Relative a + Soft Mutation

Relative a: Y Dyn a Welais I

Level 4

To say "the man (that) I saw" or "the girl who came", put a after the noun and soften the verb. In speech the a usually disappears, but the soft mutation stays.

How It Works

The noun does the action (subject):

  • y ferch a ddaeth — the girl who came
  • y tîm a enillodd — the team that won

The action is done to the noun (object):

  • y dyn a welais i — the man (that) I saw
  • y car a brynodd hi — the car (that) she bought

Everyday speech drops a but keeps the mutation: y llyfr brynais i, y ffilm welon ni neithiwr, Dyna'r ferch enillodd y ras. The mutated verb tells you that a "who / which" clause has started.

With gwneud. The spoken past with wnes i + verb-noun works the same way: y dyn wnaeth fy helpu i (the man who helped me).

Other tenses. A also goes with short future forms: y bobl a ddaw yfory (the people who will come tomorrow). The verb bod has its own relative forms: sy for the present and oedd and fydd for the past and future.

Not subject or object? For "the house I live in" or "the man whose car...", use y + a preposition or possessive. For "who didn't", see na and nad.

Examples (5)

  1. Dyna'r dyn a welais i yn y siop.

    That's the man I saw in the shop.

  2. Hi ydy'r ferch a ddaeth gyntaf.

    She's the girl who came first.

  3. Mae'r llyfr brynais i ddoe yn wych.

    The book I bought yesterday is great.

    Everyday speech: a is dropped, but prynais still softens to brynais.

  4. Roedd y ffilm welon ni neithiwr yn ddiflas.

    The film we saw last night was boring.

  5. Pwy oedd y dyn wnaeth dy helpu di?

    Who was the man who helped you?

Common Mistakes

  • Not softening the verb after a.

    y llyfr a prynais i
    y llyfr a brynais i

    The relative a causes soft mutation, so prynais becomes brynais. Keep the mutation even when you drop a.

  • Using sy with a past verb.

    y dyn sy welodd y ffilm
    y dyn welodd y ffilm

    Sy is only the present of bod. With a past verb, use (a) + the soft-mutated verb.

How It Connects

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

Relative a + Soft MutationLevel 4Relative a: Y Dyn a Welais I

Learn This First

Relative a precedes a softened inflected verb, after relative sy.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

a