Sunday, 18 January 2015

Learn Late Cornish Bit by Bit 38 (How you are 1)

How you are

The construction above using the preposition gen with, to indicate having something, comes into use in talking about health. It is often used in response to the conversational question:

Fatla gena whei?              How are you? How is it with you? (formal)
Fatla genes?                      How are you? How is it with you? (familiar)

Ma drog pedn genam.       I have a headache. (There is head pain with me.)  
Ma drog keyn genam.       I have a backache. (There is back pain with me.)  
Ma drog dens genam.       I have a toothache. (There is teeth pain with me.)  
Ma pas genam.                  I have a cough. (There is a cough with me.)  

But Drog ew genam usually means     I am sorry.

The other way to answer questions about well-being is to use the descriptive of boas to be.

Fatla gena whei?           How do you do?
Yagh o vy.                      I am well.            
Skith o vy.                      I am tired.
Cloav[1] o vy.                I am sick. I am ill.





[1]  SWFM <klav>

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