Shwmae
Can anyone explain to me to rules for when you would use “i” meaning “to” infront of a verb? I’m confused as I’ve seen sentences containing both options and I can’t seem to figure out a pattern. For example I’ve seen ymlacio (to relax) and i ymlacio both being used to mean the same thing.
Diolch!
Hello Andrea,
“to i or not to i” is one of the puzzling things that crops up from time to time, so instead of trying to re-invent the wheel, I’d like to link to a previous post:
But one of the main takeaway points is that instead of thinking of the “i” being in front of the second verb, it is rather a necessary preposition following the first verb.
You might find this thread useful in answering that - When to use and when not to use 'i ' as a preposition before a verbnoun
However, it’s also worth pointing out that sometimes the i is there because it ‘goes with’ the preceding verb e.g. dwi’n moyn ymlacio compared to dwi’n mynd i ymlacio … the i in the second one is because mynd is almost always followed by an i.
Edit - haha, Hendrik beat me to it!
Thank you both, that link is very helpful!
I was going to ask the same question
I always used to think it was because it made it easier to say! Doh!
I thought that when you use moyn you say dw i moyn not dw i’n moyn.
Which is correct?
dwi’n moyn is the correct form, although in speech sometimes the 'n can get swallowed up so it can sometimes sound like dwi moyn (especially in fast speech).
Also, I believe some people leave it out under the influence of the way eisau/isio/isie is used.
Either way is fine, obviously.
Edited to add: I think something similar happens with dwi methu, where the 'n gets swallowed up by the initial m, leading to the southern equivalent dw i ffili also losing the 'n.