mae 'na

There Is in Speech: Mae 'Na

Level 2

Mae 'na + noun = there is, there are. The noun softens: caffi → Mae 'na gaffi (There's a café).

How It Works

The pattern in different tenses

  • Mae 'na... There is, there are
  • Oes 'na...? Is there, are there?
  • Roedd 'na... There was, there were
  • Bydd 'na... There will be

Soft mutation. The noun straight after 'na takes soft mutation: caffi → gaffi, dyn → ddyn, parti → barti, llawer → lawer, rhywun → rywun.

Negatives. In the North you will hear Does 'na ddim llaeth (There's no milk) and Doedd 'na neb yno (There was nobody there). The same sentences without 'na are Does dim llaeth and Doedd neb yno. See Oes and Does dim.

North and South. The North adds 'na more often: Mae 'na ddigon yma. The South often says Mae digon 'ma (There's enough here). Both mean the same.

Only for something new. There is introduces something not yet known, so the noun has no y (the). For a known thing, just say where it is: Mae'r caffi yn y pentref (The café is in the village).

A different 'na. After y + noun, 'na means that: y dyn 'na (that man). See This and That in Speech.

Examples (6)

  1. Mae 'na gaffi yn y pentref.

    There's a café in the village.

    caffi → gaffi after 'na.

  2. Oes 'na rywun yma?

    Is there anyone here?

    rhywun → rywun after 'na.

  3. Roedd 'na ddyn wrth y drws.

    There was a man at the door.

  4. Bydd 'na barti nos Sadwrn.

    There'll be a party on Saturday night.

  5. Mae 'na lawer o bobl yn y dref heddiw.

    There are lots of people in town today.

    llawer → lawer after 'na.

  6. Does 'na ddim bara ar ôl.

    There's no bread left.

    North. Also everywhere: Does dim bara ar ôl.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'na with a definite noun.

    Mae 'na'r banc ar y chwith.
    Mae'r banc ar y chwith.

    There is introduces something new. For a known thing such as the bank, just say where it is: Mae'r banc... (The bank is...).

How It Connects

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

mae 'naLevel 2There Is in Speech: Mae 'Na

Learn This First

Mae 'na is existential mae with 'na and a soft-mutated noun.

Words in This Pattern

yna'na