Word Order and Sentence Building

The most fundamental rule of Welsh sentence structure is that it follows a Verb-Subject-Object (VSO) order. This is different from English, which uses a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) structure. In a typical Welsh sentence, the action (verb) comes first, followed by the person or thing doing the action (subject), and then the person or thing receiving the action (object).

For example, in English we say "The dog saw the cat." (Subject-Verb-Object). In Welsh, this would be "Gwelodd y ci y gath." (Saw the dog the cat), which is Verb-Subject-Object. Understanding and getting used to this VSO structure is the most important step in building Welsh sentences.

Examples:

Gwelodd Siân ddraig. (Siân saw a dragon.)

Prynodd y bachgen lyfr. (The boy bought a book.)

Mae'r athro'n ysgrifennu. (The teacher is writing.)

Canodd y ferch gân. (The girl sang a song.)

Bwytodd y plant eu cinio. (The children ate their dinner.)

Ysgrifennodd e lythyr. (He wrote a letter.)

Agorodd hi'r drws. (She opened the door.)

Darllenodd y myfyriwr y papur. (The student read the paper.)

Ciciodd y dyn y bêl. (The man kicked the ball.)

Hoffai'r teulu fynd ar wyliau. (The family would like to go on holiday.)

Making Positive Statements

Forming a positive statement (an affirmative sentence) follows the VSO rule directly. You begin with the verb in the appropriate tense, followed by the subject. If you are describing a state of being or an ongoing action in the present, you will typically use a form of the verb bod (to be), like mae.

For example, to say "The sun is shining," you start with Mae (is), then the subject 'r haul (the sun), followed by the rest of the phrase: Mae'r haul yn tywynnu. This structure is consistent for most simple statements.

Examples:

Mae'r tŷ'n fawr. (The house is big.)

Mae Sioned yn hapus. (Sioned is happy.)

Roedd y car yn goch. (The car was red.)

Mae'r plant yn chwarae yn yr ardd. (The children are playing in the garden.)

Bydd y trên yn cyrraedd yn fuan. (The train will arrive soon.)

Dw i'n dysgu Cymraeg. (I am learning Welsh.)

Aeth hi i'r siop. (She went to the shop.)

Mae'r ci'n cysgu. (The dog is sleeping.)

Forming Negatives and Questions

To make a sentence negative in Welsh, you often use a negative form of the verb at the beginning and the word ddim after the subject. For sentences using bod (to be), mae becomes dydy. So, "The dog is sleeping" (Mae'r ci'n cysgu) becomes "The dog is not sleeping" (Dydy'r ci ddim yn cysgu). (Note: Dyw ... ddim is another common spoken form. In more formal Welsh, Nid yw ... yn is used.)

Questions also change the form of the verb at the beginning of the sentence. For sentences using bod, mae becomes ydy. So, "Is the dog sleeping?" is Ydy'r ci'n cysgu?. The word order remains Verb-Subject-Object, but the verb itself is altered to signal that it's a question or a negative.

Negative Examples:

Dydw i ddim yn deall. (I don't understand.)

Nid aeth e i'r gwaith. (He did not go to work.)

Dydy hi ddim yn hoffi coffi. (She doesn't like coffee.)

Ni welais i ddim byd. (I didn't see anything.)

Does dim llaeth ar ôl. (There is no milk left.)

Ni fyddwn ni'n dod yfory. (We will not come tomorrow.)

Question Examples:

Ydy Sioned yn dod? (Is Sioned coming?)

Wyt ti'n hoffi caws? (Do you like cheese?)

Aethoch chi i Ffrainc? (Did you go to France?)

Ble mae'r orsaf? (Where is the station?)

Pwy yw'r dyn yna? (Who is that man?)

Fydd hi'n bwrw glaw? (Will it rain?)

Sut mae'r tywydd heddiw? (How is the weather today?)

Pryd mae'r trên yn gadael? (When does the train leave?)

Nouns: Gender and Number

In Welsh, every noun has a grammatical gender: it is either masculine or feminine. This is important because the gender of a noun can affect other words around it, like adjectives. For example, the word for "town" (tref) is feminine, while the word for "book" (llyfr) is masculine. Unfortunately, there are few fixed rules to determine a noun's gender, so it must often be learned with the word.

To make nouns plural, Welsh uses a variety of endings, and there are many irregular patterns. Common plural endings include -au, -on, -i, and -iaid. Sometimes, the vowel in the middle of the word changes as well. For instance, llyfr (book) becomes llyfrau (books), and tref (town) becomes trefi (towns).

Examples:

ci (dog, m) -> cŵn (dogs)

cath (cat, f) -> cathod (cats)

bachgen (boy, m) -> bechgyn (boys)

merch (girl, f) -> merched (girls)

tŷ (house, m) -> tai (houses)

car (car, m) -> ceir (cars)

ffenestr (window, f) -> ffenestri (windows)

gardd (garden, f) -> gerddi (gardens)

cadair (chair, f) -> cadeiriau (chairs)

bwrdd (table, m) -> byrddau (tables)

Articles and Determiners

Welsh has a definite article ("the") but no indefinite article ("a" or "an"). To say "a dog," you simply use the noun itself: ci. The definite article has three forms: y, yr, and 'r. You use yr before words that start with a vowel or h (e.g., yr afal - the apple; yr haf - the summer). You use y before words that start with a consonant (e.g., y ci - the dog). The form 'r is a contraction of yr and is used after a word that ends in a vowel.

Quick Tip: Using 'r

The contracted form 'r is very common. It attaches to the preceding word when that word ends in a vowel.

Examples: Mae'r ci yma. (The dog is here.) / Dyma'r tŷ. (This is the house.)

Examples:

y bachgen (the boy)

y ferch (the girl)

y tŷ (the house)

yr ysgol (the school)

Mae'r llyfr ar y bwrdd. (The book is on the table.)

Gwelais i'r gath. (I saw the cat.)

Dw i'n bwyta afal. (I am eating an apple.)

Mae car yn y stryd. (A car is in the street.)

Practice Section

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in each blank with the correct word, letter, or form based on what you learned.

1- Mae __ gath yn yr ardd. (The cat is in the garden.)

2- Y lluosog o "tŷ" (house) yw __. (The plural of "tŷ" is __.)

True/False

Read each statement carefully and decide if it is True or False.

1- Welsh sentence structure is typically Subject-Verb-Object (SVO).

2- All nouns in Welsh are either masculine or feminine.

Translation

Translate each English phrase or sentence into Welsh.

1- The girl is reading a book.

2- I see the dogs.

3- The houses are small.