+ see lesson content

It wasn’t the worst

Cha b' e a b' uabhasaiche

Remember not all the verbs in a sentence have to be in the same tense.

But when we are asking about something in the past, the comparative or superlative adjective should match the tense being asked about.

If we want to ask what was fastest we need to use a bu luaithe:

An e an trèana a bu luaithe nuair a bha thu san Eadailt?

Is it the train that was fastest when you were in Italy?

Am b' e an trèana a bu luaithe nuair a bha thu san Eadailt?

Was it the train that was fastest when you were in Italy?

Just as in English, we can ask An e (Is it) or Am b' e (was it), with a verb in the past tense:

Am b' e sin an càr a bu mhotha a cheannaich thu?

Was that the biggest car you bought?

We also do this with the conditional tense:

… nach biodh e oidhche na b' fhaide air thalamh | … that he wouldn't be a night longer on earth

Fill in the blanks in these sentences with the adjective in the past or conditional tense and then translate into English:

Bhiodh iad fada nam biodh iad air dram a ghabhail.	misneachail
Bha daoine mus robh biadh luath is suiteas ann.	fallain
Am biomaid dheth nam biodh coimhearsnachdan againn?	math, làidir
Cheannaicheadh iad a' chèic a chitheadh iad.	mòr
B' e siud an latha den gheamhradh.	dona

Ciamar a chaidh dhut? Seo dhut na freagairtean!

Bhiodh iad fada na bu mhisneachaile nam biodh iad air dram a ghabhail.

They would be much more confident if they had taken a dram.

Bha daoine na b' fhallaine mus robh biadh luath is suiteas ann.

People were much healthier before fast food and sweets.

Am biomaid na b' fheàrr dheth nam biodh coimhearsnachdan na bu làidire againn?

Would we be better off if we had stronger communities?

Cheannaicheadh iad a' chèic a bu mhotha a chitheadh iad.

They would buy the biggest cake they would see.

B' e siud an latha a bu mhiosa den gheamhradh.

That was the worst day of the winter.

Complete this table with the four forms of each adjective.

We've put the first row in for you to give you a head start.

Ciamar a chaidh dhut? Seo dhut na freagairtean!