nes / tan

Until: Nes and Tan

Level 4

Nes and tan both mean "until". Use tan before a time or a noun (tan yfory), and nes i or tan i + a person + a verb-noun for an action (nes i ni ddod yn ôl).

How It Works

Tan + a time or noun

  • Arhoson ni tan hanner nos. — We stayed until midnight.
  • Mae'r siop ar agor tan naw. — The shop is open until nine.
  • Fydda i ddim yn ôl tan ddydd Llun. — I won't be back until Monday.
  • Tan toc! / Tan yfory! — See you soon! / See you tomorrow!

Nes i / tan i + subject + verb-noun

  • Arhosa nes i ni ddod yn ôl. — Wait until we come back.
  • Arhoson ni tan iddyn nhw gyrraedd. — We waited until they arrived.

Nes i is used everywhere; tan i is especially common in speech. See i + subject + verb-noun.

Nes + bod: Cerddon ni nes bod ein traed ni'n brifo. — We walked until our feet hurt.

Other meanings to know. Nes also means "nearer" (agos → nes) and appears in nes ymlaen (later on). Tan (until) has no circumflex; tân means fire — see the to bach.

North and South. I fi is Southern; the North says i mi: tan i mi ddod, nes i mi ddod yn ôl.

Examples (6)

  1. Arhosa nes i ni ddod yn ôl.

    Wait until we come back.

  2. Arhoson ni yn y parti tan hanner nos.

    We stayed at the party until midnight.

  3. Mae'r llyfrgell ar agor tan wyth heno.

    The library is open until eight tonight.

  4. Fydda i ddim yn ôl tan ddydd Llun.

    I won't be back until Monday.

  5. Cerddon ni nes bod ein traed ni'n brifo.

    We walked until our feet hurt.

  6. Tan toc!

    See you soon!

    Literally "until soon".

Common Mistakes

  • Following English word order for an action.

    Arhosa tan ni'n dod yn ôl.
    Arhosa nes i ni ddod yn ôl.

    For "until someone does something", use nes i or tan i + the person + a soft-mutated verb-noun.

  • Not softening the verb-noun.

    nes i ni dod yn ôl
    nes i ni ddod yn ôl

    The verb-noun after the subject takes soft mutation.

How It Connects

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

nes / tanLevel 4Until: Nes and Tan

Learn This First

Nes and tan take an i + subject clause or a bod clause.

Words in This Pattern

nestan