Impersonal Past -wyd

Impersonal Past: -wyd

Level 5

News reports, plaques and history books often use -wyd to say what was done without saying who did it: Agorwyd yr ysgol yn 1950 — The school was opened in 1950.

How It Works

Making the form: stem + -wyd (see Finding the Verb Stem)

  • adeiladu → adeiladwyd (was built)
  • agor → agorwyd (was opened)
  • arestio → arestiwyd (was arrested)
  • cyhoeddi → cyhoeddwyd (was published, was announced)
  • Irregular: geni → ganwyd or ganed (was born), gwneud → gwnaed (was made), cael → cafwyd (was had, was found)

No mutation after it. Compare Cyfansoddodd y cerddor gân (The musician composed a song: cân softens after an ordinary verb) with Cyfansoddwyd cân gan y cerddor (A song was composed by the musician: no mutation).

Who did it? Add gan: Agorwyd y bont gan y Brenin. — The bridge was opened by the King.

Where you'll see it

  • News: Arestiwyd dyn yn Abertawe neithiwr.
  • History and plaques: Adeiladwyd y castell yn y drydedd ganrif ar ddeg.
  • Official writing: Cyhoeddwyd y canlyniadau heddiw.

In speech the same ideas usually sound like Cafodd y castell ei adeiladu ... or Gafodd dyn ei arestio .... With a pronoun, formal Welsh attaches it to fe: Fe'i ganwyd yn 1950 (He or she was born in 1950) — see Infixed Object Pronouns. For the present and habitual forms such as siaredir, see -ir and -id.

Examples (6)

  1. Adeiladwyd y castell yn y drydedd ganrif ar ddeg.

    The castle was built in the thirteenth century.

  2. Agorwyd yr ysgol yn 1950.

    The school was opened in 1950.

  3. Ganwyd hi yng Nghaerdydd.

    She was born in Cardiff.

  4. Arestiwyd dyn yn Abertawe neithiwr.

    A man was arrested in Swansea last night.

    No mutation after the impersonal form: dyn stays dyn.

  5. Ysgrifennwyd Traed mewn Cyffion gan Kate Roberts.

    Traed mewn Cyffion was written by Kate Roberts.

  6. Cyhoeddwyd y canlyniadau heddiw.

    The results were announced today.

Common Mistakes

  • Softening the noun after -wyd.

    Arestiwyd ddyn neithiwr.
    Arestiwyd dyn neithiwr.

    A noun that follows an impersonal form such as arestiwyd keeps its first letter: dyn stays dyn.

  • Using the ordinary past ending for "was done".

    Adeiladodd y castell yn 1283.
    Adeiladwyd y castell yn 1283.

    Adeiladodd y castell would mean "the castle built (something)". For "was built", use -wyd or the cael passive.

How It Connects

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

Impersonal Past -wydLevel 5Impersonal Past: -wyd

Learn This First

The impersonal past is a formal alternative to the cael passive, built on the stem.

Words in This Pattern

-wyd