Introduction
to the Simple Prepositions
To help recognise trends the
Simple Prepositions are best placed into distinct groups :
Group1
| aig - at |
| aig
doras - at a door |
| aig an
doras - at the door |
|
| air - on |
| air
leabaidh - on a bed |
| air an
leabaidh - on the bed |
|
| gun -
without |
| gun
chù - without a dog * |
| gun an
cù - without the dog |
|
| mar -
as, like |
| mar
dhuine - like a man * |
| mar an
duine - like the man |
|
* mar
and gun lenite indefinite nouns except those beginning with l,
n, r, sg, sm, sp or
st. (You probably recognise these exceptions from 
).
Group2
These prepositions all lenite an indefinite noun except those beginning with l,
n, r, sg, sm, sp or
st.
All combine with the singular definite article an.
The definite article an loses its initial a; e.g. bho
+ an >> bhon
| bho / o - from |
| bho
leabhar / o leabhar - from a book |
| bhon
leabhar / on leabhar - from the book |
|
| de - of, off |
| de
theine - of fire |
| den
teine * - of the fire |
|
| dha /
do - to |
| dha
taigh / do thaigh † - to a house |
| dhan
taigh / don taigh - to the house |
|
| fo -
under, below |
| fo
thruinnsear - under a plate |
| fon
truinnsear - under the plate |
|
| mu -
about |
| mu
dhealbh - about a picture |
| mun
dealbh - about the picture |
|
| ro -
before |
| ro
thubaist - before a accident |
| ron
tubaist - before the accident |
|
| tro -
through |
| tro
dhoras - through a door |
| tron
doras - through the door |
|
|
* den
often appears as dhen in both the spoken and written language
† dha does not lenite the following indefinite
noun. do is the preferred preposition with the indefinite noun
do
has the special reduced form a (a dh' before a vowel)
when used before placenames:
| a Ghlaschu - to Glasgow |
a dh'Inbhir Nis - to Inverness |
Group3
These prepositions have separate forms for definite and indefinite nouns. The prepositions
assume a final s before definite articles.
| à (às - with definite noun) - from, out of |
| à taigh - out of a house |
| às an taigh - out of the house |
|
| ann an (anns - with definite noun) - in |
ann an leabaidh - in a bed
ann am bàta - in a boat * |
| anns an leabaidh - in the bed |
|
| gu
(also: gus - with definite noun) - to, until |
| gu
taigh - to a house |
| gun
taigh (also: gus an taigh) - to the house |
|
| le
(leis - with definite noun) - with, by |
| le
leabhar - with a book |
| leis an
leabhar - with the book |
|
| ri (ris
- with definite noun) - to, at, against |
| ri
sgàthan - against a mirror |
| ris an
sgàthan - against the mirror |
|
|
* Use ann
am for nouns beginning with b, f, m or
p
Simple
prepositions are often the second element in a complex preposition. The first element
never changes in this group :
| faisg air leabhar - near a book |
faisg air an leabhar - near the book |
An Idiomatic Use of ann
One important idiomatic use of ann is where it denotes presence
or existence or when something is happening :
| Tha Calum ann - Calum is present / Calum is here |
| Bha mi ann? - I was present / I was there |
| Tha cèilidh ann a-nochd - There is a ceilidh on
tonight |
NEW WORDS
Conjunctions
| ach -
however |
|
Nouns
| cù (m) - dog |
dealbh (m) - picture |
| rùm (m) - room, free space |
taigh-òsta (m) - hotel |
| truinnsear (m) - plate |
|
| |
|
| sgeilp (f) - shelf |
sgeul (f) - story |
| tubaist (f) - accident |
toit (f) - smoke |
Placenames
| Dùn Èideann - Edinburgh |
Glaschu - Glasgow |
| Inbhir
Nis - Inverness |
Steòrnabhagh
- Stornoway |
Prepositions
| à (às - with a definite noun ) - from (place), out of |
aig - at |
| air - on |
ann an (anns - with a definite noun ) - in |
| bho /o
- from |
dha /
do - to |
| de -
of, off |
fo -
under, below |
| gu (gus
- with a definite noun ) - to, until |
gun -
without |
| le
(leis - with a definite noun ) - with, by |
mar -
as, like |
| mu -
about |
ri (ris
- with a definite noun ) - to, at, against |
| ro -
before |
tro -
through |
| còmhla
ri(s) - together with |
cuide
ri(s) - together with |
| faisg
air - near |
seachad
air - past |
| thairis
air - across |
|
EXERCISE 1 Translate into English
| 1.An robh thu anns an eaglais? |
2.Tha an gille anns an rùm |
| 3.Cha robh duine aig an doras |
4.A bheil thu aig an sgoil? Tha |
| 5.Bha i tinn agus cha robh i aig an sgoil |
6.Tha mi glè bhlàth faisg air an teine |
| 7.Bha iad ris an doras |
8.Bha sinn ri sgeilp |
| 9.Nach robh sibh air an leabaidh? |
10.Tha e à Inbhir Nis |
| 11.Bha iad bhon taigh tron oidhche |
12.Nach eil an cù fon leabaidh? |
| 13.Bha i còmhla ris an duine |
14.Tha a' chaileag air an làr cuide ri cù |
| 15.Bha leabhar ann |
|
EXERCISE 2 Translate into Gàidhlig
| 1.The man is busy on the road |
2.There is a girl in a boat on the river |
| 3.He is from Stornoway |
4.She was in school however he was not |
| 5.Are they not from Edinburgh?, No |
6.She is from Glasgow and he is from Edinburgh |
| 7.They were in the hotel, however I was at home |
8.We weren't very hot at the fire |
| 9.There is a letter from that girl (nighean) |
10.He was in the picture of that story |
| 11.The room was dirty with the smoke |
12.The boy was in the house |
| 13.There isn't an empty room in this house |
|
ANSWERS EXERCISE 1
| 1.Were you in (the) church? |
2.The boy is in the room |
| 3.There was no-one (a man) at the door |
4.Are you at (the) school? Yes |
| 5.She was ill and wasn't at school |
6.I am very warm near the fire |
| 7.They were at (against) the door |
8.We were at(against) a shelf |
| 9.Were you not on the bed? |
10.He is from Inverness |
| 11.They were (away) from home through the night |
12.Is the dog not under the bed? |
| 13.She was (along) with the man |
14.The girl is on the floor (together) with a dog |
| 15.There was a book there |
|
ANSWERS EXERCISE 2
| 1.Tha am fear trang air an rathad |
2.Tha caileag ann am bàta air an abhainn |
| 3.Tha e à Steòrnabhagh |
4.Bha i anns an sgoil ach cha robh e |
| 5.Nach eil iad à Dùn Èideann? Chan eil |
6.Tha i à Glaschu agus tha e à Dùn Èideann |
| 7.Bha iad anns an taigh-òsta, ach bha mi aig an taigh |
8.Cha robh sinn glè theth aig an teine |
| 9.Tha litir ann bhon nighean sin |
10.Bha e anns an dealbh den sgeul sin |
| 11.Bha an seòmar salach leis an toit |
12.Bha am balach anns an taigh |
| 13.Chan eil rùm falamh anns an taigh seo |
|
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