No Word for A

Level 1

There is no Welsh word for a or an. Just use the noun on its own: afal means an apple.

How It Works

English puts a or an in front of a noun. Welsh leaves that space empty: afal = an apple, dyn = a man, cath = a cat.

A versus the. Welsh marks "the" with y, yr or 'r, and marks "a" with nothing:

  • Mae cath yn yr ardd. — There is a cat in the garden.
  • Mae'r gath yn yr ardd. — The cat is in the garden.

The first sentence uses mae to say that something exists; see There Is and There Are: Mae.

Saying what someone is. English says "She is a doctor". Welsh says Mae hi'n feddyg, with the linking word yn and no word for a. See Describing With Yn.

Un means one. Use un only when the number matters: un gath (one cat), un car (one car). A feminine noun softens after un; see dau and dwy + soft mutation.

Examples (6)

  1. Mae cath yn yr ardd.

    There's a cat in the garden.

    Cath on its own means a cat.

  2. Dw i eisiau brechdan.

    I want a sandwich.

    No word for a before brechdan.

  3. Mae fy mrawd i'n ffermwr.

    My brother is a farmer.

    Welsh uses yn here, with no word for a. Ff never mutates, so ffermwr stays the same.

  4. Dyma lyfr da.

    Here's a good book.

    Llyfr softens to lyfr after dyma.

  5. Mae siop yn y pentref.

    There's a shop in the village.

  6. Mae'r gath yn yr ardd.

    The cat is in the garden.

    Compare: with 'r the noun means "the cat".

Common Mistakes

  • Using un (one) to translate a or an.

    Mae un gath yn yr ardd.
    Mae cath yn yr ardd.

    Un gath is correct Welsh, but it means "one cat" and stresses the number. For a plain "There is a cat", use the noun on its own.

How It Connects

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No Word for ALevel 1

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