There is no difference in meaning, they are just the different forms the definite article “the” can take, depending on the surrounding letters. The “standard” is y, but if the next word begins with a vowel (or h), it becomes yr. When the letter before the article ends with a vowel, it becomes 'r (regardless of the next letter).
Dw i’n gweld y dyn – I see the man.
Dw i’n gweld yr athro – I see the teacher.
Dw i’n mynd i’r siop. – I am going to the shop.
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ohhh, now I remember, thank you very much!
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Quick question I’m on challenge 6.
Sometimes part of a sentence is repeated, I’ve particularly noticed it with ‘gnaid’ (sp?) - to do and sometimes dwaid (sp?) - to speak. I don’t understand the rule, and sometimes I’m adding it when it shouldn’t be there.
Thanks very much 
I think I know what you mean. Is it this? You are doing/saying what you need to do/say.
I dont think its essential, but I’d put the 2nd do/say in, rather than just ending with “need to”. Welsh tends to be a bit more poetic than English, so “Do what you need to do” sounds nice.
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How would you say “It could have been worse?”
I thought something like “Allai hi wedi bod yn waeth”?
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yup, that would do :-).
Geiriadur Yr Academi also gives: gallasai fod yn waeth
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Gallasai! Don’t confuse me!
Would it be the same in the North, ie do you lot use Medru interchangeably with Gallu?
don’t worry - gallasai confuses me too 
Well I interchange because I have lingering Hwntw habits ;-), but my pure Gog friends would say “medrai fod yn waeth”
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I was already a bit confused these days, about and around gallu now I’m reading this thread it got even worse, so let’s see if I can understand. 
In the challenges I’ve found:
galla’ i – I can
os galla’ i – if I can
sen i’n gallu - if I could (as in Byddet ti’n dweud wrtha i sen i’n gallu helpu)
allen i - I could (as in Dyna oedd y lleiaf allen i gwneud)
Why does could change with or without if?
(I have the feeling that it’s one of those cases where it’s English that’s confusing…but can’t figure it out)
And then allai hi and allai fe are 3rd person, like in the last example above, right?
So how is gallasai made? gall+asai?
because the ‘could’ is the conditional of ‘can’ which is gallu and gallu can take the conditional endings itself (e.g. gall-ai) but the ‘if’ bit ('swn i/'sen i) comes from petaswn and is just the conditional ‘if’, so you need to add a verb to go with the ‘if’, but you don’t need a conditional ending on the verb here because it’s already in the ‘if’.
Oh dear, I don’t think that explanation is any less confusing!
Gallasai (stem of gallu = gall + conditional ending -asai) is the ‘proper’ (i.e. formally correct) way of saying gallai. Lots of verbs have got squashed in speech like this over the years and lost their full spellings, so don’t worry about it. It’s something you’re fairly unlikely to hear in speech these days, but at least you now have a chance of recognising it if you come across it in a literary context
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At least for gallasai it’s all clear now.
As for the first part, I’m going to take a few deep breaths, read it again a few times slowly and maybe have a glass of wine too and the truth will probably reveal itself. 
(now I’m joking a bit, but I’m really sure it will just click at some point - thanks!)
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Yes, reading Welsh literature, especially slightly old Welsh, can certainly spring a few surprises. Definitely paid a phoenu/becso time, go with the flow, gulp (down restorative fluid of choice) and cario ymlaen…
(and of course, read Gareth’s excellent “Reader”…).
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Although in some Gog areas you do hear llasa and llsa, which are gallasai.
I’ve definitely heard …na lasa fo… = …that he couldn’t…
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Although this is generally translated as “if I could”, it might help to think of it in terms of a more formal register of English by using were I to be able to. The sen and were are both conjugated and the gallu and to be able to are not and remain constant.
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Hello, Aimee-Grant:
Can you give an example, please by what you mean by “part of a sentence is repeated?” I can’t picture your problem with Gwneud - to do and Dweud - to say.
Are you talking about this sentence from Southern dialect - I can remember how to say what I want to say?
Galla’ i gofio sut i ddeud beth dw i’n moyn dweud
Same sentence from Northern dialect
Mi fedra’ i gofio sut i ddeud beth dw i isio dweud
If so, the difference is due to a mutation called Treigladau. In several circumstances, the beginning letters of some words change depending on the rule, and there are a lot. However, don’t worry about it. Over time you will learn when the rule is applied. BUT when you get it wrong, EVERYONE will understand you…there’s no worries about focussing on the rule…just speak and soon enough you’ll learn when to use it. I’ve been learning for about a year, and I frequently forget the treigladau and no one gives me a weird look of incomprehension. 
This is a great video made last year and around the 28 second mark, Nick talks about Treigladau. Hope this helps.
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I suspect @aimee-grant meant this:
However, while we wait for a clarification of the doubt I think it’s always good to remind not to get mad over treigladau.
By the way - besides everything you’ve said - when I first heard of them I thought they would always be a nightmare. While I see I’m catching them more and more often right, without ever studying them.
Unbelievable but it really happens!
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Thanks very much, and to @JohnYoung - I think that’s right - it’s definitely adding the verb for a second time as the last word of the sentence, and this makes sense
@delawarejones - this feels way more advanced than my issue 
, but very interesting to hear about, thanks
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Great. So just think of the verb as having “to” in front of it and then it will be easy. …beth dwi’n moyn/eisau dweud = what I want to say.
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Oh, THAT’S where that comes from - diolch, how fascinating - I’ve always thought of it as a kind of Penrhyndeudraeth up to Blaenau sort of thing - also heard it frequently as ‘lasia fo’…
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Yes - and isn’t it interesting as well that when the naughty Gogs say …na lasa fo… they’re applying the SM (after na, of course) to the LL that used to be in the middle of the original word.
The world’s gone mad, I tell you…
Though in the Land of Gog, it’s often hard to tell…
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