Unit 21 - Talking about our pets
Our Pets "Na Peataichean Againn "
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You will see some use of emphatic suffixes in this unit. These are special word endings, sometimes joined to a word with a hyphen, sometimes without a hyphen, which give emphasis to that word. Here is an example:
- am bi e gad bhìdeadh?
- does he bite you?
- am bi e gad bhìdeadh-sa?
- does he bite you (with emphasis) ?
In the second example, the –sa suffix gives the emphasis to you. In English the you is emphasised in speech. In Gaelic, however, neither the bhìdeadh or the –sa are emphasised in speech. There are different emphatic suffixes for the different persons in speech, as you will see below:
Singular:
- cha bhi e gam bhìdeadh
- he doesn’t bite me
- cha bhi e gam bhìdeadh-sa
- he doesn’t bite me
- am bi e gad bhìdeadh?
- does he bite you?
- am bi e gad bhìdeadh-sa?
- does he bite you (emphasis)?
- cha bhi e ga bhìdeadh
- he doesn’t bite him
- cha bhi e ga bhìdeadh-san
- he doesn’t bite him
- am bi e ga bìdeadh?
- does he bite her?
- am bi e ga bìdeadh-se?
- does he bite her?
Plural:
- cha bhi e gar bìdeadh
- he doesn’t bite us
- cha bhi e gar bìdeadh-ne
- he doesn’t bite us
- am bi e gur bìdeadh?
- does he bite you?
- am bi e gur bìdeadh-se?
- does he bite you? (with emphasis)
- cha bhi e gam bìdeadh
- he doesn’t bite them
- cha bhi e gam bìdeadh-san
- he doesn’t bite them (with emphasis)
Note the use of the future/present habitual tense in the above examples. A bheil e gad bhìdeadh? means “is he currently biting you?”, whereas am bi e gad bhìdeadh? means “does he [ever] bite you?”.
Now listen to Cèitidh telling Seònaid about the behaviour of her pet hamsters.
