Tiny questions with quick answers - continuing thread

Basic question about something I emailed. Ydw in lawn i neud e. For - Am I ok to do it. It looks strange, perhaps because its an unusual question. Does it seem ok or should I use bydd? As in bydd hin iawn os dwi’n …/Will it be ok if I…

Well, to begin with, strictly speaking it’s not os but (a), because it’s an if that means whether (not that people don’t these days often use os here by influence of English). And then - for the sentence given here - it’s ydy/yw, not oes. And then it’s not bo fi, because the (underlying) that which we have here (even though not stated) is the relative that meaning which, not the reported speech that - again confusion because of English, which uses the same word for both of course.

So:

Dw i ddim yn siwr (a) ydy unrhywbeth dw i’n ddweud yn gywir
(Local variations may apply)

(P.S. Oh my goodness - I think people round here are going to LOVE the new book! :wink: )

8 Likes

Looking forward to to pre-ordering “Grammatical Conundrums Arising from the SSiW Forum” already! :wink:

9 Likes

So that’s like tybed a, then? – I’d learnt that tybed went with a, not os, but not realised that it applied more widely…

2 Likes

I think you’d be understood, but the way I have seen this structure is
Ydy hi’n iawn i fi neud e?, so literally Is it okay for me to do it?

1 Like

Is “Mae’n ddrwg 'da fi” really used for ‘sorry’ in practice, or is the much shorter ‘sori’ the more likely choice? Or is there a subtle difference between them that I’m not aware of?

1 Like

Yes!

1 Like

Great thanks Hendrik. That looks better. Also in the actual mesage i misspelt Ydw as Wdw :upside_down_face:

Both are used in practice, as is Mae’n ddrwg gen i. There’s loads of overlap with how they’re used and sometimes you’ll hear the “mae’n” dropped too. Flin da fi, ddrwg gen i etc.

Sori is used like pardon me too: so if you bump into someone, mishear someone, small little easy mistakes.

However, it can also be used for more serious stuff. “Dw i mor sori” for example (I’m so sorry)

2 Likes

Great, thanks Anthony.

1 Like

When can you use “Dyfyr” in a sentence, rather than a one word comment? Is it in common use in the South? I haven’t noticed it around here yet, (Swansea).

Until then… :wink: is there a compact explanation anywhere for those who don’t know the difference between if and whether?
I do use whether from time to time, but just because it sounds better in some sentences!

p.s. my confidence in my English had already been hilariously undermined last week in Wales by a lady who said “oh your Welsh accent is much better than your English accent” :hushed: Now this!!! What did I study for so many years at school, then? :rofl:

4 Likes

Certainly.

In English, if has two meanings:

  1. real if (not replaceable by whether):
    If it rains, I’ll get wet
  2. if = whether
    Go and ask him if he wants to come with us (= Go and ask him whether he wants to come with us)

Real if (1) introduces a hypothetical proposition, other if (2) introduces an indirect question.

:slight_smile:

5 Likes

So for the indirect question (2) whether A or B, whether A or not, etc - will that be Pa un/Prun in Welsh please?

Edit -
Or, did I miss it above with Anthony & Antony - ie could you just sneakily use “os” in an English way?

Pa un / p’run is more “which one”.

2 Likes

Could you give an example of the English please? It’s too early and Fiji - Aus is distracting me :joy:

1 Like

In case you or anyone has missed it, my question was related to this:

No John - p’un doesn’t mean whether, it means what Anthony says - which one.

Go and ask him if he want to come with us
Dos i ofyn iddo (a) ydy o isio dŵad hefo ni
Cer i ofyn iddo (a) ydy e’n moyn dod 'da ni

But as i say, these days you’ll often here os for this, because of English influence.

7 Likes

I was thiinking something like -
Whether I’ll watch it before or after lunch.

I was really grateful for this thread because I’ve learnt “tybed a…” And “a” as whether. Diolch bawb :blush: @Antony @RichardBuck @garethrking @johnwilliams_6

4 Likes