91Èȱ¬

CRIOMAG: John Neil Dòmhnallach (Smuain na Maidne: Lincoln agus Attlee)

1. CHO ____ IS A... | ‘how ____’

John Neil:
“Ach an rud (a) tha inntinneach mun dithis seo, se cho iriseal is a bha iad.”
“The thing that’s interesting about these two is how modest they were.”
“Tro ùine, dh’aithnich na daoine a bhiodh a’ cur sìos orra cho comasach is a bha iad.”
“In time, the people who used to put them down realised how competent they were.”

‘SO small’ CHO beag
cho iriseal, cho comasach, cho beag, cho bitheanta... ‘so modest’, ‘so able’, ‘so wee’, ‘so common/frequent’
(1) Tha iad cho iriseal. ‘They’re so modest.’
(2) Cha robh fhios agam gu robh iad cho beag. ‘I didn’t know they were so small.’
(3) Chan eil na feòragan ruadh cho bitheanta. ‘The red squirrels aren’t so common.’

‘HOW small’ CHO beag is a...
(1) Chuir e iongnadh orm cho iriseal is a bha iad. ‘I was surprised how humble they were.’
(2) Seall cho beag is a tha iad. ‘Look how small they are.’
(3) Cha chreideadh tu cho bitheanta is a bhios na sionnaich a’ tighinn dhan ghàrradh, no cho faisg is a thig iad.
‘You wouldn’t believe how frequently the foxes come into the garden, or how close they come up.’

‘HOW small?’ DÈ CHO beag?
(1) Dè cho beag is a tha na h-iseanan? ‘How small are the chicks?’
(2) Dè cho iriseal is a bha an ceann-suidhe Lincoln? ‘How modest was President Lincoln?’
(3) Dè cho comasach is a tha an sgioba ùr? ‘How competent is the new team?
(4) Dè cho bitheanta is a tha feòragan ruadh san sgìre seo? ‘How common are red squirrels in this district?’

+ FAIC PRÒGRAM 5.

2. AS FHEÀRR, NAS FHEÀRR: ‘BEST, BETTER’

John Neil:
“Ris a’ cheist ‘Cò an ceannard as fheàrr a bha riamh aig na Staitean Aonaichte’, chanadh cha mhòr eòlaiche sam bith “Abraham Lincoln.”
“To the question ‘Who’s the best leader the United States ever had?’, almost any expert would say Abraham Lincoln.”
“Ris a’ cheist ‘Cò am prìomhaire as fheàrr a bha riamh againn ann am Breatainn?’, chan eil e buileach cho furasta a’ cheist a fhreagairt – ach chanadh cuid de eòlaichean gum b’ e Clement Attlee an duine as fheàrr.”
“To the question ‘Who’s the best Prime Minister we’ve ever had in Britain?’, it’s not quite so easy to answer the question – but some experts would say Clement Attlee was the best one.”
“Chuir an dithis aca suas ri magadh agus càineadh bho dhaoine a bha mun cuairt orra a bha smaointinn gu robh iad nas fheàrr na iad.”
“The two of them put up with ridicule and criticism from people around them who thought they were better than them.”

(The) best, (the) worst: AS FHEÀRR, AS MIOSA

‘The best President’: an ceann-suidhe as fheàrr
‘The worst prime minister’: am prìomhaire as miosa
(1) Cò an duine as fheàrr airson seo a dhèanamh? ‘Who’s the best person for doing this?’
(2) Dè an rud as miosa ma dheidhinn? ‘What’s the worst thing about it?’

Better (than), Worse (than): NAS FHEÀRR (na), NAS MIOSA (na)

(1) An do rinn duine sam bith nas fheàrr na an-uiridh? ‘Did anybody do better than last year?’
(2) Chan eil càil nas miosa na colaidh fuar. ‘There’s nothing worse than cold cauliflower.’

Cuideachd:

Biggest, bigger: AS MOTHA, NAS MOTHA

(1) ’Se an aimsir an duilgheadas as motha a bhios romhainn. ‘The weather will be the biggest problem facing us.’
(2) Tha an cat seo nas motha na an cù agam! ‘This cat is bigger than my dog!’

Smallest, smaller: AS LUGHA, NAS LUGHA / AS BIGE, NAS BIGE

(1) Cò as lugha / as bige den triùir agaibh? ‘Who’s the smallest of you three?’
(2) Tha am flat agam nas lugha / nas bige na an seòmar-suidhe aca. ‘My flat is smaller than their living-room.’

+ FAIC PRÒGRAM 3.

3. NA THA DE... | ‘The amount of...’, ‘all the...’

CRIOMAG 1: Calina agus Dòmhnall Dòmhnallach (Prògram Choinnich)
Calina:
“Chan urrainn nach robh tòrr uisge ann, gu leòr uisge ann airson na bha de shluagh, de dhaoine a bha fuireach anns a ghleann tha seo aig an aon àm.”
“There must have been plenty water, enough water for the size of population, for all the people who lived in this glen at one time.”

CRIOMAG 2: Agnes Rennie (Prògram Choinnich)
Agnes:
“Dh’ainmich thu na tha de bhoireannaich ann an suidheachadh far a bheil iad bhos cionn bhuidheannan, bhos cionn partaidhean poilitigeach agus a’ riaghladh ann an diofar seòrsan.
“You mentioned the amount of women there are (all the women there are) in a situation where they’re running (‘above’) organisations, leading (‘above’) political parties, and governing in different kinds of ways.”

NA (bha) DE... ‘what amount there (was) of...’, ‘all the...’

(FAIC PRÒGRAM 5.)