Sorry - but I’m going to ask this - a bit confuseddotcom!
In lessons 11 we have ‘Wnaeth hi cwmpo’…She fell.
In Challenge 12 we have ‘Oedd hi’n moyn.’…She wanted.
Why the difference in the past tenses? Are these forms peculiar to these verbs?
Should I have chosen to learn Chechen?
Thanks in advance…seeking clarity!
Chris
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Welsh has two different forms here - a little bit like ‘He ran’ vs ‘He was running’ - the ‘wnaeth’ version is for things that take place in a set, limited time - ‘it happened’ - while the ‘oedd’ version is for things that are continuous… ‘it was happening’…
Most of the time, you can put the verb in whichever form feels right to you - ‘moyn’ is an exception, because to Welsh ears it just doesn’t sound right that you can have a ‘want’ which only exists at a point in time - it just feels like something that has to carry on for a while… so you won’t hear ‘wnaeth hi moyn’ anywhere.
Which is okay - you’d be understood if you said it - so just jump in and use what comes to mind first, and you’ll gradually developer a better ear for which is more natural… 
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I tried explaining this yesterday. I like the thought that in welsh when we think about something we do so over time, not in an instant! 
Oh I love this forum! Within minutes I have two answers…and thanks Aran for that patient rendition…I get it now. I really thought I was going backwards…I might be on this forum a LOT now that I know how helpful you all are! I’m afraid I can’t learn something parrot fashion - I need to understand why I should say something in a certain way. But…diolch yn fawr eto.
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I can relate - I can learn it parrot-fashion, but I feel a lot more comfortable when I understand how it all “fits together”
Don’'t ever hesitate to come on the forum and ask questions - everyone here is very friendly and willing to help. You won’t find a nicer community anywhere!
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Oh I’ve learned this forum is the place to be! Also, Anna…talking about the way people learn (which fascinates me), I also need to see stuff written down. For example. Well iddo fe gofio beth ma fe’n mynd i ddweud. Seeing this written down - noting where the apostrophes are, seeing how ‘words’ are often three words (!) - I couldn’t truly understand this without seeing how the structure looks on the page. It helps no end when I try to make up my own little embryo sentances - I can see where the building blocks should be. But having a ball!
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It is interesting how different people have different ways of learning. One thing I’ve discovered on my Welsh “journey” is that some of the preconceptions I had about the “best” way for me to learn were not necessarily true! Everyone has to find their own way and what works best for them.
Learning Welsh here in the US on my own is also a very different process than it is for people living in Wales. I knew absolutely nothing about the language when I started, and obviously I don’t have any exposure around me. But like you, I am having a blast! Dal ati! (Keep at it!)
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Thanks for your encourgement Anna. We moved to Wales last October ond dwi’n dechrau dysgu Cymrag with gusto am biti mis yn ol. It must be really hard for you in America to find opportunities to practice. I pounce on my neighbour every chance I get. She’s so Welsh, she often can’t recall the English word for something! So what else do you do to improve apart from this course? For my part - I’m lucky - I watch the Welsh TV channel (with English subtitles) whenever I can. Some really good drama on there - thrillers - as well as soaps and children’s TV. I’ve also found a Welsh author who specialises in writing for adult learners - SO useful. I guess I’m trying as many avenues as possible - broadens the net and it’s SO exciting when I learn a word in one place then hear it somewhere else - I’m going for the saturation technique. So - how do you learn and why the interest in the language?
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@CaerlanChris, Croeso to the Forum! I am an aged exile in Yr Alban (Scotland) re-learning, although much of my original learning wasn’t really designed to teach speaking! I found just how bad the hiraeth could be too late, when I was settled here, started watching S4C to help, found I had forgotten so much Cymraeg and started on SSiW to re-learn, found the friendlyForum full of lovely people and spent too much time chatting and not enough learning, currently trying to keep going with fewer pauses! Where are you?
It is interesting how we all learn differently. We do create rules for making sense of things and as we progress we get more of a sense of how Welsh works and how it is different to English, and then modify those rules.
What I did was expand the English translation. So:
Wnaeth hi cwympo = She did fall
Oedd hi’n moyn = She was wanting
However I still often don’t quite know which form to use, it just takes time and practice.
Did sort of seems ‘over and done’ whereas was can last for ages!
You can read my “story” in this thread: Why I’m learning Welsh. You might find the thread interesting reading - we all have very different and interesting reasons for learning! I started with the older Courses in May 2015, and am currently 6 lessons away from finishing Course 3. I thought I’d be done by now, but life keeps getting busy. I am determined to finish Course 3 by the end of April, hopefully much sooner! I plan to do the newer Levels next.
I practice using Skype - although I’ve been horrible about that lately, and really need to do more. I’m a bit shy about talking to people I don’t know. 
You are really lucky to have that neighbor! I am able to watch some of the programs on S4C using their International website - it’s not everything, not by a long shot, but it’s a reasonable selection, and there are subtitles (English for almost everything, and also Welsh for some). I also listen to Radio Cymru via the web - sometimes live, but with the time difference, I’ve found the shows which are available as podcasts really useful. I like Beti a’i Phobol, I think I listen to that one most. I started reading part of the way into Course 2. I enjoy Lingo Newydd, an excellent magazine for learners, and I have read a few books for learners - e-ffrindiau by Lois Arnold, , Cant y Cant, a collection of short essays on various topics, and am now reading Ffenestri, a collection of short stories by Lois Arnold. I have the Blodwen Jones series, those will be next, but I’m trying to prioritize my time by doing more lessons than reading! I also have Gareth King’s Colloquial Welsh grammar book, and I dip into that from time to time to clarify things for myself. And of course, there’s this forum
Yup, it never gets old!
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I’m similar…I think it’s perfectly ok to learn things “automatically” (as we used to learn our “times tables”), and let the understanding come gradually, later. I am also a strong believer in “learning by doing”, which is also another way of looking at the SSi method. At least, that’s how things work for me. But I do like to try to understand what’s going on “under the covers”, but I’m happy enough for that understanding to come later.
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