Direct Objects After Short Verbs

Level 2

After a short (inflected) verb + its subject, the direct object takes soft mutation: Prynais i gar (I bought a car), Gwelodd hi gath (She saw a cat).

How It Works

After short verb forms: soft mutation

  • Prynais i gar. I bought a car. (car)
  • Gwelodd hi gath. She saw a cat. (cath)
  • Ges i baned. I had a cuppa. (paned)
  • Hoffwn i goffi. I'd like a coffee. (coffi)
  • Ga i fara? May I have some bread? (bara)

After a verb-noun: no mutation

  • Dw i'n prynu car. I'm buying a car.
  • Dw i eisiau paned. I want a cuppa.
  • Wnes i brynu car. I bought a car. (the verb-noun prynu softens, but car doesn't)

It's about position. The word straight after the subject of a short verb softens. It works the same with a noun subject: Gwelodd y plant gi (The children saw a dog). The negative word ddim is itself the softened form of dim, sitting in that same spot: Welais i ddim.

What doesn't change. The article never mutates: Gwelais i'r ffilm. Words starting with a vowel or with letters soft mutation doesn't touch stay the same: Prynais i afal, Gwelais i ffilm.

Verb-nouns too. A verb-noun in the object spot softens in the same way: Hoffwn i fynd (I'd like to go), Ga i fynd? (May I go?). See I Would Like: Hoffwn i and May I? Ga i...?.

In speech you will sometimes hear the object left unchanged, but the softened form is the standard one and by far the most common.

Examples (6)

  1. Prynais i gar ail-law.

    I bought a second-hand car.

    car → gar after prynais i.

  2. Gwelodd hi gath yn yr ardd.

    She saw a cat in the garden.

    cath → gath.

  3. Ges i frechdan i ginio.

    I had a sandwich for lunch.

    brechdan → frechdan after ges i.

  4. Hoffwn i goffi, os gwelwch yn dda.

    I'd like a coffee, please.

    coffi → goffi after hoffwn i.

  5. Gwelodd y plant gi mawr.

    The children saw a big dog.

    The object softens after a noun subject too.

  6. Dw i'n prynu car.

    I'm buying a car.

    After the verb-noun prynu there is no mutation.

Common Mistakes

  • Softening an object after a verb-noun.

    Dw i'n prynu gar.
    Dw i'n prynu car.

    Only a short verb form softens the object. After a verb-noun such as prynu, the noun keeps its normal form.

How It Connects

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Direct Objects After Short VerbsLevel 2

Learn This First

The direct object of an inflected verb takes soft mutation.