Croeso yn ôl i groeseiriau Cymreig / Welcome back to Welsh Crosswords

In this lesson we will cover the following topics:-

1.  More on Inflected Prepositions

2.  I

3.  Mewn

4.  Translation Exercises

5.  How to use the crosswords & Croeseiriau Cymraeg  7

Enjoy / Mwynhewch.

Any serious student of the Welsh language will need to acquaint themselves with the works of Gareth King. His:-  Modern Welsh: A Comprehensive Grammar  is  the  authoritative reference work on Welsh grammar.

In his chapter on inflected prepositions he includes the following explanation of their usage and formulation:-

"When used with the pronouns, most prepositions insert a linking syllable before the pronoun. The syllable itself changes with each pronoun, and the result is an inflection pattern reminiscent of verbs. Compare a non-inflecting preposition (  gyda  with ) with an inflecting one (  ar  on ):

(with name)          gyda Sioned -  with Sioned      ar Sioned  - on Sioned

(with noun)           gyda'r ferch   - with the girl       ar y ferch   - on the girl

(with pronoun)      gyda hi  - with her                     arni hi -  on her

It will be seen from the table above that inflected prepositions 'inflect' when used before a pronoun, in this case  hi  - her.

You will recall from the last  email  that we looked at the inflected prepositions am , ar and gan. We noted that the endings for inflected prepositions are as follows although there is some dialect variation.

Singular

First Person - a i 
Second Person - at ti   - och chi
Third Person Masculine - o fe/fo 
Third Person Feminine - i hi

Plural

First person  - on ni
Second Person  - och chi
Third Person   - yn nhw

This week we will practice this topic further with particular reference to the preposition  i   . We will also briefly consider an important non inflected preposition,  mewn  = in (a). 

I , often, corresponds to English  to  . It is one of the most widely used prepositions in the Welsh language. It can also mean  for  and also functions as a pronoun meaning  me  or  I .

I  can denote possession e.g.

Mae'r bobl hyn yn ffrindiau iddyn nhw.  - These people are friends of theirs / their friends.

( literally: 'friends to them' )

Inflected forms:

Singular
 
First Person -  i mi, imi, i fi 
Second Person -  i ti, i chi
Third Person Masculine -  iddo fe/fo 
Third Person Feminine -  iddi hi
       
Plural

First Person -   i ni, inni
Second Person -  i chi
Third Person -  iddyn nhw

(It will be noted from the above table that the inflected forms of  i  are irregular. Only the third person singular and plural take an extra syllable.)

Here are a few practice examples:- 

Tom is a friend of mine. =  Mae Tom yn ffrind i mi.
Tom is a friend of hers. =  Mae Tom yn ffrind iddi (hi).

Translate the following:

Megan is a colleague of hers. =  Mae Megan yn gydweithiwr iddi (hi).
Megan is a colleague of mine. =  Mae Megan yn gydweithiwr i mi.

( You will find the answers at the bottom of the page )

You will recall that there is no indefinite article  (  a  or  an  ) in Welsh. This being the case you may have wondered how we refer to non specific locations e.g. Dai is in  a  pub somewhere. This is when we would employ the non-inflecting preposition:  mewn . So, in the above example:-

Dai is in  a  pub somewhere. =  Mae Dai  mewn  tafarn yn rhywle.

So,  mewn  should be understood to mean  in  or perhaps more accurately  in (a)  and is used when we wish to indicate a non specific location. Here are a few practice examples:- 

I live in France. =  Dwi'n byw yn Ffrainc.

I live in a country in Europe. =  Dwi'n byw mewn gwlad yn Ewrop.

Translate the following:

John is in the office. =  Mae John yn y swyddfa.

John is in an office. =   Mae John mewn swyddfa.

( You will find the answers at the bottom of the page )

And so to our fourth weekly translation exercise. You will find two short conversations below.  You should be familiar with all the necessary grammar and if you need to look up some of the vocabulary go here: -  Croeseiriau Cymraeg  and type your query in the search box. Search is located in the right hand column just below the ad for this course. Remember that some words may be mutated so that their first letter is dropped or altered. This can be problematic for  beginners . If you cant find the Welsh try searching the English word if you know it. 

Welsh to English

Dwi'n mynd i aros gyda fy modryb yr wythnos nesaf.
Ydy hi'n byw yng Nghaerdydd?
Na, mae hi'n byw gyda fy ewythr yng Nghaerffili.
Dwi'n dal y trên o Abertawe ddydd Gwener.
Mwynhewch eich taith.

English to Welsh

My mother's birthday is tomorrow.
Are you going to buy a gift?
Yes, I'm going shopping this afternoon.
Are you going to see your sister too?
Yes, later tonight.

You will find the solutions here:  Solutions

And so to our weekly crossword. This week the theme is 'Teulu - Family'.

• Click through the slides below and learn the words as you go.
  

• Optional: If you want help with pronunciation or wish to check out other vocabulary entries on the wordcard, click the pic or text below to be taken to the appropriate Geiriadur listing page. 

• Attempt the crossword puzzle here   Cymraeg - Vocabulary Crossword 7   (interactive) or if you prefer top do it the old fashioned way you can download a hard copy of  the grid here   Crossword 7 Print Version   (.pdf)
  
  

That's it for week  seven . We hope that you have enjoyed this instalment of the course and that your knowledge of the Welsh language has improved. 
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* Don't worry if some of the sample sentences are at a more advanced level. Concentrate on the simpler ones unless of course you are feeling adventurous and want to read ahead.

...
Megan is a colleague of hers. = Mae Megan yn gydweithiwr iddi (hi).

Megan is a colleague of mine. = Mae Megan yn gydweithiwr i mi.

John is in the office. = Mae John yn y swyddfa.

John is in an office. =   Mae John mewn swyddfa.

AmeriCymru is committed to doing everything it can to assist its members and readers to acquire a working knowledge of the Welsh language. Whether your goal is fluency or merely the ability to order a pizza and beer when on vacation in Caernarfon you will find helpful resources on this site....  

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