Has/have been …
Air a bhith …
We saw air used in two different grammatical structures in the opening passage, and in the example sentences.
These are both used to express aogas (aspect), how an action, a verb, extends over time.
We can express an tràth coileanta (the perfect tense) explicitly as follows:
Ma tha thu air ìre B2 a ruigsinn …
If you have reached B2 level …
Bidh thu air 400 uairean de dh’ionnsachadh a dhèanamh …
You will have done 400 hours of learning …
| Ma tha thu air ìre B2 a ruigsinn … | If you have reached B2 level … |
| Bidh thu air 400 uairean de dh'ionnsachadh a dhèanamh … | You will have done 400 hours of learning … |
We can use air a bhith … with a progressive verbal noun to say 'have been …'.
We use it to express the perfect progressive tense , to say the action, denoted by the verb, refers to an ongoing activity that started in the past and continues into the present:
Feumaidh gu bheil thu air a bhith ag ionnsachadh na Gàidhlig airson greis …
You must have been learning Gaelic for a while …
Tha mi air a bhith a' fuireach ann an Alba fad dà bhliadhna.
I have been living in Scotland for two years.
In Gaelic, the aogas (aspect) of verbs is slightly different.
The simple tenses of the verb have a perfect aspect where they do not in English.
But the use of air + verbal noun makes this more explicit. For example:
Ma ràinig thu ìre B2 …
If you (have) reached B2 level …
Ma tha thu air ìre B2 a ruigsinn …
If you have reached B2 level …
Dh'ionnsaich mi
I learned, I have learned
Tha mi ag ionnsachadh
I am learning
Bha mi ag ionnsachadh
I was learning
Tha mi air Cuimris ionnsachadh
I have learned Welsh
Tha mi air Gàidhlig ionnsachadh
I have learned Gaelic
Bha mi air Fraingis ionnsachadh
I had learned French
Tha mi air a bhith ag ionnsachadh
I have been learning
Bha mi air a bhith ag ionnsachadh
I had been learning