This one is probably more for Gareth. I sometimes come across an adjectival construction in Welsh which strikes me as rather neat but a bit puzzling grammatically. Example: ‘Diolch byth i’r golygydd a oedd mor hael ei gyngor’. This clearly means ‘Thanks to the editor who was so generous with his advice’, but what is the syntax here? Is ‘ei gyngor’ in a kind of genitival relation to the adjective ‘hael’, or should I be seeing it as the subject of a clause to be taken parenthetically: ‘Thanks to the editor – his advice was so generous’. If the former, is this construction a general one or is it only possible with a limited number of adjectives? And would it actually be wrong, or less natural, to say ‘a oedd mor hael efo ei gyngor’?
I know that as a learner I shouldn’t be worrying unduly about this kind of thing, but I do like to know how a language works…
I think it’s just that Welsh doesn’t have a separate relative pronoun “whose” - so thanks to the editor “who his advice was so generous” = “whose advice was so generous”.
Disclaimer:- I don’t do grammar as in true SSiW fashion, so please don’t expect grammatical jargon.
If you separate the second part of the sentence - “a oedd mor hael ei gyngor” and reorder, you will find everything quite understandable.
“A ei gyngor oedd mor hael”
“And his advice was (so/very) generous.
Which is clear, as pointed out by your good self, Davids.
I think it is another poetic-sounding Yoda-ism which litters Yr Heniaith, beautifying and adorning written Welsh. This order is quite natural in Welsh and one of its most endearing features.
Gareth will doubtless be much more helpful with the grammar side of life.
Hope I said something useful…