In challenge 22 level 1 I learn: does neb yn moyn : nobody wants. But nobody needs is : does DIMM neb eisiau. Why not does DIMM yn moyn. The answer probably wii be: both are correct; it’s just variations. Can you confirm that or correct me? So far I’ve learned that the Welsh has a lot of variations of saying things.
Well, if you are saying “Does dim yn moyn”, you’d be saying “Nothing wants”, which sounds odd, but I think you have also misheard or misremembered the phrase for “nobody needs”.
To clear this up, let’s first take a step back and look at the positive statements:
Dw i’n moyn siarad. I want to speak. vs.
Mae eisiau i fi fynd. I need to go. (literally “There is a need for me to go.”)
So wanting and needing have different basic structures, and these differences carry over to “nobody wants” and “nobody needs” sentences:
Does neb yn moyn siarad gyda fe. Nobody wants to speak with him.
Does dim eisiau i neb fynd yno. Nobody needs to go there. (literally There is no need for anyone to go there.)
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Thank you. But my question was: why is ddim (not dimm) used in the sentence: “does ddim eisiau neb” (this is what I hear in this challenge 22 at 1:57) and not in the sentence “does neb yn moyn”?
It’s basically because neb is already in the negative.
In “does ddim eisiau neb”, the ddim is referring to the eisiau positive noun) and therefore isn’t going to be followed directly by the neb, so ddim is included, but when the ddim would be referring to the neb (i.e where you would normally expect to see neb directly follow ddim - as in “does neb yn moyn”), the ddim disappears because it isn’t needed - neb (negative noun) is already negated.
I hope that makes sense.
For a more in depth explanation, if you can get your hands on Gareth King’s “Modern Welsh”, he explains it further on page 106.
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Thank you Siaron. Perfectly clear.
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