Yeah, but don’t forget SM after dan: oedd o dan ddŵr
3 Likes
So if someone says it about their kitchen, it’s pretty catastrophic?
1 Like
They’re not going to be in a very happy place, that’s for sure… 
2 Likes
Reminds me of when, about fifty years ago, a person from the Shoshone tribe was teaching me a few bits of the language and I remember him saying that the Shoshone for “Come here and I’ll help you” in a different context would mean “Come here and I’ll kill you”. Languages eh?!
PS
hmm, this reply seems to be posted out of context somehow😕
That’s because every post is shown in chronological order. But when you post in response to a specific previous post, as you did, readers can click on that to show them what that “context” was.
Conversations on the forum sometimes go very quickly and answers to questions, etc, can appear to be out of place. But if the post is done in response to a specific previous post in the thread, no matter how far back, a reader can see the previous post.
1 Like
PS. Just to upate on Rheged Centre.
No language related stuff on show in the main area. Although I didnt check out the art gallery or cinema areas.
1 Like
I also looked up beutu and it says from o + peutu and peutu to me reminded me of French peu. You can go on an etymology trip or two with this one - to Latin words for foot and paw. It sounds like the English etymology for about may very well be different, but as you say the usage could have merged ( a Norman influence or Chaucer?) - there’s probably a word for the meaning of similar sounding things converging I guess.
1 Like
I found myself in conversation recently insisting Mae na X meaning ‘There is an X’, and then thinking afterwards that I should have been saying Oes X all along. I realise that I would be (and was) understood, which is the main thing, but:
Is Mae na… always wrong?
Is Mae na… OK, but Oes… ‘better’?
Are they both OK, but in different contexts/shades of meaning?
Are they both OK and effectively interchangeable? (Instinct says not…)
Help!
1 Like
You were doing just fine:
Mae na… There is…
Oes na…? Is there…?
Don’t doubt yourself by thinking about it
5 Likes
But isn’t the official answer (as in not just Ie ) to an Oes…? question just Oes/Nac oes?
From my limited knowledge, correct the proper answer to “Oes…?” is Oes/Nac Oes. From what I’ve been told, although, I have no actual experience, saying Ie/Na is just as well accepted.
Yes, so if you ask,
“Is there tea in the pot?” Oes 'na de…?
The answer would be, “Oes, mae 'na de…” or “nac oes, does 'na ddim te…”.
That’s how I use it. The 'na isn’t used in all areas. If you don’t use it, it avoids the mutation!
5 Likes
The answer reflects the question, this is true, but the affirmative doesn’t.
Ydy o’n hwyr? - ydy, mae’n hwyr
Oes gent ti arian? - oes, mae gen i arian
Ayyb.
3 Likes
Yes Helen, that’s exactly how I use it too.
4 Likes
Thanks all
2 Likes
No, Mae 'na… for There is (a)… is always RIGHT!
Oes 'na…? then for the question. Oes 'na foronen ar ôl yn yr oergell? Is there a carrot left in the fridge? (I’m always saying this).
7 Likes
Sorry - just having an existential crisis. Better now
4 Likes
1 Like
I hope this doesn’t upset @RichardBuck 
but I have a couple more question about this, because of the examples I found, two are like those above:
Mae yna ddwsinau o wahanol ryseitiau = there are dozens of different recipes
Mae 'na lot o wahanol gaws yn fan’ma = there are lots of different cheeses here
(from the TV)
But all the others, are like this:
Mae caws yn yr oergell = there is cheese in the fridge
(from @garethrking Modern Welsh Dictionary)
Mae jazz lan lloft = there’s jazz upstairs
Mae pob pwynt achwyn ar = there’s every point to complain about
Ac mae jelly dros pen cassette = And there’s jelly over the cassette head 
(from song lyrics)
So is it just a matter of areas, or North/South? Or there’s any other subtle difference between them?
And just to add a little confusion…
is the difference between there is and it’s the 'n?
Mae’n un o brif gynhwysion y resait = It’s one of the main recipes
mae’n wyth deg pump ceiniog = it’s eightyfive pence
But then why is this one different?
Mae e i gyd fel papur newydd bore = it’s like a morning newspaper
Essentially yes. There is no yn needed when Mae… means There is/are…
Because what follows the mae here is not an adjective or a noun, it’s (ignoring the i gyd which is just added information stuck onto the e) the word fel.
Mae hi’N brysur - She’s busy (adjective)
Mae hi’N athrawes - She’s a teacher (noun)
Mae hi fel ei mam - She’s like her mother (neither)
5 Likes