Could anyone point me to a good link to explain when to use amser and when to use pryd? Or if no one has asked that question and it’s just me …
3 Likes
Hi @spragga!
Amser is time and pryd is when.
So…
When will it be supper time? would be Pryd bydd hi’n amser swper?
When are you coming here? would be Pa bryd wyt ti’n dod yma?
When is Easter? would be Pa bryd mae’r Pasg?
There are some confusing variations, though.
For It’s about time you’ll often hear Mae’n hen bryd - It’s about time we left - Mae’n hen bryd i ni fynd.
Also if you want to ask what time something is in Welsh, you use o’r gloch meaning o’ clock. So what time is supper? would be faint o’r gloch mae swper? - it literally translates as what o’ clock is supper?.
Hope this helps! 
2 Likes
Hi Catrin
I’m ok with the questions, it’s the variations you mention I sometimes struggle with! Like when doing something ‘in time’ we use ‘pryd’ but when its time for bed its ‘amser’ gwely! I’m just trying to understand what the difference is…
Andrew
2 Likes
… but its ‘mewn amser byr’ if you’ve done it in a short time.
I too have noticed “mewn amser” = “mewn pryd” in the middle of Level 2 but didn’t really question it - what with the surrounding horror of the different versions of could, should and would! 
3 Likes
Hi Andrew,
On the whole, “pryd” when not a question is more idiomatic/part of a phrase. “Amser” is more versatile.
Pryd o fwyd - a meal
Hen bryd - about time
If you don’t know the set phrase then I go with amser (amser gwely).
Amser is a lot more versatile. Amser can also become Amseru and turn into a verb
2 Likes
These aren’t quite the same. With “mewn amser” you’d need a qualifying adjective e.g. “mewn amser byr” - you’d never say “mewn pryd byr”. “mewn pryd” is more of an abstract thing with no qualifying adjective.
There are other ways of phrasing “time” too, so just when you think you’ve got “pryd” and “amser” nailed, you’ll bump into another one! But the thing with idiomatic phrases is there is no hard rule to remembering them, it’s just a case of listening for what gets used in which context.
4 Likes
Thanks everyone for your help with this. I think its starting to sink in now!
Andrew
4 Likes
Hello @spragga, @Irina - Gareth King’s Modern Welsh Dictionary very helpful here, listing 3 options for pryd:
i) when? ie. for when? in questions as opposed to ‘pan’ when of statements
ii) time (plural -iau), showing its use as ‘time’ in a series of phrases, such as mewn pryd - in time, ar y pryd - at the time, ar brydiau - at times, bryd hynny - at that time,then…
iii) meal (plural -au) - with note that in this sense usually appears as longer phrase pryd o fwyd.
Gareth King’s dictionary has been and is a faithful friend in unravelling/explaining words/phrases - but I’ve not spotted hen bryd in it 
, so thanks for that translation @AnthonyCusack and @CatrinLliarJones! 
3 Likes
Not to confuse the issue but just to say that as is often the case, there is probably a bit of overlap between Pryd, amser, pan, etc. I looked at the footnotes in the GPC (dictionary) for Pryd and there are plenty of uses for Pryd meaning Time. So i guess its just a matter of getting to know the common patterns of use.
And where does ‘pa bryd’ figure in this? It looks like it means ‘which when?’ Which would be a rather charming construction…