Parliamo
Scots
Soutar Davie
Verbal Forms
PRESENT PARTICIPLES
The present participle
is usually formed by adding –in to the infinitive. So we have;
be-in, daein, follaein, gaein, giein, haein, blawin, cawin, fawin, graenin,
hurlin, plowterin, reddin, staupin, thraetenin, waukenin, etc.
A distinction was made in Middle Scots between present participles which
were made by adding -an or –and to the infintive, and
verbal nouns ending in –in. This distinction was revived in
writing under the influence of the Scots Style Sheet published in 1947,
but this practice now seems odd, since it serves no useful purpose.
Present participles are sometimes used to construct qualified nouns. For
example, we have: beilin-lump, fechtin-laid, gangin fuit,
greitin-meetin, killin-houss, lauchin-turn, ludgin-houss, fechtin-laid,
rinnin-laid, settlin-gress, etc.
In forming the present
participles of verbs ending in –il, such as, ettil, hirpil,
warsil, ‘i’ may be dropped to give: ettlin, hirplin, etc.
VERBAL NOUNS
The ending, -in, is used also for verbal nouns. For example, in
biggin, bygaein, dounsittin, flittin, flytin, skelpit-letherin, spittin,
waddin, etc.
Ye coud aye gang in an pey Gran a veisit i the
bygaein.
He feinisht fower
plates o kail at the ae dounsittin.
It’s an awfie hatter aye, a flittin!
Yon bairn is shuirlie wurkin on for a
skelpit-letherin.
Ah canna byde ti see a spittin fylin the causie.
Ah dout Ah’m no richt buskit for a waddin. |
