Tiny questions with quick answers - continuing thread

Ges ti is the past tense of the verb cael (to have - as in receive). Although we translate “ges ti amser da” as “did you have a good time”, actually literally it’s “had you a good time”, which of course doesn’t sound right in English so that’s why we say it in a way that does.

1 Like

Hopefully this is a tiny question with a quick answer: what’s up with the definite article before a mutated (i.e. disappeared) g? I’m sure I’ve seen both y and yr before the resulting vowel, so which is correct - yr ardd or y ardd; yr wlad or y wlad?

The general rule is that when the g has been dropped, y becomes yr (yr ardd). But there are exceptions where the noun is a feminine noun beginning with gw, in which case the y stays as y (y wlad).

1 Like

Thanks - does that only apply to gw- words?
It’s still weird (I think) that it would apply even when the w is the proper vowel; it makes sense in words like gwerth where you can still think of the mutated form starting with a consonant-like w- sound, but in gwlad the w is definitely a full vowel…
Then again, languages have a mind of their own and rarely conform to what we think would be more logical!

only to feminine gw- nouns (so in the case of gwerth, which is a masculine noun, it would be yr werth)

Aha - I was going to say that makes sense but it doesn’t really… :slight_smile:
But at least it gives me the impetus I need to make sure I really learn the gender of nouns - I didn’t atually know whether gwerth was masculine or feminine. That’s what happens when you’re basically learning a passive understanding, like I am, rather than actively using and speaking the language.
So remember, kids: always learn the grammatical gender of your nouns!

Easier said than done. I had to look up gwerth to check. It’s a huge help if you can learn the genders, but it’s not the end of the world when a gender escapes you - even first language speakers don’t know the gender of every noun they come across, often they just go by what ‘sounds right’.

1 Like

True; but as a native speaker of a gendered language (Swedish), I still want to get it right, as I know that it’s an integral art of the language!

1 Like

You meant, of course, y gwerth. :wink:

ugh - wrong train of thought! Of course. Doh! :crazy_face:

1 Like

smart people
How to decide when to use ‘na ddylen i’ versus ‘ddylen i ddim’ please? Or are they interchangeable?

Diolch! x

1 Like

Resource to learn mutation

I’ve been learning Welsh long enough now that I want to master mutations. I have two grammar books that go through the bare bones of when to mutate and how, but I need more.

Is there a training resource with exercises specifically targeting mutations.

I wondered if a Gareth King book would do it, but which one?

1 Like

Gareth King’s Modern Welsh has a section about mutations, but perhaps you have already seen that?

1 Like

There are a number of uses of the word “na”, but I think in the context that you have given, it will mean “that” at the start of a negative phrase: “that (not)”. So,
"…na ddylen i… " means “…that I shouldn’t…”
“Ddylen i ddim” just means “I shouldn’t”

You might even hear some people keeping the “ddim” in the phrase starting with “na…” for emphasis. “…na ddylen i ddim”

2 Likes

Thank You @Sionned. I have been promising myself to by those books. Now might be the time.

1 Like

What about “amser am ddim”?

1 Like

Ah, not too sure to be honest. I Haven’t heard it but I’ll check unless anyone else knows and wants to confirm.

Sorry, I didn’t realise the subject for a minute and should have looked back.
I think am ddim is more in the context of free of charge. So it would probably be something like free tuition time or free minutes on your phone etc, rather than free in the sense of available.

Yes, you’re right John. “am ddim” literally is “for nothing”, so free as in ‘for no charge’, not free as in available. “free time” would be “amser rhydd” or “amser sbar” (spare time).

2 Likes

Diolch John

1 Like

Diolch Siaron