Croeso yn ôl i Groeseiriau  Cymraeg.  

In Welsh as in English you can form the past tense by using an auxiliary verb - gwneud - to do.  This is the long form of the past tense in Welsh.

Gwneud  - To Do, To Make

gwnes i                                                               I did
gwnest ti  (familiar)                                           You did
gwnaethoch chi  (formal, plural)                      You did
gwnaeth e/hi                                                     He/She did
gwnaethon ni                                                    We did
gwnaethon nhw                                               They did

e.g.    Gwnes i chwilio ar y we . - I searched on the web,  or  more correctly - I  did search on the web.

There is also a short form of the past tense which is constructed as follows:  stem+ending+subject

 e.g.    Chwiliais i ar y we.  - I searched on the web.

As you can see, we add the appropriate ending for the subject to the stem of the verb (  chwilio = to search ). Do not worry about this for now as we will be covering it in a future lesson - short form .

Both of the above are correct and convey the same meaning. The "chwiliais i" (short form) construction is more formal whilst "wnes i chwilio" (long form) is more commonly used in everyday speech. Although, technically, "wnes i chwilio ar y we" means "I  did  search on the web" it is equivalent in meaning to the 'short form'. The use of 'did' in the long form does not necessarily indicate any additional emphasis in Welsh.

The long form is more commonly used in spoken Welsh particularly in the North. The short form  is more widely used in the South and is also preferred in more formal (written) contexts.

The 'g' at the beginning of the verb is also dropped in commonly spoken Welsh although it is not incorrect to pronounce it. Other formulations of the 'long form' past tense that you might encounter include:-  Fe wnes i  (southern dialect),  Mi wnes i  (northern dialect),  Gwnes i

There are some translation exercises below and, of  course , the weekly crossword.

Whatever you do....enjoy / mwynhewch.

Note that all four forms below are equivalent in meaning. We will use the 'wnes i' form in this  course .

Mi wnes i dalu'r bil papur ddoe.  = I paid the paper bill yesterday.
Fe wnes i dalu'r bil papur ddoe.  = I paid the paper bill yesterday.
Gwnes i dalu'r bil papur ddoe.  = I paid the paper bill yesterday.
Wnes i dalu'r bil papur ddoe.  = I paid the paper bill yesterday.

If there are is any vocabulary you need to look up go here: Geiriadur You will find the answers at the bottom of the page.

Wnes i  godi am 8:00 y bore. =   I got up at 8:00 a.m.

Wnest ti  bethau 'n  wahanol . =   You did things differently.

Wnaethon nhw  i gyd   ei   brynu .   =   They all bought it.

Wnaethon ni  gerdded  o'r  dafarn .   =   We walked from the pub.

He saw a good book. =   Wnaeth e weld llyfr da.

She studied Welsh at university. =  Wnaeth hi astudio  Cymraeg  yn y prifysgol.

I ran out of the building =  Wnes i redeg allan o'r adeilad.

If there are is any vocabulary you need to look up go here: Geiriadur You will find the answers at the bottom of the page.

Wnes i ddim  gwerthu 'r car.  =  I didn't sell the car.

Wnaethon ni ddim cyrraedd ddoe.  =  We didn't arrive yesterday.

If there are is any vocabulary you need to look up go here: Geiriadur You will find the answers at the bottom of the page.

Sut wnaethoch chi ddechrau?  =   How did you get started?

Beth wnaethoch chi neithiwr?  =  What did you do last night?

Pam wnaethoch chi redeg?  =  Why did you run?

Where did you put the beer?  =   Ble wnaethoch chi roi'r cwrw?

And so to our weekly crossword. The theme is -  'Yr Amser Gorffennol (Long Form)'

• 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 15   (interactive) or if you prefer to do it the old fashioned way you can download a hard copy of  the grid here Crossword 15 Print Version   (.pdf)

...

That's it for week three. We hope that you have enjoyed the third instalment of the  course  and that your knowledge of the Welsh language has improved. Next week we will be covering the past tense (short form) in Welsh.
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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.

...
Wnes i godi am 8:00 y bore. = I got up at 8:00 a.m.

Wnest ti bethau'n wahanol. = You did things differently.

Wnaethon nhw i gyd ei brynu. = They all bought it.

Wnaethon ni gerdded o'r dafarn. = We walked from the pub.

He saw a good book. =  Wnaeth e weld llyfr da.

She studied Welsh at university. = Wnaeth hi astudio Cymraeg yn y prifysgol.

I ran out of the building = Wnes i redeg allan o'r adeilad.

Wnes i ddim gwerthu'r car. = I didn't sell the car.

Wnaethon ni ddim cyrraedd ddoe. = We didn't arrive yesterday.

Sut wnaethoch chi ddechrau? =  How did you get started?

Beth wnaethoch chi neithiwr? = What did you do last night?

Pam wnaethoch chi redeg? = Why did you run?

Where did you put the beer?  =   Ble wnaethoch chi roi'r cwrw?

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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