Over the years I’ve been teaching, I’ve lost count of the amount of learners who say they have problems knowing how to answer yes and no in Welsh. The reason for that is, there is no simple yes or no. We use different answers depending on the tense, person and question structure. Once you realise this you can learn the answers appropriate to the questions and hopefully not get in too much of a tizz.
If you are having a conversation or someone asks you a question and you just can’t remember what the correct form is to answer, don’t worry! Ie and Nage get you a long way as well as shaking your head or nodding! It’s also worth remembering that no one is going to get cross at you for giving the wrong answer. And it’s also worth remembering that as a conversation grows and changes, we shift the way we answer.
Consider the following:
Are you going to Spain next week?
Wyt ti’n mynd i Sbaen wythnos nesa?
Yes – Ydw
No – Nac ydw
But what about an answer like this?
Yes – Oeddwn
It means ‘I was’ and suggests that ‘I was going to go, but things have changed’
Wyt ti’n mynd i Sbaen wythnos nesa?
Oeddwn. Ond dw i ddim yn gallu mynd nawr. – Yes, I was. But I can’t go now.
By allowing for the fact that sometimes we might not always be given a ‘logical’ answer which connects with the verb asked in the original question, we can free ourselves a bit! Try to be creative in your conversations. See where your answers take you.
Want to practise your yes & no answers? You can try out the new quiz here and if you need some extra help, there’s a help sheet to download here Atebion Help Sheet - Saying Yes & No
Hwyl am y tro