Verbs With Fixed Prepositions

Level 3

Some Welsh verbs come with their own little word: aros am (wait for), edrych ar (look at), dweud wrth (tell).

How It Works

Common pairs.

  • with am: aros am (wait for), chwilio am (look for), meddwl am (think about), siarad am (talk about), gofalu am (look after), poeni am (worry about)
  • with ar: edrych ar (look at), gwrando ar (listen to), gweiddi ar (shout at)
  • with at: ysgrifennu at (write to), anfon at (send to), edrych ymlaen at (look forward to)
  • with wrth: dweud wrth (tell)
  • with i: gofyn i (ask someone), diolch i (thank)
  • with â: siarad â (talk to), cwrdd â (meet)

Mutations. Am, ar, at, wrth and i soften the next word: chwilio am waith (look for work), gwrando ar gerddoriaeth (listen to music). â causes aspirate mutation and becomes ag before a vowel: siarad â phlant, siarad ag Aled. See soft mutation after prepositions.

With pronouns, use the personal forms: Edrycha arna i!, Dwedodd hi wrtho fe (North: wrtho fo), Gofynnais i iddi hi. See prepositions with personal forms.

North and South. Siarad â is standard everywhere. In speech the South also says siarad gyda and the North siarad efo.

Two prepositions together. Gofyn takes i for the person and am for the thing: Gofynnodd Siân i'r gyrrwr am docyn (Siân asked the driver for a ticket).

Examples (6)

  1. Dw i'n aros am y bws.

    I'm waiting for the bus.

  2. Mae e'n chwilio am waith.

    He's looking for work.

    Gwaith softens to waith after am. South: e. In the North: Mae o'n chwilio am waith.

  3. Mae hi'n gwrando ar gerddoriaeth.

    She's listening to music.

    Cerddoriaeth softens to gerddoriaeth after ar.

  4. Edrycha ar hwn!

    Look at this!

  5. Siaradais i â'r rheolwr.

    I spoke to the manager.

  6. Gofynnodd Siân i'r gyrrwr am docyn.

    Siân asked the driver for a ticket.

    Gofyn i + the person, am + the thing you want. Tocyn softens to docyn after am.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the preposition after aros.

    Dw i'n aros y bws.
    Dw i'n aros am y bws.

    To wait for something, add am after aros.

  • Leaving out ar after edrych.

    Dw i'n edrych y teledu.
    Dw i'n edrych ar y teledu.

    Edrych needs ar before the thing you look at.

How It Connects

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

Verbs With Fixed PrepositionsLevel 3

Learn This First

Verbs take fixed softening prepositions and â.

Words in This Pattern

chwilioedrychgwrandodweudâ