Oeddet ti? / Doeddwn i ddim

Past Questions and Negatives of Bod

Level 2

Drop the r for a question: Oedd hi'n braf? (Was it fine?). Put d in its place and add ddim for a negative: Doedd hi ddim yn braf (It wasn't fine).

How It Works

Questions

  • Oeddwn i? (O'n i?) Was I?
  • Oeddet ti? (South course: O't ti?) Were you?
  • Oedd e / o / hi? Was he / she / it?
  • Oedden ni? (South course: O'n ni?) Were we?
  • Oeddech chi? (South course: O'ch chi?) Were you?
  • Oedden nhw? (South course: O'n nhw?) Were they?

Answers repeat the verb in the answering person: Oeddet ti yno? Oeddwn. (Were you there? Yes, I was.) Oedd hi'n braf? Nac oedd. Both courses teach O'n / Nac o'n for I. The South course also teaches O't / Nac o't (you) and O'ch / Nac o'ch (you, chi), and the North course Oeddet / Nac oeddet and Oeddech / Nac oeddech. In everyday Northern speech you will also often hear oeddan ni or 'ddan ni for we were.

Negatives

  • Doeddwn i ddim (Do'n i ddim) I wasn't
  • Doeddet ti ddim (South course: Do't ti ddim)
  • Doedd e / o / hi ddim
  • Doedden ni ddim (South course: Do'n ni ddim)
  • Doeddech chi ddim (South course: Do'ch chi ddim)
  • Doedden nhw ddim (South course: Do'n nhw ddim)

There wasn't. Doedd dim bws (There was no bus), Doedd neb yno (Nobody was there); the North also says Doedd 'na ddim bws. The question is Oedd ...?: Oedd llawer o bobl yno? (Were there many people there?). See Oes and Does dim and There Is in Speech: Mae 'na.

A definite noun uses doedd ... ddim: Doedd y siop ddim ar agor (The shop wasn't open).

A phrase to learn: Do'n i ddim yn gwybod (I didn't know).

Examples (6)

  1. Oeddet ti yn y gwaith ddoe? Oeddwn.

    Were you at work yesterday? Yes, I was.

    The answer repeats the verb for I.

  2. Oedd hi'n braf yn Sbaen? Oedd, braf iawn!

    Was it fine in Spain? Yes, lovely!

  3. Do'n i ddim yn gwybod.

    I didn't know.

    Do'n i ddim is the everyday form of doeddwn i ddim.

  4. Doedd e ddim yn hapus.

    He wasn't happy.

    South: e. In the North: Doedd o ddim yn hapus.

  5. Doedd dim bws, felly cerddais i.

    There was no bus, so I walked.

    Doedd dim = there was no.

  6. O'ch chi'n byw yn Llundain? Nac o'n.

    Did you live in London? No, I didn't.

    South course forms. North course: Oeddech chi'n byw yn Llundain? Nac o'n.

Common Mistakes

  • Answering an imperfect question with do.

    Oeddet ti yno? Do.
    Oeddet ti yno? Oeddwn.

    Do and naddo answer the simple past. The imperfect repeats the verb: Oeddwn or Nac oeddwn.

  • Leaving out ddim.

    Doedd hi yn braf.
    Doedd hi ddim yn braf.

    Negatives of bod need ddim after the subject.

How It Connects

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

Oeddet ti? / Doeddwn i ddimLevel 2Past Questions and Negatives of Bod

Learn This First

Past questions and negatives apply present patterns to the imperfect.

Words in This Pattern

dimnacdo'ndo'dddo'tdo'chdim