CYCS7018 - Uned Dau - Amser Presennol Bod

1
The verb usually comes first in a Welsh sentence. The present tense is formed by combining personal forms of "bod" ("to be", see part 3 below) with the infinitive (or "verb-noun", as it is known in Welsh).

Verb	Subject	Yn	Verb-Noun	Translation
Mae	Ann	yn	darllen	Ann is reading
Mae	Gethin	yn	gweithio	Gethin is working
Mae	Tom	yn	mynd	Tom is going

2
Yn links the verb-noun to the subject. Yn darllen can be translated as "reading" or "reads", plant yn chwarae as "children playing".
After a vowel, yn is reduced to 'n.


Mae e'n mynd He is going	Mae hi'n darllen She is reading

[Ry]dyn ni'n mynd We are going	Maen nhw'n darllen They are reading

Yn/'n NEVER comes before eisiau (want). This is the only exception. A verb-noun following eisiau does not need to be preceded by i ("to")

Rwy(f) i eisiau darllen
I want to read

3
Personal forms of bod:


Rwy(f) i I am	Ydw i? I am?	Dwy i ddim I'm not

Rwyt ti You are	Wyt ti? Are you?	Dwyt ti ddim You're not

Mae e He is	Ydy e? Is he?	Dyw e ddim He's not

Mae hi She is	Ydy hi? Is she?	Dyw hi ddim She's not

Mae'r dyn The man	Ydy'r dyn Is the man?	Dyw'r dyn ddim The man is not

[Ry]dyn ni We are	[Y]dyn ni? Are we?	[Dy]dyn ni ddim We're not

[Ry]dych chi You are	[Y]dych chi? Are you?	[Dy]dych chi ddim You're not

Maen nhw They are	[Y]dyn nhw? Are they?	[Dy]dyn nhw ddim They're not

4
As in many other European languages, there are two ways of saying "you" in Welsh.
The familiar for ti is used to address someone you know, or when speaking to a child or animal, whereas chi is used to address a group of people or a person you don't know very well.

5
When you are identifying something in Welsh, that which is defined comes first and the interrogative for of the verb is used:


Myfyriwr ydy e He's a student	Ann ydy hi She's Ann	Merched [y]dyn nhw They're girls

6
In Unit 1, pt.6 you learnt that a (and) becomes ac before a vowel. Ac is also placed before the personal forms of bod (pt.3):


Rwy'n mynd ac mae e'n aros I'm going and he is staying	Mae hi'n gweithio ac maen nhw yn y bar She's working and they are in the bar

7
The third person singular is used with plural nouns in this type of construction:


Mae'r myfyrwyr yn gweithio The students are working	Mae'r llyfrau yn yr ystafell The books are in the room

8
You wil meet another yn in this unit - namely the preposition "in" - which causes the nasal mutation. This is explained in further detail in Camu B, Unit 9.
For now, just remember that the Welsh word for "in" is yn.