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Medrwn - Could
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medrwn* - could
sample sentence:
Mae'n edrych fel arwynebedd y blaned Mawrth*.
Medrwch chi gael maddeuant am feddwl felly .
It looks like the surface of Mars.
You could be forgiven for thinking so.
Image: Glyder Fawr* Medrwn is used to mean 'could' in the northern Welsh dialect while gallwn is used in the south.
* Mawrth is the Welsh name for Mars.
This is the conditional form of medru (can, to be able, to know) and means 'could'. It uses similar endings to other auxiliary or modal verbs e.g. dylwn -should , byddwn - would and hoffwn - would like. Medrwn is not followed by “yn + verb noun” but only the verb noun. It also causes a mutation in the verb that follows (see examples below).
Medrwn i fynd i siopa cyn cinio . - I could go shopping before lunch.
Medren nhw gyrraedd yfory . - They could arrive tomorrow.
To say 'I could have', 'you could have' etc put fod wedi after medrwn , medrwch etc. The following verb does not mutate. See full forms below.
AFFIRMATIVEMedrwn i i could
Medret ti you (familiar) could
Medrai e/o he could
Medrai hi she could
Medren ni we could
Medrech chi you (formal & plural) could
Medren nhw they couldNEGATIVEFedrwn i ddim i couldn't
Fedret ti ddim you (familiar) couldn't
Fedrai e/o ddim he couldn't
Fedrai hi ddim she couldn't
Fedren ni ddim we couldn't
Fedrech chi ddim you (formal & plural)couldn't
Fedren nhw ddim they couldn't
QUESTIONSFedrwn i? could I?
Fedret di? could you?
Fedrai e/o? could he?
Fedrai hi? could she?
Fedren ni? could we?
Fedrech chi? could you?
Fedren nhw? could they?COULD HAVEMedrwn i fod wedi i could have
Medret ti fod wedi you (familiar) could have
Medrai hi fod wedi she could have
Medrai e or Medrai o fod wedi he could have
Medren ni fod wedi we could have
Medrech chi fod wedi you (formal & plural) could have
Medren nhw fod wedi they could have
NEGATIVE 'I could not have.' = Fedrwn i ddim fod wedi.
INTERROGATIVE 'Could I have?' = Fedrwn i fod wedi?
*MUTANT ALERT*
In the sample sentence above on this page you will observe that the spelling of three words ( blaned, gael, feddwl ) differ from the spelling on the relevant Geiriadur listing page ( Planed - Planet , Cael - To Have , Meddwl - To Think ) Be not alarmed!
This happens because:-
"Welsh, as with all other Celtic languages, often sees changes made to the beginning of words depending on the word that precedes it, or the role it plays in the sentence. These changes are known as "mutations", of which Welsh has three distinct types. Common situations in which a mutation may occur are when a word follows a preposition, possessive, or number."
The three types of mutation are:-
The three links above will take you to further information about these commonly occurring mutations.
Most Welsh courses and teachers advise students not to worry too much about this at the outset. Fluent speakers will understand you if you forget to mutate a letter. With practice this will come naturally and there is perhaps, no need for beginning learners to make a conscious effort to apply these rules.
However, if you wish to acquaint yourself with the rules early on you could look out for the 'Mutant Alert' notice on the vocabulary pages and use these as an opportunity to refresh your knowledge by checking the above links.
Spot the Mutation: The mutation above is an example of a ........... mutation?
