What is the difference in using each of these words or phrases?
“wrth” as in wrth i nhw
“iddi” as in iddi nhw
or just “i”
Sometimes I’m confused as to which phrase to use.
Thank you.
wrth and i have several meanings each, but confusion between them can arise because they can both mean to
When certain verbs need to be followed by a to, some have to use wrth but others have to use i.
E.g to tell (to) someone = dweud wrth rhywun / to tell (to) them - dweud wrthyn* nhw (sounds like wrth i nhw, but it’s wrthyn nhw)
to ask (to) someone = gofyn i rhywun / to ask (to) them - gofyn iddyn* nhw (sounds like iddi nhw but it’s iddyn nhw)
So which one you use depends on which verb you’re using before it.
You will hear people saying dweud i and gofyn wrth, but technically it’s not right (but acceptable colloquially in many places)
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Thank you, this is quite helpful!
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some prepositions in Welsh change before pronouns. i and wrth are always the same before a noun but before a pronoun like I, you, he , she or it, they conjugate. So you: gofyn i John but gofyn iddo fe (to him), iddi hi (to her) or iddyn nhw (to them). Wrth also conjugates dweud wrth John but dweud wrtho fe.
It sounds complicated but before long you’ll do it automatically “wrth e” just sounds wrong and you’ll find yourself saying “wrtho fe” naturally.
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Thank you for this information, the examples you gave are very helpful. I’ll keep it in mind when I’m trying to figure out which word to use.
We didn’t know what to tell them = Doeddan ni ddim yn gwybod beth i ddweud wrthon nhw. Instead of wrthon nhw, I keep wanting to say “iddi nhw”