Please can you explain the difference (if there is one) between “wnes I ddim” and “don i ddim yn” ? According to the notes, both are stated as meaning “I didn’t”. However, it seems that every time I say the former, Iestyn and Kat say the latter and vice versa! Confused. Thanks.
Wnes i ddim - I didn’t (a completed act)
Do’n i ddim yn - i wasn’t (more of a continuous act)
In Welsh - gwybod (to know) is ongoing not one off. So “I didn’t know” In English would become “Do’n I ddim yn gwybod” in Welsh.
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It does also happen with other verbs not just gwybod
Moyn
Nabod
Deall
Angen
Eisiau
To name a few
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As Anthony said… 
Sometimes it helps if you think of it as ‘I didn’t’ vs ‘I wasn’t doing’ - but the key thing is not to worry too much about it, because even if it sounds a bit odd to a Welsh speaker, you will always be understood, whichever way you jump…
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Thanks, Anthony. I suspect it is a case of my brain not (yet?) working out fast enough if it might be a “past completed” or a “past continuous”, for want of better expressions, as there doesn’t appear to be the same distinction in English.
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The way I learnt it was thinking of meddwl (no pun intended). Verbs like meddwl then also take oedd.
So golygu - to mean, gwybod - to know, does that help?
Angen and eisiau aren’t verbs in the same way, but they take oedd too.
O’n i angen paned o de - i was needing a cup of tea because that need was ongoing.
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Don’t worry about this - just jump for the first one that comes to mind, and then notice if it was different, and your brain will gradually tune in without you needing to think about it…
Hi Kevin,
it’s a bit side off, but anyway…
Unlike most people here I’m not a native English speaker and I can assure you, that English (according to our books) makes great distinctions between: I did, I have done, I was doing, I have been doing, I had been doing…
I was learning English in school for seven years, but I never knew which tense to use. And every wrong use was ticked as a mistake, therefor I was sure that I could never speak English well enough.
I still make mistakes, but I know now that people can understand me and I can get along with English as well as with Welsh, where I often say “nes i " instead of " o’n i” and vice versa.
People seem to understand me.
So as Aran likes to say: Don’t worry, say what comes to mind or what feels right, and if you notice that your conversation partner uses different patterns, you will learn by doing.
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