Welsh/Grammar/Verbs/Past

The past tense in Welsh does not use bod (to be). We have to conjugate the verb itself. We add an ending to the stem of the verb. Dwy'r amser gorffennol ddim yn defnyddio bod. Rhaid i ni redeg y ferf. Rhaid i ni ychwanegu terfyniad at fôn y ferf. Note the different mutations in the negative and interrogative forms +Past Tense - Talu Cadarnhaol (Affirmative) Negyddol (Negative) Cwestiwn (Question) Talais i I paid Thalais i ddim I didn't pay.Dalais i?Did I pay? Talaist ti You paid Thalaist ti ddim You didn't pay.Dalaist ti?Did you pay? Talodd e/hi He/She paid Thalodd e/hi ddim He/She didn't pay.Dalodd e/hi?Did he/she pay?Talon niWe paidThalon ni ddimWe didn't pay.Dalon ni?Did we pay?Taloch chiYou paidThaloch chi ddimYou didn't pay.Daloch chi?Did you pay?Talon nhwThey paidThalon nhw ddimThey didn't pay.Dalon nhw?Did they pay? We need to know the stem of verbs to create the past tense and commands. Dyma rai rheolau. Here are some rules: Berf yn gorffen gyda un llafariad - gollwng y llafariad. Verb ending with a single vowel - drop the vowel: bwyta bwyt- bwytais i canu can- canais iBerf yn gorffen gyda io - gollwng y llafariad ola. Verb ending with io - drop the final vowel. ffonio ffoni- ffoniais i gweithio gweithi- gweithiais iBerf yn gorffen gyda chytsain - ychwanegu'r terfyniad. Verb ending with a consonant - add the ending. darllen darllen- darllenais i ateb ateb- atebais i Berf yn gorffen gyda -ed - gollwng yr ed. Verb ending with -ed - drop the ed. clywed clyw- clywais i yfed yf- yfais iBerf yn gorffen gyda -eg - gollwng yr eg. Verb ending with -eg - drop the eg. rhedeg rhed- rhedais iRhai bonau anodd/Some more difficult stems: arosarhos- arhosais ibenthygbenthyc-benthycias icymrydcymer-cymerais icyrraedd cyrhaedd-cyrhaeddais ichwaraechwarae-chwaraeais idechrau dechreu-dechreuais idweuddwed-dwedais iennillenill-enillais igadaelgadaw-gadawais iglanhau glanheu-glanheuais igorffengorffenn-gorffennais igweldgwel-gwelais igwrando gwrandaw-gwrandais imeddwl meddyli-meddyliais imwynhau mwynhe(u)mwynhe(u)ais irhoirhoi-/rhodd-rhodiais i/rhoddais itroitroi-troiais iymweldymwel-ymwelais i Mae gwneud, mynd, a cael yn berfau afreolaidd. To do/make, to go, and to have are irregular verbs. +Past Tense - Gwneud Cadarnhaol (Affirmative) Negyddol (Negative) Cwestiwn (Question) Gwnes i I did/made Wnes i ddim I didn't do/makeWnes i? Did I do/make? Gwnest ti You did/made. Wnest ti ddim You didn't do/make.Wnest ti? Did you do/make? Gwnaeth e/hi He/She did/made. Wnaeth e/hi ddim He/She didn't do/make.Wnaeth e/hi? Did he/she do/make?Gwnaethon ni We did/made.Wnaethon ni ddim We didn't do/make.Wnaethon ni? Did we do/make?Gwnaethoch chiYou did/made.Wnaethoch chi ddimYou didn't do/make.Wnaethoch chi?Did you do/make?Gwnaethon nhwThey did/made.Wnaethon nhw ddimThey didn't do/make.Wnaethon nhw?Did they do/make? +Past Tense - Mynd Cadarnhaol(Affirmative) Negyddol (Negative) Cwestiwn (Question) Es i I went. Es i ddim I didn't go.Es i? Did I go? Est ti You went. Est ti ddim You didn't go.Est ti? Did you go? Aeth e/hi He/She went. Aeth e/hi ddim He/She didn't go.Aeth e/hi? Did he/she go?Aethon ni We went.Aethon ni ddim We didn't go.Aethon ni? Did we go?Aethoch chiYou went.Aethoch chi ddimYou didn't go.Aethoch chi?Did you go?Aethon nhwThey went. Aethon nhw ddimThey didn't go.Aethon nhw?Did they go? There are two possible forms of cael in the past tense. Ces i, cawson ni etc. will be found in more formal situations or in writing. Ges i, gaethon ni etc. tends to be seen as less formal, and is used more commonly in spoken Welsh. (It is also much easier to remember, as it follows the forms for gwneud and mynd!) +Past Tense - Cael Cadarnhaol (Affirmative) Negyddol (Negative) Cwestiwn (Question) Ces/Ges i I had. Ches i ddim I didn't have.Ges i? Did I have? Cest/Gest ti You had. Chest ti ddim You didn't have.Gest ti? Did you have? Cafodd/Gaeth e/hi He/She had. Chafodd/Chaeth e/hi ddim He/She didn't have.Gafodd/Gaeth e/hi? Did he/she go?Cawson/Gaethon ni We had.Chawson/Chaethon ni ddim We didn't have.Gawson/Gaethon ni? Did we have?Cawsoch/Gaethoch chiYou had Chawsoch/Chaethoch chi ddimYou didn't have.Gawsoch/Gaethoch chi?Did you have?Cawson/Gaethon nhwThey had. Chawson/Chaethon nhw ddimThey didn't have.Gawson/Gaethon nhw?Did they have? Past tense responses are simple. Yn yr amser gorffennol, 'dyn ni'n ateb Do/Naddo bob tro. In the past tense, we answer Do/Naddo every time. A: Est ti i'r parc? B: Do. Es i i'r parc. A: Did you go to the park? B: I did (yes). I went to the park. A: Dalaist ti? B: Naddo. Thalais i ddim. A: Did you pay? B: I didn't (no). I didn't pay.