Learn Scottish Gaelic Lesson 16

Lenition : there are a few particular things to keep in mind. Consonants which always lenite are b, c, f, g, m and p, however the consonants d, t and s don’t usually lenite if the word before them ends in an n, and words beginning with sg, sm, sp and st never lenite.

Lenition for possession
When talking about possession, you need to lenite after using mo (my), do (your) and a (his/her).

Tha mo thaigh faisg air an rathad; thig a-steach!
My house is near the road; come in!

Càit a bheil do thaigh?
Where is your house?

Chan eil Dòmhnall a' fuireach anns a bhaile seo idir, tha a thaigh anns an ath-bhaile
Donald does not live in this town at all, his house is in the next town

Lenition from prepositions
Words following the prepositions à (out of), bho (from), de (of), do (for), fo (under), gun (without), and mar (like) are also lenited:

Tha seann-gharaids gun mhullach ri taobh an taighe
There is an old garage without a roof beside the house

Lenition from adjectives
When describing an object or a person using adjectives such as corra (odd), deagh (good), droch (bad), prìomh (primary), or seann (old), the subject is lenited.

Tha corra bhodach a' coiseachd seachad a h-uile latha
The occasional old man walks past every day

Tha deagh shealladh ann, chì thu an t-Eilean Sgitheanach
There is a good view, you can see the Isle of Skye

Lenition from modifiers
You also lenite most words following common modifiers like fior (true), glè (very), ro (too), and sàr (great).

Tha e glè shàmhach anns a' bhaile seo
It is very quiet in this town

Chan eil e ro fhada bhon bhaile-mhòr
It is not too far from the city

Lenition from numerals
Finally, lenite words following the numerals aon (one), dà (two), and a’ chiad (the first).

Tha aon bhòrd anns a' chidsin
There is one table in the kitchen

Tha dà chù fon bhòrd
There are two dogs under the table


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