Scottish Gaelic Grammar for Beginners: Where to Start

Scottish Gaelic grammar looks unusual at first. But a handful of patterns cover most beginner sentences. Learn them in a sensible order and each one makes the next easier.

Every Gaelic example below has its English meaning. Each comes from LearnGaelic, SpeakGaelic or BBC Bitesize. Gaelic varies between dialects, so a teacher or dictionary may show a local form too.

The five things to learn first

1. The verb comes first

When a sentence has a verb such as tha, bha, bidh or a past-tense verb, the verb usually comes first. The subject comes next. In English we say "he is listening". In Gaelic it is Tha e ag èisteachd, which runs "is he listening". Sentences with the copula, such as ’s e … a th’ ann, follow a different pattern, covered in section 2.

• Tha e ag èisteachd: He is listening
• Bha sibh a’ ruith: You were running
• Bidh mi a’ falbh: I shall be going

Many everyday sentences use a form of the verb bi ("to be") plus a verbal noun such as a’ ruith (running). Change the first word and you change the time: tha (is), bha (was), bidh (will be, or does regularly).

Simple past verbs keep the verb first too. Most regular verbs form the past by adding h after the first consonant: cuir (put) becomes chuir (put, in the past). Verbs that start with a vowel add dh’: òl (drink) becomes dh’òl (drank). Verbs that start with f and a vowel do both: fuirich (stay) becomes dh’fhuirich (stayed).

2. Tha and is: two ways to say "is"

Gaelic splits English "is" in two. Use tha to describe something, to say where it is, or with a verb. Use the copula is to join two nouns, or a noun and a pronoun. You will often see it in the pattern is e, which is often shortened to ’s e. To give your name, you say Is mise and your name: Is mise Màrtainn Caimbeul means "I am Martin Campbell".

Tha to describe or locate:

• tha an dùthaich beag: the country is small
• tha e ann an Alba: he is in Scotland

’S e to say what something is:

• ’S e baile beag a th’ ann: It is a small town
• ’S e tidsear a tha ann: He is a teacher

For jobs you will also hear a pattern with tha: Tha e na thidsear (He is a teacher). BBC Bitesize describes this as the plain statement, and ’s e as the way to add emphasis.

Questions and negatives with tha

To ask a yes/no question, start with A bheil. To say "is not", start with Chan eil. To ask "isn't it...?", start with Nach eil.

• A bheil i tioram?: Is it dry?
• Chan eil i fuar: It isn't cold
• Nach eil i teth?: Isn't it hot?

Gaelic has no single word for yes or no. To answer a question that starts with A bheil, say tha (yes) or chan eil (no).

3. Lenition basics

Lenition means adding an h after the first consonant of a word. It changes the sound. The h tells you that something earlier in the sentence triggered the change. LearnGaelic gives three rules of thumb for when a trigger comes before a word. The letters b, c, f, g, m and p always lenite. D, t and s usually do not after a word ending in n. Words starting with sg, sm, sp or st never lenite.

Careful with a. When it means "his", it lenites. When it means "her", it does not.

You have already met lenition in the past tense: cuir becomes chuir. It is the same h doing a different job.

4. The article: one word in English, several in Gaelic

English has one "the". Gaelic has several forms, and it has no word for "a". The form depends on the noun's gender, its first letter, and whether it is singular or plural. The table shows the basic (subject) forms. The article or the noun can change after a preposition or in the genitive, which is beyond this guide.

Notice a’ chaileag. After a’, a feminine noun takes lenition, so caileag becomes chaileag. The article and lenition work as a team. Gender matters too. A feminine noun starting with a vowel takes an: an uiseag means "the lark". A feminine noun starting with sl takes an t-: an t-slat means "the (fishing) rod".

5. Adjectives usually come after the noun

An adjective usually comes after its noun. Baile beag is "a small town", word by word "town small". In the plural, short adjectives often add a vowel: luchan beaga means "wee mice". A few common adjectives go before the noun and lenite it, such as deagh (good): deagh shealladh means "a good view".

6. Prepositional pronouns

Gaelic joins a preposition and a pronoun into one word. Aig (at) plus mi (me) becomes agam. Gaelic uses aig to say who has something.

• Tha càr agam: I have a car
• Tha Gàidhlig aig Peigi: Peggy speaks Gaelic (word by word: is Gaelic at Peggy)

Many other prepositions work the same way. Air (on) gives orm (on me). Le (with) gives leam (with me). Do (to) gives dhomh (to me). LearnGaelic suggests learning each set like a times table.

A sensible order to learn it in

1. Tha with simple descriptions, plus A bheil and Chan eil.
2. Verb-first sentences with tha, bha and bidh.
3. Aig and agam for saying who has what.
4. The article and its forms.
5. Lenition after mo, do and a, then after numbers and glè.
6. The copula is for identity and names (Is mise …), and is e / ’s e for patterns such as jobs.
7. The past tense of regular verbs.

If you already know some Irish

Irish and Scottish Gaelic share a lot, including verb-first order and lenition. Spelling and many everyday words differ. Our Irish vs Scottish Gaelic guide compares them side by side.

Practise Scottish Gaelic with blas.

blas. has a Scottish Gaelic course with grammar lessons, lenition drills, graded reading and audio. A free account can start one new unit a day. See the Scottish Gaelic course page, or compare apps to learn Scottish Gaelic.