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Session 6






Language notes

Pronouns avoid clumsy repetition of nouns, for example:
            'John picked up the box and John put the box on the table'
may be written more neatly as:
            'John picked up the box and he put it on the table'

We have already met the personal pronouns, which often appear after verbs:
 
                              singular                               Plural
Ist person              i, fi              I, me               ni             we, us
2nd person            ti, di           you                       chi           you
3rd  person            e/o, fe/fo    he, him               nhw         they, them
                              hi                she, her

The normal 1st person singular form after a verb is 'i', for example:
                    Es i i'r dref ddoe.       I went to town yesterday.
In this case, the personal pronoun is representing the subject of the sentence, i.e. the person carrying out the action.  If a 1st person singular pronoun represents the object of the sentence who is the recipient of the action, then the 'fi' form is used.  For example
                    Welodd e fi yn y dre       He saw me in town
                    Helpwch fi                  Help me
                    Stopiodd yr heddlu fi      The police stopped me

A similar rule applies to the 3rd person singular masculine, with e (South Wales) /o (North Wales) applying to the subject, and fe/fo applying to the object of the sentence, for example:
                   Cwrddodd e fe yn y bore.     He met him in the morning.

The normal 2nd person singular form after a verb is 'ti', for example:
                   Roeddet ti'n meddwl        You were thinking
However, in the cryno future tense the alternative form 'di' is used:
                  Gwnei di benderfyniad    You will make a decision  

Demonstrative pronouns are used to identify particular persons or objects:
                                           masculine         feminine
                 this                    hwn                 hon
                 that                    hwnnw                 honno
                 these                           y rhain
                 those                           y rheiny

In the singular, the pronoun depends on the gender of the noun:
                  Cerddon ni dros y bont hon ac i lawr y ffordd honno.
                  We walked across this bridge and down that road. 





Different forms of 'this' and 'that' (singular) are used when referring to ideas or extended pieces of information, rather than specific persons or objects.
                  this            hyn 
                  that            hynny
For example:
                   Mae hynny yn gynllun ardderchog.
                   That is an excellent plan.  

Some very common idiomatic expressions use hyn or hynny, for example:

    serch hynny      despite that
    ar hyn o bryd at the moment
    erbyn hyn         by now
    hyd yn hyn         so far, yet
    bob hyn a hyn every now and then

The expression 'hynny yw' ('that is') is equivalent to the English term 'i.e.' and can be written as the abbreviation 'h.y.', for example:
                 yn y gaeaf, h.y. mis Tachwedd i fis Chwefror 
                 in the winter, i.e. November to February

Some prepositions conjugate in a similar way to a short form verb when used with pronouns.  For example:
     
    i mi                         amdana i                             ohona i       
    i ti                           amdanat ti                          ohonat ti   
    iddo fe/fo               amdano fe/fo                      ohono fe/fo      
    iddi hi                     amdani hi                           ohoni hi        
    i ni                           amdanon ni                       ohonon ni   
    i chi                         amdanoch chi                   ohonoch chi   
    iddyn nhw              amdanyn nhw                    ohonyn nhw 
     
Also conjugating with pronouns are: gan, ar, at, wrth and yn.

Examples are:    
     Rhoddais anrheg iddi hi.                        I gave a present to her.
     Roedden ni'n siarad amdanoch chi.     We were talking about you.
     Cwynodd e wrthon ni                             He complained to us.
     Derbyniais neges ganddo fe                  I received a message from him
     Byddaf yn rhoi dŵr ynddo                      I will put water in it    



Treigladau

We have discussed situations in which a pronoun is placed before a noun to indicate possesion, for example:
       Dyma fy llyfr              This is my book
and after a noun for emphasis:
       Fy arian i yw hwn, nid arian John      This is my money, not John's

Another situation is where a pronoun is placed between a preposition and a noun, for example:  'to my town', 'with your son', 'from her car'.

These phrases can be written in full, but are more commonly compressed.  The complete and shortened forms with i are:

         i fy nhref                 i'm tref                  to my town
         i dy dref                  i'th dref                 to your town
         i ei dref                   i'w dref                  to his town
         i ein tref                  i'n tref                   to our town
         i eich tref                i'ch tref                 to your town
         i eu tref                   i'w tref                  to their town     





Phrases using â, gyda and o follow the pattern:

        gyda fy mhlant       gyda'm plant         with my children 
        gyda dy blant         gyda'th blant         with your children
        gyda ei phlant        gyda'i phlant         with her children 
        gyda ein plant        gyda'n plant          with our children 
        gyda eich plant       gyda'ch plant       with your children 
        gyda eu plant          gyda'u plant         with your children 

When the compressed form is used, any necessary treiglad follows the same rule as when the pronoun is written in full.  The only exception is for the first person singular, where the treiglad trwynol is not applied:

         i fy nhŷ                        i'm tŷ                           to my house 
         o fy ngardd                 o'm gardd                   from my garden
         gyda fy niod               gyda'm diod               with my drink
         siarad â fy mrawd      siarad â'm brawd       speak to my brother



Idioms

The word 'heb' is often translated as the English word 'without'. 
           
         Daeth y myfyriwr heb ei lyfrau.
         The student came without his books.

'heb' can be used in various verb tenses to indicate a negative condition:

       Rydyn ni heb clywed newyddion am y ddamwain.
       We have not heard news of the accident.
       Mae e heb ei dalu am y gwaith.
       He has not been paid for the work.

'heb' appears in various idioms:

heb amheuaeth - without a doubt
     Heb amheuaeth, mae arfordir Sir Benfro yn brydferth.
     Without a doubt, the coast of Pembrokeshire is beautiful.




heb ei ail - second to none, without equal
       Mae'r orsaf trydan dŵr yn Llanberis heb ei ail.
       The hydro-electric power station at Llanberis is without equal.

heb sôn am - not to mention
       Rhaid i ni dalu rent bob mis, heb sôn am drydan a dŵr.
       We must pay rent each month, not to mention electricity and water.

heblaw am - apart from
     Nid oes angen wneud unrhyw beth yn yr ardd heblaw am torri'r lawnt.
     There is no need to do anything in the garden other than mowing the lawn.

heb os nac onibai - without doubt
      Bydd ein cwmni'n ennill y contract heb os nac onibai.
      Our company will win the contract without a doubt.

heb yn wybod i - unobserved by, without the knowledge of
       Aeth i mewn i'r adeilad heb yn wybod i'r gofalwr.
       He went into the building unobserved by the caretaker.       






You are invited to translate this article into Welsh.



Vocabulary

resort   cyrchfan  noun (f);   granite   gwenithfaen  noun  (m);
amazing  rhyfeddol  adjective;   pilgrim  pererin  noun (m/f);
monastery  mynachlog  noun (f);  heritage  treftadaeth  noun (f);
restore  adfer  verb;

Llŷn


Llŷn is the long peninsula which extends west from Snowdonia.
It is a region of traditional small farms, small harbour villages and some larger towns.
The coast has beautiful beaches, bays and sea-cliffs.
A long-distance footpath extends around the whole peninsula, from Caernarfon to Porthmadog.
Llŷn is rich in Welsh culture and heritage.
The fishing village of Aberdaron was the last stop for pilgrims before crossing the sea to the monastery of Ynys Enlli.
Llithfaen was an important centre for granite quarrying.
Nant Gwrtheyrn was a village for workers at the nearby granite quarry.
The village was abandoned, but has now been restored.
It is home to the Welsh National Language Centre.
On the mountain above are the amazing remains of Tre’r Ceiri.
It is a prehistoric village where people lived until about 2,000 years ago.
The main holiday towns of Llŷn are Pwllheli and Abersoch.
Pwllheli is a busy market town with a large marina.
Abersoch is a popular and very fashionable seaside resort.

Translate the sentence:

Llŷn is the long peninsula which extends west from Snowdonia.



Suggested translation: (a number of alternatives acceptable)







Speaking and writing challenge


You are invited to speak in Welsh for a maximum of 3 minutes on the subject given below. Try to speak fluently, keeping your language simple and avoiding unfamiliar vocabulary.

Discuss the type of area that you, your family or friends like to visit on holiday. For example: is this on the coast or in the mountains. What activities do you like to do while you are there?

Before you begin speaking, make a list in Welsh of each key point that you want to mention. Enter the list in the box below, keeping each point to a few words in length:



When you have finished speaking, go back and expand each of the list items into a full sentence. Link the sentences to produce a final written article in Welsh.









Story

The set of icons below was randomly selected, and has been used to write a story.

You are invited to translate the story into Welsh.



Vocabulary

fall asleep   syrthio i gysgu;  hydraulic lift   lifft hydrolig; 
trapped  caeth (verb);   lower gostwng (verb);




Dewi works as an engineer in a theme park.
It was a busy Saturday with lots of families enjoying the rides.
Suddenly there was a loud noise from the edge of the park.
There was an explosion in the electrical equipment.
All the power failed, and the rides had stopped with many people stuck.
Dewi quickly called the emergency services.
He made an announcement on the sound system that everyone should keep calm - help was on its way.
The fire brigade arrived with ladders and a hydraulic lift which could reach the people trapped on the rides.
Dewi had to go up with the firemen to help cut people free.
It was a huge job to lower everyone to the ground, and took many hours.
Dewi gave an interview to a television news crew at the end of the day.
He explained that everyone was now safe.
Too tired to drive home, he heated some food in a microwave oven in his office.
After eating, he wrapped himself in a blanket and quickly fell asleep on the office floor.

Translate the sentence:

Dewi works as an engineer in a theme park.

Suggested translation: (a number of alternatives acceptable)










Create your own story in Welsh

Click the button to randomly select a set of story icons:








Use of Welsh

Curriculum Vitae


Jane Smith is applying for a job as an environmental scientist in Wales. 
You are invited to translate a brief CV into Welsh:







Vocabulary

environmental  amgylcheddol  adjective;  objective  amcan  noun (m); 
atmosphere  atmosffer  noun (m);  quality  ansawdd  noun (m);
employment  cyflogaeth  noun (f);   assistant  cynorthwyydd   noun;
range  ystod  noun (f);  publish  cyhoeddi  verb;










Translate the sentence:

Jane Smith, 37 Upper Penarth Road, Cardiff: phone (029) 716592.

Suggested translation: (a number of alternatives acceptable)








Description


Write four or five sentences in Welsh to describe the picture:







Understanding Welsh

Read the article, then write sentences in Welsh to answer the following questions:

What station does the protest concern?


What is the reason for the protest?


Why has Network Rail taken the action which caused the protest?


How many passengers use the station?


How do local people reach the station?


Who would benefit most if the problem is solved?




Mae Network Rail yn atal pobl rhag defnyddio ffordd i orsaf

Mae ffrae wedi codi rhwng trigolion sy`n byw ger gorsaf drenau Cyffordd Dyfi yn y canolbarth, a chwmni Network Rail.

Dyw cerbydau ddim yn cael defnyddio maes parcio`r orsaf gan fod giât fawr ar y ffordd yno wedi`i chloi.

Mae`r bobl leol yn fodlon defnyddio`r lôn, ond dyw hi ddim ar agor gan nad ydi hi`n ddiogel, meddai Network Rail.

Mae pob trên yn y canolbarth yn stopio yng ngorsaf Cyffordd Dyfi, ond dim ond tua tri o bobl sy`n ei ddefnyddio bob dydd. Fe fyddai`r nifer yn cynyddu`n sylweddol pe bai`r ffordd ar agor, meddai ymgyrchwyr.

Ychydig dros gilomedr yw`r pellter o`r pentref agosaf i Gyffordd Dyfi, ond mae tyllau yn y llwybr a does dim golau arni.

Dywedodd cynghorydd cymuned sy`n ymgyrchu dros wella`r ffordd: `Yr unig ffordd i gyrraedd yr orsaf yw i gerdded ac mae hi`n daith o ryw 20 munud.
O`r blaen gyda`r henoed a gyda theuluoedd a phlant ifanc roedden nhw`n gallu mynd yn eu ceir a mynd yn syth i`r orsaf.

Mae`r orsaf yn hyfryd - mae`r adnoddau yn dda ond rydyn ni methu cyrraedd o mewn ceir`.



 
 

Story board


A story is outlined below as a series of numbered notes and pictures. You are invited to write the story in Welsh so that it could be displayed as an on-line blog or news item. If necessary, please feel free to add any additional details to develop the story.

Food banks

1

At the present time, the cost of living is making it difficult for people to afford sufficient food and sufficient heating for their homes. This can be a serious problem for retired people who live on a small pension.

2

Families with small children may also be having difficulties with food and heating costs, particularly single parents or those on low incomes.

3

Charities have responded by setting up food banks. They make use of empty rooms in buildings such as shops or church halls.

4

Food can be donated by members of the public. Companies such as supermarkets donate spare food.

5

Volunteers collect and sort the donated food.

6

Weekly bags of food are assembled. People needing these supplies can collect them from the food bank. Volunteers may also distribute bags of food to the homes of those who are elderly or disabled and cannot travel to the food bank themselves.











Enter each section of your story in Welsh in the boxes below:






1














2














3














4














5














6






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