Hi. Is there a difference between using nes i/ nes i ddim and o’n i/ do’n i ddim? Also in the lessons they use “hoffwn i” for “I would like” but “bydda hi’n hoffi” for “she would like”. Could I use hoffai hi instead? Thanks.
See this thread…
The first one is the short form the other the long form. Use whichever you like. No difference in meaning. I don’t know the third person conjugation off the top of my head so I’ll assume you have it correct. 
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Thanks. Think it should actually be “bydd hi’n hoffi” but it sounds like they’re saying bydda in the lesson. I thought that would literally mean “she will like” rather than would. I’ve learnt “basai hi” for “she would”. That’s the problem/advantage with welsh… there’s about four ways to say everything!
You are probably right. I haven’t done many lessons lately so I could be off.
I think the best way to look at this it bydd includes an implied (be).
Bydd hi’n edrych ymlaen dy weld ti. She will (be) look forward to seeing you. (so it’s going to happen).
Basa hi’n edrych ymlaen dy weld ti. She would be look forward to seeing you (Not certain it will happen).
They are very close in meaning and maybe we distinguish between the two in Saesneg a bit more.
Always happy to be corrected, it’s the only way to learn and i may be wrong often.
Now i look at what i have written i get the feeling that should be (at dy weld di).
Cheers J.P.
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“byddai hi” is a good alternative (pronounced in many different ways, including your “bydda hi”)
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Thanks. You’re probably right that they’re closer in meaning in Welsh than English. Just got a bit confused that in the lessons they use one term for I and another for he/she.
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What Louis said.
I’ve found that Welsh uses tenses more logically and consistently than English (fitting in with the explanation from Louis). But hey ho, just my experience.
I would really go with Louis’ take on this though.
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It’s probably that they’re saying ‘byddai hi’ (which is exactly the same thing as ‘basai hi’) - which is ‘she would’ (conditional); ‘bydd hi’ is ‘she will’ (future).
So your hoffwn i and basai hi hoffi are both conditional (‘would’). Now, as to why one is short form and the other long … who knows! I would say that ‘hoffwn i’ gets said a lot - it’s a very comfortable phrase that slips onto the tongue quite easily. I don’t hear ‘hoffai hi’ very much (although I think that it’s grammatically possible). So in my entirely unscientific way, I would say that this is idiom - which is what SSiW is so brilliant at teaching!
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Thanks very much. This is the answer I was looking for.
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Yes, you could - and you’d be understood, but you’d sound like a learner, because that particular construct doesn’t get used very often outside of poetry… 
We try to present as many variations as possible, and always default to what’s most likely to be heard in speech…
And a very warm welcome to the forum! 
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Diolch yn fawr. It’s an excellent resource.
That’s good to know as I won’t be at a poetry-composing level for a while yet!
[quote=“danfromton, post:1, topic:3944”]
Is there a difference between using nes i/ nes i ddim and o’n i/ do’n i ddim?[/quote]
I don’t think anyone has answered this part of your original question, have they? The difference between the “nes i” construction and the “o’n i” construction is that the first is usually a finite completed action - “I did (something)” - while the latter is more of a continuinig action, though in the past - “I was doing (something).” That said, if you use one in place of the other in conversation it won’t make much difference (I think), because you will be understood either way.
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Hoffwn i = I would like, using the short form of the word Hoffi.
I suspect that another appropriate form would be the following for the South and North, respectively.
Byddwn i’n hoffi - I would like. (Conditional) Southern usage.
Baswn i’n hoffi = I would like. (Conditional) Northern usage.
In the northern usage the BA in Baswn is normally dropped leading to 'Swn i in colloquial speech, I believe.
I have found the following online also.
AFFIRMATIVE
byddwn i, (ba)swn i I would
byddet ti, (ba)set ti You (familiar) would
byddai e,o,fe (ba)sai fo He would
byddai hi, (ba)sai hi She would
bydden ni, (ba)sen ni We would
byddech chi, (ba)sech chi You (formal & plural) would
bydden nhw, (ba)sen nhw They would
NEGATIVE
fyddwn i ddim / (fa)swn i ddim I wouldn’t
fyddet ti ddim / (fa)set ti ddim You (familiar) wouldn’t
fyddai e/o/fe ddim / (fa)sai fo ddim He would not
fyddai hi ddim / (fa)sai hi ddim She would not
fydden ni ddim / (fa)sen ni ddim We would not
fyddech chi ddim / (fa)sech chi ddim You (formal & plural) would not
fydden nhw ddim / (fa)sen nhw ddim They would not
QUESTIONS
fyddwn i? / (fa)swn i? Would I?
fyddet ti? / (fas)et ti? Would you (familiar)?
fyddai e/o/fe? / (fa)sai fo? Would he?
fyddai hi? / (fa)sai hi? Would she?
fydden ni? / (fa)sen ni? Would we?
fyddech chi? / (fa)sech chi? Would you (formal & plural)?
fydden nhw? / (fa)sen nhw? Would they?
ANSWERS
byddet/na fyddet, byddech/na fyddech
byddwn/na fyddwn
byddai/na fyddai
byddai/na fyddai
byddech/na fyddech, bydden/na fydden
byddwn/na fyddwn, bydden/na fydden
bydden/na fydden
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