THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE

Orthography and pronunciation

A dictionary of the written language cannot teach pronunciation accurately, but fortunately the orthography of Welsh is, with some exceptions broadly phonemic, i.e. as a rule one letter or combination of letters (ch, ll, rh, ng) represents one phoneme. By following the rules of orthography, Welsh words may be pronounced at sight, giving a standardized pronunciation intelligible to all educated Welsh speakers. Of course, as with speakers in every other language, including English, ordinary Welsh speakers do not speak as if they were carefully reading from a book. The learner is advised to listen to Welsh radio and television broadcasts, to practise conversation with a good native speaker and to invest in one of the many courses available on record and cassette.

Consonants class letter symbol phonetic definition English approximation plosives b as in byd [b] weakly voiced bilabial as b in book, abbot d as in darn [d] weakly voiced dental or alveolar as d in dog, adder g as in gwyn [g] weakly voiced palatal or velar as g in gag, ago p as in peth [ph] voiceless bilabial as p in pit, open t as in tad [th] voiceless dentalor alveolar as t in town, pity c as in cwm [kh] voiceless palatal or velar as c in cat, bacon fricatives f as in fel, haf [v] weakly voiced labiodental as f in of, as v in even dd as in bedd, ddoe [ð] weakly voiced dental or alveolar as th in then, breathe ff, ph as in corff, (ei) phen [f] voiceless labiodental as ff in off, as ph in hyphen th as in ethol [θ] voiceless alveolar or dental as th in breath, theatre ch as in bach, chwyn [X] voiceless velar as ch in Scots loch, German Bach h as in heno [h] voiceless glotal fricative as in h in hot, aha sibilants s as in Sais [s] voiceless alveolar as s in hiss, sit si or sh as in siarad, stwnsh [ʃ] voiceless palatal as sh in sham, mesh affricates j as in joch [dʒ] weakly voiced alveo- palatal as j in judge, ajar tsi or tsh as in tsieni, cratsh [tʃ] voiceless alveo-palatal as ch in church nasals m as in mam [m] voiced bilabial as m in mummy n as in nain [n] voiced alveolar or dental velar as n in nanny ng as in llong [ŋ] voiced velar as ng in song, singer ng as in Bangor, dangos [ŋg] voiced velar + voiced velar plosive as ng in bingo laterals l as in lol [l] voiced lateral, clear as l in lily; not as in look ll [ɬ] fortis voiceless lateral fricative hl trills or taps r as in erw [r] voiced alveolar tap or trill as r in Scots pronunciation of rip, dry rh as in rhaid [ṛ] voiceless alveolar fricative hr semiconsonants i as in iawn, hercian [j] voiced palatal as y in yes, youth w as in gwan, galwad [w] voiced bilabial as w in went

Voiceless allophones of l, r, occur regularly after voiceless consonants p, t, c, ff, th, ch, and of i after h, e.g. in ei hiaith. The sound of ll, as in llall, Llanbedr, &c. has no equivalent in English, but a lenis voiceless allophone faintly resembling it occurs in English in the pronunciation of l after the voiceless consonants p, t, c, in words such as atlas, please, clean; if these words are whispered loudly, with practice it should be possible to isolate the voiceless sound of l; this, pronounced more strongly, would approximate to the sound of Welsh ll. Similarly, the sound of Welsh rh may be produced by practising and isolating the voiceless allophone of r after p, t, c, th, f in the Scots pronunciation of tree, thrill, crag, &c.

The plosives b, d, g and fricatives f, dd are weakly voiced, especially so at the ends of words; if the following word begins with h-, then b, d, g are almost voiceless. Thus: ei thad hi is pronounced as i thati; ei mab hi as if i mapi; ei cheg hi as if i checi. The conjunctions ac and nac are always pronounced as if ag, nag before vowels. In many Southern forms of Welsh b, d, g are voiceless even between vowels; thus blota for blodau, popi for pobi, acor for agor, &c. Essentially the contrast between p, t, c on the one hand, and b, d, g on the other, is that p, t, c are followed by aspiration [h]. The clusters gwl-, gwr-, gwn- before a vowel (e.g. in gwlad, gwraig, gwneud, &c., should be pronounced as lip-rounded gl-, gr-, gn-; i.e. gwlad, gwraig, gwneud are monosyllables accented on -ad, -aig, -eud.

Vowels Front i as in chwim, pigyn [i] short, very close as i in Fifi, pique i as in tir } [i:] long, very close as ee in sleet, i in machine î as in pîn, sgîl e as in het [ɛ] short half open as e in pet e as in hen } [e:] long half close as ê in fête ê as in llên Central a as in cam [a] short, very open as a in Northern English bath, hat a as in tad } [a:] long very open as aa in kraal, Saar â as in tân y as in hynaf, yn, yr, y [ə] short, half open approx. as u in but y as in bryn } [ɨ] or [I] short, very close as i in sinner u as in munud i in some recent borrowings e.g. bin y as in byd } [ɨ:] or [I:] long, very close as i in bin but longer, rather like French u in mur ŷ as in ŷd u as in sul û as in bûm Back w as in cwm [u] short very close as oo in look ŵ as in cŵn [u:] long very close as oo in boot o as in ffon [ɔ] short, very open as o in hot o as in oll } [o:] long, fairly close as o in bored ô as in sôn

It will be seen from the above that y represents two different sounds:

1. It is pronounced [I] or [ɨ] in monosyllables, e.g. (short) bryn, byr, byw, cyrn, ffyrch, gwyn, [I:] or [ɨ:] (long) bys, dydd, sydd; and (always short) in the final syllable of polysyllables, e.g. awydd, blodyn, ceffyl, emyn, mynydd; The prefixes cyd-, cyn- always correctly retain the sound [I] or [i].

2. In the non-final positions in polysyllables, y is pronounced as the “obscure” central vowel [ə], e.g. bryniau, dynion, tynnu, ymylon.

3. Exceptions to these rules are:

(a) monosyllables pronounced with [ə], the definite articles y, yr, the particle and preposition yn, the relative particle y, yr, the possessive adjectives fy, dy, the particle myn (in oaths), syr and ys = it is;

(b) gyda is always pronounced as [gIda]; i gyd is always pronounced [i gi:d].

(c) y is also pronounced [I] or [ɨ] , even when non-final, if it precedes a vowel, e.g. lletya;

(d) -yw- follows the rule as in byw [bIu], llyw [ɬIu], but bywyd [bəuId], llywydd [ɬəuIð]. But it is often pronounced [Iu] in the penult, e.g. amrywio, amrywiaeth, distrywio, llywio; so also gwywo, gwywedig;

(e) the rule does not apply to the diphthong wy [uI] whose pronunciation does not change in words such as cwyn, cwyno, cwynwr, mwyn, mwynach, rhwym, rhwymo, &c.; gwyrdd [gwIrð] should follow the rule, but the plural gwyrddion is usually pronounced [gwIrðjɔn]

(f) sylw is pronounced [sIlu], but sylwi, sylwedydd, &c. observe the rule: [səlwi], [səlwedIð];

(g) Southern speakers tend to pronounce y as [I] or [i] in all positions, and scarcely to distinguish between y and u. Throughout Wales u is pronounced as [i] in ugain, deugain, union, rhywun, cynnull, bugail, cuddio, trueni; y is generally pronounced [i] in dilyn, disgybl, disgyn, diwyg, diwygio, diwygiwr, dychymyg (final syllable), esgyn, gilydd, gyda, llewyg, llewys, meddyg, menyg, plisgyn, tebyg, amryw, rhywbeth, rhywun, rhywsut, rhywle, rhywfath, cyw, yw, ydyw, efengyl, gwylio, dryw, cyfryw, ystryw, distryw, benyw, rhelyw, llwyni. This tends to be the case when the vowel in the preceding syllable is i, when y is preceded or followed by -g-, or when y is followed by w.

The English vowel sounds can only be approximations: in particular the long English vowels shown are in reality diphthongs, combinations of two vowels, rather than single pure vowels. Thus fête is [feit] and boot is [buwt]. This diphthongization must be avoided in Welsh.

Diphthongs

These are combinations of two simple vowels pronounced rapidly under one stress:

ai as in tai, saith [ai] approx. as ai in Shanghai au as in cau [aI] mostly pronounced as above âi as in câi, hwyrhâi [a:i] as above but longer, as igh in sigh ae as in cae, maen } [a:ɨ] or [a:I] mostly pronounced as âi au as in traul âu as in dramâu aw as in hawl [au] as ow in cow aw as in braw, glaw [a:u] as above but longer ei as in ceir, cei [ei] as ei in weighty eu as in creu, dweud } [eɨ], [eI], [əɨ] or [əI] as ei in weight ey as in teyrn, lleyg ew as in mewn, Dewi [ɛu] eh-oo: Dewi is pronounced as if dare we ew as in llew [ɛ:u] as above, but longer oe as in poeni, oeri } [ɔi] as oi in oily oi as in troi ou as in cyffrous, clou [ɔI] or [ɔi] much as above ôi as in deffrôi [o:i] as above, but longer, as oy in toy oe as in ddoe, poen, oer [ɔ:ɨ], [o:I], öy as in bröydd, glöyn [ɔ:ɨ] or [ɔ:I] ow as in down, rhown [ɔu] oh-oo, as ow in bowling, slowly iw, yw as in rhiw, yw [iu] approx. as ee-oo pronounced rapidly uw as in Duw [ɨu] [Iu] Mostly pronounced as iw, except in the North where the distinctive pronunciation is [Iu] or [ɨu] yw (in non-final syllables of polysyllables) as in Hywel, bywyd, llywodraeth [əu] more or less as ow in bowling, slowly

wy represents two sounds:

1. (a) the semi-consonant w + y [wi] or [wI] as in Gwyn, gwyrdd, gwynt, chwyn, chwyrn where it approximates to wi in with;

(b) wŷ, as in gwych, gwyllt, gwŷr, gwŷs, chwys, chwyth is pronounced as above, but the second vowel is longer [wi:] or [wI:] or [wɨ:], somewhat like wee especially in the South.

2. as a genuine diphthong or combination of two vowels

(a) short [ui] or [uI] only in polysyllables (cwyno, llwyddo, wybren, wylo, wyneb, cydwybod, gwybod, arwydd, morwyn, gwanwyn, cannwyll, cadwyn, aswy, Conwy, galwyn, gwyliau, gwenwyn, synnwyr, egwyddor, nodwydd, annwyd, tywydd, celwydd, arwyr, enwyn, palmwydd, pinwydd, myrtwydd, &c.) approximates to English oo-ee pronounced rapidly. This diphthong tends either to be reduced to a single vowel, e.g. gwbod for gwybod, annwd for annwyd, morwn for morwyn, &c. or to be replaced by [wi] or [wI] e.g. arwydd is often pronounced as if ar-widd.

(b) long [u: ɨ] or [u:i] or [u:I] in monosyllables e.g. ŵyn, mwyn, twyn, cwyr, llwyr, hwy, mwy, llwy, trwy, &c.

Although the rule is that wy in polysyllables such as gwynnaf, gwyntoedd, gwyrddion, chwynnu, gwyrthiau, celwyddog, chwythiadau, tywyllwch, &c. is to be pronounced as a diphthong containing the neutral vowel or schwa thus [wə] like wo in wonder, in practice the pronunciation is [wi] or [wI] as wi in winner, following the pronunciation in gwyrdd, gwynt, gwyrth, chwyn, chwyth, &c. This is almost invariably so in the South, where there is a strong tendency to give y the “clear” pronunciation [i] in all positions. In the endings -wy, -wyd, -wydd, -wyf, -wyl, -wyll, -wym, -wyn (except gwyn and its compounds), -wynt (except gwynt and its compounds), -wyr (except compounds of gwŷr), -wys, -wysg, -wystr, -wyt, -wyth, the -wy is a true diphthong [ui] or [uI] not [wi].

The foregoing guide to pronunciation can be only an approximate one. Learners of Welsh are advised to listen to Welsh radio and television broadcasts where possible, to practise conversation with good native speakers or to use some of the many courses available on record, tape and cassette. As is the case in many languages including English, ordinary spoken Welsh differs from the standard speech used in the media, in the pulpit and in formal lectures &c. The learner would be well advised to acquire one or other of the varieties of spoken Welsh, Southern or Northern, but to avoid mixing features of more than one.

No detailed phonology of the dialects of Welsh is furnished here, but some major features are indicated. Northerners do not distinguish between short and half-long vowels in the penult: tonau and tonnau are both pronounced short. Northerners distinguish the sounds of i [i] and u, y [I] or [ɨ].

In much of the North, and in the South-East, in final syllables -e, -ae, -ai ar replaced by -a, thus bora for bore, atab for ateb, perffath for perffaith, &c., except in “learned” words (coleg, anthem, &c.); elsewhere the pronunciation is [ɛ]. Many Southern dialects do not have the phoneme [h], thus: ‘eddi’ for heddiw, arn for haearn, &c., and rh is replaced by r. In the South initial chw- is often reduced to hw- or w-; hence hware or ware for chwarae, &c., -is is often pronounced -ish; mish for mis, ishta or ishte for eistedd, &c. Many Southern speakers have kept the older diphthong -ou for -au, e.g. (h)oul for haul, dou or doi for dau, clou or cloi for clau, &c.

In the South-East voiced consonants (b, d, g) become voiceless (p, t, c) even between vowels; popi for pobi, blota for blodau, (h)wpo for hwbio, &c. Where the Northern Welsh and the standard language have verb-endings in -io, -ian and noun endings in -iad, Southern Welsh has endings in -o, -an, -ad respectively, thus: pwno for pwnio, pwnad for pwniad, &c. Neither can be said to be more “correct” than the other, but in this dictionary, to save space, as a rule the standard forms in -io, -iad have been listed only, except in the cases of words characteristic only of the South. In the South, the 3rd person singular of the past or historic tense is -ws instead of -odd, e.g. cwplws for cwblhaodd.

In the North mi is used as a particle before all inflected forms of the verb, in the South fe is so used. In this dictionary mi has been used before the first person singular and plural, and fe before all other persons.

In the Welsh text we have sought to vary the style to match the register of the English, from the highly literary to the very colloquial, from for example, nid yw/ydyw efe to ‘dydi ‘o ddim or ‘dyw e’ ddim or ‘smo fe ddim.

A comprehensive presentation of the Welsh dialects will be found in Thomas (B.) & Thomas (P. W.): Cymraeg, Cymrâg, Cymrêg … Cyflwyno’r tafodieithoedd (Gwasg Taf, Caerdydd, 1989).

Quantity of vowels

A. Vowels may be short, long or medium. In many cases long vowels are distinguished by the circumflex e.g. in tŷ, cânt, bûm, siâp, &c., but not always, and the following indications will be useful: in polysyllables, the main accent falls as a rule on the penultimate (last but one) syllable, which may be long or short; all other syllables in the word will be short (unless otherwise indicated by a circumflex).

B. The vowel is long in:

1. Open monosyllables

In open monosyllables (i.e. ending in a vowel) the vowel is as a rule long, thus: da, lle, tri, to, du, llw, &c. This includes words ending in -f which tends to be very faintly pronounced if at all: tre(f), ca(f), go(f), &c. There are a few always unaccented monosyllables: the definite articles y, yr; the prepositions yn, ym, yng; the possessives fy, my; dy, thy; a, ac, and; a = that; pa = what. These can scarcely occur in isolation and in practice the vowel is short; while y, yr, pa may be stressed by emphasis, the others can scarcely be stressed, unlike English my.

2. Closed monosyllables (i.e. ending in a consonant)

(a) syllables ending in -b, e.g. mab, neb, pab, pob, tyb, &c.; except hwb, heb, and borrowings such as bib, nib, cob, lob, slob, ffab, cab, dab, lab, tab, wab, &c.; heb follows the rule and is long in the South, but short in the North;

(b) syllables ending in -d, e.g. tad, gwlad, bod, rhod, llid, cred, hud, rhwd, hyd, &c.; except nid, nad, ar dỳd, and borrowings from English e.g. dad, ffad, pad, sad, led, cid, bòd (= buzzard), nòd, ròd, òd, hwd, mwd (= mud), &c.;

(c) syllables ending in -g, e.g. brag, nâg, rheg, gwig, pig, crog, grug, rhyg, mwg, og; except rhag, ag,nag (= than) and borrowings from English: bag, ffag, gag, nag, sbrag, slag, stag, tag, wag, ffeg, meg, peg, ig, wig, còg, ffog, grog, jog, hog, log, nog, prog, slog, wog; jwg, mwg, plwg, rỳg, tỳg and èg (name of the letter g);

(d) syllables ending in -f, as haf, llef, rhif, cof, &c.; except borrowings from English, e.g. sbif, laf, &c. and èf (name of the letter f);

(e) syllables ending in -dd e.g. gradd, bedd, rhodd, cudd, ffydd, &c.; except èdd (name of the digraph dd);

(f) syllables ending in -ff, e.g. rhaff, cloff, cyff, hoff, &c.; except caff, haff, piff, stiff, off, toff, wff, clwff, pwff, mwff, rwff, stwff, hwff, èff (name of the digraph ff);

(g) syllables ending in -th, e.g. cath, peth, rhith, croth, crwth, syth, &c.; except bèth, hèth, Beth, Seth, ffroth, broth, myth, èth (name of the digraph th); byth may be long or short;

(h) syllables ending in -ch, e.g. bach, strach, llech, coch, gwich, rhych, trwch, &c.; except àch, pach, hàch, llach, fflach, och, soch, joch, èch (name of the digraph ch);

(i) syllables ending in -s, e.g. cas, nes (= nearer), clôs, nos, mis, us, pys, &c.; except os, nas, nes ( = until), pes, ys, bws, clos, pàs, sws, g(i)as, ffrès, màs, piws, sbriws, was, bos, còs, gès, ffỳs, ffws, ès (name of the letter s).

C. The length of the vowel varies in:

(a) syllables ending in -ll, e.g. llall, pell, coll, pill, hyll, &c., the vowel is generally long in the South, short in the North; holl, oll are always pronounced long;

(b) syllables ending in -l, -n, -r;

(i) -il, -ul, -in, -un, -ir, -ur are long, e.g. hil, cul, min, llun, tir, cur, &c.; except bil, dril, ffril, Wil, swil, dul, pin, prin, tun; cnul can be long or short;

(ii) syllables ending in -al, -el, -ol, -wl, -yl, -an, -en, -wn, -yn, -ar, -er, -or, -wr, -yr may be short or long: Welsh orthography distinguishes all long syllables in this class by the circumflex; except :in dyn, hen, which are long despite not being so marked; tynn, ynn, gyrr, syrr, are short; pryn, cryn may be long or short;

D. The vowel is short in:

(a) syllables ending in -p, -t, -c, -ng, -sh, -j are short, e.g. hap, clep, cip, at, het, ffit, pot, crwt, llac, clec, broc, tric, plwc, cam, trem, crom, trwm, llwm, pang, lleng, ing, llong, mwng, ffresh, brwsh, posh, plwsh, fflwsh, slej; except ŷm, bôm, bûm, bôt forms of the word bod, written with a circumflex as are other exceptions siâp, sêt, ffrâm, &c.; cot, grot are long in the North, short in the South.

(b) monosyllables ending in more than one consonant, e.g. plant, cast, wrth, corff, hynt, rwtsh, ffwrn, &c. Following this rule, the vowel is short before -llt, -sg, -sb, -st, e.g. gwallt, mellt, hollt, swllt, Pasg, gwisg, cosb, tyst, cwsg, llesg, cist, hesg, hesb, cost, &c. in the South, but in the North these are usually pronounced long. Other exceptions to this rule are marked by the circumflex, e.g. in contracted verb-forms such as cânt, ânt, gwnânt, dônt, trônt, &c.;

E. Length of diphthongs in accented monosyllables.

(a) the diphthongs ae, oe, wy are long whether in open or closed syllables: cae, caer, mae, maes, doe, oer, bloesg, mwy, llwyr, rhwysg, pwynt, cwymp, rhwystr, rhwym, twym, also gwnaent, caent, maent, paent, hwynt, &c.;

(b) Other diphthongs are as a rule short, with some exceptions listed:

(i) ai, ei, are short, e.g. bai, cei, rhaid, maint, beirdd, &c.; except circumflexed forms of verb: câi, gwnâi;

(ii) -aw, -ew, -iw, -uw, -yw are short, e.g. brawd, dewr, lliw, lluwch, Duw, Huw, Puw, clywn, byw; ew! ow! aw! ewch; except open syllables in -aw, -ew, are long in the North; e.g. llaw, blew.

(iii) -au is usually short, e.g. brau, cau, dau, haul, clau, mau, and the corresponding Southern -ou e.g. dou, clou, houl, &c.; except caul, ffau, gwaudd, gwaun, pau, traul.

(iv) eu, oi, ey, ow, oy are short, e.g. creu, gweu, troi, heyrn, moyn, &c.; exceptions are marked by the circumflex, e.g. contracted verb-forms such as trôi (= troai), 3rd person singular imperfect of troi: it was turning, rhôi, he was giving.

F. All the above observations apply to monosyllables when stressed, i.e. when standing alone or as the stressed word in a phrase or sentence. Otherwise, when unstressed, all long vowels are drastically shortened, the more so the further they are away from the main stressed word. Thus, in hen ŵr bach tew iawn, though in isolation hen, ŵr, tew and bach are all long, in this phrase every single vowel is short for all practical purposes.

G. Stress and length of vowels in polysyllables

1. In polysyllables the main stress falls as a rule on the last syllable but one. If one or more syllables are suffixed, the rule still applies, i.e. the stress will automatically move forward to the last syllable but one, e.g. ffenestr, plural ffenestri. In this dictionary exceptions to this rule are indicated by a thin vertical line | before the stressed vowel, e.g. caraf|an, p|aragraff, |ambiwlans, ff|yrbilo.

The line thus shown does not form part of the usual spelling of the word and is not repeated in the entry. Many such words conform to the general rule in the plural, e.g. ac|ademi (academïau), t|estament (testam|entau). This vertical marker is not used where the stress is already normally indicated either by the circumflex, e.g. in achlân, or by the grave accent, e.g. carafàn. In general, borrowed words keep their original stress pattern.

2. Classes of words accented on the final syllable are:

(a) the emphatic pronouns myfi, tydi, efe, efô, hyhi, nyni, chwychwi, hwynt-hwy;

(b) compound adverbs, adjectives and prepositions: heblaw, drachefn, gerllaw, erioed, ymhlith, ymhell, paham. ynghylch, ynghlwm, yngholl, ynghynn, ynghyd, ynglŷn, ynghlo, ymysg, ymhen, ymron, islaw, uwchlaw, cyfuwch, gogyhyd, goggyfuwch, goruwch, gorîs, yrhawg, ymlaen, ymhlith, cyhyd, gyhyd, i gyd, perhôn, diymdroi, ychwaith, ynghynt, yn unswydd, yn isgîl;

(c) certain compound verbs beginning with ym-, e.g. ymhel, ymweld, ymwneud, ymdrin, ymlâdd = exhaust oneself, ymddŵyn = conceive, bear; third person forms such as ymgêl from ymgelu, ymwnêl, ymwnaeth, ymwnâi from ymwneud, ymlŷn from ymlynu, also atbrŷn from atbrynu;

(d) verb-nouns ending in -au, -oi, -eu-: ail-greu, ail-weu, atroi, datroi, amdroi, atgloi, camdroi, cildroi, cogordroi, cyfleu, cyfrdroi, cylchdroi, chwyldroi, dileu, dyheu, geirdroi, datgloi, datoi, osgoi, paratoi, ymbaratoi, cilgnoi, cyffroi, atgnoi, cydgrynhoi, cyfloi, gwrthdroi, nydd-droi, tindroi, tyndroi, ymdroi; crynhoi, ymroi, crasgnoi, amgáu, nesáu, dynesáu, amlhau, llesáu, glanhau, arwyddocáu, boddhau, breisgáu, dyfalbarhau, esmwytháu, gwacáu, hirbarhau, brochgáu, cwpláu, tecáu, brwysgáu, parhau, llesgáu, gwanhau, nacáu, gwastatáu, tristáu, iselhau, hwyhau, lleihau, mwyhau, mwynhau, caniatáu, coffáu, atgoffáu, iacháu, lladratau, llwfrhau, cyfiawnhau, dyfnhau, anufuddhau, edifarhau, meinhau, ymwacáu, ymnesau and their third person forms lladratâ, &c.;

(e) compounds of gwneud, gweld, ymweld, cyfweld, ail-wneud, ymwneud, dadwneud and their third person forms, ymwnâ, cyfwêl, &c.;

(f) nounds ending in – âd, -had, (always long) usually formed from verbs ending in -au, -hau-, e.g. amlhad, arwyddocâd, byrhad, cadarnhad, caniatâd, coffâd, cwblhad, cyfiawnhad, dyfalbarhad, dyfrhad, eginhad, eglurhad, esmwythâd, glanhad, gwacâd, gwanhad, gwellhad, hirbarhad, hwyhad, iachâd, iselhad, parhad, pellhad, perswâd, prinhâd, rhyddhad, sarhad, sicrhad, trugarhad, tynhad, ymfoddhad, ymwacâd, penllâd;

(g) in compounds of -wr ending in -awr, -ewr, -iwr, -owr, -uwr, -ywr the endings are of two syllables, with the main stress regularly on the first, sometimes indicated by the diaeresis (“), thus bwyt|awr, not b|wytawr, gwrand|awr, not gwr|andawr; e.g. casáwr, cyfiawnhawr, difawr, glanhawr, gwrandawr, iachawr, darlläwr, crëwr, cyflëwr, syrfëwr, crïwr, storïwr, comedïwr, copïwr, dyweddïwr, gweddïwr, crïwr, marsiandïwr, mechnïwr, ysbïwr, ffrïwr, cnöwr, chwyldrowr, glöwr, osgowr, töwr, tröwr, düwr, plüwr, rhüwr, süwr, lletywr, gwestywr, &c.; however: awr, cawr, clawr, gwawr, llawr, mawr, ‘nawr, pawr, sawr, dewr, piwr are monosyllables;

(h) nounds ending in -fa in the singular form plurals in -fâu (long) and/or -feydd (short). In these plurals the stress is always on the last syllable, e.g. athrofâu, berfâu, camfâu, cadwrfâu, canolfâu, crynfâu, curfâu, cuddfâu, cychwynfâu, cyfrinfâu, cylchfâu, deorfâu, drefâu, dychrynfâu, enynfâu, genfâu, gwahanfâu, gwalfâu, gwarchodfâu, gyrfâu, helfâu, llechfâu, llewygfâu, llethrfâu, maethfâu, magwrfâu, neithdarfâu, poenfâu, porfâu, taenfâu, trofâu, tyrfâu; angorfeydd, arosfeydd, atomfeydd, cerddorfeydd, cronfeydd, glofeydd, golygfeydd, porfeydd, rhegfeydd, ogofeydd, dychrynfeydd, gweithfeydd;

(j) some nouns ending in -a in the singular, form a plural in -âu, which is stressed: berâu, bwâu, dramâu, sinemâu, themâu, plâu. The plural of gwely is often gwelâu; of beudy often beudái, and of gweithdy often gweith-dai;

(k) some proper names: Bartim|eus, Elis|eus, Zach|eus, Gwrtheyrn, Cyndeyrn; some names of places: Caerdydd, Caerweir, Caerlŷr, Llandâf, Llandŵ, Llandygái, Llandylŵyf, Tre-fîn, Llan-giwg, Llangyndeyrn, Llanllŷr, Llan-soe, Llan-teg, Coed-llai and other hyphenated names of the type Bryn-coch, Rhyd-ddu, &c.;

(l) adjectives ending in -aus, -eus, -ous, -aig, -eig: boddhaus, bywiocaus, dyfalbarhaus, parhaus, sarhaus, trahaus, trofáus, anghyfleus, amheus, cyfleus, anghyfleus, chwareus, diamheus; cyffrous, hir-ymharhous, ymarhous, ymrous, cynhaig, bwyteig, Cymreig, Hebreig, also Cymraes, Cymraeg, Hebraeg, Aramaeg;

(m) loose compound adjectives and nouns formed with the suffixes di-, cyd-, cyn-, cam-, gor-, hunan-, e.g. di-âm, di-boen, di-lyth, di-feth, di-ffael, di-lun, di-siâp, di-rif, di-fref, di-les, di-nag, di-dâl, di-chwaeth, di-oed, &c. (many have a more literary form stressed on the penult, e.g. dilyth, dirif, &c.); cyd-ddwyn, cyn-faer, cam-farn, cyd-fyw, cyd-gwrdd, cyd-weu, hunan-dyb, hunan-lês, cam-drin, cyd-fynd, cydweld, gorwneud, &c.;

(n) some adjectives: annheg, amhûr, amhêr, anghlîr, cytûn, anghytûn, diymdroi, aflêr, annhêr;

(o) monosyllables begining with ysb-, ysg-, yst-, e.g. ystâd, ystên, ystôl, ysbrêd, ysbâs, ysbwng, ysgrech, ystôr, ystwc, ystryd, &c.; most of these are now usually written without the y-;

(p) interjections aha, oho, yntê, onidê, aiê, hwrê, iwhŵ, tihî;

(q) borrowings which have kept their original stress pattern, e.g. apêl, brigâd, perswâd, pipî, parêd, promenâd, ffarw|el or ffarwel, ymbar|el, pedigrî, ciwpî, jiwbilî, cysêt, sidêt;

(r) miscellaneous items: penllâd, penrhaith, penaig, ysgolhaig, cad|it or cyd|it, gwahodd, dylêd (as well as dyled), rownd-y-rîl, dinad-man, siang-di-fang, rwdl-mi-ri, tad-cu, mam-gu, di-ben-draw, di-droi’n-ôl, storiáes, cyhudd, rhegen-ryg, siliffrit, cadw-mi-gei, prynhawn, hobidi-hoi;

(s) Some forms of verbs:

(i) the first person of the past tense of adnabod, canfod, gwybod: adnabûm, canfûm, gwybûm;

(ii) of verbs ending in -hau, -au: the forms of the present and imperfect tenses, and all the imperative forms, also the contracted forms of bwyta and difa; for the forms of bwyta, difa, para, gwella, see “Verb-nouns classified by ending, -a”.

(iii) of the verb gadael, the forms gadawn, gadewch;

of the verb dileu, the forms dilewn, dilewch;

of the verb cyfleu, the forms cyflewn, cyflewch;

of the verb dyheu, the forms dyhewn, dyhewch;

of verbs conjugated like troi:

in the Present tense of datroi, the forms datrôf, datr|oi, datr|own, datr|owch, datrônt;

the Imperfect tense forms datr|own, datr|oit, datrôi, datr|oem, datr|oech, datroynt.

the Past tense forms datr|ois, datr|oist, datr|oes/datr|odd, Impersonal: datr|oed.

the Present Subjunctive forms datr|oech, datr|o, datrôm, datr|och, datrônt, datr|oer.

the Imperative forms: datr|o, datr|oed, datr|own, datr|owch, datr|oent, datr|oer.

Similarly, the comparable forms of deffro (1st person present: deffroaf/deffrôf, otherwise like troi, datroi), of cyffr|oi (1st person present: cyffroaf), of parat|oi (1st person present: paratoaf), of crynh|oi (1st person present: crynhof or crynhoaf), and of datgl|oi (1st person present: datglôf or datgloaf );

(t) conditional compound forms of pe, = if: petawn, petait, petai, petaem, petaech, petaent.

Length of the vowel in the stressed penult

The vowel may be long, medium or short.

1. The vowel is long when followed by the vowel of the following syllables, thus: nesaodd, bröydd, lletya, duach, düwch, dianc, eang, deon, paratoad, dyhead, parhawyd, llwon, &c.

2. The vowel is medium when followed by b, d, g, f, ff, th, ch, e.g. in gobaith, tadau, tegan, gofal, meddal, hoffus, pethau, achos; many such are formed from naturally “long” monosyllables e.g. tân, pl. tanau; peth, pl. pethau; canu from cân; gwenu from gwên. Few if any Northerners use a medium vowel in this position, using a short vowel instead, and not all Southerners observe the distinction.

3. (a) The vowel is short when followed by more than one consonant e.g. barnu, candryll, cystal, gwacsaw, morfa, pentref, plentyn, &c.;

(b) The vowel is short before p, t, c, m, ng, ll, s, j, sh, si, e.g. epil, ateb, tecaf, cymod, llongau, cyllell, prysur, swejen, mosiwns;

(c) all diphthongs in this position are short, e.g. heulwen, heuais, lleisiau, euraid, neiaint, haearn, gloywon, teneuon, &c.

Mutations

In certain grammatical and phonological contexts, the initial consonants p, t, c, b, d, g, ll, m, rh mutate, i.e. are replaced by other consonants as indicated in the following table, which uses examples after dy = your, fy = my and ei = her:

consonant radical soft nasal aspirate p pen (dy) ben (fy) mhen (ei) phen (hi) t tad (dy) dad (fy) nhad (ei) thad (hi) c ci (dy) gi (fy) nghi (ei) chi (hi) NO CHANGE b bys (dy) fys (fy) mys (ei) bys (hi) d dant (dy) ddant (fy) nant (ei) dant (hi) g gardd (dy) ardd (fy) ngardd (ei) gardd (hi) NO CHANGE ll llaw (dy) law (fy llaw) (ei) llaw (hi) m mam (dy) fam (fy) mam (ei) mam (hi) rh rhaw (dy) raw (fy) rhaw (ei) rhaw (hi)

Observations

In the aspirate column ei = her; (ei = his is followed by the soft mutation or lenition).

In the North, initial m, n have an aspirate mutation thus: ei mham (hi), her mother; ei nhain (hi), her grandmother, usual in spoken Welsh and sometimes found in writing, but not regarded as standard.

Initial tsi in borrowed words such as tsiaen, tsiopen, tsipsen, mutate to j; ei jaen (o/e), his chain; dwy jopen, two chops, siop jips, chip shop; after ei (= her), tsi mutates to si, thus: ei siaen hi, her chain: after fy, tsi mutates to nhi or nj, thus: fy njaen/nhiaen i, my chain; fy njipsen/nhipsen i, my chip; such mutations are not regarded as standard.

Note that in the soft mutation of g, the consonant simply disappears. It is not usual to mutate recent borrowings beginning with g, such as gamblo, garej, gêm, gêr, gerbocs, giali, gias, gini, gliw, golff, &c.; but older borrowings such as gwn, glasiad mutate regularly.



Rules governing the use of the mutations

A. The soft mutation or lenition

1. Nouns

(a) A feminine singular noun lenites after the definite article; cath, y gath; gafr, yr afr; pobl, y bobl; dafad, y ddafad. N.B. ll, rh do not mutate: y llaw, y rhaw, except in the case of adjectives used as a noun: y lwyd. Plural feminine nouns do not mutate, except the plural of pobl: pobloedd, y bobloedd, (and the collective noun, poblach: y boblach, the plebs); neither does y tair, the three, mutate; but y pedair, the four, may mutate: y bedair.

(b) all nouns lenite after the prepositions am, ar, dan, dros, drwy, heb, i, o, tan, tros, trwy, wrth, gan, hyd, and their compounds, e.g,. am geiniog, ar gam, at beswch, dan ganu, dros ben, drwy wyrth, o bant i bentan &c.; except i mi, i ti, i mewn, i maes;

(c) all nouns lenite after the possessive adjectives dy (thy, your) and ei (his); dy ferch di, your daughter; ei fab ef, his son; and after the corresponding infixed forms ‘th, ‘i, ‘w used after the prepositions i, o; i’th gartref (to your home), o’i ardd (from his garden), i’w dŷ, (to his house); i’th dŷ dithau, (to your house too);

(d) all predicate nouns lenite after the predicative yn: mae’n drueni, it’s a pity; mae’n arddwr medrus, he’s a skilful gardener; Nouns beginning with ll, rh do not mutate: mae hwn yn lle da, this is a good place; mae hon yn rhaff gref, this is a strong rope. Verb-nouns do not mutate after yn;

(e) after the inflected (personal) forms of a verb, all indefinite objects, singular or plural, lenite: gwelodd gyfle da, she saw a good opportunity; cawsom fargeinion, we had bargains. N.B. There is no mutation after the verb-noun (infinitive) form, normally the form listed in the dictionary, nor after the impersonal forms used to convey a passive sense: gweld pethau, to see things; ceir bargeinion, bargains are to be had; ni welir dim, nothing is to be seen; but fawr is always mutated even here; ni chafwyd fawr ddim, very little was found. Bod mutates to fod even after the impersonal form when it means that, e.g. dywedwyd fod storm ar ddod, it was said that a storm was on the way;

(f) nouns lenite after an adjective; hen wraig, an old lady; unig fab, only son; annwyl fam, dear mother; gau broffwyd, false prophet; rhyw ddydd, some day; unrhyw fore, any morning; amryw bethau, various things; pa ddiwrnod, what day; sut beth, what sort of thing; y cyfryw drosedd, such an offence; pa fath bris, what sort of price; y naill ferch, either of two girls; ychydig win, a little wine; yr holl drafferth, all the bother; ambell ddarn, an occasional bit; y fath ddewis, such a choice; aml dro, many a time; prif ddiben, the main purpose &c.;

(g) lenition occurs after certain numerals: un: feminine nouns beginning with a mutatable consonant (not ll or rh) mutate: un gath, un ddafad, but un llaw, un rhaw. Both dau and dwy are mutated after y, and both are followed by the soft mutation: y ddau gae, the two fields; y ddwy law, the two hands; y ddwy ryd, the two fords; except dau cymaint, twice as much; dau canmlwydd, two hundred years. Saith, wyth, may be followed by the soft mutation of p, t, c, ll, rh: saith geiniog, wyth geiniog, saith bunt, wyth bunt, saith law, wyth rosyn &c., or more usually by the radical (unmutated) form: saith pen, wyth tŷ, etc.

(h) all nouns lenite after the ordinal: ail, second; yr ail fab, the second son; yr ail ferch, the second daughter; feminine nouns after trydedd, pedwaredd, pumed, chweched, seithfed, wythfed, nawfed, degfed, unfed ar ddeg, &c: y drydedd bennod, y bedwaredd waith, y bumed dorth &c.; cyntaf usually follows the noun; when it precedes it does not mutate the noun, e.g. y peth cyntaf or y cyntaf peth, the first thing;

(i) ordinal adjectives used as nouns, referring to feminine nouns, lenite after the article: y gyntaf, y drydedd, y bedwaredd, y bumed, y ddegfed, y ddeuddegfed, y bymthegfed, y ddeunawfed, y ddeugeinfed, y ganfed, y filfed &c.;

(j) any noun or verb-noun used as an attributive, i.e., as if it were an adjective, lenites after a feminine noun: llwy de, a teaspoon; gefel bedoli, pincers; gardd lysiau, kitchen garden. N.B. There is no mutation in the plural: llwyau te, gefeiliau pedoli. When the relation between the two nouns is possessive or partitive, there is no mutation: merch meddyg, a doctor’s daughter; cost benthyca, the cost of borrowing; cyfadran gwyddorau, faculty of sciences; ymyl gwisg, the hem of a dress. However there are many borderline cases in which it would be equally plausible to mutate or not to mutate;

(k) a noun lenites in apposition, even with a masculine noun or proper name: Arthur Frenin, King Arthur; Ioan Fedyddiwr, John the Baptist; Mair Forwyn, the Virgin Mary; ni ddynion, we men; a minnau, deithiwr blin, and I, weary traveller;

(l) nouns lenite when used vocatively, i.e. to address someone or something, or in interjections, and after o! och! wae! woe, alas! hei! hey! Gyfeillion! Friends! Foneddigesau! Ladies! tyrd yma, gythraul! come here, damn you! bechod! shame! o drueni! alas! O Gymru! O Wales! och fi! woe is me! gwae Gymru! alas for Wales!

(m) any noun lenites when used adverbially, in the singular or plural, indicating time or extent: bûm wrthi ddydd a nos, I worked day and night; gwelais hi dridiau’n ôl, I saw her three days ago; ganllath o gopa’r mynydd, a hundred yards from the hilltop;

(n) lenition occurs after the conjunction neu, or: mab neu ferch, a boy or girl; bod neu beidio â bod, to be or not to be. It is less usual to mutate an imperative form, e.g. gwerthwch neu r[h]owch y llyfrau i rywun, sell or give the books to someone.

(o) lenition occurs after the demonstratives: wele, behold; dyma, here is; dyna, there is; dacw, there is; wele wyrth, behold a miracle; dyna welliant, that’s better; dyma lanast, here’s a mess; dacw dafarn, there’s a pub;

(p) nouns or verb-nouns, subject or object of a verb, lenite when separated from the verb by an intervening element, e.g., an adverb, adverbial phrase, an inflected preposition, &c.; e.g. contrast the following pairs: mae tref yno: mae yno dref; yr oedd cariad gennyf: yr oedd gennyf gariad; gwelwyd tyrfa o’i chwmpas: gwelwyd o’i chwmpas dyrfa. Thus the very common expressions: mae ‘na, ‘roedd ‘na, fe fydd ‘na, mae ‘ma, bu ‘ma, oes ‘ma, oes ‘na, &c. are always followed by the soft mutation;

(q) ni mutates the noun rhaid: ni raid iti fynd, you don’t have to go.

(r) lenition occurs after forms of bod, if yn is omitted: nid wyf ramadegydd, I’m no grammarian; Dafydd sydd frenin, David is king.

2. Adjectives

(a) an adjective lenites after a feminine singular noun or pronoun: mam dda, a good mother; pobl fawr, bigwigs; neuadd lawn, a full hall; gwisg rad, a cheap dress; un bert yw hi, she’s a pretty one; rhywun dda, some good woman/girl. N.B. no mutation in the plural: mamau da, gwisgoedd rhad, neuaddau llawn &c. But pobl is usually followed by a mutated plural adjective in phrases such as pobl wynion, white people, pobl dduon, black people,&c.;

(b) an adjective lenites after the predicative particle yn: mae’r bwyd yn dda, the food is good; ‘roedd y tŷ’n wag, the house was empty; bydd y gost yn o fawr, the cost will be quite high. Rh, ll, do not mutate: ‘roedd ei hwyneb yn llwyd, her face was pale; mae’r car yn rhad, the car is cheap.Adverbs are formed identically: gwerthu’n rhad, to sell cheaply; gweithio’n dda, to work well;

(c) an adjective lenites in the equative degree, after mor, cyn: mor ddewr or cyn ddewred, as brave; cyn dlysed or mor dlws, as pretty; except that rh, ll do not mutate: mor rhad or cyn rhated, as cheap; mor llawn or cyn llawned, as full. Also after gan, since, as; gan fwyned (or gan mor fwyn) oedd y cwmni, as the company was so pleasant;

(d) an adjective lenites in the equative degree, in exclamations: deced yw hi! how fair she is!

(e) an adjective lenites after the adverbs go, quite: lled, fairly; rhy, too; reit, quite; pur, quite; hollol, llwyr, cwbl, wholly; braidd yn, rather; mor, so; gweddol, fairly; go fawr, quite big; lled dda, fairly good; rhy beryglus, too risky; reit ddel, quite pretty; hollol wirion, quite silly; cwbl gelwyddog, wholly deceitful; braidd yn ddrud, rather dear; gweddol foddhaol, fairly adequate; mor gynnar, so early;

(f) an adjective qualifying another adjective normally follows it and is mutated: drud ryfeddol, surprisingly dear, oer ddychrynllyd, frightfully cold, &c.;

(g) the second instance of a duplicated adjective lenites: cwsg tawel dawel, very quiet sleep; cyflwr gwaeth waeth, a worsening condition; gwellwell, ever better; mwyfwy, ever greater;

(h) an adjective lenites when following the article and before a singular feminine noun: y dawel nos, the still night; y decaf ferch, the fairest maid; y lwyd wawr, the grey dawn (This construction is highly literary);

(i) an adjective lenites when standing for a feminine singular noun, after the definite article: o’r peli, y werdd sydd agosaf, of the balls, the green is nearest; ymhlith gwiwerod, mae’r lwyd yn drech na’r goch, amongst squirrels, the grey is stronger than the red; yr orau o wledydd y byd, the best country in the world;

(j) an adjective in the superlative degree lenites when used adverbially: pan welais i hi ddiwethaf, when last I saw her; galw yno gyntaf, call there first; gweithiwn orau y gallwn, I worked as hard as I could;

(k) an adjective in the superlative degree lenites after po, the more: gorau po gyntaf, the sooner the better; po fwya’r hwyl, mwya’r sŵn, the more fun, the more noise;

(l) ni mutates the adjectives gwiw, gwaeth: ni wiw i mi gwyno or nid gwiw i mi gwyno, I dare not complain; ni waeth iddi fynd, she might as well go (contrast nid gwaeth angau na gwarth, death is no worse than dishonour).

(m) an adjective lenites after forms of bod, when yn is omitted: byddwch lawen! rejoice! byddwch wych! farewell! nid wyf deilwng, I am not worthy; os wyt barod, if you are ready; and always after sydd: dyna sydd orau, that’s best.

3. Verbs

(a) verbs lenite after the interrogative particle a: a glywsoch chi? have you heard? a wrthododd hi? did she refuse? a ddaw ef? will he come? a lwyddwn ni? shall we succeed? a ryddhawyd hi? was she freed? a also = whether, if, introducing indirect questions: os gwn i a ddaw hi? I wonder whether she will come?

(b) verbs beginning with g, b, d, ll, m, rh, lenite after oni: oni welwch chwi? don’t you see? oni fethodd? didn’t it fail? oni roddwyd ef? wasn’t it given? oni leddir ef? won’t he be killed? oni ddaliwyd hi? wasn’t she caught? oni frathwyd ef? wasn’t he bitten? (N.B. oni is followed by the aspirate mutation of p, t, c, see below in section C.)

(c) verbs lenite after the relative pronoun a = which, that, who, whom: y tŷ a brynais, the house (that) I bought; y llythyr a ddaeth ddoe, the letter that came yesterday; y croeso a geir, the welcome (that is) to be had; also after pwy a, who, pa beth a, what, in questions: pwy a wnaeth hyn? who did this? pa beth a barodd hyn? what caused this? pwy a welsoch chi? whom did you see? (Contrast: pwy a’ch gwelodd chi? who saw you?) Note that sentences of the form, y dyn a frathodd y ci are ambiguous, meaning either, the man whom the dog bit or (it was) the man who bit the dog; the first sense would be clearly conveyed by either y dyn y brathodd y ci ef or y dyn a frathwyd gan y ci;

(d) verbs lenite after the conjunction pan, when: pan gyrhaeddais, when I arrived; after [hyd] oni = until, verbs beginning with b, d, g, ll, m, rh lenite: gwell aros oni ddaw, better wait till it comes. (N.B. oni is followed by the aspirate mutation of p, t, c.)

(e) forms of bod may mutate after tra, while: tra fo gobaith, while there’s hope; tra fydd hi’n gyfleus, while it’s convenient; however tra bo, tra bu, tra bydd &c. are equally usual; tra in this sense does not mutate other verbs.

(f) verbs begining with b, d, g, ll, m, rh, lenite after ni, not, na, that … not; ni frathwyd mohonof, I wasn’t bitten; ni ddywedodd hi ddim, she didn’t say; ni allem weld, we couldn’t see; ni laddwyd ef, he wasn’t killed; ni ryddheir hwy, they will not be freed; gwn na ddaw hi, I know she won’t come, &c.; na also introduces a negative command: na ladd, thou shalt not kill; (N.B. ni, na, are followed by the aspirate mutation of p, t, c.)

(g) verbs lenite after the particles mi, fe: fe ganodd hi, she sang; mi wyddwn i, I knew. These particles are often omitted in speech, but the mutation remains: they are often omitted when in parenthesis: honno, greda’i/debygwn i/goelia’i, yw’r orau, that one, I think, is the best.

B. The nasal mutation

1. Nasal mutation occurs after fy, my; fy nghoes, my leg; fy nhŷ, my house; fy mhoen, my pain; fy nrws, my door.

2. Nasal mutation occurs after yn, in: yn nannedd y gwynt, in the teeth of the gale;

yn + p, b becomes ym + mh: ym Mharis, in Paris; ym Merlin, in Berlin;

yn + m becomes ym + m: ym Milan, in Milan; ym Mair, in Mary;

yn + c, g, becomes yngh + ngh, ng: yng Nghaer, in Chester; yng ngardd Eden, in the Garden of Eden; yng Ngwenno, in Gwenno; the apparent exception, yn Gymraeg, in Welsh, stands for yn y Gymraeg; yng Nghymraeg y Beibl, in the Welsh of the Bible; mewn Cymraeg da, in good Welsh.

With titles of books, periodicals, &c. non-mutation is tolerated.

Before figures denoting years, yn or ym is written yn/ym 1900, depending on whether one says ym mil naw cant or yn un fil naw cant. In 1000 is yn y flwyddyn mil; in 2000, yn y flwyddyn dwy fil; in dates before the year 1000, yn follows the rules set out above. N.B. Do not confuse this use of yn with its use before predicate nouns, e.g. he is a good father, mae ef yn dad da; she is a good mother, mae hi’n fam dda; this was a loss, bu hyn yn golled (soft mutation, not nasal).

3. Nasal mutation occurs after the numerals pum, saith, wyth, naw, deng, deuddeng, pymtheng, deunaw, ugain, deugain, trigain, can, hanner can, dau can, tri chan, &c., before blynedd, blwydd, diwrnod: pum niwrnod, five days; wyth mlynedd, eight years; saith mlwydd oed, seven years old.

C. The aspirate mutation

1. Aspirate mutation occurs after ei = her, and the infixed pronouns forms ‘i, ‘w: ei chariad, her love; ei phen, her head; i’w thŷ, to her house; o’i theulu, of her family. N.B. when ‘i represents the object (masculine or feminine) of the verb, there is no mutation: y llanc a’i carodd hi, the youth who loved her; y bobl a’i prynodd ef, the people who bought it.

2. Aspirate mutation occurs after tri, chwe: tri phen, three headings; chwe chae, six fields.

3. Aspirate mutation occurs after â, gyda, with: tua, towards; â phleser, with pleasure; gyda thosturi, pityingly; tua chartref, tua thre, homewards.

4. Aspirate mutation occurs after the conjunctions â, as; a, and; oni, until; na, than/or; o, if; cyn boethed â thân, as hot as fire; ci a chath, cat and dog; hyd oni pheidio, until it cease; mwy na phentref, more than a village; o cherwch fi, if you love me.

5. Aspirate mutation occurs after ni, na: ni chysgais i, I didn’t sleep; er na pheidiodd hi, though she didn’t stop; na chig na thorth, neither meat nor loaf.

6. Aspirate mutation occurs after tra = very: tra phoblog, very populous; tra chywir, very correct. N.B. do not confuse with the conjunction tra = while, which does not cause mutation, except the occasional soft mutation of forms of bod.

7. Aspirate mutation occurs after a = and in the case of the prepositions and adverbs gan, gyda, ger, dros, tros, drwy, trwy, drosodd, trosodd, dan, tan, draw: a chan, a chyda, and with; a cher, and near; drosodd a throsodd, over and over; yma a thraw, here and there; a thrwy dwyll, and by trickery; a than ganu, and a-singing.

8. Wedi/wedyn, = afterwards, sometimes change to chwedi, chwedyn, after na, nor, a = and: na chynt na chwedyn, neither before nor after; a chwedi hynny, and thereupon.

D. Aspiration of vowels

h is prefixed to words beginning with a vowel:

1.(a) aspiration occurs after ei = her: ei harian, her money; after the corresponding infixed pronouns ‘i, ‘w; o’i hachos hi, because of her; i’w hochr hi, to her side;

(b) aspiration occurs after the infixed object pronoun, ‘i, both masculine and feminine: fe’i hanafwyd ef, he was wounded; ac a’i hanfonodd hi, and sent her; pwy a’i hofna ef/hi? who will fear him/her?

(c) aspiration occurs after ein/’n, our, eu/’u, their: ein hoes ni, our lifetime; eu hawydd hwy, their desire; i’n hachub ni, to rescue us; o’u heiddo hwy, of theirs, of their property; i’w herlyn, to prosecute them;

(d) aspiration occurs after the infixed first person pronoun ‘m: o’m hachos i, because of me; a’m hachubodd i, who saved me.

2. In numbers compounded with ugain, ugain is aspirated after ar: un ar hugain, twenty-one; unfed ar hugain, twenty-first &c.

A checklist of words causing mutation and of some not causing mutation

Word Part of speech Meaning Mutation a rel. pron. who, whom, that, which soft a interr. particle soft a conj. and spirant â prep. with spirant â conj. as spirant ail ordinal adj. second soft am prep. about; for; at soft ambell adj. an occasional soft aml adj. (before n.) many a soft amryfal adj. (before n.) various, sundry soft amryw adj. (before n.) various, some soft annwyl adj. (before n.) dear soft ar prep. on, upon soft: prefixes h- to ugain at prep. for; to, toward soft brith adj. (before n.), faint soft brith- prefix (before vn.) faintly, partly soft cam adj. wrong, false soft cam- prefix mis-, falsely soft can numeral hundred nasal mut. of blwydd, blynedd & occ. diwrnod canfed ordinal adj. hundredth soft mut. of fem. nouns cas adj. (before n.) hateful soft ‘co = dacw soft coeg adj. false, soft coeg- prefix false, pseudo- soft cryn adj. (before n.) a considerable, quite a soft cwbl adv. (before adj.) wholly soft cwta adj. (before n.) brief none cyd- prefix co- soft cyfryw adj. (before n.) such soft ‘cw = dacw soft cyn adv. as soft, except of ll- and rh- which do not mutate cyn prep. before none cyn- prefix former, ex- soft cyntaf ordinal first 1. before masc. noun: none

the first thing, y cyntaf peth. 2. before fem. noun: soft, y gyntaf wraig, the first wife cystal adj. (before n.) as good as none chwe numeral six spirant. N.B. six years,

chwe blynedd; six years old, chwe blwydd oed chwarter noun & adv. quarter none chweched ordinal sixth soft of fem. nouns dacw demonstrative adv. behold! there is/are soft dan prep. beneath soft darn- prefix partly- soft dau numeral two soft except occ. of can: two hundred yards, dau canllath; dau itself is mutated after the article y, ‘r degfed ordinal adj. tenth soft mut. of fem. nouns:

mutates after the articles y, ‘r:

y ddegfed bennod deng numeral ten 1. nasal mut. of blwydd, blynedd & occ. diwrnod. 2. also N.B. ten times, dengwaith deuddegfed ordinal adj. twelfth soft mut. of fem. nouns deuddeng numeral twelve 1. nasal mut. of blwydd, blynedd & occ. diwrnod. 2. also N.B. twelve times, deuddengwaith deugain numeral forty nasal mut. of blwydd, blynedd and occ. diwrnod deugeinfed ordinal adj. fortieth soft mut. of fem. nouns deunaw numeral eighteen nasal mut. of blwydd, blynedd & occ. diwrnod deunawfed ordinal adj. eighteenth soft mut. of fem. nouns digon adv. (before adj.) enough none: good enough, digon da dros/tros prep. over, for, on behalf of soft drwy/trwy prep. through, by soft dwy fem. numeral two before fem. nouns: soft: mutates after the articles y, ‘r: the two girls, y ddwy ferch dy possessive adj. thy, your soft dyma demonstratvie adv. here is/are soft dyna demonstrative adv. there is/are soft efallai adv. perhaps mutates bod to fod efo prep. with none ei … (hi) poss. adj. fem. her 1. spirant. 2. prefixes h- to a vowel ei … (ef) poss. adj. m. his soft eich poss. adj. your none eilfed num. adj. second soft ein poss. adj. our prefixes h- to a vowel eithaf adv. (before adj.) quite none, e.g, eithaf da er prep. despite none erbyn prep. by, against none ers prep since none eu poss. adj. their prefixes h- to vowels y fath adjectival noun such soft fawr adv. in neg. sentence hardly, little 1. soft: hardly any, fawr ddim. 2. No mut. Before comp. adj.: hardly better, fawr gwell fe preverbial particle soft fel adv. like none fesul prep. by, in none fy poss. adj. my nasal y ffasiwn adjectival noun such soft ffug adj. (before adj.) fake, pseudo- soft gan prep. with; by soft; except gan mwyaf = mostly gau adj. (before n.) false, pseudo- soft ger prep. near, by none go adv. (before adj.) quite soft; go itself mutates regularly after yn, ‘n gorau adj. (before n.) best none or soft, esp. of a fem. noun goruchaf adj. (before n.) highest none or soft, esp. of a fem. gwaeth adj. (before n.) worse none gwaethaf adj. (before n.) worst none or soft, esp. of a fem. noun gwahanol adj. (before n.) various soft gweddol adv. (before adj.) quite soft gwell adj. (before n.) better none gwir adj. (before n.) true soft gwirioneddol adv. (before adj.) really soft gyda prep. with spirant hanner noun half none heb prep. without soft hen adj. (before n.) old soft holl adj. (before n.) whole, all soft hollol adv. (before adj.) wholly soft hybarch adj. very reverend soft hyd prep. up to, till soft (but ar hyd none) prep along i prep. to soft except: i mi or imi, i ti or iti ‘i = ei is- prefix sub- soft isel- prefix low- soft llawer adj. (before n.) many a none llawn adj. (before n.) 1. complete, full soft: full growth, llawn dwf. 2. full of no mut. llawn adv. quite none or soft; quite as good, llawn cystal. lled adv. (before adj.) fairly, quite soft lled- prefix semi- soft llwyr adv. (before v., adj.) wholly soft ‘m 1. = fy my none 2. infixed personal pron. prefixes h- to vowels megis prep. like none mi preverbial particle soft mil numeral thousand usu. foll. by o + soft mut. milfed ordinal adj. thousandth soft mut. of fem. nouns miliynfed ordinal adj. millionth soft mut. of fem. nouns mo contraction of dim o none of soft mor adv. so soft, but not of ll-, rh-. mor itself is never mutated mwy adj. more none mwyaf adj. most none or soft, esp. of a fem. noun mynych adj. (before n.) frequent soft ‘n = yn na negative particle do not 1. spirant mut. of p-, t-, c- 2. Otherwise soft mut. na conj. than spirant na negative rel. pron. who / which / that / whom … not 1. spirant mut. of p-, t- c-. 2. Otherwise soft mut. naill adj. (before n.) the one (of two) soft nas neg. rel. pron. that … not none naw numeral nine nasal mut. of blwydd, blynedd & occ. diwrnod nawfed ordinal adj. ninth soft mut. of fem. nouns nemor 1. adj. (before n.) scarcely a soft 2. adv. before comp. adj. scarcely none nes conj. until none neu conj. or soft, but not always in imperative newydd adj. & adv. newly, just soft ni neg. preverbial particle not 1. spirant of p-, t-, c- 2. Otherwise soft nis neg. preverbial particle not none o1 prep. of, from soft o2 = os conj. if spirant o3 int. oh! soft odid adv. scarcely a, nary a soft ofer adj. (before n.) worthless soft ôl- pref. rear soft oni1 neg. interrogative particle 1. spirant mut. of p-, t-, c-. 2. soft mut. otherwise, but forms of the verb bod beginning with b- may remain unmutated. oni2 conj. until as for oni1 onis neg. interr. particle none os conj. if none pa (fath/ryw/sut) interr. particle what (sort of) soft pan conj. when soft parchus adj. (before n.) reverend soft pe conj. if none pedair fem. numeral conj. four 1. none; the four girls, y pedair merch. 2. before adjs.: soft: four big girls, pedair fawr pedwar masc. numeral four none pedwaredd fem. ordinal fourth soft; and itself mutates after the articles y, ‘r. pedwerydd masc. ordinal adj. fourth none pennaf adj. (before noun) chief none or soft, esp. of a fem. noun perffaith adv. before adj. perfectly soft adj. before noun perfect soft pes conj. if none po particle before superlative adj. the (more, better, &c.) soft pob adj. every none prif adj. main soft prin adv. scarcely soft pum numeral five 1. nasal mut. of blwydd, blynedd & occ. diwrnod. 2. soft mut. of fem. adjs. representing nouns: five fine women, pum wych. pumed fem. ordinal adj. fifth soft mut. of fem. nouns, and itself mutates after the articles y, ‘r. pur adv. (before adj.) quite soft pwy (a) interr. pron. who/whom … ? soft (even if a is omitted) pymtheg numeral fifteen none; but see pymtheng pymthegfed fem. ordinal fifteenth soft mut. of fem. nouns, and itself mutates after y, ‘r. pymtheng num. adj. fifteen 1. nasal mut. of blwydd, blynedd, & occ. diwrnod.2. soft mut. of gwaith, in pymthengwaith. ‘r def. article

(after & before vowels) the see y, yr reit adv. (before adj.) quite soft rhag prep. from none rhy adv. too soft rhyw adj. (before n. & adj.) some soft saith num. adj. seven 1. nasal mut. of blwydd, blynedd & occ. diwrnod. 2. Occ. soft mut. of cant, ceiniog, punt, pwys. sawl adj. (before n.) many none seithfed fem. ordinal adj. seventh soft mut. of fem. noun sut interr. pron. what soft mut. of noun sut (y) interr. adv. how none sydd (yn) rel. verb form that is soft mut. of adj. and of noun even if yn is omitted, but no mut. of vn. tair fem. num. adj. three 1. none, nor does it mutate after y, ‘r. 2. soft mut. Of adjs. representing nouns: the three fat girls, y tair dew. tan prep. under, until soft tra conj. while none tra adv. very spirant tri masc. num. adj. three spirant trigain num. adj. sixty nasal mut. of blwydd, blynedd, occ. diwrnod. trigeinfed ordinal adj. sixtieth soft mut. of fem. nouns tros/dros prep. over, on behalf of soft trwy/drwy prep. through, by soft trydedd fem. ordinal adj. third soft, and itself mutates after y, ‘r. trydydd masc. ordinal adj. third none tua prep. about, towards 1. spirant. 2. tuag before vowels ‘th infixed pers. pron. you, your soft ‘u infixed pers. pron. them, their prefixes h- to vowels uchel adj. high soft ugain num. adj. twenty nasal mut. of blwydd, blynedd & occ. diwrnod ugeinfed num. ordinal twentieth soft mut. of fem. nouns un num. adj. one 1. soft mut. of fem. nouns, except ll-, rh-. 2. soft mut. of fem. adjs. (inc. ll-, rh-). 3. nasal mut. of blwydd, blynedd in composite numerals. un adj. 1. the same, identical soft mut. of fem. nouns except ll-, rh-. 2. similar soft mut. of masc. & fem. nouns inc. ll-, rh-. un fem. noun one soft mut. of adjs. inc. ll-, rh-. unfed fem. ordinal adj. -first soft mut. of fem. nouns unig adj. (before noun) only soft unrhyw adj. any soft uwch- pref. senior, upper soft ‘w (= eu) infixed pers. pron. them, their prefixes h- to vowels ‘w (= ei masc.) infixed masc. pers. pron. him, his, its soft ‘w (= ei fem.) infixed fem. pers. pron. her, it, its 1. spirant. 2. prefixes h- to vowels. wedi prep. after none wele int. behold, see soft wrth prep. by, while soft wyth num. adj. eight 1. nasal mut. of blwydd, blynedd & occ. diwrnod. 2. soft mut. of cant, ceiniog, punt, pwys. wythfed ordinal adj. eighth soft mut. of fem. nouns y def. article the 1. soft mut. of fem. sing. noun (inc. ll-, rh-) even if the noun is only implied. 2. soft mut. of adjs. before a fem. noun (inc. ll-, rh-)) even if if the noun is only implied. ychydig adj. a little, few 1. soft mut. of nouns. 2. does not mutate adjs. yn, ‘n predicative particle linking forms of bod with n./adj. soft (except of ll-, rh-): yn dda, yn llawn, yn rhydd yn prep. (should not be abbreviated to ‘n) in nasal mut.: yn Nolgellau ym, yng prep. (forms of yn) in ym Mangor, yng Nghaer yn, ‘n particle before verbnoun a- none: yn mynd, yn caru.

The slipshod omission of the masc. infixed pronoun. ei, ‘i, in sentences such as Beth wyt ti’n ei weld? is misleading: the soft mut. is retained but is not due to yn, ‘n. ynteu interrogative conj. or none; in sentences such as te ynteu coffi? the soft mut. in teisen ynteu beth? is due to the omission of pa before beth. yr, ‘r def. article (before and after vowels) the see y.

The above is intended only as a summary. A useful bilingual manual dealing with the mutations is D.Geraint Lewis: Y Treigladur (Gwasg Gomer, 1993), and see also D. Thorne, Taclo’r Treigladau (Gwasg Gomer, 1997).

Adjectives



The vast majority of adjectives are invariable insofar as they have no feminine or plural forms. Where such forms exist, they are indicated thus: green a. gwyrdd (f gwerdd, pl. gwyrddion) or, where there is no feminine form, thus: shining a. gloyw (-on).

1. Adjectives beginning with the mutable consonants p, t, c, b, d, g, ll, rh, m, mutate after a feminine noun, but these forms are not uniquely feminine forms and are thus not indicated.

2. Feminine forms are given in their radical, i.e. unmutated form. In practice, most can scarcely occur in the radical form, since they normally follow a feminine noun and must mutate if they

begin with p, t, c, b, d, g, ll, rh, m, or if, less usually, they occur in a predicate position e.g. in a sentence of the type: the river is deep, mae’r afon yn ddofn. The radical form of the feminine adjective may occur in sentences of the very unusual form: deep is the river, dofn yw’r afon.

3. In the predicate position, in any case, it is now more usual to find the masculine form, e.g. the river is dried-up, mae’r afon yn sych/hysb, is more usual than, mae’r afon yn sech/hesb.

4. The feminine forms have no distinct plural or comparative forms.

5. Feminine forms in fairly common use are: brith (f braith) and two classes of adjectives

(a) containing w which changes to o:

brwnt f bront; crwm f crom; crwn f cron; cwta f cota; dwfn f dofn; llwm f llom; tlws f tlos; trwm f trom;

as crwm are amgrwm, argrwm, cefngrwm, ceugrwm, cynghrwm, deugeugrwm, gochrwm, gogrwm, gwargrwm;

as crwn are amgrwn, argrwn, cyfrgrwn, hirgrwn, pengrwn, talgrwn;

as llwm are bonllwm, cefnllwm, croenllwm, lledlwm, noethlwm;

as tlws are meindlws, mindlws;

as trwm are amdrwm, bondrwm, hirdrwm, hwyrdrwm, pendrwm;

(b) adjectives containing y which changes to e:

brych f brech; bychan f bechan; byr f ber; crych f crech; cryf f cref; cryg f creg; ffyrf f fferf; gwlyb f gwleb; gwyn f gwen; gwyrdd f gwerdd; hysb f hesb; llym f llem; melyn f melen; sych f sech; syml f seml; syth f seth.

as gwyn: bolwyn, bronwyn, claerwyn, disgleirwyn, glaswyn, gorwyn, llaethwyn, llathrwyn, lledwyn, llwydwyn, melynwyn (f melenwen/melynwen), penwyn, tinwyn, torwyn &c.;

as gwyrdd: bytholwyrdd, bythwyrdd, glaswyrdd, lledwyrdd, llwydwyrdd, melynwyrdd (f melenwyrdd/melynwerdd) &c.: the f of gwyrddlas is gwerddlas;

as llym: aflym, awchlym, blaenllym, minlym, minllym;

as melyn: cochfelyn, glasfelyn, gwalltfelyn, gwyrddfelyn (f gwerddfelen/gwyrddfelen), llwydfelyn, penfelyn, pigfelyn &c.and compounds beginning with melyn, e.g. melynfrig f melenfrig; melynlas f melenlas; melynlliw f melenlliw; melynllwyd f melenllwyd; melynr[h]udd f melenr[h]udd; melynwallt f melenwallt; melynwawr f melenwawr; melynwyn, f melenwen/melynwen; melynwyrdd f melenwerdd/melynwerdd.

Plural forms

Most adjectives have no plural forms. The commonest exceptions are:

1. Those which form a plural by adding either -ion e.g. annoeth(-ion), blin(-ion), blith(-ion), brith(-ion), caeth(-ion), caled(-ion, celyd), coch(-ion), crin(-ion), cul(-ion), cyfrin(-ion), dewr(-ion), dirgel(-ion), doeth(-ion), dwys(-ion), glew(-ion), gwael(-ion), gwych(-ion), gwyllt(-ion), hir(-ion), hwyr(-ion), ir(-ion), llawn(-ion), llwyd(-ion), mawr(-ion), mud(-ion), poeth(-ion), rhudd(-ion), sur(-ion), tew(-ion), tyn(-ion), traws(-ion), trist(-ion), uchel(-ion), ynfyd(-ion) and their compounds, or -on, e.g. budr(-on), croyw(-on), chwerw(-on), du(-on), gloyw(-on), gloywddu(-on), gweddw(-on), gwelw(-on), hoyw(-on), meddw(-on), tryloyw(-on) and their compounds.

2. Those which change an internal vowel, e.g. amddifad (amddifaid), arall (eraill), balch (beilch, beilchion), banw (beinw), buan (buain), bychan (bychain), byddar (byddair), cadarn (cedyrn), cyfan (cyfain), garw (geirw, geirwon), hardd (heirdd, heirddion), hwn (hyn), ieuanc (ieuainc), ifanc (ifainc, ifync), llydan (llydain), marw (meirw, meirwon), truan (truain), ysgafn (ysgeifn).

3. Those which change an internal vowel and add either -ion, e.g. balch (beilchion), bras (breision), cain (ceinion), cam (ceimion), claf (cleifion), crwn (crynion), dall (deillion), dwfn (dyfnion), ffals (ffeilsion), glas (gleision), gwag (gweigion), gwan (gweinion), hallt (heilltion),

hirfaith (hirfeithion), llwm (llymion), main (meinion), maith (meithion), tlawd (tlodion), trwm (trymion); or -on, e.g. brau (breuon), pwdr (pydron), tenau (teneuon); mân has an occasional plural manion, e.g. manion bethau, trifles. In the case of adjectives containing y, the sound of y changes from the ‘clear’ (high frontal) vowel sound to the ‘obscure’ central vowel sound, as in tyn(-ion), though the spelling remains unchanged.

4.(a) Many common adjectives have no plural, e.g. aeddfed, aml, annwyl, anodd, araf, bach, briw, byw, call, cas, cau, coeg, crog, chwim, chwith, da, dig, drwg, dwys, ffiaidd, gau, glân, gwâr, gwir, hagr, hawdd, hen, hoff, iach, llawen, llon, llesg, llosg, llwyr, mad, mwll, onest, pur, pŵl, rhad, rhwydd, sâl, serth, sicr, siriol, siŵr, sobr, syn, tal, teg, tywyll &c.;

(b) comparative forms have no plural; nor do feminine forms;

(c) adjectives ending in -adwy, -aid, -aidd, -gar, -in, -lyd, -llyd have no plural;

(d) some adjectives ending in -ig, -og, -ol, -us can add -ion to form plural nouns, e.g. caredigion, cyfoethogion, nefolion, anffodusion, but otherwise have no plural;

(e) compound adjectives formed from a noun plus adjective have no plural, e.g. hirben, prydlon, unless the adjective comes last and has a plural in its simple form, thus: claerwyn(-ion), pengrwn (pengrynion);

(f) adjectives beginning with hy- have no plural, e.g. hyfryd, hyglyw, hynaws, hynod (the n.pl form = hynodio, curiosities);

(g) adjectives beginning with di- have no plural, e.g. dieffaith, di-nam, dinod, &c.;

(h) nouns used as attributes have no plural, e.g. gwydr, pren.

5. Many plural forms as listed above are going out of use, even in the written language, and are replaced by the singular form: this is the rule in the spoken language. The plurals of adjectives of colour are still used (cochion, duon, gleision, gwynion, llwydion, &c.) and of a few very common adjectives, breision, brithion, budron, bychain, byrion, ceimion, crynion, culion, cyfain, dyfnion, eraill, geirwon, gloywon, gweigion, gwylltion, gwyrddion, hirion, hyn, ifainc, ifync, llyfnion, mawrion, meinion, meithion, poethion, surion, sychion, teneuon, tewion, trymion, ysgeifn, are in varying degrees of currency. Other plurals are poetic or used as nouns (cleifion, deillion).

6. Pobl though a feminine singular noun, is followed by a plural adjective: pobl dduon, black people; pobl wynion, white people. Thus also arian: arian gwynion, silver coins; arian sychion, hard cash.

7. After plural feminine nouns, adjectives do not mutate: afon ddofn, a deep river; afonydd dyfnion, deep rivers.

8. In the predicate position, the singular form is more usual than the plural: their faces were pale, yr oedd eu hwynebau yn welw, is as acceptable as, yr oedd eu hwynebau yn welwon.

Comparative forms

There are three degrees of comparison, the equative, the comparative and the superlative, formed by adding endings to the stem of the positive form. The equative is formed by adding -ed, the comparative by adding -ach, the superlative by adding -af, thus: cas, nasty; cased, as nasty; casach, nastier; casaf, nastiest.

Where the positive ends in -b, -d, -g, -dl, -dn, -dr, -gr, these are replaced by their voiceless equivalents, -p, -t, -c, -tl, -tn, -tr, -cr, before the comparative endings. Occasionally there is a change of vowel in the stem, and sometimes -n and -r are doubled.

Examples:

positive equative comparative superlative amlwg amlyced amlycach amlycaf ardderchog ardderchoced ardderchocach ardderchocaf brau breued breuach breuaf budr butred butrach butraf byr byrred byrrach byrraf caredig carediced caredicach caredicaf cas cased casach casaf crwm crymed crymach crymaf crwn cryned crynach crynaf cryf cryfed cryfach cryfaf cwta cwteued cwteuach cwteuaf dewr dewred dewrach dewraf diog dioced diocach diocaf distadl distatled distatlach distatlaf glân glaned glanach glanaf grymus grymused grymusach grymusaf gwlyb gwlyped gwlypach gwlypaf gwydn gwytned gwytnach gwytnaf gwyn gwynned gwynnach gwynnaf hagr hacred hacrach hacraf huawdl huotled huotlach huotlaf hyfryd hyfryted hyfrytach hyfrytaf llawn llawned llawnach llawnaf llon llonned llonnach llonnaf llwm llymed llymach llymaf melys melysed melysach melysaf mwynaidd mwyneiddied mwyneiddiach mwyneiddiaf pêr pered perach peraf peraidd pereiddied pereiddiach pereiddiaf prin prinned prinnach prinnaf pur pured purach puraf pwysig pwysiced pwysicach pwysicaf rhad rhated rhatach rhataf siriol sirioled siriolach siriolaf tebyg tebyced tebycach tebycaf teg teced tecach tecaf tlawd tloted tlotach tlotaf tlws tlysed tlysach tlysaf truenus truenused truenusach truenusaf trwm trymed trymach trymaf tyn[n] tynned tynnach tynnaf ysgafn ysgafned ysgafnach ysgafnaf

Some borrowings add -ied, -iach, -iaf, especially in the North: e.g. braf, brafied, brafiach, brafiaf; so also neis, ffres, cŵl, crand, nobl.

Periphrastic comparison

Many adjectives, especially those of more than two syllables, are usually compared by inserting mor (= as), mwy (= more) and mwyaf (= most) before the adjective; mor is followed by the soft mutation (but not of rh, ll)

brawdol mor frawdol mwy brawdol mwyaf brawdol cyndyn mor gyndyn mwy cyndyn mwyaf cyndyn gwarthus mor warthus mwy gwarthus mwyaf gwarthus llwfr mor llwfr mwy llwfr mwyaf llwfr rhesymol mor rhesymol mwy rhesymol mwyaf rhesymol

This method may be used to compare any adjective, except the irregular ones listed below.

Irregular comparison

positive equative comparative superlative agos nesed nes nesaf (less correctly: agosed agosach agosaf) bach, bychan lleied llai lleiaf occ: bychaned buan buaned buanach buanaf cynnar cynted cynt cyntaf da cystal gwell gorau drwg cynddrwg gwaeth gwaethaf occ: (in sense of naughty) dryced drycach drycaf hawdd hawsed haws hawsaf (less correctly: hawdded hawddach hawddaf) anodd anhawsed anos anhawsaf (less correctly: anodded anoddach anoddaf) hen hyned hŷn hynaf (less correctly: hynach) hir cyhyd hwy hwyaf (less correctly: hired hirach hiraf) ieuanc ieuanged iau/ieuangach ieuaf/ieuangaf ifanc ifenged/ifanged ifengach ifengaf isel ised is isaf llydan lleted/cyfled lletach lletaf mawr cymaint mwy mwyaf uchel uched/cyfuwch uwch uchaf gwerthfawr gwerthfawroced gwerthfawrocach gwerthfawrocaf



Defective comparison

clodfawr clodforach, renowned clodforaf, most renowned trech, stronger trechaf, strongest amgen amgenach, better, alternative eithaf, extremest, furthest, ultimate

Comparative forms formed from nouns

noun equative comparative superlative blaen, front blaenaf, foremost dewis, choice dewisach, preferred, preferable diolch, thanks diolchach, more grateful diwedd, end diwethaf, last elw, profit elwach, better off lles, benefit llesach, more beneficial ôl, back olaf, final pen, end, head pennaf, chief, supreme rhagor, more rhagorach, superior rhaid, necessity rheitied, as necessary/ urgent rheitiach, more necessary/ urgent rheitiaf, most necessary/ urgent

Observations

Cyn, mor, used with the equative forms, must not be preceded by yn.

The equative forms given are as a rule preceded by cyn + soft mutation (except of ll, rh), thus: cyn wynned, cyn ddued, but cyn rhated, cyn lleied.

Alternatively, use mor + soft mutation (except of ll, rh) + positive form, thus: mor wyn, mor ddu, but mor rhad, mor llawn.

Cyn cannot precede cynddrwg, cymaint, cystal, cyfled, cyfuwch, cyhyd; but cyn gynted is usual.

After mor/cyn + adjective, as is translated by â + spirant mutation of p, t, c, and by ag before a vowel: as bright as silver, cyn loywed ag arian; as white as snow, cyn wynned â’r eira or mor wyn â’r eira; as heavy as lead, cyn drymed â phlwm or mor drwm â phlwm; as big as a cat, cymaint â chath or mor fawr â chath.

Comparative forms of adjectives have no feminine or plural forms (except, in some cases, as plural nouns, e.g. y goreuon, the best ones; y tlodion, the poor). Comparative forms of adjectives also function as comparative forms of adverbs: rhedai cyn gyflymed ag a allai, or rhedai cyn gyflymed ag y gallai, she ran as quickly as she could;mae’r trên hwn cyn gyflymed â’r llall, this train is as rapid as the other.

Than is translated by na + spirant mutation of p, t, c, and by nag before a vowel: gwannach na chath fach, weaker than a kitten; gwell nag aur, better than gold.

Where English uses the comparative degree in sentences such as the better man of two, Welsh always uses the superlative: y dyn gorau o’r ddau or y gorau o’r ddau ddyn.

Equative and Comparative forms may precede the noun: cystal dyn, gwell lle, dewrach gŵr, sicrach gafael &c. without mutation of the noun. The superlative form may precede the noun, sometimes without mutation: cyntaf peth, gorau gŵr, eithaf peth; sometimes with the soft mutation: y decaf fro, gwaelaf ŵr.

In English, sentences of the type, the higher the mountain, the better the view, use two coupled comparative adjectives; in Welsh, the verb construction is po + soft mutation + superlative + subjunctive mood of verb: po uchaf y bo’r mynydd, gorau oll fydd yr olygfa; or uchaf yn y byd y bo’r mynydd, gorau’n y byd fydd yr olygfa; the scarcer the food, the dearer it is, po brinnaf y bo’r bwyd, drutaf yw or prinnaf yn y byd y bo’r bwyd, drutaf yn y byd yw; the sooner she goes, the better, gorau po gyntaf yr êl/elo hi; the more, the better, gorau po fwyaf; all the better, gorau oll.

Sentences containing superlatives, of the type, she is the prettiest girl in the village, must be emphatic: hi yw’r ferch dlysaf yn y pentref or y ferch dlysaf yn y pentref yw hon, not mae hi y ferch dlysaf yn y pentref, which is quite incorrect and unnatural. Thus, I know she is the prettiest girl, is to be translated as gwn mai hi yw’r dlysaf, not gwn ei bod hi’r dlysaf.

The superlative forms are not used in Welsh to translate a most agreeable day, a most difficult task, &c. which should be translated diwrnod dymunol iawn or diwrnod tra dymunol or diwrnod dymunol dros ben; tasg anodd iawn or tasg dra anodd or tasg gyda’r anhawsaf.

In sentences of the type she is more silly than wicked, the most natural translation is: gwirion yw hi yn hytrach na drwg, although mae hi’n fwy gwirion nag y mae hi’n ddrwg is also possible;

he is more wicked than he is foolish, mae e’n fwy drwg nag yw’n wirion (not mae’n waeth nag yw’n wirion).

The position of adjectives

In Welsh, adjectives, with some common exceptions, normally follow the noun. If there is more than one, then the order is the reverse of that in English, thus: a pretty little blue flower, blodyn glas bychan tlws. In poetry or for rhetorical effect, almost any adjective may precede the noun; in that case it lenites the noun, thus: o hyfryd ddydd! O lovely day! However, comparative forms do not lenite a following noun.

1. Adjectives which always precede the noun.

(a) The definite articles y, yr, ‘r before a singular feminine noun lenite it, thus: mother, mam; the mother, y fam; town, tref; the town, y dref; but ll, rh do not lenite, thus: the spade, y rhaw, the hand, y llaw;

(b) The possessive adjectives fy, my; dy thy/your; ei, his/her; ein, our; eich, your; eu, their. Fy is followed by the nasal mutation, thus: head, pen; my head, fy mhen; dy is followed by the soft mutation, as is ei = his: thy/your head, dy ben; his head, ei ben. Ei = her, is followed by the spirant mutation of p, t, c (and, in Northern Welsh of m, n): her head, ei phen; her father, ei thad; her leg, ei choes; her grandmother, ei nhain; her mother, ei mham. (The last two mutations are not regarded as standard). Ein, eich, eu are followed by the radical form of the noun, except that after ein, eu, h- is prefixed to vowels: ein hiaith, our language; eu henwau, their names; so also ei (=her) prefixes h- to vowels: ei hafal, her apple; ei afal, his apple.

(c) The cardinal numbers, un, dau/dwy, tri/tair, pedwar/pedair &c.;

(d) The ordinal adjectives unfed, ail, eilfed, trydydd/trydedd, pedwerydd/pedwaredd, pumed, chweched &c.; except that cyntaf, first; olaf, last, may precede or follow: y peth cyntaf or less usually y cyntaf peth, y peth olaf or yr olaf peth;

(e) Ill, every one of, in the set expressions ill dau/dwy, both of them; hwy ill tri/tair, the three of them; and y naill = either one of, followed by the soft mutation: yn y naill dŷ ar ôl y llall, in one house after another.

(f) Rhyw, some, a certain and its compounds unrhyw, any; amryw, various; cyfryw, such, all, followed by the soft mutation; cyfryw itself is not lenited before a feminine noun: y cyfryw ddyn, such a man; y cyfryw wraig, such a woman;

(g) The interrogative adjectives pa? what? which? (pa) sut? pa fath? what sort of? all + soft mutation, and (pa) sawl? (how) many? e.g. pa lyfr? what book? pa fath (o) beth? what sort of thing? pa sawl tro? how many times?

(h) Pob, every/each; prif, main; sawl, many, so many; ambell, an occasional; cryn, considerable, much; yr holl, the whole, all the; nemor, a few, hardly any; rhai, some (before plural nouns only); prif, ambell, cryn, yr holl, nemor, are followed by the soft mutation, thus: ambell beth, cryn dipyn, yr holl bobl, nemor ddim, y prif ddyn, but rhai pethau, some things;

(i) Y fath and the colloquial y ffasiwn, y rotsiwn, all meaning such a, of the sort are all followed by the soft mutation: y fath lanast, such a mess; y ffasiwn/rotsiwn lol, such nonsense; also hoff ddewis, favourite; fy newis beth, fy hoff beth, my favourite thing;

(j) English borrowings such as the intensive rêl, blydi, bali &c. These lenite feminine nouns, e.g. y bali ddynes ‘ma, this bally woman.

2. Adjectives which may precede or follow the noun.

(a) All comparative forms of adjectives may precede the noun, thus: a better place, lle gwell or gwell lle; a surer grasp, sicrach gafael or gafael sicrach; more urgent things, rheitiach pethau or pethau rheitiach; better methods, amgenach dulliau or dulliau amgenach; a superior runner, trech rhedwr or rhedwr trech; the main thing, y pennaf peth or y peth pennaf; as good a chance, cystal cyfle or cyfle cystal; a higher grade, gradd uwch or uwch gradd, quite a good house, eithaf tŷ or tŷ eithaf;

(b) In some titles, adjectives that normally follow the noun, precede it: the Privy Council, y Cyfrin Gyngor; the High Court, yr Uchel Lys; the Very Reverend Father, yr Hybarch Dad; the Honourable Member, yr Anrhydeddus Aelod; the Supreme Court, y Goruchaf Lys; Her Most Excellent Majesty, Ei Hardderchocaf Fawrhydi;

(c) Some adjectives vary in meaning according to position: hen, old, may precede or follow in this sense, but before the noun it is also used as an intensive, either affectionate or pejorative according to context, tone of voice &c., without necessarily meaning old, e.g. hen blentyn bach annwyl, a dear little child; hen genawes fach, a little minx; hen ŵr bach, an old man; gŵr hen, a really old man; if hen is modified, it must follow: gwraig hen iawn, a very old lady. Cam before a noun = mistaken, wrong e.g. cam farn, a misjudgement; after the noun it = crooked: ffon gam, a crooked stick. Gwir before the noun = real, genuine, true, e.g. y gwir Dduw, the true God; gwir enghraift, a genuine example; after the noun, gwir = veracious, truthful: stori wir, a true story. Glân before the noun = holy, e.g. glân briodas, holy matrimony; after the noun it = clean, e.g. dŵr glân, clean water. Unig before the noun = only, sole: yr unig beth, the sole thing; after the noun it = lonely: lle unig, a lonely place. Diweddar before the noun = late, deceased; after the noun = recent. Aml before the noun = many a; or with a plural noun = numerous: aml dro, many a time; aml bechodau, numerous sins; aml un, many a one; after the noun it = frequently: ymweliadau aml, frequent visits. Eithaf = not bad, quite good, may precede or follow the noun, e.g. eithaf peth, not a bad thing; when it follows its other meaning is furthest, most extreme; terfyn eithaf, the furthest limit. Cwta before a noun = scarce a, nary a: cwta flwyddyn (or blwyddyn gwta) sydd ers hynny, it’s scarcely a year since; after a noun it often = cut short, curtailed, tailless; gwallt cwta, short hair; mochyn cwta, guinea-pig. Prin before a noun = faint: prin gof, a faint memory; after the noun, it = scarce, rare: enghraifft brin, a rare example. Cynifer before a noun = as many, so many; cynifer gwaith, as many times; after the noun it = even-numbered; deilen gynifer, four-leaved clover; rhif cynifer, even number. Hoff before a noun = favourite, preferred: fy hoff lyfr, my favourite book; after the noun = beloved; cyfaill hoff, a dear friend. Cas before a noun = most detested: fy nghas beth, my bête noire; after the noun it = disagreeable, nasty. Annwyl, dear, beloved, may precede or follow the noun. At the start of a letter it usually precedes; otherwise it more usually follows. Cyffelyb, similar, may precede or follow the noun: cyffelyb bethau or pethau cyffelyb, suchlike things, things of the sort. Mân before a plural noun = minor, petty: mân bethau or manion = trifles; after the noun = very small, tiny: plant mân, toddlers. Brith before a noun = partial, imperfect: brith gof, a hazy recollection; after the noun = speckled, variegated: bara brith, currant bread; siaced fraith, coat of many colours. Union before a noun = the very; yr union beth, the very thing; after a noun = direct: ffordd union, a direct route. Pen before a noun = chief: pen blaenor, chief deacon; after the noun = end: e.g. y tŷ pen, the end house.

(d) While all other adjectives usually follow the noun, some will be found to precede in certain clichés and set expressions, e.g. o dragwyddol bwys, of eternal importance; parchedig ŵr, reverend gentleman; hybarch Dad, most/very Reverend Father; drwg lygad, evil eye; o barchus goffadwriaeth, of blessed memory; rhad ras, free grace; rhydd ewyllys, free will; achubol ras, saving grace; cyfyng gyngor, dilemma; rheitiach peth, more urgent/necessary thing; caeëdig ddôr, closed door; aneirif lu’r merthyron, the numberless host of martyrs; dewisol ganiadau, selected poems; gloywach nen, brighter sky; meithion oriau, long hours; tyner lais, a tender voice; haeddiannol wobr, deserved reward; poeth offrwm, burnt offering; hyfryd fore, joyful morn; annwyl gariadus Gymry; dearly beloved Welsh people; unig-anedig fab, only-begotten son; Hollalluog Dduw, Almighty God; er mawr syndod imi, to my great surprise; mae mawr angen, there is a great need; yr anfarwol fardd, the immortal bard; yr enwog Ddaniel Owen, the celebrated Daniel Owen; taer angen, dire need; dwfn fyfyrdod, deep meditation.

Comparative adjectives rheitiach, amgenach, gorau, gwell &c. do not lenite the noun but adjectives in the positive degree, as in the above examples, lenite the noun.



Position of modifiers of adjectives and adverbs

Adverbs are formed thus: yn + soft mutation + adjective. Hence da, good; yn dda, well. There is thus no formal distinction between an adjective in a predicate position, e.g. mae hi’n dda, she is good, and an adverb, e.g. mae hi’n gweithio’n dda, she works well.

1. Modifiers may follow the adjective/adverb: iawn = very, always follows, thus: da iawn, very good; yn dda iawn, very well. Modifiers such as ofnadwy, cynddeiriog, odiaeth, dychrynllyd, trybeilig &c. either follow and are lenited thus: mawr ofnadwy/ddychrynllyd/gynddeiriog/ drybeilig, awfully big, or may precede, thus: ofnadwy [o] fawr, cynddeiriog [o] fawr &c.

2. Tra, very, always precedes and is followed by the spirant mutation of p, t, c, thus: tra mawr, very big; tra drud, very dear; tra pharod, very ready; tra charedig, very kind; yn dra charedig, very obligingly; tra thadol, very fatherly; yn dra thadol, in a very fatherly manner.

3. Eithaf, quite; digon, enough; hen ddigon, quite … enough; llawer, much, chwarter, a quarter; hanner, half precede the adjective: eithaf parchus, quite respectable; llawer gwell, much better; digon boddhaol, satisfactory enough; hen ddigon glân, quite clean enough; hanner call, half crazy.

4. Note position with comparative adjectives/adverbs: llawer llai or llai o lawer, much smaller; nid yw fawr gwell, it is little better; rhywfaint pellach, somewhat further; y gorau o ddigon, by far the best, much the best; mae beth yn fwy, it is somewhat bigger; mae dipyn yn llai, it is a bit smaller; cymaint gwaeth, so much worse; mwy cyfoethog, more wealthy; mwyaf anhapus; most unhappy;

5. Go, reit, quite; rhy, too; lled, quite; braidd yn, fairly; mor, so, cyn, as always precede and lenite the adjective: quite skilful, go fedrus; quite cheeky, reit ddigywilydd; too dear, rhy ddrud; quite easily, yn o hawdd; too quickly, yn rhy gyflym; quite suddenly, yn reit sydyn; fairly satisfactory, lled foddhaol; rather lazy, braidd yn ddiog or diog braidd; so loving, mor gariadus; as white, cyn wynned.

6. Other adjectives acting as modifiers of an adjective, precede and lenite it forming as it were a compound adjective/adverb: rhannol wir, partly true; perffaith lân, perfectly clean; cwbl wallus, wholly wrong; pur wallus, quite faulty; gweddol rugl, fairly fluent; gwir barchedig, right reverend; aruthrol bert, terribly pretty; difrifol wael, seriously ill; hollol gywir, wholly right; holl-bresennol, all-pervading; gwirioneddol lesol, really beneficial; anhraethol ddiflas, unspeakably boring; anhygoel wych, incredibly fine; eithriadol ddiddorol, exceptionally interesting; rhyfeddol ddewr, wonderfully brave; llwyr ddibynnol, completely dependent; llawn gystal/cystal, fully as good.



Adjectives and nouns denoting nationality

(a) Note that in correct Welsh it is usual to distinguish between a very general sense of the adjective, and a strictly linguistic one, thus: oen Cymreig, Welsh lamb, llyfr Cymreig, a book of Welsh interest (which might be in any language), as distinct from llyfr Cymraeg, a book in Welsh which might be on any topic under the sun; similarly, the French temperament, yr anian Ffrengig or anian y Ffrancwyr, but a French poem, cerdd Ffrangeg; English ways, dulliau Seisnig, but an English dictionary, geiriadur Saesneg.

(b) In translating expressions such as the Welsh people, it is very unidiomatic to say pobl Gymraeg/Gymreig; one says simply Cymry or pobl Cymru; likewise English people is simply Saeson or pobl Lloegr; French people, Ffrancwyr or pobl Ffrainc. In expressions such as an English gentleman, the usual construction is bonheddwr o Sais; a French doctor, meddyg o Ffrancwr; Italian ladies, Eidalesau, boneddigesau o’r Eidal; Welsh ladies, Cymryesau, Cymraesau, boneddigesau o Gymru and so on.

(c) In talking of products or institutions peculiar to a country, it is more idiomatic to use the name of the country than the adjective, thus: French wines, gwinoedd Ffrainc; a French wine, gwin o Ffrainc or gwin Ffrengig; the Canadian parliament, senedd Canada; a Canadian parliament (i.e. one of the provincial legislatures), un o seneddau Canada. This is especially so when there is only one of the nouns in question at any one time, thus: the American President, Arlywydd America; Arabian oil, olew Arabia; the Spanish fleet, llynges Sbaen.

Prepositions

A. Simple prepositions

1. These consist of a single word. Most cause mutation:

the soft mutation after am, ar, at, dan, dros, drwy, heb, i, o, trwy, tan, gan, hyd, tros, wrth;

the aspirate mutation after a, â, tua, gyda; the nasal mutation after yn.

There is no mutation after cyn, er, ger, mewn, rhag, rhwng, wedi.

2. Some conjugate, i.e. have personal forms, like verbs, when followed by a pronoun.

(a) The first conjugation

ar: sing. 1. arnaf (fi) 2. arnat (ti) 3 m arno (ef), f arni (hi)

pl. 1. arnom (ni) 2. arnoch (chwi) 3. arnynt (hwy)

Adverbial form: arnodd, on, over

Like ar: oddi ar.

at: sing. 1. ataf (fi) 2. atat (ti) 3. ato (ef), ati (hi)

pl. 1. atom (ni) 2. atoch (chwi) 3. atynt (hwy)

Like at: tuag at, hyd at

tan: sing. 1. tanaf (fi) 2. tanat (ti) 3. tano (ef), tani (hi)

pl. 1. tanom (ni) 2. tanoch (chwi) 3. tanynt (hwy)

Adverbial form: tanodd, underneath

Like tan: dan (danaf fi &c., with adverbial form danodd); am (amdanaf fi &c.); oddi tan (oddi tanaf &c.); also in popular Northern Welsh, rownd, with forms rownda’i, rowndat ti, rowndo fo, rowndi hi; rowndon ni, rowndoch chi, rowndyn nhw.

(b) The second conjugation

er: sing. 1. erof (fi) 2. erot (ti) 3. erddo (ef), erddi (hi)

pl. 1. erom (ni) 2. eroch (chwi) 3. erddynt (hwy)

heb: sing. 1. hebof (fi) 2. hebot (ti) 3. hebddo (ef), hebddi (hi)

pl. 1. hebom (ni) 2. heboch (chwi) 3. hebddynt (hwy)

Adverbial form: heibio, past

o: sing. 1. ohonof (fi) 2. ohonot (ti) 3. ohono (ef), ohoni (hi)

pl. 1. ohonom (ni) 2. ohonoch (chwi) 3. ohonynt (hwy)

rhag: sing. 1. rhagof (fi) 2. rhagot (ti) 3. rhagddo (ef), rhagddi (hi)

pl. 1. rhagom (ni) 2. rhagoch (chwi) 3. rhagddynt (hwy)

rhwng: sing. 1. rhyngof (fi) 2. rhyngot (ti) 3. rhyngddo (ef), rhyngddi (hi)

pl. 1. rhyngom (ni) 2. rhyngoch (chwi) 3. rhyngddynt (hwy)

Like rhwng: cydrhwng (cydrhyngof fi &c.)

tros: sing. 1. trosof (fi) 2. trosot (ti) 3. trosto (ef), trosti (hi)

pl. 1. trosom (ni) 2. trosoch (chwi) 3. trostynt (hwy)

Adverbial form: trosodd, over

Like tros: dros (drosof fi &c.)

trwy: sing. 1. trwof (fi) 2. trwot (ti) 3. trwyddo (ef), trwyddi (hi)

pl. 1. trwom (ni) 2. trwoch (chwi) 3. trwyddynt (hwy)

Adverbial form: trwodd, through

Like trwy: drwy (drwof fi &c.).

(c) The third conjugation

gan: sing. 1. gennyf (fi) 2. gennyt (ti) 3. ganddo (ef), ganddi (hi)

pl. 1. gennym (ni) 2. gennych (chwi) 3. ganddynt (hwy)

N.B. the forms ganddom, ganddoch are totally inadmissible

wrth: sing. 1. wrthyf (fi) 2. wrthyt (ti) 3. wrtho (ef), wrthi (hi)

pl. 1. wrthym (ni) 2. wrthoch (chwi) 3. wrthynt (hwy)

Like wrth: oddi wrth.

(d) the preposition i is in a class by itself

sing. 1. imi or i mi 2. iti or i ti 3. iddo (ef) or iddi (hi)

pl. 1. inni or i ni 2. ichwi or i chwi 3. iddynt (hwy)

The forms i mi, i ti &c. are more emphatic. In the South i fi is usual for i mi. In poetry occur the forms:

sing. 1. im 2. it; pl. 1. in. 2. iwch

(e) the forms of â:

sing. 1. â mi 2. â thi 3. ag ef, â hi

pl. 1. â ni 2. â chwi 3. â hwy

Like â: gyda(g), ynghyd â/ag, tua(g).

(f) invariable prepositions

cyn (before), efo (with), erbyn (by), ers (since), fel (like), fesul (by), ger (near), gerfydd (by), hyd (till), is (below), llwrw (in the direction of), megis (such as), mewn (in), namyn (less, minus), nes (till), uwch (above), wedi (after), ŵysg (after, along).

B. Compound prepositions

1. Where the second element is a simple preposition it conjugates accordingly. Examples: ynghyd â/ag (together with), yn ogystal â/ag (as well as), heibio i (beyond, past), oddi wrth (from), oddi tan (underneath), gyfarwyneb â/ag, gyferbyn â/ag, (opposite), y tu draw i (beyond), y tu hwnt i, (beyond), gogyfer â/ag , parth â/ag (towards), y tu mewn i (inside), y tu allan i (outside), ar wahân i (apart from).

2. (a) compounds of a simple preposition and a noun:

ar fedr, ar fin, ar dỳd (about to), gerllaw (near), islaw (beneath), oddieithr, oddigerth (except), uwchlaw (above), yn anad (more than), heblaw (besides), ymhen (at the end of) are invariable and followed by nouns or by the simple independent pronouns;

(b) in other compounds of a preposition and a noun governing a pronoun, the noun must be preceded by the appropriate possesive adjective. Thus on top of me becomes ar fy mhen (i), literally, on my head:

am ben (upon, in addition to)

sing. 1. am fy mhen (i) pl. 1. am ein pennau (ni)

2. am dy ben (di) 2. am eich pen/pennau (chwi)

3. m am ei ben (ef) 3. am eu pennau (hwy)

f am ei phen (hi)

ar ben (on top of):

sing. 1. ar fy mhen (i) pl. 1. ar ein pennau (ni)

2. ar dy ben (di) 2. ar eich pen/pennau (chwi)

3. ar ei ben (ef) 3. ar eu pennau (hwy)

ar ei phen (hi)

ar bwys (near)

sing. 1. ar fy mhwys (i) pl. 1. ar ein pwys (ni)

2. ar dy bwys (di) 2. ar eich pwys (chwi)

3. ar ei bwys (ef) 3. ar eu pwys (hwy)

ar ei phwys (hi)

ar draws (across)

sing. 1. ar fy nhraws (i) pl. 1. ar ein traws (ni)

2. ar dy draws (di) 2. ar eich traws (chwi)

3. ar ei draws (ef) 3. ar eu traws (hwy)

ar ei thraws (hi)

ar gefn (astride)

sing. 1. ar fy nghefn (i) pl. 1. ar ein cefnau (ni)

2. ar dy gefn (di) 2. ar eich cefn/cefnau (chwi)

3. ar ei gefn (ef) 3. ar eu cefnau (hwy)

ar ei chefn (hi)

ar gownt (on account of)

sing. 1. ar fy nghownt (i) pl. 1. ar ein cownt (ni)

2. ar dy gownt (di) 2. ar eich cownt (chwi)

3. ar ei gownt (ef) 3. ar eu cownt (hwy)

ar ei chownt (hi)

ar gyfer (in preparation for)

sing. 1. ar fy nghyfer (i) pl. 1. ar ein cyfer (ni)

2. ar dy gyfer (di) 2. ar eich cyfer (chwi)

3. ar ei gyfer (ef) 3. ar eu cyfer (hwy)

ar ei chyfer (hi)

ar gyfrif (on account of)

sing. 1. ar fy nghyfrif (i) pl. 1. ar ein cyfrif (ni)

2. ar dy gyfrif (di) 2. ar eich cyfrif (chwi)

3. ar ei gyfrif (ef) 3. ar eu cyfrif (hwy)

ar ei chyfrif (hi)

ar gyfyl (near)

sing. 1. ar fy nghyfyl (i) pl. 1. ar ein cyfyl (ni)

2. ar dy gyfyl (di) 2. ar eich cyfyl (chwi)

3. ar ei gyfyl (ef) 3. ar eu cyfyl (hwy)

ar ei chyfyl (hi)

ar hyd (along)

sing. 1. ar fy hyd (i) pl. 1. ar ein hyd (ni)

2. ar dy hyd (di) 2. ar eich hyd (chwi)

3. ar ei hyd (ef) or ar hyd-ddo 3. ar eu hyd (hwy) or ar hyd-ddynt

ar ei hyd (hi) or ar hyd-ddi

ar ochr (on the side of)

sing. 1. ar f’ochr (i) pl. 1. ar ein hochr (ni)

2. ar d’ochr (di) 2. ar eich ochr (chwi)

3. ar ei ochr (ef) 3. ar eu hochr (hwy)

ar ei hochr (hi)

ar ôl (after)

sing. 1. ar f’ôl (i) pl. 1. ar ein hôl/holau (ni)

2. ar d’ôl (di) 2. ar eich ôl/olau (chwi)

3. ar ei ôl (ef) 3. ar eu hôl/holau (hwy)

ar ei hôl (hi)

ar uchaf (upon)

sing. 1. ar f’uchaf (i) pl. 1. ar ein huchaf (ni)

2. ar d’ uchaf (di) 2. ar eich uchaf (chwi)

3. ar ei uchaf (ef) 3. ar eu huchaf (hwy)

ar ei huchaf (hi)

ar warthaf (upon)

sing. 1. ar fy ngwarthaf (i) pl. 1. ar ein gwarthaf (ni)

2. ar dy warthaf (di) 2.ar eich gwarthaf (chwi)

3. ar ei warthaf (ef) 3. ar eu gwarthaf (hwy)

ar ei gwarthaf (hi)

ar ymyl (on the edge)

sing. 3. ar ei ymyl (ef), ar ei hymyl (hi) pl. 3. ar eu hymylon (hwy)

dros ben (over)

sing. 1. dros fy mhen (i) pl. 1. dros ein pennau (ni)

2. dros dy ben (di) 2. dros eich pen/pennau (chwi)

3. dros ei ben (ef) 3. dros eu pennau (hwy)

dros ei phen (hi)

Like dros ben: tros ben

er gwaethaf (despite)

sing. 1. er fy ngwaethaf (i) pl. 1. er ein gwaethaf (ni)

2. er dy waethaf (di) 2. er eich gwaethaf (chwi)

3. er ei waethaf (ef) 3. er eu gwaethaf (hwy)

er ei gwaethaf (hi)

er mwyn (for the sake of)

sing. 1. er fy mwyn (i) pl. er ein mwyn (ni)

2. er dy fwyn (di) er eich mwyn (chwi)

3. er ei fwyn (ef) er eu mwyn (hwy)

er ei mwyn (hi)

gerbron (in the presence of)

sing. 1. ger fy mron (i) pl. 1. ger ein bron (ni)

2. ger dy fron (di) 2. ger eich bron (chwi)

3. ger ei fron (ef) 3. ger eu bron (hwy)

ger ei bron (hi)

gerllaw (near)

sing. 1. ger fy llaw (i) pl. 1. ger ein llaw (ni)

2. ger dy law (di) 2. ger eich llaw (chwi)

3. ger ei law (ef) 3. ger eu llaw (hwy)

ger ei llaw (hi)

i blith (into the midst of) No sing. forms.

pl. 1. i’n plith (ni) 2. i’ch plith (chwi) 3. i’w plith (hwy)

i fysg (into the midst of) No sing. forms.

pl. 1. i’n mysg (ni) 2. i’ch mysg (chwi) 3. i’w mysg (hwy)

i ganol (into the middle of)

sing. 1. i’m canol (i) pl. 1. i’n canol (ni)

2. i’th ganol (di) 2. i’ch canol (chwi)

3. i’w ganol (ef) 3. i’w canol (hwy)

i’w chanol (hi)

is gil (behind)

sing. 1. is fy nghil (i) pl. 1. is ein cil (ni)

2. is dy gil (di) 2. is eich cil (chwi)

3. is ei gil (ef) 3. is eu cil (hwy)

is ei chil (hi)

islaw (beneath)

sing. 1. is fy llaw (i) pl. 1. is ein llaw (ni)

2. is dy law (di) 2. is eich llaw (chwi)

3. is ei law (ef) 3. is eu llaw (hwy)

is ei llaw (hi)

o achos (because of)

sing. 1. o’m hachos (i) pl. 1. o’n hachos (ni)

2. o’th achos (di) 2. o’ch achos (chwi)

3. o’i achos (ef) 3. o’u hachos (hwy)

o’i hachos (hi)

o amgylch (around)

sing. 1. o’m hamgylch (i) pl. 1. o’n hamgylch (ni)

2. o’th amgylch (di) 2. o’ch amgylch (chwi)

3. o’i amgylch (ef) 3. o’u hamgylch (hwy)

o’i hamgylch (hi)

o blaid (in favour of)

sing. 1. o’m plaid (i) pl. 1. o’n plaid (ni)

2. o’th blaid (di) 2. o’ch plaid (chwi)

3. o’i blaid (ef) 3. o’u plaid (hwy)

o’i phlaid (hi)

oblegid (because of)

sing. 1. o’m plegid (i) pl. 1. o’n plegid (ni)

2. o’th blegid (di) 2. o’ch plegid (chwi)

3. o’i blegid (ef) 3. o’u plegid (hwy)

o’i phlegid (hi)

o blith (from among) No sing. forms

pl. 1. o’n plith (ni) 2. o’ch plith (chwi) 3. o’u plith (hwy)

oddeutu (about)

sing. 1. o’m deutu (i) pl. 1. o’n deutu (ni)

2. o’th ddeutu (di) 2. o’ch deutu (chwi)

3. o’i ddeutu (ef) 3. o’u deutu (hwy)

o’i deutu (hi)

o fewn (within)

sing. 1. o’m mewn (i) pl. 1. o’n mewn (ni)

2. o’th fewn (di) 2. o’ch mewn (chwi)

3. o’i fewn (ef) 3. o’u mewn (hwy)

o’i mewn (hi)

o flaen (before)

sing. 1. o’m blaen (i) pl. 1. o’n blaen/blaenau (ni)

2. o’th flaen (di) 2. o’ch blaen/blaenau (chwi)

3. o’i flaen (ef) 3. o’u blaen/blaenau (hwy)

o’i blaen (hi)

o fysg (from among) No sing. forms.

pl. 1. o’n mysg (ni) 2. o’ch mysg (chwi) 3. o’u mysg (hwy)

o ganol (into the middle of)

sing. 1. o’m canol (i) pl. 1. o’n canol (ni)

2. o’th ganol (di) 2. o’ch canol (chwi)

3. o’i ganol (ef) 3. o’u canol (hwy)

o’i chanol (hi)

o gwmpas (around)

sing. 1. o’m cwmpas (i) pl. 1. o’n cwmpas (ni)

2. o’th gwmpas (di) 2. o’ch cwmpas (chwi)

3. o’i gwmpas (ef) 3. o’u cwmpas (hwy)

o’i chwmpas (hi)

o gylch (around)

sing. 1. o’m cylch (i) pl. 1. o’n cylch (ni)

2. o’th gylch (di) 2. o’ch cylch (chwi)

3. o’i gylch (ef) 3. o’u cylch (hwy)

o’i chylch (hi)

oherwydd (because of)

sing. 1. o’m herwydd (i) pl. 1. o’n herwydd (ni)

2. o’th herwydd (di) 2. o’ch herwydd (chwi)

3. o’i herwydd (ef) 3. o’u herwydd (hwy)

o’i herwydd (hi)

o ran (as regards, for my &c. part).

sing. 1. o’m rhan (i) pl. 1. o’n rhan (ni)

2. o’th ran (di) 2. o’ch rhan (chwi)

3. o’i ran (ef) 3. o’u rhan (hwy)

o’i rhan (hi)

rhag bron (in front of)

sing. 1. rhag fy mron (i) pl. 1. rhag ein bron (ni)

2. rhag dy fron (di) 2. rhag eich bron (chwi)

3. rhag ei fron (ef) 3. rhag eu bron (hwy)

rhag ei bron (hi)

uwchben (above)

sing. 1. uwch fy mhen (i) pl. 1. uwch ein pennau (ni)

2. uwch dy ben (di) 2. uwch eich pen/pennau (chwi)

3. uwch ei ben (ef) 3. uwch eu pennau (hwy)

uwch ei phen (hi)

wrth ymyl (near)

sing. 1. wrth f’ymyl (i) pl. 1. wrth ein hymyl/hymylau (ni)

2. wrth d’ymyl (di) 2. wrth eich ymyl/ymylau (chwi)

3. wrth ei ymyl (ef) 3. wrth eu hymyl/hymylau (hwy)

wrth ei hymyl (hi)

ymhlith (among) No sing. forms

pl. 1. yn ein plith (ni) 2. yn eich plith (chwi) 3. yn eu plith (hwy)

ymysg (among) No sing. forms

pl. 1. yn ein mysg (ni) 2. yn eich mysg (chwi) 3. yn eu mysg (hwy)

yn erbyn (against)

sing. 1. yn f’erbyn (i) pl. 1. yn ein herbyn (ni)

2. yn d’erbyn (di) 2. yn eich erbyn (chwi)

3. yn ei erbyn (ef) 3. yn eu herbyn (hwy)

yn ei herbyn (hi)

yn herwydd (according to)

sing. 1. yn fy herwydd (i) pl. 1. yn ein herwydd (ni)

2. yn dy herwydd (di) 2. yn eich herwydd (chwi)

3. yn ei herwydd (ef) 3. yn eu herwydd (hwy)

yn ei herwydd (hi)

yn lle (instead of)

sing. 1. yn fy lle (i) pl. 1. yn ein lle (ni)

2. yn dy le (di) 2. yn eich lle (chwi)

3. yn ei le (ef) 3. yn eu lle (hwy)

yn ei lle (hi)

yn ôl (according to)

sing. 1. yn f’ôl (i) pl. 1. yn ein hôl/holau (ni)

2. yn d’ôl (di) 2. yn eich ôl/olau (chwi)

3. yn ei ôl (ef) 3. yn eu hôl/holau (hwy)

yn ei hôl (hi)

yn wysg (following)

sing. 1. yn f’wysg (i) pl. 1. yn ein hwysg (ni)

2. yn d’wysg (di) 2. yn eich wysg (chwi)

3. yn ei wysg (ef) 3. yn eu hwysg (hwy)

yn ei hwysg (hi)

yn ymyl (near)

sing. 1. yn f’ymyl (i) pl. 1. yn ein hymyl (ni)

2. yn d’ymyl (di) 2. yn eich ymyl (chwi)

3. yn ei ymyl (ef) 3. yn eu hymyl (hwy)

yn ei hymyl (hi)

ynghanol (in the middle of)

sing. 1. yn fy nghanol (i) pl. 1. yn ein canol (ni)

2. yn dy ganol (di) 2. yn eich canol (chwi)

3. yn ei ganol (ef) 3. yn eu canol (hwy)

yn ei chanol (hi)

yng nghyfer (rashly – in the expression siarad yn eich cyfer, to speak rashly)

sing. 1. yn fy nghyfer (i) pl. 1. yn ein cyfer (ni)

2. yn dy gyfer (di) 2. yn eich cyfer (chwi)

3. yn ei gyfer (ef) 3. yn eu cyfer (hwy)

yn ei chyfer (hi)

ynghylch (about, concerning)

sing. 1. yn fy nghylch (i) pl. 1. yn ein cylch (ni)

2. yn dy gylch (di) 2. yn eich cylch (chwi)

3. yn ei gylch (ef) 3. yn eu cylch (hwy)

yn ei chylch (hi)

yng ngŵydd (in the presence of)

sing. 1. yn fy ngŵydd (i) pl. 1. yn ein gŵydd (ni)

2. yn dy ŵydd (di) 2. yn eich gŵydd (chwi)

3. yn ei ŵydd (ef) 3. yn eu gŵydd (hwy)

yn ei gŵydd (hi)

Expressions containing a verb-noun, of the type ac eithrio (excepting), o gofio, gan gynnwys, ac ystyried, a chofio (considering), have conjugated forms analogous to those of compounded prepositions when governing pronouns:

ac eithrio

sing. 1. a’m heithrio (i) pl. 1. a’n heithrio (ni)

2. a’th eithrio (di) 2. a’ch eithrio (chwi)

3. a’i eithrio (ef) 3. a’u heithrio (hwy)

a’i heithrio (hi).

Verbs



Identifying the stem of a verb

In this dictionary, the only form usually listed of any verb is the verb-noun (vn.). To conjugate the verb, the stem to which the appropriate endings are suffixed must be known. The conjugations of very irregular verbs are given in full elsewhere. The majority of verbs are conjugated like gwenu and canu.

1. The largest class is of verb-nouns ending in a vowel: -a, -i, -io, -o, -u.

To find the stem, drop the final vowel: thus, of difetha, the stem is difeth-; of torri, torr-; of gweithio, gweithi-; of teimlo, teiml-; of magu, mag-. Any stem in -i drops -i before another -i: fe weithi di, you’ll work. Exceptions are verbs such as sgio, ffrio, trio, &c.