To bi or not to bi - Eachdraidh nam mùthaidhean

Akerbeltz: /* So this excludes... */

2023-12-14T19:12:23Z

So this excludes...

Akerbeltz: /* Yeah but how does that help me? */

2023-12-14T19:11:33Z

Yeah but how does that help me?

Akerbeltz: /* Anything else? */

2021-11-08T12:54:13Z

Anything else?

Akerbeltz: /* So this excludes... */

2021-02-17T12:19:21Z

So this excludes...

Akerbeltz: /* So this excludes... */

2021-02-17T12:12:22Z

So this excludes...

Akerbeltz: /* So this excludes... */

2021-02-17T12:08:49Z

So this excludes...

Akerbeltz: /* Yeah but how does that help me? */

2021-02-17T12:08:32Z

Yeah but how does that help me?

Akerbeltz: /* Yeah but how does that help me? */

2021-02-17T12:07:52Z

Yeah but how does that help me?

Akerbeltz: /* So this excludes... */

2021-02-17T12:07:05Z

So this excludes...

Akerbeltz: /* Yeah but how does that help me? */

2021-02-17T12:06:53Z

Yeah but how does that help me?

@@ Loidhne 51: / Loidhne 51: @@
 ==So this excludes...==
 Well, most other things, for example adjectives:
-*Donalda(S) is(V) '''amazing''' » ''amazing'' is not a name or pronoun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">bi</span>
+*Donalda(S) is(V) '''amazing''' » ''amazing'' is not a name or pronoun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">bi</span>: <span style="color: #008000;">'''Tha''' Dòmhnall mìorbhaileach.</span>
 One important one that is potentially confusing is prepositional phrases. That's a bit of sentence that's built around a noun but starts with a preposition (on, at, through...). Those do not count as nouns or noun phrases, not the way Gaelic looks at it:
-*Donald(S) is(V) '''''on'' the truck''' » even though ''truck'' is a noun, the predicate starts with a preposition, so this does not count as a noun or noun phrase, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">bi</span>.
+*Donald(S) is(V) '''''on'' the truck''' » even though ''truck'' is a noun, the predicate starts with a preposition, so this does not count as a noun or noun phrase, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">bi</span>: <span style="color: #008000;">'''Tha''' Dòmhnall air an làraidh</span>.
 This is also the reason for the seeming exception in sentences like <span style="color: #008000;">Tha mi 'nam oileanach</span>. If you translate this literally i.e. ''I am in my student'', then you see why you need <span style="color: #008000;">tha</span> here: it's because ''in my student'' is a prepositional phrase. So it's not an exception, it's just that in this particular construction, Gaelic does not align with English in the way something is expressed at all. Not that it should have to of course but in sentences where you have to decide between these two Gaelic verbs <span style="color: #008000;">bi</span> and <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>, English and Gaelic mostly pattern the same way, I took the liberty of explaining the way this works from the English point of view. It's just easier to work out for most learners at that stage.

@@ Loidhne 36: / Loidhne 36: @@
 The first two are really easy. Look for the subject and verb and then check if the next word. If it's a name or pronoun, case closed:
-*I(S) was(V) '''Hamlet''' » '''Hamlet''' is a name, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>
+*I(S) was(V) '''Hamlet''' » '''Hamlet''' is a name, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>: <span style="color: #008000;">'''Bu''' Hamlet mi.</span>
-*They(S) are(V) '''Jamie, Donalda and Mary''' » ''Jamie, Donalda and Mary'' are names, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>
+*They(S) are(V) '''Jamie, Donalda and Mary''' » ''Jamie, Donalda and Mary'' are names, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>: <span style="color: #008000;">'''’S''' e Seumaidh, Donalda agus Màiri a th’ annta.</span>
-*Frank(S) will be(V) '''me''' » '''me'' is a pronoun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>
+*Frank(S) will be(V) '''me''' » '''me'' is a pronoun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>: <span style="color: #008000;">'''’S''' e mise a bhios ann am Frang</span>
-*Jamila(S) is(V) '''her''' » ''her'' is a pronoun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>
+*Jamila(S) is(V) '''her''' » ''her'' is a pronoun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>: <span style="color: #008000;">'''’S''' e Jamila ise.</span>
 The next case, noun, isn't too hard either. The important thing to remember is to ignore articles (a, an, the), numbers (one, two...) and possessives (my, your, his...):
-*I(S) was(V) '''a teacher''' » we ignore ''a'', ''teacher'' is a noun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>
+*I(S) was(V) '''a teacher''' » we ignore ''a'', ''teacher'' is a noun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>: <span style="color: #008000;">'''Bu''' thidsear mi.</span>
-*They(S) were(V) '''my teachers''' » we ignore ''my'', ''teachers'' is a noun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>
+*They(S) were(V) '''my teachers''' » we ignore ''my'', ''teachers'' is a noun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>: <span style="color: #008000;">'''B’''' iadsan na tidsearan agam.</span>
-*Jamila(S) will be(V) '''two pirates''' » we ignore ''two'', ''pirates'' is a noun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>
+*Jamila(S) will be(V) '''two pirates''' » we ignore ''two'', ''pirates'' is a noun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>: <span style="color: #008000;">'''’S''' e dà spùinneadair-mara a bhios ann an Jamila.</span>
 The last case is a little more tricky because it can be quite long, a noun phrase. But essentially that's a phrase built around a noun. Here's a classic example:
-*This(S) is(V) '''the house that Jack built'''. Technically that whole thing there is the predicate and technically, that makes it a noun phrase rather than just a plain noun. But you can see how it's all piled up on top of ''house'' so that makes it a noun at heart, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>.
+*This(S) is(V) '''the house that Jack built'''. Technically that whole thing there is the predicate and technically, that makes it a noun phrase rather than just a plain noun. But you can see how it's all piled up on top of ''house'' so that makes it a noun at heart, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">is</span>: <span style="color: #008000;">'''’S''' e seo an taigh a thog Jack</span>.
 ==So this excludes...==

@@ Loidhne 59: / Loidhne 59: @@
 ==Anything else?==
-There's a few additional points I'll add at a later point, but in essence, this is it.
+There's a few additional points I'll add at a later point (mainly the exception you get in so-called [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleft_sentence cleft-sentences] like <span style="color: #008000;">bu mhór am beud</span>), but in essence, this is it.
 In case you were wondering, the reason why most other explanations don't work well is because they try to sidestep the issue of what a predicate is. But unfortunately, the question of the nature of the predicate is what determines whether you need <span style="color: #008000;">bi</span> or <span style="color: #008000;">is</span> so there will be plenty of cases where these other workaround rules just don't work.

@@ Loidhne 55: / Loidhne 55: @@
 One important one that is potentially confusing is prepositional phrases. That's a bit of sentence that's built around a noun but starts with a preposition (on, at, through...). Those do not count as nouns or noun phrases, not the way Gaelic looks at it:
 *Donald(S) is(V) '''''on'' the truck''' » even though ''truck'' is a noun, the predicate starts with a preposition, so this does not count as a noun or noun phrase, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">bi</span>.
 ==Anything else?==

@@ Loidhne 56: / Loidhne 56: @@
 *Donald(S) is(V) '''''on'' the truck''' » even though ''truck'' is a noun, the predicate starts with a preposition, so this does not count as a noun or noun phrase, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">bi</span>.
 There's a few additional points I'll add at a later point, but in essence, this is it.
 I've done you a summary as a flow chart (feel free to copy/save/share):

@@ Loidhne 23: / Loidhne 23: @@
 ==Yeah but how does that help me?==
-Patience, I'm setting the scene for an epic showdown, [insert name] and the Two Verbs.
+Patience, I'm setting the scene.
 So when you have verbs like ''learned'', ''decided'' or ''went'', the question of whether you need <span style="color: #008000;">bi</span> or <span style="color: #008000;">is</span> doesn't arise because your main verb will be ''learn'', ''decide'', ''go'' and so on. The conundrum only arises when you run into ''am, are, is, was, were etc''. Don't scoff, this narrows down the number of cases where you have to go hunt for the predicate.

@@ Loidhne 52: / Loidhne 52: @@
 ==So this excludes...==
 Well, most other things, for example adjectives:
-Donalda(S) is(V) '''amazing''' » '''amazing''' is not a name or pronoun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">bi</span>
+*Donalda(S) is(V) '''amazing''' » '''amazing''' is not a name or pronoun, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">bi</span>
 One important one that is potentially confusing is prepositional phrases. That's a bit of sentence that's built around a noun but starts with a preposition (on, at, through...). Those do not count as nouns or noun phrases, not the way Gaelic looks at it:
-Donald(S) is(V) '''''on'' the truck''' » even though '''truck''' is a noun, the predicate starts with a preposition, so this does not count as a noun or noun phrase, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">bi</span>.
+*Donald(S) is(V) '''''on'' the truck''' » even though '''truck''' is a noun, the predicate starts with a preposition, so this does not count as a noun or noun phrase, so we need <span style="color: #008000;">bi</span>.
 There's a few additional points I'll add at a later point, but in essence, this is it.