Wir Ain Leed - Auxiliary and Modal Verbs

Auxiliary and Modal Verbs

Auxiliary verbs may best be explained by using the following sentence as an example:

Andro micht hae been biggin a bield.
Andrew may have been building a shelter.

biggin is the main verb conveying the major bits of meaning in the sentence. Auxiliary verbs add bits of meaning onto the main verb biggin the action may then be presented as:

possible - micht.
having been in the past - hae / hiv (emphatic).
hae [he] and [hɛ] in southern Scots, also hiv [hɪv, hʌv] and [hɛv] in north east central and west central Scots. Contracted to 'v.
being in progress rather than as complete - been.

Auxiliary verbs have two important properties:

they can be negated by adding na.
they can occur at the beginning of a question.

All auxiliary verbs are modal verbs except be, dae and hae. Modal verbs cannot act alone as the main verb in a sentence. Modal verbs indicate whether an event or state is possible or necessary or whether a desire to do something is being expressed. These verbs have:

no in ending.
no s ending.
the general properties of auxiliary verbs.

In Scots the auxiliary verbs, and their moods and tenses, are much the same as they are in Standard English except that:

They are rarely used in the subjunctive mood (the mood expresses the mode or manner of an action or of a state of being), the indicative (the mood of the verb that expresses fact) is preferred in its place.

Subjunctive A wiss (that) his threap war soonder.

Indicative I wiss (that) his threap wis soonder.

The active infinitive (the subject of the verb is the doer of the action, the verbal idea being expressed without reference to person, number or time) is used in preference to the passive infinitive (the subject is the person or thing that sustains, rather than performs the action of the verb, the verbal idea once again being expressed without reference to person, number or time).

active infinitive passive infinitive

He's no tae lippen til. He's not to be trusted.

Is this hoose tae lat? Is this house to be let?

The present participle (in or of the present tense) with the verb tae be (to be) is frequently used.

A'm thinkin.
I imagine. A'm no sayin that.
I won't say that. A'm no carin.
I don't care.

The auxiliary verbs are:

Infinitie Present Past

be be is is wis was

hae, hiv have haes has haed had

can can coud could

mey may micht might

maun must buid had to

need need needit needed

will will wad would

sall* shall shoud should

dae do daes does did did

daur dare daurs dares daured dared

*Largely obsolete, replaced by will.

He coud hae gien ye scotch. He could have given you scotch.
Ye wad thocht he haed duin it. You would have thought he had done it.
A daur say, it micht hae been waur. I daresay, it may have been worse.
It buid tae be. It had to be.	A buid tae gang. I had to go.
Bairns shoud haud thair tongues. Children should keep quiet.
Mony o the lamms haes dee'd. Many of the lambs have died.
Ye shoud learn tae leuk afore ye lowp. You should learn to look before you leap.
A coud hae telt ye that. I could of told you that.	Me an him haes haed a gemme. He and I have had a game.

The present and past tense of the auxiliary verb be.
After a single pronoun:

1st person singular: am
3rd person singular: is
Plural in all persons: are

The plural present: is, after any subject except after the singular pronouns we, ye/you, thay where it is usually we are or we're etc.
The plural present of hae is haes except after the singular pronouns we etc. where it is usually we hae, we hiv or we'v etc.
The past tense is generally wis in the singular and plural except after the pronoun thay where it is usually thay war, although thay wis may also occur.

The windaes wis aw steekit.
The windows were all closed.

We wis aw asleep.
We were all asleep. That'll be aw for nou.
That will be all for now.

Me an him's no chief.
Him and I are not on friendly terms. Thir's bonnie flouers.
These are pretty flowers.

That's fine nowt.
Those are fine cattle. The swallaes is come.
The swallows have come.

Thaim that comes first's first serred.
Those who come first are served first.

The lamms is oot in the pairk.
The lambs are out in the field.

We wis gaun hame.
We were going home. Beasts wis cheaper than.
Cattle were cheaper then.

Thay war baith ben the hoose.
Both of them were in the house.

Usage of the present and past tense.

Be for indicates the sense of 'want'.

A'll no be for that the nou.
I don't want that at the moment. A'm no for nae mair.
I don't want any more.

The present habitual be [bi:, be:, bɪ] and bes [bi:s, be:s, bɪs], used for a state of being that extends over a period of time, is highly recessive but still occurs in Ulster Scots.

It daes be rainin here aft.
It often rains here.

Thay be playin fitbaw on Seturday.
They play football on Saturday.

We be frae Coleraine.
We are from Coleraine.

She bes wirkin in Belfast the nou.
She is now working in Belfast.

Burns Nicht daes be celebrate in Ulster.
Burns Night is celebrated in Ulster.

Fish bes selt at the mercat ilka Friday.
Fish are sold at the market every friday.

We bes at the dancin ilka Seturday.
We go dancing every Saturday.

In colloquial speech hae is often omitted after wad and shortened to 'a' after coud, haed, micht, shoud and wad.

Wha wad (hae) thocht it.
Who would have thought it.

I kent the days whan less wad (hae) serred him.
I knew the days when he would have been satisfied with less.

He coud 'a' duin it.
He could have done it. A wad 'a' haed tae dae't.
I would have had to do it.

A wad 'a' coud 'a' duin it.
I would have been able to have done it.

Permission or ability is expressed by the infinitive use of can, get tae and get + gerund.

A'll no can gang the morn.
I won't be able to go tomorrow.

Ye can hae the day aff the morn.
You may have the day off tomorrow.

Thay gat gaun til the gemme.
They were allowed to go to the match.

Thay get daffin ootby till aicht in the e'en.
They are allowed to play outside until eight in the evening.

The schuil-bairns gets tae come ben whan it teems.
The school children are allowed to come in when it rains heavily.

Maun only expresses the conclusive meaning. Obligation is expressed by hae tae and need tae.

Ye maun gang hame.
You must go home.
(It is time to ...) Ye maun be forfochten.
You must be exhausted.
(judging by your appearance)

Ye maun speir anent the job by nine.
You must inquire about the job by nine.
(Otherwise someone else will get it.)

A hae tae tak the kye oot.
I must take the cows out(side).

Ye need tae pent the hoose.
You must paint the house. A hiv tae gang tae ma wark.
I must go to work.

A need tae caw ma grannie.
I must call grandmother. She'll hae tae can lauch.
She must be able to laugh.

A hae tae dae't nou.
I must to do it now.

Will is generally used where Standard English has 'shall' or 'should', except where shoud is used in the sense of 'aught to'.

In the first person will indicates simple future.

A'll gie ye't.
I'll give it to you. A will dae that.
I shall do that. A'll daur him dae't.
I'll dare him to do it.

Will is also used to indicate supposition.

A see a body will hae been speakin wi ye.
I see someone has been speaking to you.

That's duin, A will can gang awa hame saitisfee'd.
That is finished, I shall be able to go home satisfied.

Sall, now generally replaced by will, indicates an intention. Sall is often shortened to s' [z] (often illogically written 'se).

A s' wad.
I will wager. A s' gie ye ma warrandice
I'll give you my guarantee. A s' uphaud.
I will uphold.

Ye s' no be here - A s' aye be thare.
You will not be here - I will still be there.

South of the Forth, Scots uses many double modal constructions.

He micht can come the morn.
He may be able to come tomorrow.

He micht coud dae't.
He may be able to do it. (in the future)

A shoud can mend the skathie.
I ought to be able to repair the fence.

She'll can tent the bairn.
She'll be able to look after the child.

He'll hae tae coud dae't.
He'll have to be able to do it. (in the future)

He shoud coud tak it wi him.
He ought to be able to take it with him. (in the future)

The lad maun coud muck the byre.
The lad should be able to clean the cow shed. (condition)

The horse maun can hurl the cairt.
The horse can surely pull the cart.

Ilka bairn in the toun will can say that.
Every child in town ought to be able to say that.

She wad coud milk the kye gin she ettelt.
She would be be able to milk the cows if she tried.

Thay uised tae coud soum faur, but no the nou.
They used to be able to swim far, but not now.

Negating the infinitive.

The auxiliary verbs are usually negated by affixing na. Some change their spelling and/or pronunciation in the process.

Infinitive

be binna be not, don't be

can canna can't

dae daena* don't

daur daurna*** daren't

hae haena* haven't

maun maunna mustn't

need needna needn't

sall** sanna shan't

will winna won't

*Daena and haena may be written dinna and hinna.
** probably obsolete. Replaced by will and winna.
***The negation of daur is daurna or durstna, the former usually in the sense of a 'dare' and the latter usually in the sense of a 'challenge' or 'venture'.

Those usually occur:

In all persons of the plural except immediately following a personal pronoun.
Where the subject is a plural noun.
Where the plural pronoun is separated from the verb by some other word or words.

See The verb ending s.

Binna feart.
Don't be scared. A haena ony ingans.
I haven't any onions.

A daena ken yer brither.
I don't know your brother. Ye maunna gang.
You mustn't go.

He winna skelp the wean.
He won't slap the child. A daurna tell.
I daren't tell.

He maunna tak mair aiples.
He mustn't take more apples.

She sanna wash the fluir.
She has no intention to wash the floor.

He daurna tell her he wis on the bash.
He daren't tell her he was on a drinking bout.

He canna heeze thon muckle stane.
He can't lift that large stone (over there).

In colloquial speech daena is often shortened to dae' [de] and canna to ca' [ka].

Dae' dae that.
Don't do that. A dae' ken wha it wis.
I don't know who it was.

He ca' tell ye whaur it is.
He can't tell you where it is. A ca' dae that.
I can't do that.

Negative present.

Present

am
amna am not

is isna isn't

are arena aren't

haes haesna hasn't

daes daesna doesn't

Note daesna may be written disna.

A amna gaun hame acause she isna comin wi's an you arena helpin ava.
I am not going home because she isn't coming with me and you aren't helping at all.

She haesna seen him an he daesna ken whaur he's at.
She hasn't seen him and he doesn't know where he is.

Am and are usually take the full form of the adverb.

A'm no weel.
I'm not well. Ye're no blate.
You're not shy.

Negative past.

Past

wis wisna wasn't

war warna weren't

haed haedna hadn't

did didna didn't

shoud shoudna shouldn't

wad wadna wouldn't

coud coudna couldn't

micht michtna mightn't

The past tense wisna is generally used in the singular and plural except before or after the pronoun thay where it is usually thay warna, although thay wisna may also occur.

A wisna gaun tae big a hoose in the winter an thay warna gaun tae gie's a haund.
I wasn't going to build a house in winter and they weren't going to help me.

Daena speir at him he michtna ken whaur't is.
Don't ask him he mightn't know where it is.

A haedna gien the seetiation muckle thocht.
I hadn't given the situation much thought.

His new sark didna ser.
His new shirt didn't fit. He shoudna fash hissel.
He ought not annoy himself.

He wadna come.
He wouldn't come. A wadna eat it gin ye peyed me.
I wouldn't eat it if you payed me.

A coudna say a hott aboot it.
I couldn't say anything about it. A coudna beir tae think on it.
I couldn't bear to think of it.

A coudna dae't.
I couldn't do it. A michtna hae tae.
I mightn't have to.

Interrogative sentences (questions) usually begin with one of the auxiliary verbs followed by the subject unless they begin with an interrogative pronoun or adverb.

Div is an interrogative form of dae.

Am A no richt?
Am I not right? Are ye siccar?
Are you sure? Wha did ye see?
Who did you see?

Daena ye ken?
Don't you know? Div ye no ken?
Don't you know? Canna ye come?
Can't you come?

Can ye no come?
Can't you come? Wad ye like a bittock?
Would you like a bit? Is thae yours?
Are those yours?

The affirmative answer is ay and the negative answer is na or nae, or colloquial naw.

D'ye want an ice? Ay thanks!
Would you like an ice cream? Yes please!

D'ye want yer heid duntit? Nae!
Would you like your head bashed? No!

D'ye ken whaur Rab is? Na.
Do you know where Robert is? No.

If no auxiliary verb is used, the sentence may begin with a verb.

Think ye sae?
Do you think so? Cam ye by Fawkirk?
Did you come past Falkirk?

Whaur haurd ye that?
Where did you hear that? Whaur gat ye yer schuilin?
Where did you go to school?

In questions will is used to express 'do you wish me to?'

Will A gang an get ane?
Shall I go and get one? Will A come roond the morn?
Shall I come around tomorrow?

In the first person will indicates simple future.

Will ye be thare? Ay but ye will tho.
Will you be there? Yes, but you shall.

In the singular and plural the past tense of the auxiliary verb be may be wis or war. Except before the pronoun thay where it is usually war.

Ye wis thare, wis ye no?
You were there, were you not? Whaur wis ye gaun?
Where were you going?

War thay baith thare?
Were both of them there?

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