I. THE ARTICLE Why don't I say definite article? Because Welsh has no indefinite article. So, to say "a car" is Welsh, just say "car". The definite article has three forms, depending on context. Most commonly, the word is "y" (pronounced uh). Before vowels, "yr" is used. And after vowels, you usually have the form "'r" (so "i y" becomes "i'r"). As mentioned previously, the definite article governs soft mutation for feminine nouns (but not for those beginning with "ll" or "rh"). So y + merch (the girl) becomes "y ferch" and y gardd (the garden) becomes "y ardd" No, wait! Since "ardd" begins with a vowel, we change "y" to "yr", and we have yr ardd II. Adjectives Adjectives in Welsh tend to follow the normal pattern for the Romance languages (French, Spanish, Latin, etc.), in which adjectives follow nouns. But there are exceptions. In Welsh all nouns are masculine or feminine. As with most languages that hold to such concepts, there are nouns whose genders don't make a whole lot of sense. But we have to learn them anyway. Feminine nouns which precede adjectives cause soft mutation to the adjective. Masculine nouns don't. Example: geneth = girl (fem.) pert = pretty geneth bert = a pretty girl -- note that Welsh has no indefinite article Also, some adjectives have their own feminine forms: gwely = bed (masc.) ysgol = school (fem.) gwely gwyn = a white bed ysgol wen = a white school Some other adjectives with feminine forms are: Masc. Fem. English bychan fechan small byr fer short dwfn ddofn deep cryf gref string crwn gron round gwyrdd werdd green A few adjectives come before the noun, and these will cause soft mutation to nouns of either gender: hen = old coeden = tree hen goeden = old tree One strange adjective is "unig", which has two different meanings, depending on whether it comes before or after the noun. mam = mother darn = piece unig fam = lonely mother darn unig = only piece In a sentence like "The bottle is empty", the particle "yn" precedes the adjective and causes soft mutation: potel = bottle gwag = empty Y mae'r botel yn wag = the bottle is empty (note that mae + y is contracted to "mae'r", and since "potel" is feminine and is here preceded by the definite article, it undergoes soft mutation) And just as a reminder: potel wag = an empty bottle y botel wag = the empty bottle Some people even use "botel" as the unmutated form, so with the article it comes out "y fotel"! HOW TO SAY "the corn is green" (remember that one?) In Welsh, the word order for this type of sentence is verb (form of "bod", "to be") noun phrase, particle "yn", adjective (using soft mutation) For example, the above sentence, "The corn is green" is translated Y mae'r y+d yn wyrdd Note the particle "yn" and the mutation of "gwyrdd" for "green". However, "yn" does NOT mutate words beginning with "ll" and "rh": yn llawn EQUATIVES, COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES There are two methods for making comparative forms of adjectives. We consider both methods for regular adjectives First we consider regular adjectives, those which have no special comparative form. Positive Equative Comparative Superlative 1. cryf (strong) mor gryf a+ mwy cryf na mwyaf cryf 2. cyn gryfed a+ cryfach na cryfaf (as strong as) (stronger than) (strongest) 1. glas (blue) mor las a+ mwy glas na mwyaf glas 2. cyn lased a+ glasach na glasaf Irregular adjectives have special forms, some of which are still used in literary work, but have become regular in colloquial Welsh. 1. da (good) mor dda a+ gwell gorau 2. cystal a+ (You often see "cystal a+" used in the sense of "as well as") 1. mawr mor fawr mwy mwyaf 2. cymaint a+ (Since mwy already means "bigger", it is not used in combination with mawr) 1. drwg mor ddrwg gwaeth gwaethaf 2. cynddrwg 1. bach (small) mor fach llai lleiaf 2. cyn lleied 1. hen (old) mor hen 2. henach henaf (or hynaf) 1. ieuanc 2. cyn ieuanged ieuangach ieuangaf 1. hawdd 2. cyn haws hawsach hawsaf 1. anodd 2. cyn anhawsed anhawsach anhawsaf Note the following: - cyn and mor cause soft mutation, whether the noun and adjective are masculine or feminine - "yn" mutates the adjectives ending in -ach and -af, as well as mwy and mwyaf, but "yn" is not used before cyn and mor. Examples: Mae e yn fwy tal na fi. Mae'r dre mor hen a+'r pentre. - often in modern Welsh, the final "f" is dropped, "cryfaf" becomes "cryfa" and "mwyaf" becomes "mwya" - the difference between "mwy gryf" and "cryfach" is like the difference between English "more strong" and "stronger" - "na y" EXERCISES: Translate the following, using the lesson and the vocabulary below: 1. the old man 2. a white cat 3. white cats 4. good food 5. red bikes 6. the old language is alive 7. big money 8. lonely child 9. the shop is full 10. the only apple Translate the following, using both adjective forms: 11. as old as the hills 12. bigger than a house 13. the happiest child 14. Welsh is better than English. 15. They are happier than the other children. Geirfa Noun English gender plural bwyd food m. bwydydd beic bike f. beiciau iaith language f. ieithoedd arian money m. plentyn child m. plant siop shop f. siopau afal apple m. afalau bryn hill m. bryniau ty+ house m. tai Adjective byw alive llawn full happy hapus arall other eraill