Unit 20 - Remembering your Schooldays
Bha mi modhail "I was polite"
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In transcript 2 we see how the conditional form of verbs can be used as a past habitual, in order to tell of occurrences that happened (“would happen”) over time, or in a habitual fashion. This time we add –adh or –eadh to the end of the past tense form of the verb:
| past | conditional | example | translation of example |
|---|---|---|---|
| chuir | chuireadh | chuireadh e uisge anns a’ phoit | he would put water in a pot |
| thog | thogadh | thogadh iad na clachan | they would lift the rocks |
| dhùin | dhùineadh | dhùineadh iad an sgoil | they would close the school |
Look out for the negative and interrogative forms of verbs in the conditional in the conversation that follows. And look out also for the verb “to be”, which in the conditional is bhiodh or, in its emphatic form, bhitheadh
| past | conditional | example | translation of example |
|---|---|---|---|
| bha | bhiodh | bhiodh iad ann a h-uile là | they would be there every day |
The verb “to be” can be used, as in other tenses, to create a conditional with a verbal noun. Compare it with the present tense in the examples below (note that we say tu in the conditional for singular informal “you”, rather than thu) :
- tha thu a’ sgrìobhadh
- you write (you are writing)
- bhiodh tu a’ sgrìobhadh
- you would write (you would be writing)
- tha na tidsearan a’ trod rium
- the teachers are scolding me
- bhiodh na tidsearan a’ trod rium
- the teachers would scold me (the teachers would be scolding me)
Listen to transcript 2, where Cèitidh and Alasdair use past conditionals when reminiscing about their schooldays.
This is the end of unit 20.
