Great, I’ll try and get used to using both then. Thank you!
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Quick question about conditionals… My understanding so far:
- byddet ti (or mi fyddet ti) / baset ti (or mi faset ti) = you would.
- fyddet ti / faset t? = Would you?
But in the Level 2 northern challenges we also get ‘fyset ti’, e.g.
- byddet ti’n helpu, fyset ti?
Is there a third alternative conditional option (b/fyswn i, fyset ti, fysai fo etc)? (And if so, why use one option in the first part of the sentence, and another in the second?)
Or is the fyset ti just a set phrase which you tag on to the end of a conditional of the other two forms?
Many thanks!
There are only 2 sets - fyset is just a different way of pronouncing faset.
When I was doing Welsh at university, I remember being told that you shouldn’t mix the sets in the same sentence, but I’ve certainly heard it done in day-to-day speech between native speakers.
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Thanks, @siaronjames!
I did wonder that, but as it’s spelled that way in the course vocab and sometimes on the web, i thought there must be something else going on.
Thanks for clearing that up!
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Something I’ve noticed about Welsh which I don’t think happens so much in English is that people often (in casual settings) seem to write it the way they speak it - e.g. I’ve seen people write ‘rywbath’ and ‘isho’ because that’s how they speak.
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Here’s a quick question of my own! I had to drop off some paperwork with someone at work. She thanked me (yn Cymraeg) and then as I was leaving she said “na ni”. Just that, on its own. What’s that?
It comes from “Dyna ni” and is “There we are”.
(Edit to add - you may also come across “Na ni te” or “na ni ta” = “There we are then” 
)
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Ahhh, that makes sense. Thanks 
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Yes, I noticed how helpful this phonetic spelling is regarding getting local pronunciation, especially in the advanced content transcripts.
I also noticed that first language speakers tend to do this on social media, which gives a feel of them actually speaking.
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And that concludes the case for the prosecution, m’lud.
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Just on challenge 5 of level 2 and “I didn’t hear the latest idea” popped up to which I said “Chlywes i mo’r syniad diweddara” but “Chlywes i ddim y syniad diweddara” was what was said. I thought you couldn’t have the definite article after ‘ddim’?
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When it’s something definite coming after after a short form of a verb followed by ddim Welsh needs you to add ‘o’ before the definite article - so you can have chlywes i ddim o’r syniad or the ddim o’r gets contracted to mo’r - chlywes i mo’r syniad
You’ll also use mo if you say something like Weles i mo Siân - “I didn’t see Siân”
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Thanks for the reply, ah yes it was as I thought then. It sounded like me that they said “Chlywes i ddim y syniad” and not “ddim mo’r syniad” though.
I’m not sure how strict people are about saying the “ddim mo’r” in everyday speech. Chances are some people are more casual about it.
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Contracted version way more common in speech, in my experience.
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Quick question on mutations in normal speech, please.
If I’ve understood things properly, as ‘his’ and ‘her’ take different mutations, you get:
- dw i isio ei weld (o), but
- dw i isio ei gweld (hi)
Firstly, have I got that right?
Secondly, do people always say this in practice, or is this one of those circumstances where it’s common (or becoming more common) to use the soft mutation with hi as well?
Or put it another way: if I hear ei weld without (o/hi), is it likely that ‘o’ is meant?
Thanks!
Yes!
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No!
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Yes!
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Excellent – thanks, @garethrking!
It’s good to check this sort of thing, particularly when you’ve spent a couple hours on the past tense of cael, which Uned 27 of Basic Welsh Workbook assure me is gaethon ni unless it’s caethon ni if the wind is in the wrong direction, although if you’re in Machynlleth on market day, cawson ni is pretty much obligatory when you’re facing south and cafon ni if you can see Corris, which, of course, you can only do when it’s not raining.
Thanks again!
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