gorfod / roedd rhaid i

Having to in Other Tenses

Level 3

There are two ways to say "had to" or "will have to": use gorfod with any tense of bod, or change the tense of rhaid: Roedd rhaid i fi fynd (I had to go).

How It Works

Gorfod + bod in any tense. No mutation after gorfod.

  • Dw i'n gorfod gweithio — I have to work
  • Ro'n i'n gorfod aros — I had to wait
  • Bydda i'n gorfod mynd — I'll have to go

Rhaid in other tenses. Keep i + person + soft-mutated verb-noun, as in mae rhaid i:

  • past: Roedd rhaid i fi fynd — I had to go
  • future: Bydd rhaid i ni aros — we'll have to wait
  • conditional: Byddai rhaid i ti ofyn — you would have to ask

Questions and negatives with rhaid. Oedd rhaid iddo fe dalu? (Did he have to pay?) — Oedd / Nac oedd. Doedd dim rhaid i chi ddod (You didn't have to come). Fydd dim rhaid i ti (You won't have to). See oeddet ti and doeddwn i ddim.

In writing you will often see yn before rhaid: Roedd yn rhaid i mi fynd, Bydd yn rhaid i ni aros. Speech usually leaves it out.

For what you are supposed to do, see i fod i; for what you need to do, see mae angen.

Examples (6)

  1. Dw i'n gorfod gweithio heddiw.

    I have to work today.

    Gweithio does not change after gorfod.

  2. Ro'n i'n gorfod aros am awr.

    I had to wait for an hour.

    Past: ro'n i'n gorfod.

  3. Roedd rhaid i fi fynd adre.

    I had to go home.

    Mynd softens to fynd. North: i mi, adra.

  4. Bydd rhaid i ni aros.

    We'll have to wait.

    Future: bydd rhaid.

  5. Doedd dim rhaid i chi ddod.

    You didn't have to come.

    Doedd dim rhaid: didn't have to.

  6. Oedd rhaid iddo fe dalu?

    Did he have to pay?

    Talu softens to dalu. Answer Oedd or Nac oedd.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the soft mutation after the person.

    Roedd rhaid i fi mynd.
    Roedd rhaid i fi fynd.

    In the rhaid pattern the verb-noun after i + person softens: mynd → fynd.

  • Treating rhaid as a verb-noun.

    Dw i'n rhaid gadael.
    Mae rhaid i fi adael.

    Rhaid is not a verb-noun. Say (Mae) rhaid i fi adael, or use the verb-noun gorfod: Dw i'n gorfod gadael.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

gorfod / roedd rhaid iLevel 3Having to in Other Tenses

Learn This First

Having to in other tenses puts rhaid or gorfod into past and future bod.

Words in This Pattern

gorfodrhaid