Meaning of 'Mae'

I have been in a school this morning where they have Mae as meaning I have. Is this correct

mae e he is, mae hi she is, mae Gareth yn y gegin - Gareth is in the kitchen. @aran, @Iestyn I donā€™t think mae on its own can ever be have- am I wrong?

As @henddraig pointed out, generally speaking, ā€œmaeā€ is just ā€œisā€.

ā€œI haveā€ is funny in Welsh. Itā€™s a construction built using ā€œmaeā€, as in ā€œmae gen i gathā€ meaning ā€œI have a catā€ (literally, itā€™s something like ā€œwith me is a catā€ or ā€œI have a cat with meā€)

So ā€œmaeā€ isnā€™t really ā€œI haveā€ but itā€™s easy to see how it might come across that way if they were teaching the ā€œI haveā€ construction.

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I thought I have a cat would be Mae Cath gyda fe

The word Mae was on a separate piece of paper as part of a wall display where different Welsh words were paired with the English alternative

Mae cath gyda fi is indeed I have a cat. However, it is literally a cat is with me or, in the Welsh word order, is a cat with me. So mae is as Lewie says, is. :slight_smile:

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fe - he - e . fi - i so I have a dog is mae ci gyda fi or mae gen i ci. gyda fe means with him, so it would be some chap who did the owning! Or was fe a typo? I chickened on the cat as I never remember when cath becomes gath except that.I know itā€™s y gath! i imagine if I say gath when it is really cath or vise versa folk would catch on!

mae cath gyda fi is the more Southern way of saying I have a cat, mae gen i gath is the more Northern way, but they both mean the same and are equally correct - it is the whole construction (whichever form is used, North or South) which gives the meaning of possession ā€˜haveā€™, not any one word on its own.

@siaronjames, fach, am I right that if i said, in Caernarfon, mae gath gyda fi or mae gen i cathā€¦ ,o, that last one sounds dreadful so i wouldnā€™t say it. But over-mutating has always been a besetting sin of mine, so gath when cath is correct, would it be passed off with a grin by the locals?

I doubt anyone would comment on it - theyā€™d know what you meant either way :slight_smile:

Iā€™m pretty sure a lot of what I say (i.e. things where mutations should/shouldnā€™t be) is passed off with a grin here! :wink:

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My understanding is that Mae = Is/ be for masculine and feminine things.
Mae gen I gath = Is with me cat = I have a cat [Northern]
Mae cath gyda fi = be cat with me = I have a cat [Southern]
After some time using the ā€˜is withā€™ construction starts to make a lot of sense, so I donā€™t see the advantage of teaching that ā€˜Mae = haveā€™ at all ?

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No. Itā€™s just confusing.

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I believe the whole point is that mae is not have!
I need the is not equal to sign = with a / across it! I believe @aran said it can be =!,.
So mae =! have
None of us understand why a school would display a sign saying, ā€œMAE = HAVEā€ unless it was work in progress, and was going to end up as, ā€œMae gen i = I haveā€

As I am a new learner I was a little confused but I can now say that Mae = is

Is that right

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pretty much, but nothing is that simple. @aran can probably find some other meaning somewhere! Also the real expert on grammar @garethrking will know for sure!

The last thing I want to do is add to confusion, but yes, while mae = is, remember it can also = are.
Maeā€™r aderyn yn y coeden = the bird is in the tree.
Maeā€™r adar yn y coeden = the birds are in the tree.

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after ā€œMae gen iā€¦ā€ (and gan) youā€™ll get a soft mutation. So ci and cath become gi and gath

Both masculine and feminine nouns?

yes, both.

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The cause of the mutation isnā€™t altered by the gender of the noun.
The gender of the noun mutates adjectives:
Ci bach
Cath fach
TÅ· bach
Sied fach

But it would be: Mae gen i gi bach, mae gen i gath fach