Language to help with writing
Here we'll look at the type of language you should be using. Read through these notes to help you master the language required for Directed Writing and Assignment-writing.
Some basic pointers
- Master the basic structures.
- Use a range of tenses.
- Make sure you know your irregular verbs.
- Express some opinions.
Use'S eandB' e as well asThaandBha
Tha and Bha are useful for describing things.
Tha mi glè dhìcheallach - I am very diligent
Tha am baile inntinneach – The town is interesting
Bha an togalach brèagha – The building was beautiful
Chan eil am film math – The film is not good.
'S e and B' e are used for defining things and you should definitely try and master their usage at Higher.
'S e neach dìcheallach a th' annam – I am a diligent person
'S e àite gu math inntinneach a th' anns a' bhaile – The town is a very interesting place
B' e togalach brèagha a bh' ann – It was a beautiful building
Chan e film math a th' ann – It is not a good film.
You will use 'S e and B' e in particular if you are asked to write about your favourite aspect of something related to the task.
'S e an taigh-tasgaidh mòr an rud as fheàrr leam – The big museum is my favourite thing
B' e am biadh a b' fheàrr a ghabh mi riamh – It was the best food I ever had
Chan e rud math a th' ann an cus teicneòlais – Too much technology is not a good thing.
Opinions and reasons - use conjunctions
It's important to give your opinions and your reasons for these opinions and for that you need to make sure you know how to use conjunctions. You should already be aware of Tha mi a' smaoineachadh gu bheil… after National 5.
Remember that gu bheil/gun robh are just other forms of tha/bha etc respectively. It's good to know the forms of most common verbs (although the form that appears after gu/gum and nach is also the same one that appears in the question and after Cha.)
Tha / Chan eil -> gu bheil / nach eil
Bha / Cha robh -> gun robh / nach robh
Bidh / Cha bhi -> gum bi / nach bi
Chaidh / Cha deach -> gun deach / nach deach
Thèid / Cha tèid -> gun tèid / nach tèid
'S e / Chan e -> gur e / nach e
B' e / Cha b' e -> gur b' e / nach b' e
Chòrd / Cha do chòrd -> gun do chòrd / nach do chòrd
Bhithinn / Cha bhithinn -> gum bithinn / nach bithinn
The following structures are often followed by the conjunction.
Tha mi a' creidsinn - I believe
Cha robh mi a' smaoineachadh - I did not think
Tha daoine ag ràdh - People say
Chanainn - I would say
Tha mi an dòchas - I hope
Tha mi an dùil - I expect
Chuala i - She heard
Thuirt e - He/it said
Tha mi a' creidsinn gum bi mi a' dèanamh... – I believe that I will be doing...
Tha mi an dòchas gum bi sinn a' dol air ais an-ath-bhliadhna – I hope that we will be going back next year
Thuirt e gun do chòrd e ris gu mòr – He said that he enjoyed it greatly
Tha mi a' smaoineachadh gur e dùthaich bhreàgha a th' anns a' Ghrèig - I think that Greece is a beautiful country
Bha mi an dùil gun robh sinn a' dol air a' phlèana, ach chaidh sinn air a' bhàt'-aiseig. Is beag orm bàtaichean! – I expected that we were going on a place, but we went on the ferry. I hate boats!
Giving reasons
The following common forms of because use conjunctions:
air sàillibh
a chionn
air sgàth 's
Bu toigh leam a dhol air ais dhan sgoil sin air sàillibh gur e àite càirdeil a bh' ann agus rinn mi mòran charaidean ùra – I would like to go back to that school because it was a friendly place and I made lots of new friends.
Bidh cianalas orm a chionn 's gum bi mi ag ionndrainn mo chait – I will be homesick because I will miss my cat.
Cha do chòrd an taigh-òsta rium air sgàth 's gun robh am biadh gu math grod agus na seòmraichean glè shalach – I did not enjoy the hotel because the food was really horrible and the rooms were dirty.
Oir
Remember you can also use oir (because) instead if that helps you express what you want to say. You can use tha/bha etc in this situation.
Chòrd am film rium oir bha an sgeulachd glè inntinneach agus 's toigh leam na cleasaichean – I enjoyed the film because the story was very interesting and I like the actors.
