Gad and Gadewch

Shwmae pawb!
I’ve heard gad - gad e, gad nhw - leave it, leave them, and been taught gadewch i ni - Let’s. It made me wonder about how we use ‘let’s’.
In English, when I say ‘let’s’, I don’t think of it as asking permission - let us, allow us to… I think of it as ‘why don’t we…’
So now of course in Welsh it becomes clear that I am actually asking someone, and I can choose the familiar or polite/plural form - but which goes where? When I ask ‘let us…’ who am I actually asking? The other person? A great big asky thing in the sky? Everyone? After all, the idea of being allowed to do something, implies that I have to ask someone who could stop me.
So I could tell one of the kids to ‘Gad nhw!’ as she reaches for the precious permanent markers, but if I were saying ‘Let’s go out.’ would it be ‘gad i ni fynd mas’ or would I be addressing us both (or the strangely formal asky thing in the sky) and say gadewch i ni? How much does it matter? What do people normally say?
Now that I’ve written it out, I’m wondering if I’m actually asking the permission of the other person, is that so?

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Not very! The end result is the thing…:wink:

It’s just a singular/plural(or formal) thing… so if you’re saying ‘Let’s go out’, you’re talking about ‘us’, so it’s gadewch… :slight_smile:

You’d say Gad inni fynd mas, because you’re addressing one person with whom you’re on ti-terms. It’s the addressee that counts here…
You’d say Gadewch inni fynd mas either to more than one person, or to one person that you’re NOT on ti-terms with. :slight_smile:

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Thank you @garethrking and @aran! You mean I have to abandon the big asky thing in the sky? :relaxed: Phew. He (she/it/they) was (were) getting on my nerves…

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Oh, how interesting - I don’t think we ever use it like that… :slight_smile:

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As an alternative (and very simple) way of making a suggestion to do something, we were taught in Course 1 to use “Beth am…?” (“What about …?”).

e.g. “Beth am fynd am dro?” (“What about going for a walk?”).

“Beth am fynd i’r dafarn?” (“What about going to the pub?”)

(sometimes heard as “be’ am”).

I can’t remember whether it comes up in Level 1.

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Ah yes - Beth am inni gael (rhywbeth)? Yes - good alternative! Thank you. :relaxed:

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