my cat...
When saying that something is yours, in the format 'my
', you
must use the possessive adjective, e.g. 'fy', with an optional echoing
pronoun, 'i'.
my |
fy (nm)... i, or 'n (nm)... i, or just nm |
your |
dy (sm)... di |
his |
ei (sm)... fe |
her |
ei (am)... hi |
our |
ein... ni |
your |
eich... chi |
their |
eu... nhw |
e.g. fy nghath, dy gath, ei gath, ei chath. Note, that the echoing
pronoun at the end is only used for emphasis, e.g. it's my cat,
(not yours). Also the singular possessive adjectives cause mutation.
In the case of 'my', nasal mutation alone can be enough to indicate
possession, so 'fy' can be missed off completely e.g. nghar - my
car.
I've got a cat...
When you're saying that you've got something, you can use one of
two constructions: a construction common in South Wales using bod
and 'gyda', and a construction more common in North Wales using
bod and gan.
gyda
The southern construction uses the existential of bod
with gyda, e.g.
Mae car gyda fi, literally There is a car with
me. Gyda is often shortened to da, for a
more natural feel, e.g. Mae car da fi.
The interrogative and negative forms are created in the same way
as with the existential, e.g. Oes car da fi?,
Have I got a car?; and Does dim car da fi,
I havent got a car. Remember that does dim
can be shortened to sdim, e.g. Sdim car da
fi.
This way of denoting possession be extended to other persons very
simply:
Mae car da John - Johns got a car
Oes cath da ti? - Have you got a cat?
Does dim gwallt pinc da hi - She hasnt got pink hair
As with the existential, you can use na after
bod. Remember that na causes soft mutation, but
that ddim blocks the mutation of the following word
e.g.:
Mae na gar da John
Oes na gath da ti?
Does na ddim gwallt pinc da hi
Dont let these variations confuse you - find out what local
usage is and stick to it.
gan
The northern construction uses the existential of bod with personal
forms of gan (with), e.g. mae gen i gar,
literally There is with me a car.
(I) have |
have (I)? |
(I) haven't |
Mae gen i |
Oes gen i? |
Does gen i ddim |
Mae gen ti |
Oes gen ti? |
Does gen ti ddim |
Mae gynno fo |
Oes gynno fo? |
Does gynno fo ddim |
Mae gynni hi |
Oes gynni hi? |
Does gynni hi ddim |
Mae gynnon ni |
Oes gynnon ni? |
Does gynnon ni ddim |
Mae gynnoch chi |
Oes gynnoch chi? |
Does gynnoch chi ddim |
Mae gynnyn nhw |
Oes gynnyn nhw? |
Does gynnyn nhw ddim |
Note: Oes is often shortened to s, thus:
Sgen i?, Sgen ti?, Sgenno fo?
etc. as is does, thus: Sgen i ddim, Sgen
ti ddim, Sgenno fo ddim etc.
Remember that there is soft mutation after the pronoun, so Mae
gen i gath and Sgen ti wallt pinc?, but the mutation
blocked by ddim so Sgynni hi ddim ty^ newydd.
Ive got a headache
Its important to note that when talking about having an illness,
usually you say that something is on you. For example,
if you have a cold you say Mae annwyd arna i, lit. There
is a cold on me, i.e. Ive got a cold.
Equally, this construction is used for thirst and hunger: Mae
syched arna i, Im thirsty; Oes eisiau
bwyd ar y plant?, Are the children hungry?.
If, however, you are taking about a part of the body, then the
gyda/gan construction is used, e.g. Mae pen tost da
fi, Ive got a headache; or Oes clust
dost da ti?, Have you got earache?.
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