Achos and pam +bod

Once or twice I’ve heard Aran and Catrin insert “bod” immediately following “achos” or after “pam”. This is not always done and I’m not clear when or why to add the “bod”. Please help.
Gerald

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I don’t suppose you can remember what the English sentences were?

Generally speaking (which is my disclaimer for all the exceptions people will immediately find!) I think you can largely figure that if the sentence, broken down, would require ‘mae’, you’ll need the ‘bod’ in there - so ‘mae angen aros’ -> ‘achos bod angen aros’, ‘dwi’n hapus i fynd’ -> ‘achos dwi’n hapus i fynd’.

But as ever I’m going to suggest that the best approach will be not to overthink it, but to let your brain have the exposure it needs - it will gradually start to produce a naturally correct option without you needing to gain a conscious understanding of a ‘rule’… :sunny:

Hi Aran,
Most of the examples that I can find are from Course 2.
Those where Bod is used with Achos are from the Vocabulary units while Course 2 lessons contained uses of Pam with and without Bod.
I set out below the examples that I could find.
Achos (Course 2 Vocabulary)
Dw i’n teimlo yn gyffrous achos bod ni’n mynd i weld y rwgbi heddiw
Dw i’n flin achos fod o’n hyderus iawn bydd o’n enill yn hawdd
Dw i ddim yn mynd i deimlo yn isel yr wythnos hwn achos mod i’n mynd i siarad Cymraeg.
Dw i’n teimlo yn rhwystredig achos mod i ddim yn siarad Cymraeg yn gyfflim
Dw i’n teimlo yn euog achos bo fi ddim wedi helpu hi
Dw i’n gorwedd yn llonydd achos mod i wedi blino
Achos fod o’n tynnu fy nghoes
Dw i’n teimlo yn hapus achos mod i wedi estyn fy nghoesau
Dw i’n crafu fy mhen achos bod y plant ddim wedi golchi eu ddwylo
Dw i’n symud fy mraich achos mod i wedi brifo fy llaw chwith

Dw i’n flin achos mae’r plant yn rhedeg trwy’r stafell byw eto

Pam (Course 2)
(a) No Bod
‘Sgwn i pam mae hi’n meddwl bo chdi’n disgwyl ateb
Mae rhai pobl eisiau gwybod pam ti ddim wedi yfed dy lefridd
(b) With Bod
Weithiau, dw i ddim yn siwr pam bod nhw eisiau dod hefyd
Dw id dim yn gwybod pam bod hi’n fy ngharu fi

Thanks for your reply.
Gerald

That is indeed a rich and confusing collection!

It probably boils down to what we’ve discussed previously about ‘achos bod’ vs ‘achos mae’ - it ought to be ‘achos bod’, but you’ll also hear ‘achos mae’ in ordinary speech.

If you’re in doubt about it, go with bod and you’ll be fine - some of them (‘pam ti ddim wedi yfed’) are just eliding it anyway.

Mind you, it would be interesting to hear some of our grammar hounds on this… :sunny:

Hi, Aran,
Thanks for replying.
Following my original posting, I’ve been doing lesson 6 of Course 3 where there are a dozen further examples of “achos + bod”…
I’ve had a look at the Modern Welsh Dictionary and, regarding “achos” it says (p2) under achos (2) conjunction:
“achos is generally followed by a “that” clause in most native varieties of Welsh”.
It also refers the reader to its definition of “oherwydd” which is also generally followed by a “that” clause.
Similarly, under “pam” (p168), we find this example, “does neb yn gwybod pam fod hyn yn bwysig iddyn nhw”.
The dictionary goes on to say that:
“……pam is generally followed by a that” clause like achos and oherwydd”.
This simply seems to be saying that, in Welsh, that’s how “because” and “why” are usually translated…… “it is because that….” and, “it is why that…”.

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Ah, yes, if you’re looking for a ‘why?!’ about the ‘bod’, all you’ll get from me is a ‘because’…:wink:

I rather suspect that what we’re seeing here is mostly ‘bod’ being elided sometimes in casual usage - you certainly don’t need to worry about using it yourself, although you’ll almost certainly find that you’ll elide it naturally sometimes in a way that will reflect the people you use your Welsh with most often :sunny: