I didn't

I am confused about thst too

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Hi!

‘do’n i ddim’ is I wasn’t and ‘wnes i ddim’ is I didn’t :blush:

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Diolch @CatrinLliarJones but I’m still confused. The vocabulary list for level 1 challenge 10 clearly uses do’n i ddim for I didn’t - do’n i ddim yn moyn, I didn’t want, and do’n i ddim yn gwybod bo ti’n siarad cymraeg, I didn’t know that you speak Welsh. Yet level 1 challenge 9 uses wnes i ddim deall be’ ddwedest ti, I didn’t understand what you said.

Julie

It’s a confusion that’s caused by the fact that English uses ‘didn’t’ for both things that are ‘ongoing’ and things that are ‘completed’ whereas Welsh uses ‘wasn’t’ for things that are ‘ongoing’ and ‘didn’t’ for things that are ‘completed’.

wanting and knowing are things that are ‘ongoing’, so they use do’n i ddim, but “didn’t understand what you said” is an action that is ‘complete’, so it uses nes I ddim.

You might find browsing these threads helpful too -


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This - :arrow_up:

Diolch Siaron! :grin:

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This comes up from time to time (i.e. it bothers a fair few people):


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Diolch @siaronjames, that has helped it become clearer for me.

Julie

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Diolch @RichardBuck and @CatrinLliarJones also. @DiMatthews I hope this thread has helped you too.

Julie

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Well i cant see any answers posted @julie-25
Am i missing someting?

Can you see the above @DiMatthews?

Thanks @julie-25 see ot now. But still don’t really understand it!!! Do you?

It’s slightly tricky. English and Welsh don’t match exactly.
As mentioned, above -
Generally, Wnes I is used for one-off happenings. Do’n I is used for more longterm events.
Fortunately, these often coincide with the English Did and Was, respectively, but not always.
After a while, you will be able to use the one that sounds best, as in English. However in the mean-time, just guess one. It won’t do any harm if you pick the wrong one. You’ll still be understood, and just sound like a new speaker, which isn’t the end of the world. :slight_smile:

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Hi Di,

In Welsh you say:

I wasn’t knowing
I wasn’t thinking
I wasn’t wanting
I wasn’t needing

Rather than “didn’t know/think/want/need”.

As explained above, this is because they are seen as “ongoing” rather than “completed” events.

I hope that helps :slight_smile:

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It does!! Gives me a rule @AnthonyCusack, thanks so much!

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Hi @DiMatthews

This is how I understand it - if the end of the sentence is in the present tense (i.e. I didn’t know that you speak Welsh) it should be do’n i ddim at the start, and if the end of the sentence is in the past tense (i.e. I didn’t understand what you said) it should be wnes i ddim at the start. I’m not sure this is completely correct but it’s helping me to think like that for now.

Julie

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Hi Julie - that works for the two examples you gave, but not generally: Welsh for “I didn’t know what he wanted” would be “I wasn’t knowing what he was wanting” (Do’n i ddim yn gwybod beth oedd o eisiau, using Northern forms).

The key is that they’re verbs where in the present, in English, we wouldn’t say “I am knowing what he is wanting.”

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Thanks @RichardBuck

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For a rule you cant beat the One-off (Did/wnes) v Over a period (Was/Don) rule.
I chose - Wnes i dewis.
I was enjoying - on i’n mwynhau.

Thanks everyone for these tips.So much easier to thrash it out together.

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