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Welsh General / Questions
#1

I have a question for everyone, but particularly for the super-helpful long-term posters (such as @Hendrik , @Deborah-SSi and @siaronjames although I’m sure there are plenty of others!)

What would you say are the most common questions that crop up when people start learning Welsh? I’m making a list… I’ve already got a few, including when to use ti or chi, and why it’s dwi’n hoffi but dwi angen/eisiau. (I’ve been through the “Tiny questions with quick answers” thread for ideas as well.)

Can anyone make further suggestions?

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#2

I’d say probably by far the most common is the difference (in all tenses) between using a form of bod and using a form of gwneud - i.e. stative and non-stative verbs

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#3

Good idea. Off the top of my head there are two other topics that come up regularly: “when to use i in front of a verb” and “wnes i vs. o’n i”.

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#4

Ffab! Diolch, both - added to the list…

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#5

Another source of confusion is thinking that bod is always used as “that” to join phrases so questioning where is the “that” in the past tenses e.g.

dw i’n gwybod bod hi’n mynd but dw i’n gwybod aeth hi

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#6

Thanks, Deborah - that is such a tricky one, isn’t it! I remember spending ages on all the different possible linking words (with a flow chart that was really useful but that I can no longer find, unfortunately…) in my Gloywi class! And I still don’t think that I get it right all of the time.

#7

talking of thats, another common one is the seemingly wrong tense after a that e.g. That he wanted

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#8

I struggle with when to use os . . . bydd and tasai . . . basai. My understanding is that the former is for straightforward if/then situations (“If the weather is good, I’ll be there.”), and the latter for hypothetical situations (“If I win the lottery, I’ll go to Paris.”). But it’s not always clear to me when to use which.

A related problem is that we often use “if” interchangeably with “whether” in English, while they’re distinct in Welsh. When I am unsure, I ask myself if the question could be asked using “whether” (“I wonder if/whether George knows about the rabbit.”) However, I could use a concise guide to the choice between os and some form of bod in these situations.

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#9

Here’s another - the difference between erioed and byth and when do they mean “ever” or “never”, and in the case of erioed when does it mean “always”?

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