseachd a-màireach
19.Tha an drochaid air an robh sinn a' coiseachd a-nis briste	20.'S e gainmheach òir a tha air an tràigh sin

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