o fy mlaen i: Compound Prepositions

In Front of Me: O Fy Mlaen I

Level 4

Many "prepositions" are really a small preposition + a noun: o flaen (in front of), ar ôl (after). With a pronoun, a possessive goes in the middle: o flaen y tŷ but o fy mlaen i — in front of me.

How It Works

Common compound prepositions (noun part in brackets)

  • o flaen — in front of (blaen)
  • ar ôl — after (ôl)
  • wrth ymyl — beside, next to (ymyl)
  • ar bwys — by, near, used in the South (pwys)
  • o gwmpas — around (cwmpas)
  • yn erbyn — against; yn lle — instead of; ar gyfer — for

With a pronoun the possessive goes before the noun part and brings its mutation:

  • o fy mlaen i (nasal: blaen → mlaen), o dy flaen di, o'i flaen e, o'i blaen hi, o'n blaen ni, o'ch blaen chi, o'u blaen nhw
  • ar fy ôl i, ar ei ôl e, ar ei hôl hi, ar ein hôl ni, ar eu hôl nhw (h before a vowel)
  • wrth fy ymyl i, wrth ei hymyl hi
  • o'i gwmpas e, o'i chwmpas hi, o'ch cwmpas chi
  • yn fy erbyn i, yn dy le di, ar dy gyfer di
  • South: ar ei phwys hi (by her), ar eich pwys chi (by you)

This is the same possessive + noun + echo pronoun pattern as fy nhŷ i, with short possessives after o and h before vowels. One-word prepositions such as ar, am and at use endings instead: see arna i, amdano fe.

Examples (6)

  1. Roedd hi'n eistedd o fy mlaen i yn y sinema.

    She was sitting in front of me in the cinema.

  2. Rhedodd y ci ar ein hôl ni.

    The dog ran after us.

  3. Dere i eistedd wrth fy ymyl i.

    Come and sit beside me.

    Dere is the Southern word for "come"; the North says Tyrd.

  4. Roedd y plant yn dawnsio o'i chwmpas hi.

    The children were dancing around her.

    O + ei (her) becomes o'i, and ei (her) adds aspirate mutation: cwmpas becomes chwmpas.

  5. Mae llawer o waith o'u blaen nhw.

    They have a lot of work ahead of them.

  6. Gwnes i'r gacen 'ma ar dy gyfer di.

    I made this cake for you.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the mutation after fy.

    o fy blaen i
    o fy mlaen i

    Fy causes nasal mutation, so blaen becomes mlaen.

  • Leaving out the h after ei (her).

    Rhedais i ar ei ôl hi.
    Rhedais i ar ei hôl hi.

    Ei meaning "her" adds h before a vowel: ar ei hôl hi. Ar ei ôl e means "after him".

How It Connects

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

o fy mlaen i: Compound PrepositionsLevel 4In Front of Me: O Fy Mlaen I

Learn This First

Compound prepositions take possessives for pronouns.

Words in This Pattern

o flaenar ôlar bwyswrth ymylblaen