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Croeseiriau Cymraeg Part 3.1 (Crosswords 13-20) - Grammar - The Past Tense And More
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The Past Imperfect - Yr Amser Amherffaith
The imperfect tense in Welsh translates as 'I was' or 'I used to'. For example, 'Roeddwn i'n chwarae' translates as 'I was playing' or 'I used to play'. In the sample sentences below there are links to vocabulary pages many of which include soundfiles to assist with pronunciation. ...
Affirmative
Roeddwn i I was, I used to
Roeddet ti (familiar) You were, you used to
Roeddech chi (formal) You were, you used to
Roedd e/hi He/She/It was, He/She/It used to
Roedden ni We were, We used to
Roedden nhw They were, they used to
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The particle 'yn' is used to to connect Verb-Nouns. 'Yn' contracts to 'n following a vowel. Here are some examples:-
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Roeddwn i'n cerdded i'r llyfrgell . - I was walking to the library.
Roeddet ti'n bwydo 'r gath . - You were feeding the cat.
Roeddech chi'n gweithio ddoe . - You were working yesterday.
Roedd e'n darllen y llyfr . - He was reading the book.
Roedd hi'n chwilio am yr allweddi . - She was looking for the keys.
Roedden ni'n yfed yn y dafarn . - We were drinking in the pub.
Roedden nhw'n cuddio yn y goedwig . - They were hiding in the woods.
...
Negative
Doeddwn i ddim I wasn'tDoeddet ti ddim (familiar) You weren't
Doeddech chi ddim (formal) You weren't
Doedd e/hi ddim He/She wasn't
Doedden ni ddim We weren't
Doedden nhw ddim They weren't
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e.g. Doeddwn i ddim yn cerdded - I wasn't walking
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Questions
Oeddwn i Was I?Oeddet ti (familiar) Were you?
Oeddech chi (formal) Were you?
Oedd e/hi Was he/she?
Oedden ni Were we?
Oedden nhw Were they?
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e.g. Oeddech chi'n cerdded? - Were you walking?
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Answers
Oeddwn / Nac oeddwn Yes I was, No I wasn'tOeddet / Nac oeddet (familiar) Yes you were, No you weren't
Oeddech / Nac oeddech (formal) Yes you were, No you weren't
Oedd / Nac oedd Yes he/she was, No he/she wasn't
Oedden / Nac oedden Yes we were, No we weren't
Oedden / Nac oedden Yes they were, No they weren't
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N.B. In Welsh as in other languages there is a tendency to contract or abbreviate terms and phrases for ease of articulation. Consequently in commonly spoken Welsh you will hear the Imperfect Tense expressed as follows. We have used Siarad - To Talk/Speak as a helper verb in the examples below:- ...
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Affirmative
Ro'n i'n siarad I was talking, I used to talk
Ro't ti'n siarad (familiar) You were talking, you used to talk
Ro'ch chi'n siarad (formal) You were talking, you used to talk
Roedd e/hi siarad He/She was talking, he/she used to talk
Ro'n ni'n siarad We were talking, We used to talk
Ro'n nhw 'n siarad They were talking, they used to talk
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Negative
Do'n i ddim yn siarad I wasn't talking
Do't ti ddim yn siarad (familiar) You weren't talking
Do'ch chi ddim yn siarad (formal) You weren't talking
Doedd e/hi ddim yn siarad He/She wasn't talking
Do'n ni ddim yn siarad We weren't talking
Do'n nhw ddim yn siarad They weren't talking
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Questions
O'n i'n siarad? Was I talking?
O't ti'n siarad? (familiar) Were you talking?
O'ch chi'n siarad? (formal) Were you talking?
Oedd e/hi yn siarad? Was he/she talking?
O'n ni'n siarad? Were we talking?
O'n nhw' n siarad? Were they talking?
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Answers
O'n / Nac o'n Yes I was / No I wasn't
O't / Nac o't (familiar) Yes you were / No you weren't
O'ch / Nac o'ch (formal) Yes you were / No you weren't
Oedd / Nac oedd Yes he/she was / No he/she wasn't
O'n / Nac o'n Yes we were / No we weren't
O'n / Nac o'n Yes they were / No they weren't
. ...