The
Future Tense - Irregular Verbs
The
following three verbs which are irregular in the Past Tense are completely regular in the
Future Tense. They are given here for completeness :
| Verbal Noun |
Root |
Independent |
Dependent |
breith - bearing /
catching / grasping |
beir |
beiridh |
beir |
| cluinntinn - hearing |
cluinn |
cluinnidh |
cluinn |
ruigsinn - reaching /
arriving |
ruig |
ruigidh |
ruig |
The following seven verbs are irregular in the Future Tense. In most cases the dependent
form is the same as the root of the verb :
| Verbal Noun |
Root |
Independent |
Dependent |
dèanamh - doing /
making |
dèan |
nì |
dèan |
| dol - going |
rach |
thèid |
tèid |
| faicinn - seeing |
faic |
chì |
faic |
faighinn - getting /
obtaining |
faigh |
gheibh |
faigh |
| ràdh - saying † |
abair |
their |
abair |
| tighinn - coming |
thig |
thig |
tig |
toirt - taking/
giving (+ preposition do) |
thoir |
bheir |
toir |
† In the
Future Tense the regular verb Can is preferred, particularly in the
spoken language
As with the verb To Be
add either Cha / Chan(before a vowel), An /
Am or Nach to the dependent to get the negative and
interrogative forms of the verb.
Example
Uses : 
| Nì mi - I will do / make |
| Cha dèan mi * - I will
not do / make |
| An dèan thu? - Will you do / make? |
| Nach dèan thu? - Will you not do / make? |
|
| Thèid thu - You will go |
| Cha tèid thu * - You
will not go |
| An tèid thu? - Will you go? |
| Nach tèid thu? - Will you not go? |
|
| Chì i - She will see |
| Chan fhaic i - She will not see |
| Am faic i? - Will she see? |
| Nach fhaic i? † -
Will she not see? |
|
| Gheibh sinn - We will get |
| Chan fhaigh sinn - We will not get |
| Am faigh sinn? - Will we get? |
| Nach fhaigh sinn? - Will we not get? |
|
| Their i - She will say |
| Chan abair i - She will not say |
| An abair i? - Will she say? |
| Nach abair i? - Will she not say? |
|
| Thig mi - I will come |
| Cha tig mi - I will not come |
| An tig thu? - Will you come? |
| Nach tig thu? - Will you not come? |
|
| Bheir mi - I will take |
| Cha toir mi - I will not take |
| An toir thu? - Will you take? |
| Nach toir thu? - Will you not take? |
|
|
* cha /
chan lenites verbs beginning with b, f,
m, p, c or g. The irregular
future verbs beginning t and d do not lenite after cha
† nach will lenite verbs beginning with f
With
the Dependent Clause
Some examples are given below.
The pattern is the same as the verb To Be (see 
) :
| Tha e ag ràdh gun tèid e - He says that he will go |
| Tha e ag ràdh nach tèid e - He says that he will not go |
| Tha e ag ràdh gum faic e thu - He says that he will see you |
| Tha e ag ràdh nach fhaic e thu * - He says that
he will not see you |
* Verbs
beginning with f are lenited to fh after the negative
particle nach
The
Relative Verb
Some examples are given below.
The pattern is the same as the Present Tense of the verb To Be (see ) :
| Is mise a chì am balach - It's I who will see the boy |
| Is mise nach fhaic an dealbh - It's me who will not see the
picture |
| 'S ise a thèid dhachaigh - It's she who will go home |
| Is ise nach tèid dhachaigh - It's she who will not go home |
The Interrogative Pronouns
Some examples are given below.
The pattern is the same as the Present Tense of the verb To Be (see ) :
| Dè nì thu leis a' phàipear is glaodh? - What will you make
with the paper and glue? |
| Cò gheibh pàipear-naidheachd dhomh? - Who will get me a
newspaper? |
| Carson nach toir thu peann dhomh? - Why will you not give me a
pen? |
| Ciamar a nì thu sin? - How will you do that? |
| Cuin a chì thu do mhàthair? - When will you see your mother? |
| Càit an tèid sinn a-màireach? - Where will we go tomorrow? |
With Conjunctions
Some examples are given below.
The pattern is the same as the Present Tense of the verb To Be (see 
) :
| Fuirich gus an tig mi dhachaigh - Wait until I come home |
| Sin an t-eilean far am faic sinn an t-eun tearc - That's the
island where we will see the rare bird |
| Nuair a gheibh mi an t-airgead, gheibh mi càr ùr - When I
(will) get the money, I will get a new car |
| Mura tig thu a-màireach chan fhaigh thu tiodhlac - If you do
(will) not come tomorrow you wont get a present |
NEW WORDS
Adjectives
| iongantach - wonderful |
tearc - rare |
Nouns
| dòchas (m) - hope |
pàipear-naidheachd (m) - newspaper |
| bochdainn(f) - poverty |
cobhair (f) - help |
| cuirm-chiùil (f) - concert |
slighe (f) - way, road |
Pronouns
| cuideigin - someone |
|
EXERCISE 1 Translate into English
| 1.Chì mi tràth anns a' mhadainn thu |
2.Cha toir e airgead dhomh a h-uile seachdain |
| 3.Am faigh thu pàipear-naidheachd air an t-slighe dhachaigh? |
4.An tig thu còmhla rium dhan bhùth? Cha tig |
| 5.An dèan sibh dìnnear dhuinn nuair a thig sinn a-staigh? |
6.Nach tèid i a-steach dhan uisge? Cha tèid |
| 7.Nach gabh sibh biadh mus tèid sibh air falbh |
8.Tha mi an dòchas gun ruig sinn Inbhir Nis a dh'aithghearr |
| 9.Am faic thu i mus faic mise? |
10.Beiridh mi air a' chàr aca |
| 11.An abair sibh rithe na chunnaic sibh? Their |
12.Cuin a ruigeas am bus seo Glaschu? |
| 13.Chan fhaic sibh càil anns an dùthaich sin ach bochdainn |
14.Cò bheir cobhair dhaibh? |
EXERCISE 2 Translate into Gàidhlig
| 1.I will see them all there at the ceilidh tonight |
2.Will you give this pen to your sister when you see her? |
| 3.I don't know when I will reach Portree |
4.Do you think that she will have (bear) a baby boy? |
| 5.I will not hear you talk like that |
6.They know they will never see their father again |
| 7.He will not say a word to anyone |
8.I am sure someone will come to help us |
| 9.You'll hear (some) wonderful music at the concert |
10.What do I do when she goes away? |
ANSWERS - EXERCISE 1
| 1.I'll see you early in the morning |
2.He doesn't give me money every week |
| 3.Will you get a newspaper on the way home? |
4.Will you come with me to the shop? No |
| 5.Will you make dinner for us when we come in? |
6.Won't she go into the water? No |
| 7.Won't you take (some) food before you (will) go away |
8.I hope that we reach Inverness soon |
| 9.Will you see her before I do? |
10.I'll catch up on their car |
| 11.Will you tell her what you saw? Yes |
12.When does this bus reach Glasgow? |
| 13.You can't (will not) see anything in that country but poverty |
14.Who'll give them (some) help? |
ANSWERS - EXERCISE 2
| 1.Chì mi iad uile ann aig a' chèilidh a-nochd |
2.An toir sibh am peann seo do do phiuthar nuair a chì thu i? |
| 3.Chan eil fios agam cuin a ruigeas mi Portrìgh |
4.A bheil thu a' smaointinn gum beir i mac? |
| 5.Cha chluinn mi thu a' bruidhinn mar sin |
6.Tha fios aca nach fhaic iad an athair-san a-rithist |
| 7.Chan abair e facal ri duine (sam bith) |
8.Tha mi cinnteach gun tig duine gar cuideachadh |
| 9.Cluinnidh sibh ceòl iongantach aig a' chuirm-chiùil |
10.Dè nì mi nuair a thèid i air falbh? |
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