Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 09:02:23 -0000
From: Colin Mark <[email protected]>
Subject: Tip of the Week 41 - About (1)
Tip of the Week 41
About ( meaning 'round about' 'concerning' and 'approximately')
We'll deal first of all with the very common compound preposition 'mu
dheidhinn' which means 'about' ONLY in the sense of
'concerning'.
When you want to say 'about' and you mean 'concerning'- i.e.
'talk about', 'hear about', 'read about' etc. - this
is the one I would advise beginners to use, particularly when saying
'about me', about you' etc. - this is dealt with later in
this section.
When 'mu dheidhinn' is followed by a noun, that noun is,
theoretically, in the genitive case. I write 'theoretically' because, in
practice, not all nouns are now in the genitive case.
When the noun is indefinite i.e. when it is not accompanied by the word 'the
' in the English version, it usually, nowadays, remains in the nominative
case. e.g.
Tha na sgeulachdan mu dheidhinn poidseadh 's a leithid.
The tales are about poaching and such like. (nom. case)
'S ann mu dheidhinn treubhan agus cinnidhean a bha an cogadh seo.
This war was about tribes and races. (nom. case)
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However, when the noun is definite, the noun is more likely to be in the
genitive case. e.g.
Bha e ag iarraidh fiosrachadh mu dheidhinn na cànain.
He was seeking information about the language. (gen. case)
Tha e coltach gu bheil iad air an dòchas a chur bhuapa gun
dèan an riaghaltas dad mu dheidhinn na cùise.
It appears that they have given up hope that the government will do
anything about the matter.
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The gen. case is usually used with possessive adjectives
also:
mu dheidhinn mo mhàthar
about my mother
mu dheidhinn mo sheanar
about my grandfather |
However, when the English expression has a personal pronoun in it - e.g.
'about me', 'about you' etc. - the Gaelic uses a possessive adjective e.g.
'mu mo dheidhinn' 'about me', 'mu do dheidhinn' 'about you' etc.
Try not to think about what this means literally - it'll drive you mad - see
what happened to me!
Some examples:
Tha sinn dìreach air a bhith a' bruidhinn mu do
dheidhinn.
We have just been talking about you.
Dé tha thu air a bhith a' sgrìobhadh mu mo
dheidhinn?
What have you been writing about me?
Seadh, dé mu dheidhinn? (= mu a dheidhinn)
Yes, what about him / it (masc.)?
Seadh, dé mu deidhinn? (= mu a deidhinn)
Yes, what about her / it (fem.)?
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The complete forms with (English) personal pronouns are:
mu mo dheidhinn* about me
mu do dheidhinn* about you
mu [a] dheidhinn about him /it masc.
mu [a] de�dhinn about her /it fem.
mu ar deidhinn about us
mu ur deidhinn about you pl. & polite
mu an deidhinn about them*
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*mu mo, mu do and mu an may be found shortened to mum, mud and mun
respectively, but mu ar and mu ur should not. Recent recommendations.,
however, advise that all of these should remain unshortened in formal work.
More next time.
Mo Dhùthcha.
URL: http://www.gaeldesign.com/colinmark
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