Hello, hope everyone is safe and well.
This is no doubt a stupid question but I’m on Level 1 Challenge 12 and I’m totally stuck.
The sentence “the old woman wanted to understand the young man”
Does it begin with Mae’r hen… It just doesn’t sound like it does. It sounds like an o to begin with. I feel like a fool to ask and hope I don’t sound too stupid!
Thanks,
Pete
No such thing as a stupid question!
Yes, it should be “Mae’r”
1 Like
Thanks Alan,
It just sounds so different to the Mae’r that’ I learned in Challenge 11.
Really appreciate your help.
Pete
Since it’s in the past tense I think it would start with “Oedd” rather than “Mae”
3 Likes
Yes, that was it - spot on:
Oedd y hen fenw… or Oedd hi’n moyn/Oedd hi eisiau (depending on if it’s S or N Wales) -
The old woman/she wanted to (help the man)
Not as easy as it looks 
2 Likes
Much appreciated.
2 Likes
Ahhh, good catch. Tenses always throw me 
1 Like
I can sleep now!!
Huge thanks for all your help.
1 Like
I’m in the same place as you… I struggled with this, and she’d better- i found checking the vocabulary list after the lesson to see how they look written down was helpful x
Oedd y hen ddynes isio dallt y dyn ifanc (N.Wales)
1 Like
Thanks Emma, will do.
I just couldn’t get it for ages! Coupled with the order of young/old man/woman.
My head was mashed!
Am back ok ish!!? again.
Thanks again. This forum is so brill.
1 Like
Many thanks.
I know, I love the forum. The next challenge is hard too. But I’ve done 13 and 14 twice now and I’m getting the hang of it. The order of the words is confusing, but then after a while it becomes more natural. I was super encouraged to go back to the first listening practise, and it seemed so much easier than it was last week! We are definitely learning so much!!
1 Like
Does anyone know why ‘the young man’ is y dyn ifanc but ‘the old man’ is y hen ddyn? (North) Same with old/young woman. Why does the order change? Young coming after man/woman but old is before?
Yes, as you’ll have noticed, in Welsh most adjectives follow the noun, but ‘old’ is one of the handful of adjectives which come before a noun. There’s no pattern, it’s just a matter of getting used to which few come before - which sounds like an “oh no!” scenario, but you will pick up these exceptions the more you hear them and they’ll come naturally after a while.
1 Like
Ah, thank you, appreciated! It feels ‘right’ but just wondered why
Lynne ( a hen ddynas ! 
)
1 Like