Welsh/Verbs

Introduction to verbs

A verb can denote a state or an action.

Verbs can be auxiliary like Beː Be Am, Are, is, was, were,been; Have, Has, Had; Do, Does, Did; May, Might, Must , Ought/Should, Could, Would, Will, Can, shall, show either an action being perform e.g. running, skipped and hop e.t.c, a state of being e.g. know, thinking. There are two major "Bod", the English of "Be" is irregular,

Pronouns

In Welsh, just as in English, pronouns are normally interlinked with verbs; pronouns can be omitted in very formal forms of the verb, "Bod" apart from the 3rd singular of "Bod" to show the different between "He" and "She", with "Fe" as "He" and "Hi" as "She".

You

There are two you in Welsh, Chi and Ti, "Chi" is polite, can be both singular and plural, this is the equivalent of the English language of "You"; "Ti", and "Chdi" used in North Wales, is familiar and can only be used as singular, this is similar to the Early Modern English of "Thou", "the Second Person Singular and familiar" of "Be".

He

"E" and "Fe", or "O" and "Fo" in North Wales. "E" or "O" are used with verbs ending in a consonant; "Fe" and "Fo" are normally put after verbs ending in vowels, the only exception to this is "Mae" and "Ydy" which are followed by "E" and "O" e.g. you say, "Mae" "E"/"O" and not "Mae" "Fe"/"Fo", "Fe" and "Fo" are also, independent pronouns.

Basic forms of the verbsː Verbs-Nouns/Infinitive verb

The basic form of the verb is the, verb-noun in Welsh, infinitive verb in English, they don't tell us who is doing the action or state. The infinitive verb uses the preposition To+verb while The verb-noun in Welsh omits the preposition of i=to. Verb-noun are grammatically nouns in Welsh

To conjugate a verb

To conjugate a verb in Welsh a word is added before the verb-noun and in English either by putting the suffixes "ing" or an "ed"

Welsh Verb Sterm

If a verb-noun ends in a consonant the word doesn't change expect those ending in "ed" or "eg" etc Irregular verbs, Bod and Gwybod

Aros to Arhos meaning to stay Cymryd to Cymer meaning to take Cyrraedd to Cyrhaedd meaning to arrive Dweud to Dwed meaning to say Ennill to Enill meaning to win Gadael to Gadaw meaning to leave Gweld to Gwel meaning to see Gofyn to Gofynn meaning to leave Meddwl to Meddyli meaning to think Ymgweld to Ymgwel meaning to visit

If the verb-noun ends in a vowel, it is removed, some do change their ending apart from Chwarae meaning to play Dechrau to Dechreu meaning Start Gwrando to Gwrandaw meaning to listen Mwynhau to Mwynheu meaning to enjoy.

Tenses

Tenses in Welsh and English can be simple, continuous, perfect, imperfect and conditional.

Present Tense of "Bod"

"Rydw", "Rwyt", "Rydych" and "Rydyn" are the present tense of "Bod" can be translated as, "am", "is" or "are" or "do"

Compound tenses

The table below are the following: "I be", "Thou 'be/beest'", "He be", "She be", "We be", "You be" and "They be"; If a Personal pronoun such as my, your e.t.c is in front of "Bod" than this is translate to that, the mutation stay the same, e.g. Rydw i'n gwybod dy fod yn dda = I know that you are good.

Person	Personal Variants
i	Mod
ti	Fod
o/hi	Fod/Bod
ni	Bod
chi	Bod
nhw	Bod

Present

The present tense is formed from the present tense of bod (to be) as shown in the table below, yn and the infinitive. Welsh has no distinct continuous tenses. This tense translates both as I do and I am doing. To negate sentences, use the negative form of bod, and use the inquisitive form of bod to ask questions. Very formal written language uses independent pronouns which can be used as subject or object. These are: fi; ti(di); fe(S.Wales),fo(N.Wales)/ef; hi; ni; chi/chwi; nhw/hwy. Sy/Sydd can be used for is and are in focus sentences to show that no one else is doing the action.

Person	Identification	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative	Very formal Affirmative(pronoun omitted)	Very formal Negative(pronoun omitted)	Very formal Interrogative (pronoun omitted)	Spoken
fi (I)	Ydw	(Ry)dw i	(Dy)dw i ddim	(Y)dw i?	Yr wyf/Rwyf	Nid Wyf	A Wyf	Dw i
ti (you, informal)	Wyt ti	Rwyt ti	Dwyt ti ddim	Wyt ti?	Yr wyt/Rwyt	Nid Wyt	A Wyt	Rwyt ti
o (he) / hi (she)	Ydy/Yw o/hi	Mae o/hi	Dydy o/hi ddim	Ydy o/hi?	Y mae (ef)/(hi)/mae (ef)/hi	Nid Yw (ef)/(hi)	A Yw (ef)/(hi)	Mae o/hi
ni (we)	Ydyn ni	Rydyn ni	Dydyn ni ddim	Ydyn ni?	Yr ydym/Rydym	Nid Ydym	A Ydym	Dyn ni
chi (you, plural/formal)	Ydych chi	Rydych chi	Dydych chi ddim	Ydych chi?	Yr ydych (chwi)/Ydych (chi)	Nid Ydych (chwi)	A Ydych (chwi)	Dych chi
nhw (they)	Ydyn nhw	Maen nhw	Dydyn nhw ddim	Ydyn nhw?	Y Maent(hwy)/Maent(hwy)	Nid Ydynt (hwy)	A Ydynt (hwy)	Maen nhw
An/Di Rhagenw(Non-Pronouns)(Name(s)(Singular/plural noun(s))(Man/Men, Child/Children, Woman/Women e.t.c)	N/A	Mae'r + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural; noun(s))	Dydy'r + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural; noun(s))	Ydy'r + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural; noun(s))	Y Mae'r + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural noun(s))	Nid Yw'r + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural noun(s))	A Yw'r + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural noun(s))	Mae'r + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural; noun(s))

Brawddegau enghreifftiol – Exemplar sentences

• Sarah ydw i – I am Sarah
• Sam ydy/yw athro/athrawon – Sam is a teacher
• Rydw i'n darllen – I read / I am reading
• Dwyt ti ddim yn bwyta – You don't eat / You are not eating
• Ydy o'n cerdded? – Does he walk? / Is he walking?
• Mae'r dyn yn byw yna – The man lives there
• Mae'r plant yn byw yma – The children live here
• Jane sy'n/sydd yn darllen – Jane is reading

Imperfect

The imperfect is formed exactly like the present, but this time using the imperfect forms of bod as listed below.

Person	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative	Very formal Affirmative(pronoun omitted)	Very formal Negative(pronoun omitted)	Very formal Interrogative (pronoun omitted)	Spoken	Spoken Question
fi	Roeddwn i	Doeddwn i ddim	Oeddwn i?	Yr oeddwn i	Nac oeddwn i	A oeddwn i	Ro'n i	O'n i?
ti	Roeddet ti	Doeddet ti ddim	Oeddet ti?	Yr oeddet ti	Nac oeddet ti	A oeddet ti	Ro't ti	O't ti?
o/hi	Roedd o/hi	Doedd o/hi ddim	Oedd o/hi?	Yr oedd ef/hi	Nac oeddet ef/hi ddim?	A oedd ef/hi	Ro'dd o/hi	O'dd o/hi
ni	Roedden ni	Doedden ni ddim	Oedden ni?	Yr oeddem ni	Nac oeddem ni	A oeddem ?	Ro'n ni	O'n ni
chi	Roeddech chi	Doeddech chi ddim	Oeddech chi?	Yr oeddech	Nac oeddech	A oeddech?	Ro'ch	O'ch
nhw	Roedden nhw	Doedden nhw ddim	Oedden nhw?	Yr oeddynt	Nac oeddynt	A oeddynt ?	Ro'n	O'n
An/Di Rhagenw(Non-Pronouns)(Name(s)(Singular/plural noun(s))(Man/Men, Child/Children, Woman/Women e.t.c)	Roedd + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural; noun(s))	Doedd ddim + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural; noun(s))	Oedd + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural; noun(s))	Yr oedd + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural; noun(s))	Nac oeddet ddim?+ (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural; noun(s))	A oedd + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural; noun(s))	Ro'dd + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural; noun(s))	O'dd + (singular/plural noun(s))+yn+verb-noun+(singular/plural; noun(s))

Brawddegau enghreifftiol – Exemplar sentences

• Roedden ni'n yfed – We were drinking / We used to drink
• Doeddech chi ddim yn dod – You weren't coming / You didn't used to come
• Oedden nhw'n mynd? – Were they going? / Did they used to go?

Future

The future is once again formed using the future forms of bod, in the same way as the present and imperfect tenses.

Person	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative	Very formal Affirmative(pronoun omitted)
fi	Bydda(f) i	Fydda(f) i ddim	Fydda(f) i?	Byddaf i
ti	Byddi di	Fyddi di ddim	Fyddi di?	Byddi di
o/hi	Bydd o/hi	Fydd o/hi ddim	Fydd o/hi?	Bydd o/hi
ni	Byddwn ni	Fyddwn ni ddim	Fyddwn ni?	Byddwn ni
chi	Byddwch chi	Fyddwch chi ddim	Fyddwch chi?	Byddwch chi
nhw	Byddan nhw	Fyddan nhw ddim	Fyddan nhw?	Byddant hwy

Brawddegau enghreifftiol – Exemplar sentences

• Bydda i'n siopa – I will shop / I will be shopping
• Fyddi di ddim yn gwneud – You won't do / You aren't going to do
• Fydd hi'n aros? – Will she stop/stay? / Will she be stopping/staying?

N.B. – Just as in English it is also possible to form a more colloquial future tense by using the present tense of mynd (to go) i and the infinitive. The infinitive must take a soft mutation.
Brawddegau enghreifftiol – Exemplar sentences

• Rydyn ni'n mynd i hoffi – We're going to like
• Dydych chi ddim yn mynd i ddod – You're not going to come

Conditional

Whilst the conditional is strictly not a tense – it is a mood – it is formed in the same way as the three tenses mentioned so far. The conditional forms of bod are below. (You should know the drill by now!)

Person	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
fi	B(u)aswn i	F(u)aswn i ddim	F(u)aswn i?
ti	B(u)aset ti	F(u)aset ti ddim	F(u)aset ti?
o/hi	B(u)asai o/hi	F(u)asai o/hi ddim	F(u)asai o/hi?
ni	B(u)asen ni	F(u)asen ni ddim	F(u)asen ni?
chi	B(u)asech chi	F(u)asech chi ddim	F(u)asech chi?
nhw	B(u)asen nhw	F(u)asen nhw ddim	F(u)asen nhw?

Subjunctive

There are two forms of the subjunctive: present and imperfect. The present subjunctive is barely ever used in spoken Welsh except in certain fixed phrases, and is restricted in most cases to the third person singular. However, it is more likely to be found in literary Welsh, most widely in more old-fashioned registers. The third-person singular is properly used after certain conjunctions and prepositions but in spoken Welsh the present subjunctive is frequently replaced by either the infinitives, the present tense, the conditional, or the future tense (this latter is called the present-future by some grammarians).

Present indicative- 'to be'	Present indicative- 'bod'	Present subjunctive- 'to be'	Present subjunctive- 'bod'
I am	(Ry)dw i/... ydw i	(that) I be	bwyf, byddwyf
Thou art	Rwyt ti/... wyt ti	(that) thou be[est]	bych, byddych
He is	Mae e/... ydy e	(that) he be	bo, byddo
One is	Ydys	(that) one be	bydder
We are	(Ry)dyn ni/...dyn ni	(that) we be	bôm, byddom
You are	(Ry)dych chi/...dych chi	(that) you be	boch, byddoch
They are	Maen nhw/...dyn nhw	(that) they be	bônt, byddont

Literary English	Literary Welsh	Spoken English	Spoken Welsh
When need be	Pan fo angen	When there will be need	Pan fydd angen
Before it be	Cyn (y) bo	Before it is	Cyn iddi fod
In order that there be	Fel y bo	In order for there to be	Er mwyn bod
She left so that she be safe	Gadawodd hi fel y bo hi'n ddiogel	She left so that she might be safe	Gadawodd hi fel y byddai hi'n ddiogel
It is time that I go	Mae'n amser yr elwyf	It is time for me to go	Mae'n amser imi fynd

The imperfect subjunctive, like English, only makes an effect on the verb bod- 'to be' and it is used after pe = 'if' and it must be accompanied with the conditional subjunctive e.g. Pe bawn i'n gyfoethog, teithiwn i trwy'r byd = If I were rich, I would travel throughout the world.

Imperfect indicative- 'to be'	Imperfect indicative- 'bod'	Conditional subjunctive- 'to be'	Conditional subjunctive- 'bod'	Imperfect subjunctive- 'to be'	Imperfect subjunctive- 'bod'
I was	yr oeddwn i	I would be	byddwn i	(that) I were	bawn i
Thou wast	yr oeddet ti	Thou wouldst be	byddet ti	(that) thou wert	baet ti
He was	yr oedd e	He would be	byddai fe	(that) he were	bai fe
One was	yr oeddid	One would be	byddid	(that) one were	byddid
We were	yr oeddem ni	We would be	byddem ni	(that) we were	baem ni
You were	yr oeddech chi	You would be	byddech chi	(that) you were	baech chi
They were	yr oedden nhw	They would be	bydden nhw	that) they were	baent hwy

For all other verbs in Welsh as in English, the imperfect subjunctive takes the same stems as do the conditional subjunctive and the imperfect indicative.

Past Simple or Preterite

This form of "Bod" has no exact equivalent in English,the closet translation in English is "did" (or "beed") in turns of action being complete without the suffix "ed", yet this is not "did" true translation; this form of "Bod" only to use "yn" but can't use "wedi". "Marw"="Dead" uses the "third person" of this form of the verbnoun "Bod" and not "Roedd" and "Roedden" "Buodd/Bu Marw = She Died", "Buodd/Bu Farw" = "He Died" and "Buon Marw"=" "They Died"

Person	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
fi	Bues i	Fues i ddim	Fues i?
ti	Buest ti	Fuest ti ddim	Fuest ti?
o/hi	Buodd/Bu o/hi	Fuodd/Fu o/hi ddim	Fuodd/Fu o/hi?
ni	Buon ni	Fuon ni ddim	Fuon ni?
chi	Buoch chi	Fuoch chi ddim	Fuoch chi?
nhw	Buon nhw	Fuon nhw ddim	Fuon nhw?

Brawddegau enghreifftiol – Exemplar sentences

• Buodd e yn dawnsio-He danced
• Bues i yn Abertawe-I went to Swansea/I have been to Swansea
• Fuest ti ddim - You weren't / didn't go / haven't been
• Fuest ti ddim yn yr opera - You weren't in / didn't go to the opera.

"Preterite form of Bod" is normally translated in dictionaries and grammar books as "have been", although this in English would be consider the "Present Perfect Continuous Tense", "have been" itself can be translated, "Present Tense of Bod" "matching pronoun" "wedi bod" "verbnoun"; the closest the "Preterite form of Bod" in English of being a word and not being the suffix "ed" is "did" but again in dictionaries and grammar books "did" the "Preterite form of Gwneud", will be used. "Ddaru" and "Preterite form of Gwneud" themselves can also be used in Welsh to show an action be completed,"ddaru/"Preterite form of Gwneud" "subject" "verbnoun" the "Preterite form of Gwneud" changes, depending on the pronoun; just as in English, Welsh uses it own suffixes, "es i" "est ti" "odd e/hi" "on ni" "och chi" "on nhw"

Perfect tenses

(Present) perfect

Translating to I have done, this is formed just like the present tense except yn is replaced by wedi.

Pluperfect

Translating to I had done, this is formed just like the imperfect tense except yn is replaced by wedi.

Future perfect

Translating to I will have done, this is formed just like the future tense except yn is replaced by wedi. Note that the going to future cannot form a perfect tense.

Conditional perfect

Translating to I would have done, this is formed just like the present tense except, you guessed it, yn is replaced by wedi.

Simple tenses

This is where things get ugly; simple tenses require the verb to change. These make use of the verb stem, something that is relatively unpredictable in Welsh. The stem is sometimes formed by removing the last vowel and every consonant afterwards from the infinitive, but more often than not this is not the case; the stem may be the same as the infinitive or include other letters that were not there before. Also note that in continuous tenses the subject pronoun may be included or omitted.

Present & Future

In Welsh, both the present and future are represented by the same form.

The present short form is very rare in spoken Welsh, usually only appearing in writing. The future is the common usage for this form in spoken Welsh, in formal writing it can represent either. The following endings are added to the stem:

Person	Ending	arbed	to save
fi	-af, -a	Arbedaf	I save: I will save
ti	-i	Arbedi	You save; you will save
o/hi	(generally none), -iff, -ith	Arbed, Arbediff	He/she saves; He/she will save
ni	-wn	Arbedwn	We save; We will save
chi	-wch	Arbedwch	You save; You will save
nhw	-ant, -an	Arbedant	They save; They will save

The you forms (arbedi and arbedwch) also serve as the imperative.

Preterite

This is the most common simple tense in Welsh; it serves a separate purpose to the imperfect, referring to completed actions in the past. This one you will need. to know. Verbnouns such as Marw and Gwybod cannot use these endings.

Person	Ending	arbed	to save
fi	-ais	Arbedais	I saved
ti	-aist	Arbedaist	You saved
o/hi	-odd	Arbedodd	He/she saved
ni	-on	Arbedon	We saved
chi	-och	Arbedoch	You saved
nhw	-on	Arbedon	They saved

Notice that arbedon can mean both we saved and they saved, for this reason arbedom is often encountered in the we form.

Preterite vs Imperfect form of bod

The majority of the time "Buodd" vs "Oedd" are interchangeable, except in these situation

• Roedd cath gyda fe; not: bu cath gyda fe - he had a cat.*
• Roedd hi eisiau beic i Nadolig; not: bu hi eisiau beic i Nadolig - She wanted a bike for Christmas.
• Roeddwn i wybod e; not: bues i wybod e - I knew him.
• Roedden nhw angen helpu; not: buon nhw angen helpu - They needed help.

Possessive "to have" will always use the third person singular of bod.

Yes & no

Welsh has no specific word for yes or no, instead the main verb in the question must be repeated. To say yes the repeated verb is the interrogative form (minus any pronoun). To say no add na before this verb (nac before a vowel).

Cwestiynau ac atebion enghreifftiol – Exemplar questions and answers

• Wyt ti'n hoffi cerddoriaeth pop? Ydw. – Do you like pop music? (Yes) I do.
• Fasai o'n mynd i Ffrainc? Na fasai. – Would he go to France? (No) he wouldn't.

To Have

"To Have" doesn't have a direct translation in Welsh, different words are used depending on the action.

"Wedi", with this word "yn" or "newydd" can't be used with the same verb-noun and change the verb-noun to the particle in the English Language. "Gwneud", can indicate the future or the past tense by using the personal from of Gweneud the verbnoun undergoes a soft mutation

"Heb" = "ddim wedi" "Have not" if we want to say, that something, "have/has not" happened, we can use "heb" "without" after the affirmative verb (the "verb-noun" undergoes soft mutation after "heb").

Mae e heb ddod = He has not come

Maen nhw heb chwarae = They have not played

Verb-Nouns

Cael

"Cael" is the most frequent use of "To Have" here are the usesː receive/get, get something done, be allowed to, food and drink

Auxiliaries

Past tense of Gwneud

Gwnes/Nes I Gwnest/Nest Ti Gwnaeth/Naeth E/Hi Gwnaethon/Naethon Ni Gwnnaethoch/Naethoch Chi Gwnaethom/Naethon Nhw

Future tense of Gwneud

Gwnaf/ Gwna/Na I Gwnei/Nei Di Gwneith/Gwnaiff/Neith/Naiff E/Hi Gwnawn/Gwnewn/Nawn Ni Gwnewch/Newch Chi Gwnan/Nan Nhw

"Ddaru" is a mutated from of "Darfu" = "happened" and is mainly used in North Wales; this expresses the past and the verbnoun undergoes soft mutation, ddaru has no no personal forms.

Present

Person	Phrase
fi	Mae gen i
ti	Mae gen(nyt) ti
o/hi	Mae ganddo fo Mae ganddi hi
Siôn	Mae gan Siôn
ni	Mae gennyn ni
chi	Mae gennych chi
nhw	Mae ganddyn nhw

Imperfect

Person	Phrase
fi	Roedd gen i
ti	Roedd gen(nyt) ti
o/hi	Roedd ganddo fo Roedd ganddi hi
Siôn	Roedd gan Siôn
ni	Roedd gennyn ni
chi	Roedd gennych chi
nhw	Roedd ganddyn nhw

Future

Person	Phrase
fi	Bydd gen i
ti	Bydd gen(nyt) ti
o/hi	Bydd ganddo fo Bydd ganddi hi
Siôn	Bydd gan Siôn
ni	Bydd gennyn ni
chi	Bydd gennych chi
nhw	Bydd ganddyn nhw

Incomplete Verb-Nouns and Verbs

There are some Verbs in Welsh with no Verb-Nouns and Verb Nouns with no personal forms.

Should

There are no Verb-Nouns for "should", and only in "imperfect" or "conditional"("conditional" in meaning) in Welsh, so we can not say, "rydw i wedi dylwn i" or "rydw i yn dylwn i" as it is not a verb noun; to say, "should have", we have to use "fod wedi" after "should", to say, "should not" or "should not have", we put ddim, after "should" and before the "verb-noun" and "fod wedi" for should have.

Person	verb forms	very formal language
fi	dylwn	dylaswn
ti	dylet	dylasit
fe,fo/hi/enw	dylai	dylasai
ni	dylen	dylasem
chi	dylech	dylasech
nhw	dylen	dylasent
An/Di Rhagenw(Non-Pronouns)(Name(s)(Singular/plural noun(s))(Man/Men, Child/Children, Woman/Women e.t.c)	dylai'r	dylasai'r
(impersonal)	dylid	n/a

Meddaf/To Say

Meddaf only has, "present" and "imperfect" and only is in the "third person" "singular" and "plural".

Person	Present	Imperfect
e/hi	medd	meddai
nhw	meddan	medden

Mordern Welsh Dictionary uses "meddai". "Medd" is sometimes encounted with "nouns", but generally the form is invariable for person in the modern spoken language by Gareth King. The expression "meddai nhw" is used for the doubtful "So they say" in response to a statement.

Byw/To Live

"Byw" is a verb noun but has no personal forms to be used, so have to be link to the forms of "Bod"

Marw/To Die

"Marw" is a verb noun but has no personal forms to be used, so have to be link to the forms of "Bod" we cannot say, "Marwodd e" and must say "Buodd e farw"

Piau/To Own

"Piau" is the only form, and is often mutated, "Biau", this is used in the "Modern Welsh dictionary by Gareth King" which describes it as a "defective verb"ː This "defective verb" is used only in conjunction with the verb "Bod" and does not use the particle "Yn" to link it with "Bod" as would be the case with normal verbnoun. see examples below. It is also unusual in that its "subject" always precedes it, because its function is to identify the possessor of something, it requires identification sentences structure instead of neutral verb-first order, the verb "sy" in the above examples is optional, since "biau" these days has acquired its own verbal force. So, for example, both, Pwy biau...? and Pwy sy biau...? are heard, with no differences in meaning; in the other tenses (last two examples the "oedd" and "fydd"(mutated of "Bydd") must be retained.

Brawddegau enghreifftiol – Exemplar sentences

Pwy (sy) biau'r car coch'na ? = Whose is that red car ?

Nhw (sy) biau fe = It's theirs/They own it

Nhad oedd biau'r siop'ma adeg hynny = My father owned this shop at that time

Pwy fydd biau'r hawliau cyhoeddi ? = Who will own the publishing rights

Gorfod/To have to or Must

We can use "Gorfod" after the forms of "Bod" " Gorfod" has only one singular past tense form, "Gorfu" = "had to". "Gorfod" is equivalent to "rhaid" which is a "noun" = "To have to" or "Must" in its primary meaning only of obligation. unlike "rhaid", however, it is a verbnoun and is used accordingly , while "rhaid" requires a special construction compare the second example above with its "rhaid" equivalent "Oes rhaid iddyn nhw aros ?" Note also that the other main meaning of "rhaid", supposition, is not shared by "gorfod", so, e.g. "you must be mad ǃ" can only be rendered by "rhaid". But for obligation senses, the two are broadly interchangeable(through "rhaid" is statistically more common); "gorfod", however, is preferred in examples such as the third above, where the required "wedi" (for "have/has had to etc) is difficult to accommodate in the "rhaid" construction.

Present	Past
gorfod	gorfu

Brawddegau enghreifftiol – Exemplar sentences

Pryd dych chi'n gorfod mynd ? = When do you have to go ?

Ydyn nhw'n gorfod aros ? = Do they have to stay ?

Mae'r pwyllgor wedi gorfod ailhysbysebu'r swydd. = The committee has had to readvertise the position.

Gorfu i fi fynd. = I had to go.

Geni/ To be born, Birth

We can only use "geni" after the forms of "cael"; "geni" only has "impersonal forms"

Present	Past
genir	ganwyeidd/ ganed	ganeired/ gaining

Gwybod/To Know (A Person)

Present Gwn i Gwyddost ti Gwyr e/hi Gwyddon ni Gwyddoch chi Gwyddon/Gwyddan nhw

Imperfect Gwyddwn I Gwyddet ti Gwyddai fe/hi Gwydden ni Gwyddech chi Gwydden nhw