Tiny questions with quick answers - continuing thread

I’m not certain, but I think its short for Gwybodst ti (ti’n gwybod) “You know”

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That makes more sense, thanks John

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(G)wydd - plus ending: -is a more formal version of gwybod. Still used in speech. Wyddwn i ddim: I wouldn’t know.
GPC dictionary:
gwŷdd3, gŵydd5
[gair a luniwyd o fôn gwydd- (gwyddom, gwyddoch, gwyddant) y f. gwn: gwybod]
eg. ll. -ion.
Gwybodaeth, gwyddor:
knowledge, science.

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There’s this lovely poem that Aneurin Karadog and local students have recently written

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=657443549752892&set=a.444610461036203

Dewi Sant

Mae rhai am adael ol ar y byd
drwy gyflawni pethau mawr
heb weld taw’r pethau bychain
sy’n wyrthiol godi’r llawr

Mae rhai eisiau mwy a mwy
a’r mwy o bethau byth yn ddigon
heb ddeall fod genym bopeth
o gael daioni yn y galon

Which translates as…

Saint David

Some want to leave a mark on the world
by achieving great things
without seeing the little things
which miraculously raises the floor

Some want more and more
and the more things are never enough
without understanding that we have everything
of having goodness in the heart

But the last couple of lines feel very clumsy. Can anyone interpret it for me? It’s very beautiful.

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Quick question:

Just learned “gad i me” for “let me,” and I’m curious if “gad i ni” works like “let’s,” for instance can I say “gad i ni fynd” for let’s go? When serving dinner, could I say “gad i ni fwyta”

Yes, it works just as in English. Although technically, you have to use the plural form gadewch when adressing more than one person.

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Diolch! And the emphasis would be on the “de,” like “gaDEwch” then?

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Yes :+1:

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Shortened by some speakers to “dewch i ni”.

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Coming back from having taken a break from Welsh as I had huge burnout… Can somebody just confirm for me that a subordinate clause with bod has no difference in Welsh with the past and present e.g:

I think that he is ill.
Dw i’n meddwl fod e’n sâl

I think that he was ill.
Dw i’n meddwl fod e’n sâl

Hope this makes sense, ta!

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Hi @gregory-3

Welcome back!

One way to think about it, is that the ‘bod’ passes through the tense which exists in the sentence already.

Dywedodd Tony fod e’n sâl - Tony said he was sick…

An alternative way (to think about it), is that it reflects what Tony said at that time - which might have been in the present tense at that point.

So, in the context of a conversation where you had been talking about someone who was or is ill - your examples would have a clear meaning…and not be misunderstood.

If greater precision was required you could switch the clause order:

Roedd e’n sâl dwi’n meddwl - He was sick I think.

…or there is the ‘posher’ way which is to use the more generic version of ‘that’…‘y’ or ‘yr’…this usage is more unusual in spoken conversation, although you do hear it in more high brow things…

Dwi’n meddwl yr oedd yn sâl - I think that he was sick

Hopefully that clarifies and doesn’t confuse.

However, your examples would be fine and the ‘don’t worry about it’ principle definitely applies.

Rich :slightly_smiling_face:

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Diolch yn fawr am yr ateb syfrdanol!

That’s a really good point about just switching the clauses and I think that I need to adopt more of the ‘don’t worry about it’ principle to my Welsh :slight_smile:

Diolch eto!

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:+1: Not worrying about these things is definitely the best policy - people will understand.

Rich

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Dyma fideo/ Here is a video

This explains the ’ i’w ’ echo structure in Welsh

gad i ni … can also be seen as ‘gad inni’ in writing. I have no idea why!? But “fel y mae” (as it goes).

A softer way of say gad i ni…or gadewch i ni … is using dewch i ni…supposedly less harsh / direct to first language people

Diolch yn fawr iawn! I really appreciate you taking the time to send that to me. S

In informal writing, words that sound like they run into one another are often spelt out like that. I suppose the most well-known instance of this would be dw idwi.

I suspect in the case on i niinni the doubling of the n represents a doubling of the n sound due to the stress boundary in speech, and also ini when written like that just looks a bit weird :wink:

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Diolch am y mymryn bach o wybodaeth yna!

I’m doing level 3 (new course) 22, and have come across two different ways of saying “anyone” after “heb law” in two different sentences.

heb law neb
heb law unrhywen

Can anyone explain please?