gu

prep. To, towards. Cuiridh mi litir thugad, I will send a letter to you; thuige is bhuaithe, to and fro; gu fichead, to twenty. [Governs dative case]. Gu is generally omitted in Argyllshire when speaking of the cardinal points, as tha mi a' falbh an iar, I am going (to the) West; tha mi a' sealltainn deas, I am looking toward the South; but in Skye and the North the gu is generally inserted, as, tha mi dol gu deas, I am going to the South. In Gairloch, Lochalsh & Lochbroom they say “a' dol gu deas” and “gu tuath,” but “a' dol an ear agus an iar (gu pronounced dho). Gu in these cases is not good idiom; gu implies reaching your destination, but you can never reach the N, S, E or W. It may be mentioned here, under gu, that a strange effect of the migrations from the south side of the Moray Firth is heard in a common English expression among the people of E. Ross generally where they use such comical phrases as, I am going West to the kitchen, I am going East to the room — but the place indicated as East is often almost due North. [In certain districts of Perthshire all places are either East or West]. This disappearance of to in English when speaking of the cardinal points is worth noting. At first sight it appears as though the Gaelic idiom of the South had been translated into the English of the North, but the English idiom has really no connection with Gaelic.
Gu is used locally in Suth'd in place of the usual a before infinitives, as, gu àrach an anma, to nourish their souls.
Gu seilg nan sliabh, to the mountain-chase; gu crìch mo shaoghail, to my life's end; air dol gu neoni, gone to nothing; gu latha bràth, forever; bliadhna gu leth, a year and a half. Gu here does not mean to, but is a remnant of con, with, and is only found in a few sentences, as, “bliadhna gu leth,” “gu Mac 'Ic Alastair 's Lochial.”]
When gu comes before an adjective, the adj. is translated into English as an adverb, as, math, good, gu math, well; buileach, effectual, gu buileach, effectually. Armstrong says “Gu has often a similar effect on a substantive, as, beachd, observation, gu beachd, clearly; dearbh, proof, gu dearbh, truly, indeed,” but both words are adjectives — “gu beachd” is an Irishism in the psalms, “beachd” being an adjective in Irish. Chì thu thugad e, 's chan fheàirrd thu agad e, you'll see it coming to you and you'll be none the better when you have got it.

Seall an duilleag thùsail / View Original Page