Language/Breton/Grammar/How-to-Use-Be

Breton Grammar - How to Use "Be"

Hi Breton learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will study how to use "be" in Breton. Like in English and many other languages, "be" is a crucial verb in Breton. We will also learn how to use it in various tenses and moods. But before we start, let's quickly review what we already know.
If you want to improve your Breton Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Present Tense

In Breton, the present tense of "be" can translate to either "am", "are", or "is" in English. Let's see some examples:

Breton	Pronunciation	English
me zo	[me zo]	I am
out a zo	[out a zo]	You are (singular)
ez int o	[ez int o]	They are

Here is a dialogue to illustrate:

• Person 1: Me zo brezhoneger. ([I am a Breton language teacher.])
• Person 2: Me zo studier. ([I am a student.])

You can also use "be" to form the present continuous tense:

Breton	Pronunciation	English
me zo o kas skrid	[me zo o kas skrid]	I am writing
out a zo o klevet	[out a zo o klevet]	You are listening (singular)
ez int o lâret	[ez int o lâret]	They are saying

Here is another dialogue to illustrate:

• Person 1: Me zo o kas skrid. ([I am writing.])
• Person 2: Me zo o lenn testenn. ([I am reading a text.])

Note: the present continuous tense is formed with "be" + "o" + verb-noun.

Past Tense

In Breton, the past tense of "be" can translate to either "was" or "were" in English. Let's see some examples:

Breton	Pronunciation	English
me oa	[me oa]	I was
out a oa	[out a oa]	You were (singular)
ez int oa	[ez int oa]	They were

Here is a dialogue to illustrate:

• Person 1: Me oa er skol vras. ([I was in the big school.])
• Person 2: Me oa er c'hoad. ([I was in the forest.])

You can also use "be" to form the past continuous tense:

Breton	Pronunciation	English
me oa o kas skrid	[me oa o kas skrid]	I was writing
out a oa o klevet	[out a oa o klevet]	You were listening (singular)
ez int oa o lenn	[ez int oa o lenn]	They were reading

Here is another dialogue to illustrate:

• Person 1: Me oa o kas skrid. ([I was writing.])
• Person 2: Me oa o lenn testenn. ([I was reading a text.])

Note: the past continuous tense is formed with "be" + "o" + verb-noun.

Future Tense

In Breton, the future tense of "be" can translate to either "will be" or "shall be" in English. Let's see some examples:

Breton	Pronunciation	English
me vo	[me vo]	I will be
out a vo	[out a vo]	You will be (singular)
ez int vo	[ez int vo]	They will be

Here is a dialogue to illustrate:

• Person 1: Me vo studier. ([I will be a student.])
• Person 2: Me vo labourer. ([I will be a worker.])

You can also use "be" to form the future continuous tense:

Breton	Pronunciation	English
me vo o kas skrid	[me vo o kas skrid]	I will be writing
out a vo o klevet	[out a vo o klevet]	You will be listening (singular)
ez int vo o lenn	[ez int vo o lenn]	They will be reading

Here is another dialogue to illustrate:

• Person 1: Me vo o kas skrid. ([I will be writing.])
• Person 2: Me vo o lenn testenn. ([I will be reading a text.])

Note: the future continuous tense is formed with "be" + "o" + verb-noun.

Imperative Mood

In Breton, the imperative mood of "be" can translate to either "be" or "let's be" in English. Let's see some examples:

Breton	Pronunciation	English
beut eo !! [beut eo] !! Be (singular)
beomp eo !! [beomp eo]	Let's be (plural)

Here is a dialogue to illustrate:

• Person 1: Beut eo mat ! ([Be good!])
• Person 2: Beomp eo dalc'hmat pep tra. ([Let's stay calm.])

Conditional Mood

In Breton, the conditional mood of "be" can translate to "would be" or "should be" in English. Let's see some examples:

Breton	Pronunciation	English
me vefe	[me vefe]	I would be
out a vefe	[out a vefe]	You would be (singular)
ez int vefe	[ez int vefe]	They would be

Here is a dialogue to illustrate:

• Person 1: Me vefe kontant ma veze kaset an aotrou. ([I would be happy if the gentleman was sent.])
• Person 2: Out a vefe komprenet ma voent komz brezhoneg. ([You would understand if they spoke Breton.])

You can also use "be" to form the conditional continuous tense:

Breton	Pronunciation	English
me vefe o kas skrid	[me vefe o kas skrid]	I would be writing
out a vefe o klevet	[out a vefe o klevet]	You would be listening (singular)
ez int vefe o lenn	[ez int vefe o lenn]	They would be reading

Here is another dialogue to illustrate:

• Person 1: Me vefe o kas skrid. ([I would be writing.])
• Person 2: Out a vefe o lenn testenn. ([You would be reading a text.])

Note: the conditional continuous tense is formed with "be" + "o" + verb-noun.

---

➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Other Lessons

• Gender
• Adjectives
• Questions
• Conditional Mood
• Future Tense
• Plurals
• How to Use Have
• Negation
• Give your Opinion

Sources

• Breton grammar - Wikipedia
• Breton Grammar: Hemon, Roparz, Everson, Michael ...
• Breton Grammar