Catchphrase 2001 - ail gyfres: Wythnos 46

Week 46, Monday.  Today you’ll learn:
es i, ces i, yfais i, addawodd, cawson ni, rhedaist ti, gadawais i, clywais i, cwpl o fisoedd yn ôl

Croeso cynnes i gyfres newydd o Catchphrase 2001 - A warm welcome to a new series of Catchphrase 2001, the fun way to learn the Welsh language in bitesize portions. This new series will continue with the success of the last series by building on the vocabulary, grammar and phrases you have already learnt. 

Let’s begin with the past tense. If you remember from last time, it’s fairly easy to work out the past tense of most verbs - with those ending in a vowel, you drop the vowel to form what we call the ‘stem’ and add the appropriate ending. With those ending in a consonant, you already have the stem and you just add the appropriate ending. Some verbs have unexpected stems, however. A bit like in English when you say ‘I understand’ - in the past you’d say ‘I understood’, and not ‘I understanded’! 

We haven’t lost contact with the Lloyd family since they won a small fortune on the lottery at the end of the last series, so let them illustrate the past tense as they re-introduce themselves to us. First there’s old Uncle Elwyn who actually got the winning numbers:

Wncl Elwyn -Helo na. Enillais i’r loteri cwpl o fisoedd yn ôl. Es i 	â’r teulu i gyd ar criws yn y Med!

Ennill, to win, is an easy one: ennillais i - I won. Enillais i’r loteri cwpl o fisoedd yn ôl - I won the lottery a couple of months ago. Mynd, to go, is trickier: es i - I went. Es i â’r teulu i gyd - I went with all the family, or rather, I took all the family, on a cruise in the Med.

Rhys is the family’s resident teenager:

Rhys - S’mae. Ces i amser gwych ar y criws. Yfais i lawer o win!

Cael means to have, or to get. Ces i - I had. Ces i amser gwych ar y criws - I had a great time on the cruise. Yfed, to drink, drops the e-d. Yfais i - I drank. Yfais i lawer o win - I drank lots of wine.

Catrin, Rhys’s mother, is at last hoping to realise her dream of a new
kitchen.

Catrin - Addawodd Wncl Elwyn gegin newydd i fi gyda’r arian!

Addo, to promise. Addawodd Wncl Elwyn - Uncle Elwyn promised. Addawodd Wncl Elwyn gegin newydd i fi gyda’r arian - Uncle Elwyn promised me a new kitchen with the money.

Glenys is Catrin’s mother-in-law, and dotes on the baby of the family, little Llinos.

Glenys - Cawson ni hwyl ar y criws, naddo Llinos? Rhedaist ti i bobman ar y cwch!

Cawson ni, again from cael - we had. Cawson ni hwyl ar y criws, naddo - we had fun on the cruise, didn’t we? Rhedeg is to run. It drops the e-g. Rhedaist ti - you ran. Rhedaist ti i bobman ar y cwch - you ran everywhere on the boat.

Last of all, Guto, husband to Catrin.

Guto -  Gadawais i fy ngwaith i pan glywais i am y loteri. Ond does dim cymaint o arian ar ôl nawr.

Gadael means to leave. Take off the second syllable and add a-w. Gadawais i - I left. Gadawais i fy ngwaith i - I left my work. Clywed is to hear.  Like yfed, it drops the e-d. Clywais i - I heard. Gadawais i fy ngwaith i pan glywais i am y loteri - I left my work when I heard about the lottery.  Unfortunately, when you get down to spending it, it doesn’t look so much.  ‘Cymaint’ is the word for so much. Does dim cymaint o arian ar ôl nawr - there’s not so much money left, now.

Week 46, Tuesday.  Today you’ll learn:
cynta(f), bywyd, tra, cynnig, Mai, o drwch y blewyn

When people speak colloquially to one another, they often miss sounds out, and they may also write like this, so you will notice a difference between the way formal Welsh and colloquial Welsh are written. For example, an F at the end of a word is often not pronounced in colloquial speech.  That’s why cartref, which means a home, is usually pronounced and often spelt cartre. Adre is the word for home when you’re going home, and this, again, would be spelt with an ‘f’ at the end in the
dictionary.  Another word like this is cynta, meaning first, which you will see in the dictionary written cyntaf.  Some new words for you: bywyd is the word for life. Fy mywyd i - my life. 

Cynnig means to offer. It’s one of those verbs with a slightly irregular stem: cynigiodd hi losin i fi - she offered me a sweet. Tra means ‘whilst’.  Rhys Lloyd has decided to cadw dyddiadur - keep a diary. Listen to his first entry.

Rhys - Dydd Mawrth, y cynta o Fai: Dw i wedi penderfynu cadw dyddiadur.  Dw i eisiau cofio popeth o bwys yn fy mywyd i. Dim byd o bwys heddiw. Gadawais i’r ty’n gynnar. Ro’n i eisiau dal y bws wyth o’r gloch. Rhedais i, ond collais i fe o drwch y blewyn. Felly, cerddais i i’r coleg a chollais i’r wers gynta. Yfais i goffi tra’n aros. Dwedais i wrth Pete James am y gwyliau. Arhosais i yn y coleg ar ôl y gwersi i siarad gyda Diane Perkins.  Cynigiais i fynd gyda hi i’r trên, ond 	roedd hi’n cwrdd â ffrindiau. Es i adre.

Can you work out what the date is? It’s dydd Mawrth, y cynta o Fai - Tuesday, the first of - yes, May. Mai is the word for ‘May’, and it mutates after ‘o’. Y cynta o Fai. 

Dw i wedi penderfynu cadw dyddiadur - I’ve decided to keep a diary. Dw i eisiau cofio popeth o bwys yn fy mywyd i - I want to remember everything important in my life. Dim byd o bwys heddiw - nothing important today.  Gadawais i’r ty’n gynnar - I left the house early. Ro’n i eisiau dal y bws wyth o’r gloch - I wanted to catch the eight o’clock bus. Rhedais i - I ran.  Ond collais i fe - but I missed it. O drwch y blewyn - a set phrase. By a hair’s breadth, by a whisker.  Felly, cerddais i i’r coleg - So I walked to college. Cerdded is one of those verbs that drops the final e-d. Collais i’r wers gynta - I missed the first lesson. Yfais i goffi tra’n aros - I drank a coffee whilst waiting. 

Dwedais i - I said, past of dweud; dwedais i wrth Pete James am y gwyliau - literally, I said to Pete James about the holidays, but in English you’d say, I told Pete James about the holidays.  Aros sprouts an H in the past: arhosais i yn y coleg - I stayed in college. But who is Diane Perkins? Arhosais i yn y coleg ar ôl y gwersi i siarad gyda Diane Perkins - I stayed in college after lessons to talk to Diane Perkins. Cynigiais i fynd gyda hi i’r trên - I offered to accompany her to the train. Ond roedd hi’n cwrdd â ffrindiau - but she was meeting some friends. Es i adre - I went home. 

Week 46, Wednesday.  Today you’ll learn:
ar ddydd Sadwrn/ddydd Sadwrn, mwynheuodd e, dalion ni, bendigedig, ar fwrdd, llong, mwynhau

When you say something happened ‘on’ a day in Welsh, you use the word ar - Ar ddydd Mawrth arhoson ni yn y ty - on Tuesday we stayed in the house. 

Notice that ar mutates the following word. Because of this mutation, you will often hear the ar missed out. Ddydd Sadwrn, aethon nhw i’r sinema - On Saturday, they went to the cinema. Listen for an example of this in today’s conversation. Cyrraedd - to arrive, is another verb like aros in the past - it sprouts an H in the middle. Cyrrhaedodd hi ddydd Sul - she arrived on Sunday. Dal - to catch - is like cynnig in the past. It adds an ‘i’ before the ending. Daliodd hi’r bws - she caught the bus.  Mwynhau - to enjoy, changes its pronounciation slightly in the past: mwynheuodd hi’r ffilm - she enjoyed the film. The names of some countries in Welsh take y before them. For example, Yr Eidal is ‘Italy’. A couple of words which are virtually interchangeable are gwych, which we’ve had before - terrific, great. And bendigedig - again, terrific, super. 

Remember the phrase ar y cyfan? - it means on the whole. Cawson ni amser gwych, ar y cyfan - we had a great time, on the whole. Listen to Guto as he darkens the doors of the pub where his friend, Linda, drinks:

Guto - Helo
Linda - Guto?! Ti yma!
Guto - Pam lai? Dw i ddim yn hoffi’r clwb golff, tawaith.
Linda - Wel, sut wyliau gawsoch chi i gyd yn y Med, te?
Guto  - O bendigedig, Linda fach, bendigedig. Cyrhaeddon ni Barcelona ar y dydd Llun. Cawson ni dywydd gwych yno ar y cyfan, ond roedd hi’n dechrau bwrw glaw pan adawon ni ar y dydd Mercher. Yfon ni cocktails ar fwrdd y llong nos Iau - hyfryd - ac arhoson ni yn Naples ddydd Gwener. Dalion ni’r awyren yn ôl yn Athens.
Linda - Gafodd Wncl Elwyn hwyl?
Guto - [gan chwerthin]: Do. Mwynheuodd e’r sigarets yn yr Eidal!

Ti yma Linda exclaims - you here! She expects Guto to move in more elevated circles with his new found wealth. Pam lai? - why not. Dw i ddim yn hoffi’r clwb goff, tawaith - I don’t like the golf club, anyhow. Sut wyliau gawsoch chi i gyd yn y Med - how were the holidays you had in the Med?  Bendigedig - terrific. Cyrhaeddon ni Barcelona ar y dydd Llun - we reached Barcelona on the Monday. Cawson ni dywydd gwych yno ar y cyfan - we had great weather there on the whole. Yfon ni cocktails ar fwrdd y llong nos Iau - We drank cocktails on board the ship on Thursday evening. Hyfryd - lovely.  Arhoson ni yn Naples ddydd Gwener - we stayed in Naples on Friday. Dalion ni’r awyren yn ôl yn Athens - we caught the plane back in Athens. Gafodd Wncl Elwyn hwyl? - did Uncle Elwyn enjoy himself? Do - yes he did.  Mwynheuodd e’r sigarets yn yr Eidal - he enjoyed the cigarettes in Italy.

Week 46, Thursday.  Today you’ll learn:
gwelais i, gwelson ni, ti’n gwybod, pa un, siop aml adran, ffenest, y dydd o’r blaen, pert, dolen/dolenni
 
Another verb that has a slightly irregular stem in the past is gweld, to see. You drop the final d, so gwelais i is ‘I saw’; gwelon ni - we saw; gweloch chi - you saw. There are some regional variations in the precise forms of some past tenses, but it is best to stick to the forms you have heard on Catchphrase for the moment. 

Another thing you'll notice when listening to people speak Welsh is that some verbs almost disappear when the meaning in the context is clear - like in English when people say ‘yer’ instead of ‘you are’. For example, instead of hearing dych chi’n gwybod? you may hear chi’n gwybod? Again, not to be imitated at this stage, you should however be aware of it. 

Now for some new vocabulary. Pa un means ‘which’, or ‘which one’. Pa un wyt ti eisiau? - which one do you want? Siop aml adran is ‘department store’ - siop aml adran. Ffenest is the word for ‘window’ - ffenest. Y diwrnod o’r blaen means ‘the other day’ when you are referring to something that happened recently. Gwelais i fe y diwrnod o’r blaen - I saw him the other day. 

To say someone or something is pretty, you can say they are pert. Dolen is the usual word for ‘handle’ on a door or cupboard.  Dolenni are handles. Catrin is chatting on the phone today with her mother-in-law. Then Glenys brings up the new kitchen - y gegin - which Catrin is getting with some of the lottery money.

Glenys - Catrin, ‘ti’n gwybod y gegin?
Catrin - Ydw.
Glenys - Gwelais i un wych yn yr archfarchnad y diwrnod o’r blaen.
Catrin -  Yr archfarchnad?
Glenys -  Ie.
Catrin - Wel, Mam, dw i wedi penderfynu pa un dw i eisiau, dw i’n meddwl.
Glenys - Ond welaist ti’r un yn ffenest y siop aml adran?
Catrin -  Naddo...
Glenys - O, mae hi’n bert iawn, Catrin. Mae’n las i gyd ac mae dolenni melyn arni hi...
Catrin - Mam, dw i wedi penderfynu!

It seems Glenys would like a bigger role in the decision making process.  Ti’n gwybod y gegin? - she says to raise the subject. You know the kitchen?  Gwelais i un wych - I saw a super one. Notice that gwych mutates to wych because cegin is a feminine word - y gegin. Gwelais i un wych yn yr archfarchnad y diwrnod o’r blaen - I saw a lovely one in the supermarket the other day. Catrin is surprised she should have seen one there - yr archfarchnad? Still, it’s not likely to make any difference. Dw i wedi penderfynu pa un dw i eisiau - I’ve decided which one I want. 

Glenys doesn’t give up. Welaist ti’r un yn ffenest y siop aml adran? - did you see the one in the window of the department store? Naddo - no I didn’t. Mae hi’n bert iawn - It’s very pretty. Mae’n las i gyd - it’s all blue. Glas is the word for blue, but remember it mutates after yn: mae’n las i gyd. Ac mae dolenni melyn arni hi - and there are yellow handles on it. Glenys obviously doesn’t understand - Mam, dw i wedi penderfynu! - I’ve decided! 

Week 46, Friday.  Today you’ll learn:
derbyniais i, addawais i, gwrandawais i, ail, trydydd, pedwerydd, pumed, chweched, seithfed, wythfed, nawfed, degfed, ymdrechu, derbyn, di-baid

We’ve already had the word for ‘first’ - cynta. Let’s have some more ordinal numbers. Ail is the word for ‘second’: yr ail o Ionawr - the second of January. Trydydd is ‘third’: Mae e’n dod yn drydydd - he comes third. Pedwerydd is ‘fourth’ - y pedwerydd tro - the fourth time.  For fifth and sixth you just add e-d: pumed, chweched. For the rest of the cardinal numbers up to ten, you just add f-e-d: not saith but seithfed, wythfed, nawfed, degfed.  

Some more new words: ‘ymdrechu’ is ‘to make an effort’ - ymdrechu. Derbyn means ‘to receive’, and it’s one of those verbs with a slightly irregular stem in the past tense. You add an i before the ending: derbyniodd hi’r cyngor - she received the advice. Di-baid means ‘ceaseless’ or ‘ceaselessly’. We’re going to hear another entry from Rhys’ diary. See if you can work out the date of it. 

Rhys - Dydd Gwener y pedwerydd o Fai. Cyrhaeddais i’r wers gynta mewn pryd y bore ‘ma, ond doedd Diane Perkins ddim yno. Mae hi’n dost, dw i’n meddwl. Yn y wers rydd, gwrandawais i ar fy Walkman i.  Ces i sioc pan dderbyniais i fy nghanlyniadau yn y wers hanes.  Mae rhaid gweithio mwy. Addawais i’r athro ymdrechu mwy. Es i adre i ginio. Mae Mam yn siarad yn ddi-baid am geginau!
Cynigiodd Wncl Elwyn brynu un newydd i ni.

Yes, of course, Friday the fourth of May - dydd Gwener y pedwerydd o Fai.  Cyrhaeddais i’r wers gynta mewn pryd y bore ‘ma - I arrived at the first lesson in time this morning. Ond doedd Diane Perkins ddim yno.  Notice how the word ond, ‘but’, can translate the word ‘though’: ond doedd Diane Perkins ddim yno - Diane Perkins wasn’t there, though. Mae hi’n dost, dw i’n meddwl - she’s ill, I think. Yn y wers rydd - in the free lesson, gwrandawais i - that’s the past tense of gwrando, to listen:  gwrandawais i ar fy Walkman i - I listened to my Walkman. 

Ces i sioc - I got a shock - pan dderbyniais i fy nghanlyniadau yn y wers hanes - when I received my results in the history lesson. Mae rhaid gweithio mwy - I’ve got to work more. Addo, to promise, changes the final o to a-w in the past: addawais i - I promised - addawais i’r athro ymdrechu mwy - I promised the teacher to make more of an effort. Es i adre i ginio - I went home for lunch. Mae Mam yn siarad yn ddi-baid am geginau - Mam is talking non-stop about kitchens. Cynigiodd Wncl Elwyn brynu un newydd i ni - Uncle Elwyn offered to buy a new one for us.