Intermediate Welsh

A Grammar and Workbook

Gareth King

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9781351663595
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Intermediate Welsh: A Grammar and Workbook is designed for learners who have achieved basic proficiency and wish to proceed to more complex language. It presents a broad range of grammatical topics, illustrated by examples, which serve as models for the varied exercises that follow. The emphasis throughout is on colloquial spoken Welsh used by modern-day native speakers. Features include:

• a clear, accessible format;
• many useful language examples;
• jargon-free grammar explanations;
• sample drills and exercises;
• a full key to the exercises.

This new edition has been redesigned for greater clarity and further examples have been updated.

Unit 1

Uned un

Inflected future
Regulars

In Basic Welsh (Unit 24) we saw how the stem of the verb is used when we need to add endings; the imperative (command form) ending -wch, for example, is added not to talu (verb-noun) to give *taluwch, but to the stem tal- to give talwch! ‘pay!’ Then for the preterite (Basic Welsh, Unit 25) there is a special set of endings covering all persons – so tales i ‘I paid’, talodd e ‘he paid’, etc.

Another set of personal endings in Welsh conveys the idea of the future. Let’s look at the endings first:

	Singular	Plural
1	-a i	-wn ni
2	-i di	-wch chi
3	-ith e/hi	-an nhw

Notice again that we have included the following pronoun in each case, as in Modern Welsh the endings never appear on their own except in yes/no answers. You may have noticed also that the second person singular pronoun is not ti but di in the future.

So the inflected future of talu will be:

	Singular	Plural
1	tala i I will pay	talwn ni we will pay
2	tali di you will pay	talwch chi you will pay
3	talith e/hi he/she will pay	talan nhw they will pay

General principles for inflected verbs (Basic Welsh, Unit 26) apply; so, for example, tala i, fe °dala i, °dala i all mean ‘I’ll pay’. Notice the very common expression °Wela i di/chi ‘I’ll see you’ (i.e. ‘goodbye’).

You will have realized by now that we saw another way of doing the future in Basic Welsh (Unit 18), using bydda i etc. (future of bod) + yn + VN. Are they the same? No – and they are not interchangeable; if they were, what would be the point of having both systems? But they do overlap in function. It is hard to see any substantial difference, for example, between Pryd bydd e’n ffonio? and Pryd ffonith e? ‘When will he phone?’ On the other hand, the inflected future is definitely preferred in certain circumstances, and we will have a look at some of these in the next unit.

Exercise 1.1

Turn these long futures into short futures:

Example:	Bydda i’n talu
	Tala i

1. 1 Fyddi di’n agor y siop yfory?
2. 2 Fe fydda i’n gweld ti wythnos nesa.
3. 3 Byddwn ni’n helpu chi.
4. 4 Bydd y lleill yn aros fan hyn.
5. 5 Fyddwch chi’n cyrraedd mewn pryd?
6. 6 Fydd Fred yn cymryd coffi?
7. 7 Fe fydd Sioned a Medi’n trafod y broblem.
8. 8 Fyddi di’n cymryd rhagor?
9. 9 Fe fydd Suzie’n bwydo’r anifeiliaid wedyn.
10. 10 Fyddan nhw ddim yn arwyddo’r ddogfen.

Exercise 1.2

Translate into Welsh using the short future – use Mi° for affirmative (AFF) sentences:

1. 1 I’ll help you (chi).
2. 2 We’ll see you (chi) tomorrow.
3. 3 When will these plants flower?
4. 4 Bert will stay here.
5. 5 They’ll phone tomorrow.
6. 6 We won’t see them again.
7. 7 Sioned will tell him this afternoon.
8. 8 Will they write to us?
9. 9 Will he buy enough?
10. 10 They won’t drink.
11. 11 I’ll collect everything.
12. 12 You (chi) ’ll speak first.
13. 13 Who will open the door?
14. 14 We’ll build a new house here.
15. 15 The water will run out here.
16. 16 Will they arrange everything?
17. 17 I’ll keep these for you (ti).
18. 18 Will they tell us?
19. 19 Sioned will give him a present.
20. 20 I’ll call round later on.

Exercise 1.3

Turn these short futures into long futures:

Example:	Ffonith e
	Bydd e’n ffonio

1. 1 Enillan nhw’r gêm?
2. 2 Ffonith Eleri heno?
3. 3 Parith y gynhadledd am wythnos.
4. 4 Arhosan nhw ddim.
5. 5 Ateba i mo’r cwestiwn ’na.
6. 6 Rhodda i ddeg punt iddo.
7. 7 Chysga i ddim efo’r holl sŵn ’ma.
8. 8 Mi drefnwn ni bopeth.
9. 9 Helpa i chi mewn munud.
10. 10 Pharith yr argyfwng ’ma ddim yn hir.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 Inflected future: regulars
• 2 Inflected future: irregulars
• 3 Galla i°/medra i° ‘I can’, etc.
• 4 Byth and erioed ‘never/ever’
• 5 Comparison of adjectives I: comparative
• 6 Comparison of adjectives II: superlative; equative
• 7 Comparison of adjectives III: irregulars
• 8 ‘Time’; ordinal numerals
• 9 Aspect distinctions with VNs: newydd°, ar° and heb° with VNs
• 10 Alternative preterite formations
• 11 Subordinate clauses I
• 12 Subordinate clauses II
• 13 Subordinate clauses III
• 14 Relative clauses I
• 15 Relative clauses II
• 16 Conditional of bod; conditional of other verbs
• 17 Conditional sentences I: open conditions
• 18 Conditional sentences II: closed conditions
• 19 Other unreality verbs: gallwn i°/medrwn i°, dylwn i°, leiciwn i°/hoffwn i°
• 20 Unreality verbs with wedi: ‘should have …’, ‘could have …’, ‘might have …’, etc.
• 21 Colloquial passive construction with cael
• 22 Stative passives with wedi and heb°
• 23 Formal/media (or short) passive in -ir and -wyd
• 24 More conjugated prepositions
• 25 Compound prepositions
• 26 Miscellaneous pronouns I
• 27 Miscellaneous pronouns II
• 28 Gwybod ‘know’; sa i, so ti, etc. (neg)
• 29 Summary of SM
• 30 Conjunctions I
• 31 Conjunctions II
• 32 Focus I: principles
• 33 Focus II: VNs, bod
• 34 Focus III: mai and taw
• 35 Summary of sy
• 36 Mutation of verb-forms in more formal styles
• 37 Literary Welsh verbs I: the tense system of Literary Welsh
• 38 Literary Welsh verbs II: forms of bod
• 39 Literary Welsh verbs III: irregulars; subjunctive forms
• 40 Literary Welsh verbs IV: autonomous/impersonal forms
• Key to exercises
• Glossary of technical terms
• Vocabularies