Nouns After Numbers Stay Singular
After a number, use the singular noun: tri llyfr = three books (literally "three book").
How It Works
Number + singular noun: tri llyfr (three books), pum car (five cars), deg munud (ten minutes), saith diwrnod (seven days), wyth awr (eight hours), pedwar plentyn (four children; plentyn is the singular of plant).
Think "three book". English adds -s after a number; Welsh does not. Tri llyfr, never tri llyfrau.
Mutations still apply. Dau and dwy soften the noun: dau gi, dwy gath; see dau and dwy + soft mutation. Tri and chwe can cause aspirate mutation in careful Welsh; see tri tair pedwar pedair. Pump and chwech shorten to pum and chwe; see Numbers One to Ten.
The verb stays mae: Mae tri llyfr ar y bwrdd (There are three books on the table). See Mae With Any Noun Subject.
Other ways to count. Any number can also take o + a soft-mutated plural: dau o blant (two children), saith o lyfrau (seven books). Up to ten the singular is more usual; with larger numbers o + a plural is very common: dau ddeg o bobl (twenty people); see decimal numbers + o + plural. Words like llawer (a lot) also take o: llawer o blant, llawer o fwyd; see llawer o + soft mutation.
Examples (6)
- Mae tri llyfr ar y bwrdd.
There are three books on the table.
Word by Word: Is three book on the table.
Llyfr stays singular after tri.
- Mae pedwar plentyn gyda nhw.
They have four children.
South. Plentyn (child) stays singular after pedwar.
- Mae'r ffilm yn dechrau mewn deg munud.
The film starts in ten minutes.
- Mae pum car tu allan.
There are five cars outside.
Pum before a noun, and car stays singular.
- Dw i yma am saith diwrnod.
I'm here for seven days.
- Dw i'n gweithio wyth awr y dydd.
I work eight hours a day.
Common Mistakes
Using a plural noun after a number.
Mae tri llyfrau ar y bwrdd.Mae tri llyfr ar y bwrdd.The number already shows there is more than one, so the noun stays singular.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Nouns after numbers stay singular.
Related Patterns
- dau / dwy + Soft MutationTwo: Dau and Dwy
Two softens the noun after it.
Level 2 - tri / tair, pedwar / pedairFeminine Three and Four
Three and four have feminine forms.
Level 2 - Number + o + PluralLarger Numbers + O + Plural
With bigger numbers, use o + a plural.
Level 3 - Plurals Formed With Endings
Learn the plural forms you do not need here.
Level 2 - llawer o + Soft MutationQuantity Words + O + Soft Mutation
Llawer o takes a plural or an amount noun.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Nouns After Numbers Stay Singular in Bubblegum
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