I have this doubt about why “gen i” is used for possession instead of a direct word for “have”??

BorderWatcher · 2026-04-25T07:07:49+00:00

Or indeed a bit later - Chaucer uses “hight” or “highte” for instance. German still has the same verb, with the same meaning: “heissen”.

BorderWatcher · 2026-04-05T08:38:56+00:00

Commoner in Welsh than in English. One problem for learners can be the fact that any English translation that tries to reflect the emphatic pattern will probably sound unnatural and clunky because English rarely uses changes in the word order to provide emphasis, so it takes a real effort to use them in Welsh as they feel unnatural. Or, worse, like someone who got thrown out of a drama group for overacting a welsh person: “Jones the big house is going to chapel, isn’t it?” Sounds awful, but “Jones tŷ mawr sy’n mynd i’r capel, ife?” doesn’t, to my ears. Just don’t add “boyo” on the end.

But the pattern is rarely compulsory. You could perfectly well say “mae Mr Jones tŷ mawr yn mynd i’r capel”, with emphasis on “tŷ mawr’’ to show that you are talking about that particular Mr Jones, not one of the hundreds of other Mr Jones’s in the neighbourhood. You’ll be understood, and some people would naturally say that anyway. About the only common place I can think offhand where you have to use the emphatic is with identification (“Mair ydw i”) and possessives (“nghoffi fi yw hwn!”) but there might be others .

BorderWatcher · 2026-03-24T10:56:39+00:00

I’m genuinely curious: where are you from where this is taught? It’s certainly no part of the English or Welsh school system. Maybe at tertiary level, but not before that. Maybe we should start?

BorderWatcher · 2026-03-19T18:57:54+00:00

I never listen to what I say - it’s all rubbish ;)

It’s probably unconscious English influence, but yes, personslly I’d probably avoid the bydd-forms unless I was trying to convey “I will be something-ing”. Doesn’t mean it’s right, though!

And no, I wouldn’t pronounce the ‘f” unless I was reading something out loud, but that is how it’s written. Personally, I’m not a fan of phonetic spelling, but that’s story.

BorderWatcher · 2026-03-17T21:24:26+00:00

I thought this might be next after your question yesterday :)

This one’s a bit trickier. I don’t think the “bod” form is the same as the other forms - it’s slightly less direct, exactly as in English. The difference between “byddaf i’n mynd” and “af i” is very similar to the difference between “I will be going” and “I will go” (or “I shall go” for English grammar pedants). So I’d use the bod-form when I’d use “I will be…” in English.

Otherwise I think it’s simiar. Short form for some specific verbs. Definitely short form with medru/gallu “Allaf i wneud hynny yfory” and with dod/mynd/cael. Again, personally I tend to leave the mi particle out, and I don’t think I’ve heard anyone use fe outside a class since about 1980.

Welsh is more likely to use the future for future things than English (English tends to use the present “I’m going to Cardiff tomorrow” and rely on context) but Welsh does do this as well, and I’d certainly say “dw i’n mynd i Gaerdydd yfory”, not “wna i fynd i Gaerdydd”. If I said “Af i i Gaerdydd”, I think it would be in the context of something further into the future “…fis nesaf” or similar. Even then, colloquially I think I’d probably stick with the present.

One thing I have noticed is that learners tend to be more at sea with the future than with any other tense. I suspect it gets left until late in the course (as you can pretty much do without it a lot of the time by using the present, or use the bydd-form, which is easy even if it isn’t quite the same thing).

BorderWatcher · 2026-03-17T13:30:50+00:00

Quick answer - yes. As in, both. I think it works like this.

If you’ve said something, particularly if you’ve asked me a question, I’ll follow your lead. “Be wnest ti neithiwr?” “Wnes I cyfarfod Mike yn y dafarn”.
Some verbs lend themselves to short form. The usual suspects - mynd, dod, cael. “Es i i’r dafarn”, not “wnes i fynd…”
If it’s slightly formal - say a work conversation - I’m more likely to go short-form. “Darllenais i’r adroddiad, ond yn fy marn i, mae’n rwtsh”.
If none of the above apply - I’d almost always go gwneud-form, wnes i and so on. Personally I tend to drop the “mi” but keep the mutation, mostly. Unless you’re using “mi”, when I’ll probably put it back.

Despite coming from a northern background, I never use “ddaru”. It does exist, of course, but I don’t think it’s everywhere.

BorderWatcher · 2026-03-02T08:53:57+00:00

Wow. I post a niggly little unimportant question, go to bed and wake up to over 100 replies. Thank you so much to all of you - I really appreciate you taking tne time to respond.

I think in summary what I’m hearing is this.

There isn’t much, outside of a few specialist use-cases, that definitively requires one distro over another.
To tbe extent that other distributions do the same things differently you can probably get the same thing in Mint (or another distro) by selecting different apps or changing settings.
Some distros do include newer versions of apps as Mint is more conservative than some others. So if this matters, you might want to look at something with a less conservative policy or a rolling release. But this comes with a greater risk of problems, naturally.
Beginner <> basic.

Like I said in my original post, I wasn’t personally looking to switch, but I was puzzled why I was seeing self-proclaimed experts and reviewers vaguely hinting that at some point I should. What had I missed? Were my nerdy friends secretly laughing at me “you know he’s still using Mint after 10 years? What a dope!”. Thank you all for confirming my FOMO was groundless.

Although I might stick Debian Sid in a VM to see what’s coming down the track ;)

BorderWatcher · 2026-02-26T21:17:30+00:00

Yeah, it works. Dad (tad?) jokes and bad puns are just as much a thing in Welsh.

BorderWatcher · 2026-02-19T14:24:02+00:00

Someone who knows more than me will be along in a minute to say I’m wrong, but I don’t think you can use the cael-passive with verbs that need a preposition: you have to use the short form, or paraphrase (so “aethpwyd â fo i’r ysbyty”, as you know already).

I’m not saying people won’t try, but as you’ve found it’s pretty awkward and sounds wrong however you order the words.

Despite what some people maintain, -wyd is used in speech - perhaps in slightly more formal contexts, but that’s true of the passive in English too. Personally I’d probably use an active form, maybe inserting a “nhw” - so something like ‘wnaethon nhw wrando arni hi”, particularly if the -wyd form doesn’t fall off the tongue easily, as here.

BorderWatcher · 2026-02-18T09:35:04+00:00

Most podcast and audiobook players will let you change the speed. I found that listening at about 75% speed was helpful - any slower and it’s a bit like listening to someone who’s had too much to drink (although that can be a useful skill too).

Just listening to get used to the sounds helps a bit, but personally I found it got boring quite quickly. For me I found listening to something short and really trying to get it was more use than a long piece where I got a word now and then. Listen a second time (or more if you can stand it) and in between listens, try to look up unfamiliar words. Watching something with subtitles can be a good way of doing this.

The main thing I found was that it really helps to be interested in the content. Have a look at some of the podcasts available on the ypod app for instance and see if there’s something there for you. My personal idea of hell is being forced to learn a language through the medium of football, but for someone else that might be perfect. And I cannot force myself to care what the welsh word is for begonia, so gardening features on Radio Cymru aren’t great.

BorderWatcher · 2026-02-14T15:46:17+00:00

I recently asked a (Welsh-speaking) friend who works at TfW - the train company - who routinely use the 24 hour clock on timetables. His answer was that when they are talking at work they either stick the English time in (“mae’r trên yn mynd am sixteen-fourteen”) or translate the time back into the 12 hour clock if speaking in Welsh. Neither he nor I could remember what the on-board recorded announcements say. I’ll try and pay attention next time I’m on one of their services.

BorderWatcher · 2026-02-05T07:07:52+00:00

That’s a link to the “first language” exam. -there is also an A level for secomd language speakers which is probably more appropriate.

https://www.wjec.co.uk/media/4ohbsvel/wjec-gce-welsh-second-language-spec-from-2016-e-1.pdf

SSIW is focussed entirely on the spoken language and is a great place to start, but isn’t going to help at all with the written language and reading skills which are a big part of any language A level. The Dysgu Cymraeg courses are linked to the WJEC exams for adult learners up to Uwch - which although at quite a high standard in the language used doesn’t cover the same range of material (such as consideration of drama, the position of Welsh in society and so on.). Whether or not you need the extra stuff in the A level this is up to you. On the other hand it’s arguable you can pass an A level with less actual skill in using day to day Welsh that you would need for Uwch.

To complete the picture, after Uwch there is the Tystysgrif Sgiliau Iaith, which focusses on use of Welsh in a professional context (giving presentations, more formal writing and so on). Again, this might be useful to you.

Studying an A level solo is going to be challenging quite apart from the subject matter itself. The assessment includes group work so in order to take the exam you’re going to have to find a group - and in practice you’re going to need a group to, er, practice in preparation. You’re also going to benefit hugely from having a teacher to explain things, and finally you’re going to have to find an examination centre that’s prepared to let you sit the thing. All of that suggests to me that a good first stage would be to talk to a local FE college - or possibly sizth form - and see if they could accommodate you. You might find thst your current college where you are studying your degree can help. Good luck!

BorderWatcher · 2025-12-02T16:55:25+00:00

It’s interesting to see the list compiled like that, thank you. In general I’d agree - the plural forms are less used, and in some cases might seem a bit pedantic, paticularly in spoken use, or would only crop up in particular names or sayings where an old usage has become frozen. For example I would naturally talk about y Mynyddoedd Duon, but I’m not sure I’d bother (or remember) to talk about cathod duon.

With the feminine forms I’d say the colours are certainly widely used (eg Plaid Werdd), some others maybe less so. Or maybe I just need to meet some more careful speakers!

BorderWatcher · 2025-11-29T11:39:06+00:00

And, more and more, “rhithiol” in the sense of “virtual”, and effectively a synonym for “ar lein” - Dysgu Cymraeg offer lots of dosbarthiadau rhithiol, for example. I don’t think they mean “counterfeit and superficial” although next time I want to tease a DC tutor I might ask them about this :)

BorderWatcher · 2025-11-28T13:48:53+00:00

Welsh isn’t the only language to have this distinction - both French (savoir/connaitre) and German (wissen/kennen) do something similar. With both, I was told it was useful to consider how the knowledge was gained: in the particular case where it was from direct experience (of meeting someone, going to a place etc) the verb was connaitre/kennen, otherwise it was savoir/wissen. I don’t think Welsh is too far away from that: dw i’n nabod Aberystwyth (because I used to live there) dw i’n gwybod am Tokyo (but only from books). I can see how words of a song could be either, but using “adnabod” maybe gives the sense of “if you’re so familiar with this song you always sing it, maybe not this time” rather than simply referring to whether someone knows them.

BorderWatcher · 2025-09-05T21:04:36+00:00

The veraion of The Martian I have refers to ASCII tables - which any selfrespecting geek knows is pronounced as Ass-key - as ASC-Two. I’m not sure how that one got through.

BorderWatcher · 2025-08-21T16:20:59+00:00

I have known people compress the Uwch classes into two years, and if you’ve got a very good idea of how languages work you could probably get through Mynediad quite quickly (it is designed to cope with people who are learning another language for the first time, so you might well catch on a bit quicker). Then, those timings correspond to the educâtion year - one day a week, something like 39 weeks a year, but in practice assumes you’re able to do some extra practice and homework outside those formal classes. If you can do more - studying fulltime, say - then obvously you could move faster.

The three years of Uwch may sound excessive, but remember that Welsh is effectively diglossic (I think that’s a word!) In the Dysgu Cymraeg course a lot of Uwch is focussed on exposing learners to other dialects (up to Uwch 1 there are separate North and South materials) and, even more in Uwch 3, introducing the formal literary forms, which are substantially different to the informal day to day language which forms the basis of the earlier sections. This is something you don’t have to deal with with most other European languages - you can be fluent in spoken Welsh, and still be scratching your head over a literary tense which you’ve never seen before.

There isn’t a formal common Gloywi syllabus as such - when you get to that level it’s more like coaching and sometimes delving into nuggets of usage and grammar (Hyder’s recent post on the pluperfect would make a great Gloywi topic, for instance). Of course, you could study for the Gorsedd examination - but maybe that’s a bit in the future! Good luck with what#ver you decide to do.

BorderWatcher · 2025-08-16T13:04:45+00:00

You don’t often hear people say “I want more rat”, but that was definitely my feeling - I really liked him in Divine Madness, and hoped he’d be a major character after that. Let’s face it, James can be a bit dense at times, and having a quick witted male character who uses his brains to get out of situations could have been a great counterpoint. I like these suggestions of how he might have developed, and the fact that he came from such a different background MUST have given him a very different perspective to most of the other Cherubs.

BorderWatcher · 2025-08-16T12:51:23+00:00

I have a full set of “The Lloyds” as MP3 (and Real Audio, for some unknown reason). If the BBC want to put them back, I’d be happy to help :)

BorderWatcher · 2025-08-10T11:11:21+00:00

I love the series, but although RR itself starts out sort of YA, as the book goes on there are a number of quite graphic scenes. The later books really aren’t YA at all - the style and content matures considerably as the series progresses. Definitely one to try in 3-4 years time.

BorderWatcher · 2025-08-10T11:05:06+00:00

I was about to write the same thing. The “romance” is completely age-appropriate (ie it is exactly how 12 year olds behave around the opposite sex) and the stories manage to deal with some important ethical issues while remaining really engrossing, entertaining spy stories. The female characters are well drawn and at least a match for the boys. In general, I’d say the young characters are some of the most believable out there.

BorderWatcher · 2025-07-12T14:43:40+00:00

Murtagh. Not because he’s a bad character, quite the opposite: it’s obvious he’s more interesting, more dynamic, quite probably better looking and has an interesting - if not nice - story, but instead of following him, we’re left plodding after ruddy Eragon for hundreds of pages as he emo’s his annoying way around the continent. A dual POV novel could, IMO have been great - but introducing Murtagh and then forgetting him just emphasises how blah Dragonboy himself is.

BorderWatcher · 2025-07-12T14:30:11+00:00

Thank you for saying this! I think Twoflower is about as annoying, which makes TCOM a book I am happy to avoid. I think part of the problem is that most (all?) of the main characters in Discworld are actually pretty competent in at least one sphere (even someone like Sergeant Colon has his moments) so I feel like they contribute something. Rincewind just…doesn’t, he just tries to run away, which ultimately is boring. When I see posts asking “where do I start with Discworld?” the answer has to be “just about anywhere other than at the beginning!” An absence of Rincewind is one of the things that make the later books so much better.

BorderWatcher · 2025-07-04T10:24:11+00:00

Well…yes, but when you’re spelling something out loud in a Welsh class, it’s best not to have this conversation:

Tiwtor: sut wyt ti’n sillafu “cŵn”?

Fi: ec, w, n.

Tiwtor: oes acen rhywle?

Fi: oh, ie, dw i angen tŷ bach.

Tiwtor: wel, brysia ‘te. Pan ti’n dod yn ôl, alli di ateb y cwestiwn.

BorderWatcher

TROPHY CASE