Bod Imperfect Tense in Welsh

In Brief

Use the imperfect of bod (“to be”) for a state, situation, or action that was ongoing or repeated in the past. Its basic pattern is roedd + subject + yn + description or verb-noun: Roedd hi'n hapus means “She was happy,” while Roedd hi'n gweithio can mean “She was working” or “She used to work.”

Overview

The Welsh verb bod means “to be.” Its imperfect tense presents something as the background to a past situation: how someone was feeling, where something was, what was happening, or what regularly used to happen. The imperfect is a past tense that views a situation as ongoing, habitual, or not presented as a single completed event.

This is an important A2 pattern because Welsh uses a form of bod plus a verb-noun (the basic dictionary form used after particles such as yn) for many meanings that English expresses with an ordinary verb. Thus Roedden ni'n byw yng Nghaerdydd can mean “We lived in Cardiff” or “We used to live in Cardiff,” depending on context. The Welsh form itself does not force just one English translation.

If you already know present forms such as dw i, mae hi, and maen nhw, the structure will feel familiar. The main change is the form of bod: Dw i'n gweithio (“I am working/I work”) becomes Roeddwn i'n gweithio (“I was working/I used to work”).

How It Works

The affirmative forms

The subject is the person or thing that the sentence is about. In these common spoken and neutral written forms, the subject pronoun normally follows the verb.

Person	Welsh	Main English equivalents
first-person singular	roeddwn i	I was
second-person singular	roeddet ti	you were (singular, familiar)
third-person singular	roedd e / roedd o	he was
third-person singular	roedd hi	she was; it was
first-person plural	roedden ni	we were
second-person plural or polite	roeddech chi	you were
third-person plural	roedden nhw	they were

Both e and o mean “he.” E is especially associated with southern usage and o with northern usage, though real speakers and learning materials vary.

Do not translate the separate pieces word for word. Learn each form together with its pronoun: roeddwn i, roeddet ti, and so on. This makes the similar-looking endings easier to recall.

Describing a past state

For an adjective or a noun description, the usual beginner pattern is:

imperfect form of bod + subject + yn + description

• Roeddwn i'n hapus. — I was happy.
• Roedd y plant yn flinedig. — The children were tired.
• Roedd e'n feddyg. — He was a doctor.

Before a vowel, yn contracts after a pronoun in writing: i + yn becomes i'n, hi + yn becomes hi'n, and so on. The apostrophe does not mark a missing subject; it marks the shortened yn.

The linking particle yn can cause soft mutation (a regular change to the first consonant of the following word) with a noun or adjective. For example, meddyg becomes feddyg in Roedd e'n feddyg. Not every initial letter changes, so hapus remains hapus. At A2, it is most useful to learn common descriptions as complete phrases rather than trying to predict every mutation immediately.

Talking about an action in progress or a habit

For an action, place the verb-noun after yn:

imperfect form of bod + subject + yn + verb-noun

• Roedd hi'n darllen. — She was reading.
• Roedden nhw'n chwarae bob dydd. — They used to play every day.
• Roeddwn i'n aros am y bws pan welais i Siân. — I was waiting for the bus when I saw Siân.

This one Welsh structure covers two common English patterns:

1. was/were doing for an action in progress: Roedd e'n coginio — “He was cooking.”
2. used to do or habitual would do for a repeated past action: Roedd e'n coginio bob nos — “He used to cook every night.”

Time expressions and the wider context usually tell you which meaning is intended. Phrases such as ar y pryd (“at the time”) favor an ongoing reading; bob dydd (“every day”) and fel arfer (“usually”) favor a habitual reading.

Location and existence

A location normally uses the relevant preposition or place expression rather than the linking yn used before an adjective:

• Roeddwn i gartref. — I was at home.
• Roedd y llyfr ar y bwrdd. — The book was on the table.
• Roedden ni yn yr ysgol. — We were in the school.

Welsh also uses roedd for “there was” or “there were”:

• Roedd problem gyda'r car. — There was a problem with the car.
• Roedd llawer o bobl yn y cyfarfod. — There were many people at the meeting.

English number agreement does not give you a separate Welsh “were” form in this existential pattern; the construction starts with roedd.

Questions

In a direct question, affirmative roedd- changes to oedd-. There is no equivalent of English “did.”

Person	Question form	Example
I	Oeddwn i…?	Oeddwn i'n rhy hwyr? — Was I too late?
you (singular)	Oeddet ti…?	Oeddet ti'n gweithio? — Were you working?
he/she	Oedd e/o…? Oedd hi…?	Oedd hi'n oer? — Was she cold?
we	Oedden ni…?	Oedden ni gartref? — Were we at home?
you (plural/polite)	Oeddech chi…?	Oeddech chi'n aros? — Were you waiting?
they	Oedden nhw…?	Oedden nhw'n barod? — Were they ready?

Question words come before the question form: Ble oeddech chi'n byw? means “Where did you live?” or “Where were you living?”

Negative sentences

For a negative statement, use doedd- + subject + ddim. Ddim supplies the negative meaning.

Person	Negative form
I	doeddwn i ddim
you (singular)	doeddet ti ddim
he/she	doedd e/o ddim; doedd hi ddim
we	doedden ni ddim
you (plural/polite)	doeddech chi ddim
they	doedden nhw ddim

The rest of the sentence follows ddim: Doeddwn i ddim yn flinedig (“I wasn't tired”), Doedden nhw ddim yn gweithio (“They weren't working/They didn't use to work”), and Doedd hi ddim gartref (“She wasn't at home”). In careful beginner writing, keep both parts of the negative pattern: doedd- and ddim.

Examples in Context

Welsh	English	Note
Roeddwn i'n hapus.	I was happy.	A past state
Roedd hi'n bwrw glaw ddoe.	It was raining yesterday.	Weather as an ongoing background
Roedden ni'n byw yng Nghaerdydd.	We used to live in Cardiff.	A continuing past situation
Roedd y plant yn dawel.	The children were quiet.	A description
Roedd e'n athro bryd hynny.	He was a teacher then.	A noun description
Roeddwn i gartref drwy'r bore.	I was at home all morning.	Location; no linking yn before gartref
Roedd y coffi ar y bwrdd.	The coffee was on the table.	Location with ar
Roedd hi'n darllen pan ffoniodd Dafydd.	She was reading when Dafydd called.	Background action interrupted by an event
Roedden nhw'n mynd am dro bob nos.	They used to go for a walk every evening.	Repeated habit
Oeddet ti'n aros amdana i?	Were you waiting for me?	Direct question
Ble oeddech chi'n gweithio?	Where did you use to work?	Question word + oeddech chi
Doeddwn i ddim yn gwybod yr ateb.	I didn't know the answer.	Negative past state
Doedd hi ddim gartref neithiwr.	She wasn't at home last night.	Negative location
Roedd llawer o bobl yn y siop.	There were many people in the shop.	Existential roedd

Common Mistakes

Using roedd for every completed past event

• Wrong for a single completed trip: Roeddwn i'n mynd i'r siop ddoe. — if you mean simply “I went to the shop yesterday.”
• Right: Es i i'r siop ddoe. — I went to the shop yesterday.
• Why: Roeddwn i'n mynd presents the going as in progress or habitual: “I was going” or “I used to go.” A single completed event normally needs a completed past construction. The imperfect is correct if you add suitable context, as in Roeddwn i'n mynd i'r siop pan ddechreuodd hi fwrw glaw (“I was going to the shop when it started to rain”).

Keeping roedd- in a direct question

• Wrong: Roeddet ti'n flinedig?
• Right: Oeddet ti'n flinedig?
• Why: Neutral direct questions use oedd-, not affirmative roedd-.

Negating with ddim alone

• Wrong: Roeddwn i ddim yn barod.
• Right: Doeddwn i ddim yn barod.
• Why: The standard negative pattern changes roedd- to doedd- and also includes ddim.

Omitting yn before a description or action

• Wrong: Roedd hi gweithio.
• Right: Roedd hi'n gweithio.
• Why: A verb-noun normally needs the particle yn after this form of bod. The same basic linking pattern appears in descriptions such as Roedd hi'n brysur (“She was busy”).

Adding the linking yn before every location

• Wrong: Roedd y bag yn ar y gadair.
• Right: Roedd y bag ar y gadair.
• Why: Ar already introduces the location. Do not insert the linking yn before another preposition. Compare Roedd y bag yn y car (“The bag was in the car”), where yn itself is the preposition “in.”

Copying English “used to” word for word

• Wrong approach: searching for a separate Welsh word corresponding to English used.
• Right: Roeddwn i'n nofio bob wythnos. — I used to swim every week.
• Why: Welsh expresses the old habit through the imperfect construction plus context. The frequency phrase bob wythnos makes the habitual meaning clear.

Usage Notes

English often distinguishes “was doing,” “used to do,” and a simple past form. Welsh can use roedd + yn + verb-noun across that territory when the action is backgrounded, continuing, or habitual. Translate the meaning of the whole sentence, not each Welsh word separately. For example, the natural English version of Roeddwn i'n gwybod is usually “I knew,” not “I was knowing.”

Ti is singular and familiar. Chi is plural, and it is also used as a respectful or polite singular “you.” Therefore roeddech chi may mean “you were” to one person or to several people; the social situation supplies the distinction.

You will hear shortened forms in conversation, especially forms such as ro'n i for roeddwn i. Contractions and exact pronunciation vary by region and speaker. Learn to recognize them, but use the full forms in the main table as a reliable basis for writing and formal study.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following patterns at A2, but they explain forms that appear frequently in stories and more complex sentences.

Oedd inside a larger sentence

The oedd- stem is not limited to direct questions. It also appears in relative and embedded clauses (clauses placed inside a larger sentence):

• y dyn oedd yn byw drws nesaf — the man who lived next door
• Gofynnodd hi a oeddwn i'n dod. — She asked whether I was coming.
• Doeddwn i ddim yn gwybod ble roedd e'n byw. — I didn't know where he lived.

The choice between oedd and roedd here belongs to Welsh clause structure, so do not apply the beginner shortcut “oedd always means a question” outside a simple direct sentence.

Contrasting background and completed events

Narratives commonly combine the imperfect with a completed past tense. The imperfect sets the scene; the completed form moves the sequence of events forward:

Roedd hi'n darllen pan agorodd y drws. — “She was reading when the door opened.”

Here roedd hi'n darllen is the ongoing background, while agorodd presents the opening as an event. This contrast becomes increasingly important when you learn more Welsh past-tense patterns.

Building compound tenses

The same imperfect forms later combine with wedi (“after,” used in perfect constructions): Roedd e wedi mynd means “He had gone.” They can also combine with expressions such as dal i: Roedd hi'n dal i weithio means “She was still working.” These are extensions of the core bod pattern rather than new sets of person endings.

In more formal Welsh, you may also meet fuller forms beginning with yr oedd, particularly in statements and relative clauses. They belong to a more literary register; the forms taught above are the practical starting point for everyday Welsh.

Practice Tips

1. Learn three-way sets. Say one affirmative, one question, and one negative for each person: Roeddet ti… / Oeddet ti…? / Doeddet ti ddim…. This highlights the crucial initial change.
2. Sort past sentences by meaning. For each English sentence, ask whether it describes a state, an action in progress, a repeated habit, or one completed event. Use the imperfect for the first three, not automatically for the fourth.
3. Build personal memory prompts. Complete frames such as Pan o'n i'n blentyn, roeddwn i'n… (“When I was a child, I used to…”) with true details. Frequency phrases such as bob dydd, bob haf, and fel arfer make the habitual meaning easy to hear.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Bod — Present Tense — introduces the present forms of bod and the same yn + description/verb-noun structure.
• Next step: Compound Tenses — uses forms of bod with wedi and other particles to express meanings such as “had done.”