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- Lesson 7
Describing locations
Describing Locations
In this lesson you'll learn how to describe locations.
Then you'll be able to say where someone is, whether they're at home, in the kitchen, in the bed or in the school.
But first, you'll take a look at some of the ways in which in the is used.

Variations of 'In the …'
It's san mostly:
san trèana - in the train
san oifis - in the office
san stèisean - in the station
san fhras - in the shower (of rain)
It's sa before b, m, p, c, and g:
sa chidsin - in the kitchen
sa bhùth - in the shop
It's san t- before sl, sn, sr, sa, se, si, so, and su:
san t-sràid - in the street
san t-solas - in the light
The plural abbreviated form is sna or sna h- (before vowels)
sna bùthan - in the shops
sna h-oifisean - in the offices
Grammar Note
Try to remember that Gaelic sometimes uses the where English doesn't. So in Gaelic in France is san Fhraing (literally, in THE France).
In English, you say in church and in school without using the.
But Gaelic uses the definite article, e.g.
san eaglais
in church, (literally, 'in the church')
san sgoil
in school, (literally, 'in the school')
The same happens with dhan eaglais - to church and dhan sgoil - to school.
Grammar Note
Sa and san are short for anns a’ and anns an meaning in the.
Sa is used before words beginning b, m, p, c, g. Otherwise it’s san or san t-.
aig an taigh
at home
sa chidsin
in the kitchen
san taigh
in the house
san leabaidh
in (the) bed
san rùm
in the room
san sgoil
in (the) school
Making Sentences
Now that you’ve learnt new words to talk about locations, it’s time to make some sentences.
You will need the word for he is or it is.

Tha e aig an taigh.
He's at home.
Tha e sa chidsin.
He's in the kitchen.
Tha e san taigh.
He's in the house.
Tha e san leabaidh.
He's in bed.
Tha e san rùm.
He's in the room.
Tha e san sgoil.
He's in school.
Mixing it up!
You know how to ask a question using a bheil e … which means is he or is it?
Now you'll learn how to ask if something is the case starting with A bheil … or to say that something is not with Chan eil …
Then we'll put it all together to make some new sentences!

A bheil dadaidh aig an taigh?
Is daddy at home?
Chan eil an nighean sa chidsin a-nis.
The girl is not in the kitchen now.
Tha am balach mòr san sgoil.
The big boy is in (the) school.
Tha mamaidh san leabaidh.
Mummy is in bed.
A bheil an duine reamhar san taigh?
Is the fat man in the house?
Chan eil am boireannach san rùm bheag.
The woman is not in the little room.
Time to talk!
Great! You’ve learnt six new words that describe location and you know how to say where people are as well as asking about their whereabouts.
Now let’s see if you can understand this conversation between Alasdair and Iain.

Alasdair: Feasgar math, Iain, a bheil dadaidh aig an taigh?
Iain: Chan eil, tha e a-muigh.
Alasdair: A bheil mamaidh a-staigh?
Iain: Chan eil mamaidh gu math. Tha i san leabaidh.
Alasdair: Ò, tha mi duilich. Tìoraidh an-dràsta.
Iain: Tìoraidh.
Extra Vocabulary
Feasgar math.
Good afternoon / evening.
Tha mi duilich.
I am sorry.
Tìoraidh.
Bye.
Gaelic transcript
ALASDAIR: Feasgar math, Iain, a bheil dadaidh aig an taigh?
IAIN: Chan eil, tha e a-muigh.
ALASDAIR: A bheil mamaidh a-staigh?
IAIN: Chan eil mamaidh gu math. Tha i san leabaidh.
ALASDAIR: Ò, tha mi duilich. Tìoraidh an-dràsta.
IAIN: Tìoraidh.
English transcript
ALASDAIR: Good afternoon, Iain, is daddy at home?
IAIN: No, he is outside.
ALASDAIR: Is mummy in / at home?
IAIN: Mummy isn't well. She's in bed.
ALASDAIR: Oh, I'm sorry. Bye for now.
IAIN: Bye.
Time to talk!
Now you'll try Alasdair's role.
The text you should speak will be highlighted in pink.

Alasdair: Feasgar math, Iain, a bheil dadaidh aig an taigh?
Iain: Chan eil, tha e a-muigh.
Alasdair: A bheil mamaidh a-staigh?
Iain: Chan eil mamaidh gu math. Tha i san leabaidh.
Alasdair: Ò, tha mi duilich. Tìoraidh an-dràsta.
Iain: Tìoraidh.
What’s this?
You may find the gap left in the audio for ”your” line is not long enough. Use this control to increase the delay by a set number of seconds. For example, leaving it at zero (the default) will result in the gap being the same length as the audio was in the original dialog. Setting it to ‘2’ will make the gap two seconds longer, and so on.
Extra Vocabulary
Feasgar math.
Good afternoon / evening.
Tha mi duilich.
I am sorry.
Tìoraidh.
Bye.
Gaelic transcript
ALASDAIR: Feasgar math, Iain, a bheil dadaidh aig an taigh?
IAIN: Chan eil, tha e a-muigh.
ALASDAIR: A bheil mamaidh a-staigh?
IAIN: Chan eil mamaidh gu math. Tha i san leabaidh.
ALASDAIR: Ò, tha mi duilich. Tìoraidh an-dràsta.
IAIN: Tìoraidh.
English transcript
ALASDAIR: Good afternoon, Iain, is daddy at home?
IAIN: No, he is outside.
ALASDAIR: Is mummy in / at home?
IAIN: Mummy isn't well. She's in bed.
ALASDAIR: Oh, I'm sorry. Bye for now.
IAIN: Bye.
Alasdair: Feasgar math, Iain, a bheil dadaidh aig an taigh?
Iain: Chan eil, tha e a-muigh.
Alasdair: A bheil mamaidh a-staigh?
Iain: Chan eil mamaidh gu math. Tha i san leabaidh.
Alasdair: Ò, tha mi duilich. Tìoraidh an-dràsta.
Iain: Tìoraidh.
What’s this?
You may find the gap left in the audio for ”your” line is not long enough. Use this control to increase the delay by a set number of seconds. For example, leaving it at zero (the default) will result in the gap being the same length as the audio was in the original dialog. Setting it to ‘2’ will make the gap two seconds longer, and so on.
Extra Vocabulary
Feasgar math.
Good afternoon / evening.
Tha mi duilich.
I am sorry.
Tìoraidh.
Bye.
Gaelic transcript
ALASDAIR: Feasgar math, Iain, a bheil dadaidh aig an taigh?
IAIN: Chan eil, tha e a-muigh.
ALASDAIR: A bheil mamaidh a-staigh?
IAIN: Chan eil mamaidh gu math. Tha i san leabaidh.
ALASDAIR: Ò, tha mi duilich. Tìoraidh an-dràsta.
IAIN: Tìoraidh.
English transcript
ALASDAIR: Good afternoon, Iain, is daddy at home?
IAIN: No, he is outside.
ALASDAIR: Is mummy in / at home?
IAIN: Mummy isn't well. She's in bed.
ALASDAIR: Oh, I'm sorry. Bye for now.
IAIN: Bye.