“ach” on Scots Gaelic-Hungarian dictionary

conj 1. but □ bha e blàth an-dè ach tha e fuar an-diugh it was warm yesterday, but it is cold today □ tha Sine mòr ach tha Màiri beag Jean is big, but Mary’s small 2. rather (in phr. ‘rather than’), other than, unless, yet □ ach (a-mhàin) … except, with the exception of … □ bha e air a h-uile spaid a bhriseadh ach an tè aige fhèin he had broken every spade but / except his own one □ bha e an sin sona ach a bhith na shuidhe ri blàths na grèine there he was, happy just to be sitting in the warmth of the sun □ a bheil e ach na amaideas a bhith a’ smaoineachadh air a leithid? is it just foolishness to be thinking about such a thing? □ note also: bha iad beò ach beag air na bheireadh iad às an talamh they barely existed on what they could get from the earth 3. after a neg verb it may have one of the following meanings: except, with the exception of, beyond, just, simply, mere(ly), only □ chan eil e ach a’ tòiseachadh it’s just beginning □ chan eil agadsa a dhèanamh ach an luamhan seo a tharraing you have just to pull this lever / all you have to do is pull this lever (lit. there is not at you to do but etc.) □ cha robh an còrr air ach sin that’s all there was to it (lit. there was not the rest on it but that) □ chan eil agaibh ach coimhead air you have only to look at it □ ach an-diugh chan eil ann ach gann fichead but nowadays there are a mere twenty □ “Cha do rinn e ach bàsachadh,” thuirt esan “It (e.g. an animal) just died,” he said (lit. it didn’t do [anything] but die i.e. for no apparent reason) □ cha d’fhuair e ach bea- gan sgoile he received only a little schooling (lit. a little of school) □ thuirt iad nach bitheadh de bhathais ach aige fhèin sin fhaighneachd they said that none but he would have the cheek to ask that □ mura robh esan ach dà bhliadhna air fhichead gu dè nach dèanadh e? if he were only twenty-two what wouldn’t he do? □ chan urrainn dhut cànan a bhruidhinn gu math ach nuair a chluinneas tu gu math e you can only speak a language well when you hear it well □ but note also: cha robh an t-àite ach gann space was scarce (lit. space was not but scarce – an emphatic way of expressing this. Cf. the use of ‘just’ / ‘simply’ in English: it was just beautiful, it’s simply gorgeous) 4. ach accompanied by gun means ‘with only’ □ gun ach sgoil thruagh na òige with only a poor education in his youth (lit. without but a poor schooling etc.) □ gun ùidh aige ach na ghnothaichean fhèin with interest only in his own affairs Other idioms: (a) before a vn it may also mean ‘if ’ / ‘provided that’ □ bha e air òrd a chleachdadh ach òrd a bhith aige he would have used a hammer if he had had a hammer / provided he had had a hammer (lit. but a hammer to be at him) (b) before an interr part it may mean ‘so that’ / ‘so that … not’, but note that, in this meaning, ach is a reduced form of feuch (q.v.) □ note also that dh’fheuch is used in some places □ rinn e mòran ach am biodh / dh’fheuch am biodh airgead air a chruinneachadh airson nam bochd he did much so that money might be collected for the poor □ phàigh iad pris mhòr ach am biodh sith agus saorsa againne they paid a great price so that we might have peace and freedom □ … ach an tuig iad dè tha aca ri dhèanamh … so that they (will) understand what they have to do (c) note also: … ged nach biodh ann ach nach robh dòigh eile air a dhearbhadh … if only because there was no other way of proving it (lit. though there would not be in it but that there wasn’t etc.) □ smaoinich e ach* am bu chòir dha cogadh an aghaidh na breith seo he wondered if he should fight against this verdict □ feumaidh sinn ar n- inntinn a dhèanamh suas ach* dè na seòrsaichean sgoiltean a tha (a) dhith oirnn we must make up our minds what kinds of schools we need □ ’s e a th’againn an seo ach* sgeulachdan mun luchd-àiteachaidh ann an Canada what we have here are stories about the settlers in Canada □ in the three examples marked* the ach could easily be omitted, but with a loss of emphasis.