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. |
-
possible - micht.
-
having been in the past - hae
/ hiv (emphatic).
hae [he] and
[hɛ] in
southern Scots. Hiv [hɪv,
hʌv] and [hɛv]
in north east central and west central Scots.
-
being in progress rather than as complete
- been.
they
can be negated by adding na.
they
can occur at the beginning of a question.
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.
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.
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 infinitive expresses or is in
the mood that expresses the verbal idea without reference
to person, number or time.
| be |
be |
| can |
can |
| dae |
do |
| daur |
dare |
| hae / hiv* |
have |
| maun |
must |
| sall** |
shall |
| will |
will |
*Emphatic forms
**Probably obsolete replaced by will.
Be for indicates the
sense of 'want'.
A'll no be for that the
nou.
I don't want that at the moment. |
Whit are ye for nou?
What will you have now? |
A'm no for nae mair.
I don't want any more. |
|
In the first person will
indicates simple future.
will ye
be thare? Ay but ye will tho.
Shall you be there? Yes, but
you shall. |
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 finisihed, I shall
be able to go home satisfied. |
In questions will is
used to express 'do you wish me to?'
will A gang an git ane?
Shall I go and get one? |
will A come roond the
morn?
Shall I come around tomorrow? |
Div is an interrogative
and emphatic form of dae.
Div ye hae ony?
Do you have any? |
Div A hae tae come?
Do I have to come? |
Sall 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. |
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. |
|
Permission or ability is expressed
by the infinitive use of can, git
tae and git + 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 git daffin ootby
till aicht in the een.
They are allowed to play outside
until eight in the evening. |
The schuil-bairns gits tae
come ben whan it teems.
The school children are allowed
to come in when it rains heavily. |
In colloquial speech Hae
is often shortened to a after coud,
haed, micht, shoud
and wad.
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. |
- Past and present tense.
| Infinitive |
Present |
Past |
| be |
am
is
are |
am
is
are |
wis
war |
was
were |
| hae / hiv |
haes |
has |
haed* |
had |
| dae* |
dis |
does |
did |
did |
| |
sall |
shall |
shoud su(l)d
** |
should, ought |
| |
will |
will |
wad *** |
would |
| |
can |
can |
coud**** |
could |
| |
maun |
must |
buid |
had to |
| daur |
daurs |
dares |
durst |
dared |
*Haed [hɪd,
hud], [hɛd]
in Perthshire and southern Scots and [hed]
in the north.
**Dae is strictly speaking a ui
word and may (seldomly) be written dui,
Dis may be written daes/duis
and did written daed/duid.
***su(l)d
[sud] is an older form which is still
often used.
The emphatic form of shoud
is often written shid/shud.
****Note: Scots often omits hae
(have) after wad.
*****The emphatic form of could
is often written cud.
Coud
is pronounced [kwɪd]
in many northern dialects.
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 daursay,
it micht hae been waur.
I daresay, it may have been
worse. |
I kent the days
whan less wad serred him.
I knew the days when he would
have been satisfied with less. |
It buid tae be.
It had to be. |
A buid tae gang.
I had to go. |
Wha wad thocht it.
Who would have thought it. |
Bairns shoud haud thair
tongues.
Children should keep quiet. |
Mony o the laums
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. |
Plural subject nouns combine with
is and wis.
Wis may replace war but
not conversely. Scots usually uses we are
and thay are.
After a sibilated consonant the full form of is
is used.
Is can however be abreviated to 's.
The windaes wis aw steekit.
The windows were all closed. |
Is thae yours?
Are those yours? |
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.
Those 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 laums is
oot in the pairk.
The lambs are out in the field. |
In the singular and plural the past
tense of the auxiliary verb be is usually
wis or war. Except before
or after 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? |
We wis gaun hame.
We were going home. |
Beasts wis cheaper than.
Cattle were cheaper then. |
War thay baith thare?
Were both of them there? |
Thay war baith ben the
hoose.
Both of them were in the house. |
Apostrophe abreviations.
Nowadays only the shorter versions exist. These are
not often used in written Scots.
The'r equivalent to
'there is' or 'there are.'
Are the? equivalent to 'is there?' or
'are there?'
The war equivalent to 'there was.'
War the? equivalent to 'was there?'
Ance the war a man.
Once there was a man. |
Are the mony mair o yer
kin?
Are there many more of your
sort? |
Are the onybody in?
Is there anyone in? |
The'r no nae time at
nicht.
There's no time at night. |
The'r a
man doun thare.
There's a man down there. |
The warna
hauf sae muckle dichtin duin than.
There wasn't half as much cleaning
done then. |
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
scathie.
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 uisst tae coud soum
faur, but no the nou.
They used to be able to swim
far, but not now. |
Ulster Scots still uses the older
present habitual be [bi:]
and bes [bi:z]
for a state of being that extends over a period of
time.
It dis be rainin here
aft.
It often rains here. |
Thay be playin fitbaw
on Seturday.
They play football on Seturday. |
We be fae Coleraine.
We are from Coleraine. |
She bes wirkin in Belfast
the nou.
She is now working in Belfast. |
Burns Nicht dis 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. |
- Negative infinitive.
The auxiliary verbs are usually negated
by affixing na. Some change their spelling
and / or pronounciation in the process.
| Infinitive |
|
|
| be |
binna |
be not |
| can |
canna |
can't |
| dae |
dinna* |
don't |
| daur |
daurna |
daren't |
| hae |
hinna* |
haven't |
| maun |
maunna |
mustn't |
| sall** |
sanna |
shan't |
| will |
winna |
won't |
*Dinna and hinna
may be written Daena and haena.
Divna is an emphatic and
interrogative form of dinna.
Note disna and haesna
which may be written daesna and hisna.
** probably obsolete. Replaced by will
and winna.
These 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 hinna ony ingans.
I havn't any onions. |
A dinna 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 dinna
is often shortened to di'
[de] and canna to
ca' [ka].
Di' dae that.
Don't do that. |
A di' 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
is
are |
amna
isna
arna |
am not
isn't
aren't |
| haes |
haesna |
hasn't |
| dis |
disna* |
doesn't |
*Disna may be written
daesna.
Haes [hez,
hɛz, hɪz, hʌs].
A amna gaun hame acause
she isna comin wi's an you arna
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 disna 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
war |
wisna
warna |
wasn't
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 |
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 bear 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 emphatic and 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? |
Dinna 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? |
|
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? |
