If I want to say ‘I know what the problem is’, do we use yw or i’w at the end?
That’s what my problem is in a nutshell,
Neither … “dwi’n gwybod be’ ydy’r problem.”
I’m quite often wrong.
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Also, sorry, ydy=yw in the south.
So “dwi’n gwybod be’ yw’r problem.”
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or maybe avoid the problem altogether.
“Problem yndife a fi’n gwbod pam”
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Thank you for this and being so quick. That certainly makes sense to me.
Why I asked was that in listening to the new Level 3 Lesson 3 for the South, I thought I was hearing ‘yw’ (or i’w) at the end of some sentences. I need to listen again and try to pinpoint it, but I’m with you!
Hwyl,
Mari
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Hi Mari. Yes I think it’s yw. Rhan o’r broblem yw… Part of the problem is …
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Ah, so I am not imagining it John? Thank you.
There are so many ways to express ideas and maybe I would naturally lean towards using one of the other suggestions here, but at the same time I also want to expand my repertoire as well as sleep at night with the puzzle solved 
Thank you! And thank all of you for chiming in—what a great bunch!
All the best,
Mari
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As a northern learner, I was confused by “yw” for a long time whenever I encountered it in the semi-wild, since it didn’t crop up in the northern lessons. I only gradually came to realise that it was used in the same way that “ydy” was used in the northern dialect(s).
But it seems to crop up a lot in what I think of as official Welsh, e.g. on the BBC and S4C websites, so I got into the way of thinking that it was a preferred form in modern formal or at least semi-formal writing. I think I’ve seen it used by writers who in other respects use northern forms.
… (Oh yes: a good example is the title of a book by Bethan Gwanas: “Hi yw fy ffrind”. I think of her as a northern writer, although I don’t know if she would classify herself in that way).
I no longer worry about it too much, and as a “proxy northerner” would probably never use it actively in speech or writing, but just simply recognise it for what it “is”. 
I can understand how it might be confused with “i’w” if you hear it (especially in rapid speech). In theory, context should help, but when dealing with a flood of rapid speech, especially in “the wild”, that may not be as easy as it sounds.
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If you do ever find out why, do let the rest of us know! I wondered about this too
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Fair enough Dan—happy to share!
John seems to have figured it out above, but if any other grammarians want to jump in please do. It is 7:10 am here in the wilds of bitterly cold B.C. but your answers warm my heart, and the day is young.
Hwyl,
Mari
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Diolch yn fawr,
It must be a feature of the South, because it crept in on the next lesson too.
I really appreciate your confirming what I was hearing because I am deaf and although modern technology works wonders, occasionally sounds trip me up so I need to check. As for attempting to do this in the wilds… you are braver than I am, but Caernafon here we come… (a very long way from Vancouver but I hear the folks and the beer are good, so should be fun).
Cheers,
Mari
both are contractions of ydyw I believe?? - some dialects (mainly northern) use ydy (often itself contracted further) and others (mainly southern) say yw. Schools tend to teach ydy, but yw is equally correct.
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Although yw and i’w sound the same, if you’re ever not sure which of these to use for ‘is’, remember that i’w is short for “i ei” or “i eu” - neither of which are verbs so can’t be ‘is’. ‘yw’ (being a form of bod) is a verb, so only ‘yw’ (out of the yw/i’w choice) can be ‘is’. 
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Ah, that’s so helpful Sharon—diolch yn fawr iawn.
Got it (thanks to a lot of help from you my friends here)!!! Pumping fists in the air, throwing myself on the carpet for the adulation of my toby jugs on the mantle, crowds cheering—well, the cat next door crying to get in anyway… Sorry, a bit carried away there, but it’s too early in the morning here for bubby and I had to celebrate somehow.
‘Dw i’n hoffi coffi yn y bore… dee dum dum dum, coffi du, coffi du…’
Gwych,
Mari
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Brilliant—these contractions are something else 
Thank you ever so much,
Mari
“hoffi coffi” always makes me think of this particular episode of a hilariously funny series about learning Welsh:
(Check out the other episodes as well, but I find that one quite surreal… ).
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Priceless 