To date I find certain threads difficult to remember, not the thread itself but it’s english meaning eg Rhaid i mi (based on got) to Mae gen i (again based on got) , Ddudest ti (you said) but wnest ti ddechrau (you started) - why not ddechrau ti - do we need wnest or does Ddusest break down to Ddeud wnest?
1 Like
Yes, both phrases in English contain the word “got”, but the meaning is different, so in Welsh you arrive at something else:
I’ve got to say something. - Mae rhaid i fi ddweud rhywbeth.
I’ve got something to say. - Mae gen i rywbeth i’w ddweud.
This is one of those things that will come with time and practice.
The other thing is, there are two ways to express past (or future) actions in Welsh: In one you conjugate the verb itself (called the short form), and in the other you conjugate the auxilliary verb “to do” and append the action (called the long form), so
Wnest ti ddweud and Dwedest ti are completely interchangeable. It’s just that sometimes the verb itself sounds a bit clunky (or you simply don’t remember how the short form is conjugated), so you can just as well use the long form.
So Wnest ti ddechrau means exactly the same as Dechreuaist ti.
2 Likes
It might be easier to think of “Rhaid i mi” as “I must” rather than “I have got to” if that helps 
Thank you very much that is helpful.
I think sometimes certain phrases take time to sink in - i remember Lesson1 confusing ‘isio’ and ‘angen’ and it continued until I think week 6 (?) when we did a rerun of Lesson 1.
‘Mae Gen i’ is also used in ‘I am sorry’ and that uses it’s meaning of ‘I have’.
I am a bit guilty of trying to break some words in two to undertsand what has been combined.
EG Wnes as in ‘Wnes i ddim’
I shall leave that for another day - no study today just a snow shovel needed to clear my drive !!
Thanks again - Cofion Ifor