Dedicated to the Gaelic Language of the Isle of Man
Lessoonyn Meanagh

Intermediate Lessons

lesson 4: C'raad t'ou cummal? - Where do you live?

After introducing yourself and getting to know who you are talking to you, you might want to find out where they are from.

C'raad t'ou cummal? Where do you live? C'raad t'ou cummal? [C'raad t'ou cummal?] ---------- C'raad t'ou cummal?

'C'raad?' is the question 'Where?' in Manx and 'cummal' means both the verb for residing or living in, and is also the noun for a dwelling, a place of residence. You may have seen it used in house names: Cummal beg means small dwelling, for example. C'raad t'ou cummal? Where do you live? C'raad t'ou cummal? [C'raad t'ou cummal?] ---------- C'raad t'ou cummal?

C'raad t'ou cummal?

Balleychashtal. C'raad t'ou cummal?

Doolish.

Again, we can make our reply a little bit longer. Ta mee cummal means I live or I am living. Ta mee cummal. And 'ayns' means 'in'. Ayns. Ta mee cummal ayns Ellan Vannin. I live in the Isle of Man. Ta mee cummal ayns Ellan Vannin. [Ta mee cummal ayns Ellan Vannin] ---------- Ta mee cummal ayns Ellan Vannin.

On buses and on the welcome signs, you may have seen that Doolish is the Manx for Douglas. If you live in Douglas, you can say, Ta mee cummal ayns Doolish - I live in Douglas – Ta mee cummal ayns Doolish. [Ta mee cummal ayns Doolish.] ---------- Ta mee cummal ayns Doolish.

I could ask a question here: Vel oo cummal ayns Doolish? - Do you live in Douglas? Vel oo cummal ayns Doolish? [Vel oo cummal ayns Doolish?] ---------- Vel oo cummal ayns Doolish?

The answer may be Cha nel, meaning I don't live there – Cha nel; or ta, meaning I do live there, ta. Vel oo cummal ayns Doolish?

Cha nel. Vel oo cummal ayns Balleychashtal?

Ta. Ta mee cummal ayns Balleychashtal. So the question was, Vel oo cummal ayns Balleychashtal? Are you living in Castletown? And the answer I gave was Ta, I am, Ta mee cummal ayns Balleychashtal, I do live in Castletown.

How about if you wanted to find out where he lives? Well, then it's: C'raad t'eh cummal? Where does he live? Where's he living? C'raad t'eh cummal. [C'raad t'eh cummal?] ---------- C'raad t'eh cummal?

T'eh cummal ayns Purt ny h-Inshey.

Gura mie ayd. Thank you. Gura mie ayd. So T'eh cummal ayns Purt ny h-Inshey, he lives in Peel. If you wanted to find out where she lives, then it's: C'raad t'ee cummal? Where does she live? Where's she living? C'raad t'ee cummal? [C'raad t'ee cummal?] ---------- C'raad t'ee cummal?

T'ee cummal ayns Rhumsaa.

Gura mie ayd. T'ee cummal ayns Rhumsaa. She lives in Ramsey. T'ee cummal ayns Rhumsaa.

Let's mention our friends Juan and Mary in the conversation now. Fastyr mie, Chris. Kys t'ou?

Ta mee braew, gura mie ayd. As oo hene?

Braew braew, gura mie ayd. C'raad t'ou cummal?

Ta mee cummal ayns Purt Çhiarn. As oo hene? C'raad t'ou cummal?

Ta mee cummal ayns Skyll' Andreays. Quoi eshyn?

Ta'n ennym er Juan.

C'raad t'eh cummal?

T'eh cummal ayns Doolish. Quoi ish?

Ta'n ennym urree Mary.

C'raad t'ee cummal?

T'ee cummal ayns Rhumsaa.

S'mie shen.

S'mie shen - that's good. S'mie shen. [S'mie shen.] ---------- s'mie shen.

To ask does he or she live somewhere, then we say the following:

Vel eh cummal ayns Purt le Moirrey? - Does he live in Port St Mary? Vel eh cummal ayns Purt le Moirrey?

Cha nel. T'eh cummal ayns Doolish. He doesn't. He lives in Douglas. Cha nel. T'eh cummal ayns Doolish.

Vel ee cummal ayns Rhumsaa? - Does she live in Ramsey? Vel ee cummal ayns Rhumsaa?

Ta, t'ee cummal ayns Rhumsaa. She does, she lives in Ramsey. Ta, t'ee cummal ayns Rhumsaa.

Let's have a look at the verb, 'to be', here. We've used 'ta mee', 'I am' – ta mee braew; ta mee goll as gaccan; ta mee cummal ayns Doolish.

We've use 't'ou', 'you are' - Kys t'ou? The question word, Kys? expresses the question here, so 't'ou' means 'you are', 't'ou' [t'ou] ---------- t'ou.

We've used 't'ee', 'she is' in 't'ee cummal ayns Rhumsaa', and similarly 't'eh', 'he is', in t'eh cummal ayns Doolish.

We could also say T'ee braew, she's fine. [T'ee braew.] ---------- T'ee braew.

T'ou cummal ayns Laksaa. You live in Laxey. [T'ou cummal ayns Laksaa.] ---------- T'ou cummal ayns Laksaa.

T'eh castreycair, he's middlin. [T'eh castreycair.] ---------- T'eh castreycair.

T'ou goll as gaccan, you're going and grumbling. [T'ou goll as gaccan.] ---------- T'ou goll as gaccan.

We can use those verbs separately. Ta mee goll, I'm going. [Ta mee goll.] ---------- Ta mee goll.

T'ou gaccan, you're grumbling. [T'ou gaccan.] ---------- T'ou gaccan.

As we've also seen, the question form of the verb is 'vel?'. We've asked 'vel oo?', 'are you?'

Vel oo cummal ayns Skylley Vreeshey? Do you live in Kirk Bride? [Vel oo cummal ayns Skylley Vreeshey?] ---------- Vel oo cummal ayns Skylley Vreeshey?

We've asked, Vel eh cummal ayns Doolish? Is he living in Douglas? [Vel eh cummal ayns Doolish?] ---------- Vel eh cummal ayns Doolish?

We could also ask: Vel ee gaccan? Is she grumbling? [Vel ee gaccan?] ---------- Vel ee gaccan?

Vel eh mie dy liooar? Is he well enough? [Vel eh mie dy liooar?] ---------- Vel eh mie dy liooar?

Agh shen eh nish veih lessoon kiare, but that's it now from lesson four.

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