When and when not to use 'yn'

Can someone give me a simple explanation when and when not use ‘yn’ in a sentence. Sometimes when practising in the challenges I get it right and sometimes I don’t. So little bit confused when to use it.

It depends on what its role is Rob - yn has more than one use/meaning. Can you give us some examples of when it confuses you?

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I know when yn means in, as yn y dafarn (in the pub) or yn y ysgol (in the school) etc. It’s when it is used to join two parts of a sentence, the glue, as they call it in The Nant. I’ll have to go over a challenge or two to come up with some examples as I can’t bring anything to mind right now.

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Do you mean as in: Dwi’n dysgu etc? Yes, it comes before the 2nd verb. But not before Eisiau or Wedi, as these arent actually vetbs. :grinning:

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Hi John, I’m aware of the eisiau wedi thing
Yes, it’s those of sentences that start with Dwi or dwi’n and son on.
Rob.

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This is a helpful explanation https://youtu.be/bMr3EaWRj18

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Thanks Amanda. Will take a look.

It joins verbnouns, nouns and adjectives to forms of ‘bod’. My understanding is that if there’s no bod, there’s no “yn” (e.g. “O’n i’n mynd” vs “Wnes i fynd”, “hoffwn i fynd…”) and if there’s no verbnoun, noun or adjective there’s no “yn” (e.g. “dw i’n hapus” - adjective so “yn” vs “dw i ar y mynydd” - preposition, so no “yn”).

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This from Stephen is a good description. Diolch!

Remember, though, that if you get it ‘wrong’. it will rarely affect the meaning of what you’re saying, or cause any more than a passing ‘eh?’ moment, so while it’s great that you are aware that it’s ‘a thing’, don’t make it a stumbling block. Plough your way through, getting it wrong as often as possible, and you will find that you will become better and better at using it correctly!

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The idea of “don’t worry about it” is probably the best lesson I’ve learnt while doing SSIW. There’s always the fear of getting something wrong as a learner, and sometimes it cripples you to the point that you’re scared of trying. SSIW (and @Iestyn’s encouragement in the challenges!) is SO good at making you realise that having a go is the important part, not being 100% correct or knowing all the grammar rules.

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This, tatooed on your eyeballs, for most tasks in life!

(Any heart surgeons, commercial pilots etc, please ignore this post…)

Learning this about speaking new languages transformed my ‘ability’ to speak French. My French is still rubbish, because I don’t do anything with it between visits to France, but I use it constantly when I’m there, and it makes a huge difference to my experiences - yes, including all the embarrassing mistakes, lije telling someon my wife was male instead of ill, and asking for the bread of reason instead of raisin bread. Just the usual, you know!

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I’m stopping in France before going to Wales to increase my linguistic confusion.

A few hours ago I’ve asked in a bistro if they had a vein instead of wine.
The guy looked puzzled before saying “oh, vin!”:sweat_smile:

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That must have warranted some confused and amused reactions. :joy:
The bread of reason sounds like something you eat to gain great knowledge. “After battling dragons and trolls, the protagonist reaches the end of his journey and opens the treasure chest, where he finds the bread of reason.”

Asking for a vein? Should I be concerned that you’re a vampire? :cold_sweat: (Gisella grins and displays pointed fangs)

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Sounds like a great album title!

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If there is a form of bod, such as “mae” or Dw before the next word, yn separates the bod word from its complement. If it’s a verbal noun like cofio there is no mutation: Dw i yn cofio
If a regular noun or an adjective is the complement yn is followed by a soft mutation : Mae yn ddiddorol ( neither adj noun or VN - no yn)
If the verb is not a bod word (eg wnes) the separation of verb & complement, incl verbal noun, is achieved by a soft mutation: wnes i wilio yr TV with no yn