cael + Possessive + Verb-Noun (Passive)

The Passive with Cael

Level 4

Welsh makes the passive with cael (to get). Cafodd y car ei ddwyn is literally "The car got its stealing": The car was stolen.

How It Works

The recipe: cael (any tense) + possessive + verb-noun.

  • Past: Cafodd y car ei ddwyn. — The car was stolen.
  • Present: Mae'r tŷ yn cael ei beintio. — The house is being painted.
  • Future: Bydd y canlyniadau'n cael eu cyhoeddi yfory. — The results will be announced tomorrow.
  • Perfect: Mae'r ffenestr wedi cael ei thorri. — The window has been broken.

Choosing the possessive. It matches the thing the action happens to, just as in Dw i'n ei weld e:

  • fy + nasal mutation: fy ngeni
  • dy + soft mutation: dy eni
  • ei for a masculine noun + soft mutation: Cafodd y drws ei beintio. See ei (his) + soft mutation.
  • ei for a feminine noun + aspirate mutation, and h before a vowel: ei thorri, ei hagor. See ei (her) + aspirate mutation.
  • ein, eich, eu: no consonant change; ein and eu also add h before a vowel (eu talu, eu hanafu), but eich does not (eich anafu).

People. Ces i fy ngeni yn Abertawe (I was born in Swansea) is this same pattern. See Ces i fy ngeni.

Who did it? Add gan, which causes soft mutation: Cafodd y ffenestr ei thorri gan bêl.

Spoken and formal forms. In speech the past of cael usually softens: Gafodd y car ei ddwyn, Ges i fy ngeni; the South also says Gaeth hi ei geni. Formal writing and the news often use the impersonal -wyd form instead: Torrwyd y ffenestr.

Examples (6)

  1. Cafodd y car ei ddwyn neithiwr.

    The car was stolen last night.

    Car is masculine, so ei softens dwyn to ddwyn.

  2. Mae'r tŷ yn cael ei beintio yr wythnos hon.

    The house is being painted this week.

  3. Cafodd y ffenestr ei thorri gan bêl.

    The window was broken by a ball.

    Ffenestr is feminine, so ei adds aspirate mutation: thorri.

  4. Ces i fy ngeni yng Nghaerdydd.

    I was born in Cardiff.

  5. Bydd y gwaith yn cael ei orffen yfory.

    The work will be finished tomorrow.

  6. Gafodd hi ei hethol yn gadeirydd?

    Was she elected chair?

    A spoken question: cafodd softens to gafodd, and ei (her) adds h before ethol.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the mutation that goes with a feminine noun.

    Cafodd y ffenestr ei torri.
    Cafodd y ffenestr ei thorri.

    Ffenestr is feminine, so ei here means "her/its" and adds aspirate mutation: t becomes th.

  • Using ei when the thing affected is plural.

    Cafodd y ceir ei dwyn.
    Cafodd y ceir eu dwyn.

    The possessive agrees with the thing affected. Ceir (cars) is plural, so use eu, which does not mutate dwyn.

How It Connects

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

cael + Possessive + Verb-Noun (Passive)Level 4The Passive with Cael

Learn This First

The cael passive generalises ces i fy ngeni with an agreeing possessive.

Words in This Pattern