Scottish Gaelic Lesson 7 – Possessives

Please study the following, based on the Gaelic Grammar wiki page:

One of the most interesting things about Gaelic is the way it uses possessives, there are two ways in Gaelic. Some things are “at you” meaning in English, close to you, and other things are the same as in English with a version of my, yours, his etc…

The possessives of My yours his etc are only used in Gaelic if it is something very very close, like a body part, a family member or a quality which is cherished. Everything else is “at you” or “at him”

This topic also introduces certain behaviours like Lenition where “h” is inserted in the word as well as others which we have yet to discuss such as mo becoming M´

Examples

Before words beginning with consonants

  • my foot: mo chas
  • your foot: do chas
  • his foot: a chas
  • her foot: a cas
  • our feet: àr casan
  • your (pl) feet: ùr casan
  • their feet: an casan

Before words beginning with vowels

  • my father: m’athair
  • your father: d’athair
  • his father: athair
  • her father: a h-athair
  • our father: àr n-athair
  • your (pl) father: ùr n-athair
  • their father: an athair

Possessive Pronouns using Aig

To express a less close relationship between the possessor and the possessum, a combination of an article, a noun, and an accordingly inflected preposition, in this order, is used.

  • “An cat agam” translates to “My cat” in English.
    • “An” = “The”“cat” = “cat”“agam” = “at me” (used to indicate possession, meaning “my”)
  • So, in Scottish Gaelic, possession is often expressed using “agam” (literally “at me”), meaning “the cat at me” → “my cat.” Here are more examples of possession using “agam” in Scottish Gaelic:
    1. An cù agam – My dog
    1. An taigh agam – My house
    1. An càr agam – My car
    1. An leabhar agam – My book
    1. An deoch agam – My drink
    1. An obair agam – My work
    1. An seòmar agam – My room
    1. An clann agam – My children
    1. An coimpiutair agam – My computer
    1. An sgian agam – My knife
  • If you want to change the person, you can modify “agam” accordingly:

“Agad” = your (e.g., An cat agad – “Your cat”)

“Aige” = his (e.g., An cat aige – “His cat”)

“Aice” = her (e.g., An cat aice – “Her cat”)

“Againn” = our (e.g., An cat againn – “Our cat”)

“Agaibh” = your (plural/formal) (e.g., An cat agaibh – “Your cat”)

“Aca” = their (e.g., An cat aca – “Their cat”)