The
Past Tense - Irregular Verbs
As you
discovered in 
a continuous action in the past is expressed
by using the past tense of the verb To Be with the present
participle :
| Bha e a' cluich anns a' phàirc fad an là
an-dè - He was playing in the park all day yesterday |
To express a single completed
action in the past you must use the past tense (or finite) of a verb. Fortunately, this
corresponds very closely in meaning with the finite verb in English.
There are only 10 irregular
Gàidhlig verbs, and fortunately not all are irregular through all their tenses. They are
presented in a table analogous to the one in 
for
the Past Tense of the Regular Verbs
| Verbal Noun |
Root |
Independent |
Dependent |
breith - bearing /
catching / grasping |
beir |
rug |
d'rug † |
| cluinntinn - hearing |
cluinn |
chuala |
cuala |
dèanamh - doing /
making |
dèan |
rinn |
d'rinn † |
| dol - going |
rach |
chaidh |
deach |
| faicinn - seeing |
faic |
chunnaic |
faca |
faighinn - getting /
obtaining |
faigh |
fhuair * |
d'fhuair |
| ràdh - saying |
abair |
thuirt |
tuirt |
ruigsinn - reaching /
arriving ‡ |
ruig |
ràinig |
d'ràinig † |
| tighinn - coming |
thig |
thàinig |
tàinig |
toirt - taking /
giving (+ preposition do) |
thoir |
thug |
tug |
* the initial fh
of fhuair is not silent but is voiced as h.
† the vestigial d' is optional.
‡ ruighinn and ruigheachd are alternative verbal
nouns.
As with the regular verb add either Cha / Chan (before a
vowel), An / Am or Nach to the
dependent form to get the negative and interrogative forms of the verb. Remember Cha
/ Chan will lenite words beginning with b, f,
m, p, c or g.
Example
Uses : 
| Rug i orm -
She grasped me |
| Cha d'rug i orm - She didn't grasp
me |
| An d'rug i orm? - Did she grasp me? |
| Nach d'rug i orm? - Didn't she grasp
me? |
|
| Chuala tu *
- You heard |
| Cha chuala tu - You didn't hear |
| An cuala tu? - Did you hear? |
| Nach cuala tu? - Did you not hear? |
|
| Rinn mi - I
did / made |
| Cha d'rinn mi - I didn't do / make |
| An d'rinn thu? - Did you do / make? |
| Nach d'rinn thu? - Did you not do / make? |
|
| Chaidh mi - I
went |
| Cha deach mi - I didn't go |
| An deach thu? - Did you go? |
| Nach deach thu? - Did you not go? |
|
| Chunnaic thu -
You saw |
| Chan fhaca tu † -
You didn't see |
| Am faca tu? - Did you see? |
| Nach fhaca tu? ‡ -
Did you not see? |
|
| Fhuair mi - I
got |
| Cha d'fhuair mi - I didn't get |
| An d'fhuair thu? - Did you get? |
| Nach d'fhuair thu? - Did you not get? |
|
| Thuirt mi - I
said |
| Cha tuirt mi - I didn't say |
| An tuirt thu? - Did you say? |
| Nach tuirt thu? - Did you not say? |
|
| Ràinig mi - I
arrived / reached |
| Cha d'ràinig mi - I didn't arrive / reach |
| An d'ràinig thu? - Did you arrive /
reach? |
| Nach d'ràinig thu? - Did you not arrive /
reach? |
|
| Thàinig mi -
I came |
| Cha tàinig mi - I didn't come |
| An tàinig thu? - Did you come? |
| Nach tàinig thu? - Did you not come? |
|
| Thug mi - I
took |
| Cha tug mi - I didn't take |
| An tug thu? - Did you take? |
| Nach tug thu? - Did you not take? |
|
* use tu
instead of thu with both the dependent and independent forms of the past
tense of the verb cluinn
† use tu instead of thu with the dependent
forms of the past tense of the verb faic
‡ faca changes to fhaca after the
dependent particle nach
With
the Dependent Clause
Some examples are given below.
The pattern is the same as the verb To Be (see 
) :
| Tha e ag ràdh gun cuala e - He says that he heard |
| Tha e ag ràdh nach cuala e - He says that he didn't hear |
| Tha e ag ràdh gum faca e - He says that he saw |
| Tha e ag ràdh nach fhaca e ‡ - He says
that he didn't see |
‡ faca
changes to fhaca after the negative relative particle nach
The
Assertive Verb and The Relative Clause
Some examples are given below.
The pattern is the same as the verb To Be (see ) :
| Is mise a chaidh - It's I who went |
| Is mise nach deach - It's I who didn't go |
| 'S ise a rinn sin - It's she who did that |
| 'S ise nach d'rinn sin - It's she who didn't do that |
The Interrogative Pronouns
Some examples are given below.
The pattern is the same as the verb To Be (see ) :
| Dè rinn thu leis a' phàipear is glaodh? - What did you make
with the paper and glue? |
| Cò thuirt sin? - Who said that? |
| Carson a thug e airgead dhut? - Why did he give you some money? |
| Ciamar a rinn thu sin? - How did you do that? |
| Cuin a thàinig iad? - When did they come? |
| Càit an d'fhuair thu sin? - Where did you get that? |
With Conjunctions
Some examples are given below.
The pattern is the same as the verb To Be (see 
) :
| Thuirt mi an naidheachd ris nuair a chunnaic mi e - I told him
the news when I saw him |
| Sgioblaich mi an taigh mus d'ràinig iad - I tidied the house
before they arrived |
| Bha sinn toilichte ged nach tàinig i - We were happy (even)
although she didn't come |
| Tha e air a dhòigh on a fhuair e an càr ùr - He is overjoyed
since he got the new car |
| Mura tug thusa air falbh e, cò thug? - If you didn't take it
away, who did (take)? |
NEW WORDS
Nouns
| glaodh (m) - glue |
|
| fuaim (f) - noise, sound |
|
Verbs
| beir, breith (air) - bear, catch, grasp |
dèan, dèanamh - do, make |
| ruig, ruigsinn - reach, arrive |
sgioblaich, sgioblachadh - tidy |
Verbal phrases
| Tha mi air mo dhòigh - I am overjoyed |
Tha sinn air ar dòigh - We are overjoyed |
| Tha thu air do dhòigh - You are overjoyed |
Tha sibh air ur dòigh - You are overjoyed |
| Tha e air a dhòigh - He is overjoyed |
Tha iad air an dòigh - They are overjoyed |
| Tha i air a dòigh - She is overjoyed |
|
EXERCISE 1 Translate into English
| 1.Am faca sibh cò bha anns an talla? Chunnaic |
2.Thug mi an dèideag air falbh bhuaipe |
3.Cha tàinig iad gus meadhan-oidhche
|
4.Rug i leanabh bòidheach |
| 5.Nach d'ràinig thu an taobh eile? Ràinig |
6.Chaidh sinn sìos dhan tràigh an-dè |
| 7.An d'rinn sibh dìnnear dhaibh? Cha d'rinn |
8.Càit an cuala tu an sgeul sin? |
| 9.Cò fhuair taigh ùr? |
10.Nach tuirt e gun deach i air falbh a-raoir? Thuirt |
EXERCISE 2 Translate into Gàidhlig
| 1.He came in late last night |
2.I caught / grasped him on the hand |
| 3.Did you see that film? No |
4.When did you arrive yesterday? |
| 5.I gave the book to my brother when I saw him |
6.We saw an eagle in the sky |
| 7.Who got a letter from them? |
8.Why didn't they say they were tired? |
| 9.We heard a terrible noise |
10.I was happy before he came |
ANSWERS - EXERCISE 1
| 1.Did you see who was in the hall? Yes |
2.I took the toy away from her |
| 3.They didn't come until midnight |
4.She bore (gave birth to) a beautiful baby |
| 5.Didn't you reach the other side? Yes |
6.We went down to the beach yesterday |
| 7.Did you make dinner for them? No |
8.Where did you hear that tale? |
| 9.Who got a new house? |
10.Didn't he say that she went away last night? Yes |
ANSWERS - EXERCISE 2
| 1.Thàinig e a-staigh anmoch a-raoir |
2.Rug mi air an làimh air |
| 3.Am faca sibh an dealbh sin? Chan fhaca |
4.Cuin a ràinig thu an-dè? |
| 5.Thug mi an leabhar do mo bhràthair nuair a chunnaic mi e |
6.Chunnaic sinn iolaire anns an speur |
| 7.Cò fhuair litir bhuapa? |
8.Carson nach tuirt iad gun robh iad sgìth? |
| 9.Chuala sinn fuaim uabhasach |
10.Bha mi toilichte mus tàinig e |
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