Irish Translation Forum

These things can be tricky. Tá is often used to describe a continuous state, but not a repeated occurrence.

The word riamh implies to me the following meaning: on any occassion - i.e multiple occasions are considered and therefore it is a repeated action necessitating bíonn (ní bhím).

Breandán wrote:The example that comes to my mind, Scooby, is Ní raibh sí ann riamh for "She has never been there" - one continuous state from birth until now.

With the negative it seems clear to me that riamh/not ever refers to one occasion. 'On no one occasion did she visit'. It's different from saying 'She was regularly not there'.

I could easily get confused with this stuff, and maybe I already am! I just go by gut feeling and sometimes I can see an argument for both tá and bíonn.

lets wait on the Poster to clarify what the meaning is ................ there is a case for both.

For "I'm never alone" I mean continuously not by myself and for "I'm alone all the time" I mean continuously alone at all times. Does this help?

kevin45sf wrote:Níl mé riamh i m'aonar
I'm never alone

Bím i m'aonar an t-am ar fad
Táim i m'aonar an t-am ar fad
I'm alone all the time
Which you use may depend on your point of view: the first is a recurring event, the second is more ambiguous

how is the second one ambiguous?

ok just for clarification:

Níl mé i m'aonar riamh
Táim i m'aonar an t-am ar fad


These would work for "I'm never alone, I'm alone all the time"