Week 80 - Main grammatical points

Two words which are easily mixed up are "diweddar" meaning recently or late and "diwethaf'" meaning last. Here are some examples of their use:

Es i i'r Alban yn ddiweddar - I went to Scotland recently
Y diweddar Dic Allen - The late Dic Allen
Es i i'r theatr fis diwethaf - I went to the theatre last month
Beth oedd y ffilm ddiwethaf welaist ti? - What was the last film you saw?

"Olaf" also means last - but there's a slight difference between the meaning of "diwethaf" and "olaf". "Diwethaf" is the last thing up to this point, whereas "olaf" is final.

For example, imagine you're waiting for the bus - if you missed "y bws diwethaf", you'd just have to wait for the next one. But if you missed "y bws olaf", you'd probably be quicker walking home!

Agnes refers back to a holiday that she and Brian speant in Italy - Yr Eidal. In Welsh, some countries' names must be preceded by the definite article - y.

Yr Almaen - Germany
Y Swistir - Switzerland
Yr Alban - Scotland

So, if you want to say that you're going to Switzerland this year, you say:

Dw i'n mynd i'r Swistir eleni

Some countries that don't need the definite article in front of them are:

Ffrainc
Mae Richard yn byw yn Ffrainc - Richard lives in France

Gwlad Belg
Maen nhw'n dod o Wlad Belg - They come from Belgium

Sbaen
Ydych chi'n hoffi Sbaen? - Do you like Spain?

But just as in English, we use the definite article in front of:

The United States - Yr Unol Daleithau
The Netherlands - Yr Iseldiroedd

Let's remind ourselves of some of the male and female members of the family:

Mab a merch - son and daughter
Ewythr a Modryb - uncle and aunty
Nai a nith - nephew and niece
Taid a Nain - grandfather and grandmother in NW
Tadcu a Mamgu - grandfather and grandmother in SW

All pretty straightforward - but remember that in Welsh we distinguish between a male cousin and a female cousin.

"Cefnder" is the word for a male cousin - "cefnder"
And "cyfnither" is the word for a female cousin - "cyfnither"

Mae fy nghefnder Dafydd yn chwarae rygbi
My cousin David plays rugby

Mae dy gyfnither Bethan wedi cael babi
Your cousin Bethan has had a baby