Literary Negation ni / nid
Literary Negation: Ni and Nid (Recognition)
Ni welais neb means I saw nobody; speech says Welais i neb. Literary Welsh puts ni in front of the verb instead of ddim after it.
How It Works
Recognition, with some everyday traces. These forms appear in the Bible, older literature, formal writing and notices.
Ni + mixed mutation.
- c, p, t → ch, ph, th: clywodd → ni chlywodd (he didn't hear), talodd → ni thalodd (he didn't pay)
- b, d, g, ll, m, rh → soft mutation: gwelais → ni welais, daeth → ni ddaeth, bu → ni fu, llwyddodd → ni lwyddodd
- other sounds stay: ni wn (I don't know)
See Mixed Mutation.
Nid before a vowel. nid oes (there is not), nid yw (he or she is not), nid oedd (was not), nid af (I will not go). A verb that has lost its g by mutation still takes ni: ni ellir (one cannot), not nid ellir.
No ddim. Ni alone makes the verb negative. Words like neb (nobody) can follow: Ni welais neb, Ni ddaeth neb.
Where speech came from. Spoken negatives grew out of these forms: nid oes → does, nid yw → dyw, and nid wn i ddim → dwn i ddim (I don't know). The mixed mutation in careful speech, as in Chlywais i ddim, is a trace of the lost ni. See Questions and Negatives of Short Verbs.
Nid before other words denies a word put first for emphasis: Nid ... ond.
Examples (6)
- Ni welais neb.
I saw nobody.
Spoken: Welais i neb.
- Ni chlywodd y gloch.
He didn't hear the bell.
Spoken: Chlywodd e (o in the North) mo'r gloch.
- Nid oes amser.
There is no time.
Spoken: Does dim amser.
- Ni wn beth i'w wneud.
I don't know what to do.
Spoken: Wn i ddim beth i'w wneud.
- Ni ddaeth neb i'r cyfarfod.
Nobody came to the meeting.
Spoken: Ddaeth neb i'r cyfarfod.
- Nid yw'r siop ar agor heddiw.
The shop is not open today.
Spoken: Dydy'r siop ddim ar agor heddiw.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Literary ni and nid negate verbs with mixed mutation.
Related Patterns
- Mixed Mutation
Ni causes mixed mutation.
Level 3 - Present Negatives With ddim
Spoken negatives such as dyw and does grew out of nid yw and nid oes.
Level 1 - mo / ddim oNot Any of: Mo and Ddim O
Speech uses mo before a definite object: Chlywodd e mo'r gloch.
Level 4 - nid ... ondNot ... but: Nid and Ond
Nid also denies a word put first for emphasis.
Level 5 - Literary bod: yr wyf, y maeLiterary Forms of Bod (Recognition)
The positive literary forms of bod.
Level 6
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Literary Negation ni / nid in Bubblegum
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