Bore da, I was wondering if anyone could explain the difference between “wna i and byddai” please, I thought wna i meant I will and byddai meant I will be, thank you, a couple of sentences showing the difference would be fantastic, thank you
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The way one tutor explained it to us was that “wna i” is the near future, for example: “I’ll put the kettle on.” (Wna i roi’r tegell ymlaen.) or “I’ll be there in a moment.”
“Fydda i” was the true future, for things like, “I’ll be on holiday next week.”
I’m sure that others will be able to explain it more technically, but that’s a rough idea of how it works.
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That’s great, thank you Margaret
There is certainly more of a feel of intention with wna i…, as with the short future, while perhaps a little less so with bydda i’n…. I’ll phone you tomorrow is a bit more likely to be either Na i’ch ffonio chi yfory or Ffonia i chi yfory than Bydda i’n ffonio chi yfory, but I don’t think many people would really bat an eyelid one way or the other with an example like that.
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Interesting to read this. At my very basic level, I feel like “Gwna i…” tends to be used for offers/promises/spontaneous decisions.
“Bydda i…” for things happening at set times in the future. “This time next week I’ll be on the beach sipping a mojito”.
No idea where the future form of the verb fits into this (“Ffonia i…”). I am unlikely to remember any of it in the moment of speaking!
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