Irish Translation Forum

Go raibh maith 'ad Benjamin. I should know that one.

Bhínn ag obair i nDún Chaoin i gCorca Dhuibhne.

So there's three possible forms then, correct?

At the beginning of a sentence > Corca Dhuibhne.

i eclipses it > i gCorca Dhuibhne.

when preceeded by another word > [ie.] Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne. Is that right?

also go Corca Dhuibhne

So what does Bhí mé ag obair mean literally? Is it just plain wrong or is bhínn simply a more accurate way of expressing something done habitually in the past?

I can't find 'bhínn' on any of those verb conjugator sites.

bhínn = imperfect

bhí mé = past tense

Bhí mé
I was

Danny2007 wrote:So what does Bhí mé ag obair mean literally? Is it just plain wrong or is bhínn simply a more accurate way of expressing something done habitually in the past?

I can't find 'bhínn' on any of those verb conjugator sites.

There's nothing wrong with bhí mé ag obair. It's what I would say myself, even though technically work is habitual by its nature.

I would use the aimsir ghnáthchaite in situations where it might be unclear whether I did something once or habitually.

Nuair a bhí mé óg, bhí slaghdán orm.
When I was young, I had a cold.

Nuair a bhí mé óg, bhíodh slaghdán orm.
When I was young, I [habitually] had a cold.
...but I would generally expect a sentence like this to have a phrase like de ghnáth (habitually) or go minic (often) in it.

Here's a good site to see verbs conjugated in gory detail: http://www.csis.ul.ie/focloir/

Go raibh maith 'ad, a mhwombat.

I'd translate them like this:

Bhínn ag obair = I used to work (i.e. on regular occasions)

Bhí mé ag obair = I was working


Then there's D'oibrigh mé = I worked

That's helpful. At first I thought it was a completely incorrect way of expressing it but there's obviously different ways of going about it.

In this case, bhínn ag obair is most appropriate.

Dia daoibh

Is míse Claire. Tá mé ceithre bliain is triocha d'aois. Is as Doire agus Tír Eoghain mé o dhuchas - Is 'curry half-n-half' mé - ach anois, tá mé i mo chónaí i gcontae Ard Mhacha. Tá mé pósta le beagnach cuig bliain anuas. Tá mé ag obair mar mhuinteoir faoi lathair ach b'fheidir lá éigin...

Thosaigh mé ag foghlaim an bliain seo chaite agus chonaic mé an suíomh seo le deanaí. Ní fhaca mé an thread seo ach inné.
Iontach deas bualadh libh .