The Welsh Language.

Past Tenses with BOD (to be)Verbs: Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense is used to describe an action that was taking place in the past e.g. it was raining yesterday. It implies a degree of continuity in the action, so it can be used to describe how things used to be or take place, or to describe something that was going on at the time in question. Past tenses on the other hand such as the perfect or preterite (past historic) emphasise the completeness of the action e.g. I have studied Welsh; I studied Welsh. Bod is used to form the imperfect of other verbs in the same way as it does for the Present i.e. it functions as an auxiliary or ‘helper’ verb linked to an infinitive by yn.

BOD - The Imperfect:

 

Literary

Modern

North/ South Wales

I was

yr oeddwn i

roeddwn i

rôn i

You were (informal)

yr oeddit ti

roeddet ti

rôt ti

He/it was

yr oedd ef

roedd e

roedd o/rodd e

She/it was

yr oedd hi

roedd hi

roedd hi/rodd hi

We were

yr oeddem ni

roedden ni

rôn ni

You were

yr oeddech chwi

roeddech chi

roch chi

They were

yr oeddent hwy

roedden nhw

rôn nhw

Negatives are formed by replacing the statement indicator r- with a d- and following the verb with ddim.

Examples:

I used to like coffee. Roeddwn i’n hoffi coffi.

I did not like coffee. Doeddwn i ddim yn hoffi coffi.

It was raining. Roedd hi’n glawio.

It was not raining. Doedd hi ddim yn glawio.

Negative replies:

To answer a question negatively, put nag before the appropriate affirmative form:

Did you like coffee? Roeddech chi’n hoffi coffi?

No, I didn’t. I liked tea. Nag oeddwn.Roeddwn i’n hoffi te.

Was it cold? Oedd hi’n oer?

No, it was freezing. Nag oedd. Roedd hi’n rhewi.

The Perfect Tense

The key to forming the perfect tense, i.e. to describe a completed act in the past, is to replace the link word yn with wedi.

Examples :

Where are you? Ble rwyt ti?

Where have you been? Ble rwyt ti wedi bod?

Note: After question words like ble (where) the verb does not drop the affirmative r.

The same construction is used with other infinitives to form the perfect:

I am booking a room. Dw i’n bwcio stafell.

I have booked a room. Dw i wedi bwcio stafell (Linguata. Somewhere to stay.1).

Have you visited my country? Ydych chi wedi ymweld â’m gwlad i? (ymweld â – to visit). Conversation. Small talk.1

In the negative this becomes:

I have not booked a room. Dydwy ddim wedi bwcio stafell.

References and Recommended Reading:

Wikipedia

Evans, H.M. et al. Y Geiriadur Mawr (Llandysul and Llandybie : J.D.Lewis & Sons, 1971)

Rhys Jones, T.J. Teach Yourself Welsh (Sevenoaks: Hodder and Stoughton Educational, 1992)

Smith, A.S.D. (Caradar) Welsh Made Easy (Wrexham: Hughes and Son, 1928)

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