Verb-Nouns in Welsh

In Brief

A Welsh verb-noun (berfenw) is the basic dictionary form of a verb, such as darllen “to read,” bwyta “to eat,” or mynd “to go.” In the most useful beginner pattern, a form of bod “to be” is followed by yn and a verb-noun: Dw i'n darllen can mean “I am reading” or “I read.” The verb-noun stays the same; the form of bod shows who is acting and helps locate the action in time.

Overview

A verb-noun is the form under which most Welsh verbs are listed in a dictionary. The term may sound technical, but the basic idea is simple: it is a form that can name an action and can also be used where English often uses an infinitive (the “to read” form) or an -ing form. Thus darllen may correspond to “to read,” “reading,” or the main action in a sentence, depending on its surroundings.

Verb-nouns matter immediately because everyday Welsh commonly builds verb phrases with bod “to be” plus yn and a verb-noun. English distinguishes “I read” from “I am reading” by changing the verb phrase. Welsh can use Dw i'n darllen for both, relying on context or time expressions such as bob dydd “every day” and nawr “now.” This difference is one of the main adjustments for an English-speaking learner.

At A1, the essential rule is: choose the right present form of bod, add yn (usually written 'n after a vowel), and then use the unchanged verb-noun. This lets you talk about many actions before learning inflected verbs—forms with endings that mark person or tense. Later, the same verb-nouns appear after words such as wedi “after/having,” i “to,” and am “about to/intending to,” and they can even behave like nouns.

How It Works

The core pattern: bod + yn + verb-noun

The normal affirmative pattern is:

subject form of bod + yn/'n + verb-noun + the rest of the sentence

Person	Pattern with darllen	Meaning
I	Dw i'n darllen.	I read / I am reading.
you (singular, familiar)	Wyt ti'n darllen.	You read / You are reading.
he / she	Mae e/o'n darllen. / Mae hi'n darllen.	He/She reads / is reading.
we	Dyn ni'n darllen.	We read / We are reading.
you (plural or polite)	Dych chi'n darllen.	You read / You are reading.
they	Maen nhw'n darllen.	They read / They are reading.

These are common spoken forms. You will also see fuller forms such as rydw i, rwyt ti, rydyn ni, and rydych chi, especially in more formal language. The verb-noun darllen does not change from one row to another.

Yn contracts to 'n after a preceding vowel: i + yn → i'n, ti + yn → ti'n, hi + yn → hi'n. The apostrophe is not optional decoration; it shows that letters have been omitted. After a noun phrase, yn is normally written in full because there is no preceding pronoun to contract with it:

• Mae Megan yn gweithio. — Megan is working.
• Mae'r plant yn chwarae. — The children are playing.

In this verbal pattern, yn is a grammatical particle—a short linking word—not the preposition yn meaning “in.” It does not normally cause a mutation (a change to the first consonant) in the following verb-noun: yn mynd, yn gweithio, yn darllen, not yn fynd, yn weithio, or yn ddarllen.

One Welsh form, two common English readings

The sentence itself does not always distinguish an ongoing action from a habit:

Welsh	Natural English interpretation	What supplies the meaning?
Dw i'n darllen nawr.	I am reading now.	nawr points to the present moment.
Dw i'n darllen bob nos.	I read every night.	bob nos makes it a routine.
Mae hi'n gweithio heddiw.	She is working today.	A limited current period.
Mae hi'n gweithio mewn banc.	She works in a bank.	A general situation.

Do not translate word by word as though every bod + yn + verb-noun phrase had to be an English progressive. With state verbs, ordinary English usually needs a simple form: Dw i'n gwybod means “I know,” not “I am knowing,” and Mae e'n hoffi coffi means “He likes coffee.”

Statements, questions, and negatives

In a yes/no question, the form of bod comes first. The verb-noun still stays unchanged:

• Wyt ti'n coginio? — Are you cooking? / Do you cook?
• Ydy hi'n gweithio heddiw? — Is she working today?
• Ydyn nhw'n byw yma? — Do they live here?

Question words can come before the verb phrase:

• Beth wyt ti'n ddarllen? — What are you reading?
• Ble mae hi'n gweithio? — Where does she work?
• Pryd dych chi'n gadael? — When are you leaving?

The mutation in Beth wyt ti'n ddarllen? is connected with the missing object after “what,” not with the verbal yn itself. In careful Welsh, you may also encounter Beth wyt ti'n ei ddarllen?, literally using a linking object word before “read.” Object patterns are discussed further below.

In common negative present sentences, ddim comes before a full yn:

• Dw i ddim yn deall. — I do not understand.
• Dydy hi ddim yn gweithio heddiw. — She is not working today.
• Dyn ni ddim yn mynd. — We are not going.

A frequent beginner error is to keep the affirmative contraction after ddim. Say ddim yn mynd, not ddim 'n mynd.

Objects and other complements

A verb-noun can be followed directly by its object—the person or thing affected by the action:

• darllen llyfr — to read a book
• bwyta brecwast — to eat breakfast
• gwneud cacen — to make a cake
• dysgu Cymraeg — to learn Welsh

The whole phrase fits after yn: Mae hi'n darllen llyfr “She is reading a book.” Prepositional phrases and adverbs normally follow in the same way: Dyn ni'n mynd i'r dref yfory “We are going to town tomorrow.”

Learning verb-nouns as vocabulary

There is no single ending shared by every Welsh verb-noun. Some common endings recur, but many high-frequency forms are irregular or cannot be predicted safely.

Shape	Examples	Meaning
-u	dysgu, prynu, canu	to learn, to buy, to sing
-io	gweithio, cofio, ffonio	to work, to remember, to phone
-i / -o	codi, nofio	to rise/get up, to swim
other forms	darllen, siarad, gweld	to read, to speak, to see
very common irregular-looking forms	mynd, dod, gwneud, cael, rhoi	to go, to come, to do/make, to get, to give

Treat the entire verb-noun as one vocabulary item. Do not remove an apparent ending and assume that what remains is a usable present-tense stem; later inflected forms are not always predictable that way.

Examples in Context

Welsh	English	Note
Dw i'n darllen llyfr.	I am reading a book.	A current action; darllen is unchanged.
Mae hi'n bwyta brecwast am saith.	She eats breakfast at seven.	A routine indicated by the time.
Dyn ni'n mynd i'r dref.	We are going to town.	mynd follows yn without mutation.
Beth wyt ti'n wneud?	What are you doing?	Common spoken wording; careful Welsh also uses Beth wyt ti'n ei wneud?
Mae Rhys yn gweithio gartref heddiw.	Rhys is working at home today.	A noun subject is followed by full yn.
Maen nhw'n chwarae pêl-droed bob dydd Sadwrn.	They play football every Saturday.	The same pattern expresses a habit.
Dw i ddim yn deall y cwestiwn.	I don't understand the question.	Negative ddim yn.
Wyt ti'n siarad Cymraeg?	Do you speak Welsh?	A yes/no question.
Ble mae hi'n byw?	Where does she live?	A question word before mae.
Mae o'n aros am y bws.	He is waiting for the bus.	o is common for “he” in northern Welsh.
Dych chi'n gweithio yfory?	Are you working tomorrow?	chi can be plural or polite singular.
Dw i'n gwybod yr ateb.	I know the answer.	English does not normally use “am knowing.”
Mae hi'n hoffi coffi.	She likes coffee.	A state or preference, not necessarily an action in progress.
Mae'r babi yn cysgu nawr.	The baby is sleeping now.	Full yn follows the noun phrase.
Dw i'n gallu nofio.	I can swim.	gallu is after yn; nofio follows gallu directly.

Common Mistakes

Changing the verb-noun for each person

• Wrong: Dw i'n darllen, ond mae hi'n darllena.
• Right: Dw i'n darllen, ond mae hi'n darllen.
• Why: In this construction, bod marks the person. The verb-noun remains darllen for both “I” and “she.”

Leaving out yn

• Wrong: Dw i darllen llyfr.
• Right: Dw i'n darllen llyfr.
• Why: An ordinary affirmative present verb phrase needs the link yn/'n between the present form of bod and the verb-noun.

Mutating automatically after verbal yn

• Wrong: Dw i'n fynd adre.
• Right: Dw i'n mynd adre.
• Why: The verbal particle yn does not normally trigger soft mutation. Other nearby words or object constructions can cause mutation, but yn itself is not the reason.

Translating every sentence as “be + -ing”

• Misleading: Dw i'n hoffi'r gân → “I am liking the song.”
• Natural: Dw i'n hoffi'r gân. → “I like the song.”
• Why: Welsh uses the same construction for ongoing actions, habits, and many states. Choose the English tense that fits the meaning.

Using 'n after ddim

• Wrong: Dw i ddim 'n gweithio heddiw.
• Right: Dw i ddim yn gweithio heddiw.
• Why: In this negative pattern, write the full particle yn after ddim.

Assuming the dictionary form always starts the same way in every pattern

• Wrong assumption: Because the dictionary gives gwneud, the only possible surface form is always gwneud.
• Right: Learn gwneud as the verb-noun, but expect forms such as wneud or ei wneud where another grammatical rule causes mutation.
• Why: The verb-noun itself is the vocabulary form, while Welsh mutation can alter its first consonant in particular environments.

Usage Notes

Spoken Welsh varies by region and level of formality. You may hear dw i, dyn ni, dych chi alongside rydw i, rydyn ni, rydych chi, and regional colloquial forms such as dan ni or dach chi. Both mae e and mae o mean “he is”; e is associated especially with the south and o with the north. These differences do not change the role of the following verb-noun.

Welsh often leaves the habitual-versus-current distinction to context. If it matters, add a clear time expression: ar hyn o bryd “at the moment,” nawr “now,” fel arfer “usually,” bob bore “every morning,” or weithiau “sometimes.” This is usually more natural than trying to force a one-to-one match with English tense labels.

The apostrophe spelling is worth practising from the beginning. Write Dw i'n, Wyt ti'n, and Mae hi'n, with no space between the pronoun and 'n. After a full noun subject, write Mae Siân yn, not Mae Siân'n.

Beyond the Basics: Other Jobs of the Verb-Noun

You do not need to master all of these patterns at A1, but they explain why the form is called a verb-noun and why it remains central at every level.

After other particles and verbs

A verb-noun is not limited to yn. It also appears in several common constructions:

Pattern	Example	Meaning
wedi + verb-noun	Dw i wedi bwyta.	I have eaten.
am + verb-noun	Dw i am fynd.	I intend to go / I am going to go.
i + verb-noun	Dyn ni'n mynd i weld Ceri.	We are going to see Ceri.
verb-noun + verb-noun	Dw i'n gallu nofio.	I can swim.
preposition + verb-noun	ar ôl gorffen	after finishing

Notice that yn does not remain before every verb-noun. Each construction has its own linking pattern: wedi bwyta, not wedi yn bwyta; i weld, not i yn gweld. Some of these environments also trigger mutation, as mynd becoming fynd after am and gweld becoming weld after i illustrate.

A verb-noun used more like a noun

Because it names an activity, a verb-noun can fill a noun-like role in a sentence:

• Mae nofio'n dda i ti. — Swimming is good for you.
• Dw i'n hoffi darllen. — I like reading.
• Ar ôl bwyta, aethon ni am dro. — After eating, we went for a walk.

In Mae nofio'n dda, nofio is the subject: “swimming.” The 'n before da belongs to the pattern that links bod to a description; it is not introducing another action.

Pronoun objects and mutation

English can put an object pronoun directly after a verb: “see him.” Welsh commonly uses a possessive-looking linking word before the verb-noun and may repeat the pronoun afterward:

• Dw i'n ei weld e. — I see him.
• Dw i'n ei gweld hi. — I see her.

The two written forms ei look alike but cause different mutations: masculine ei causes soft mutation (gweld → weld), while feminine ei causes aspirate mutation where possible and leaves gweld unchanged here. Spoken Welsh often shortens or reshapes these patterns, which helps explain everyday forms such as Beth wyt ti'n wneud? beside the more explicit Beth wyt ti'n ei wneud? This is a later object-pronoun topic; at beginner level, the important point is not to blame such changes on yn.

Inflected verbs do not replace verb-nouns

Welsh also has inflected, or “short,” verb forms in which an ending or special form carries tense and person: Es i “I went,” Gwelodd hi “She saw.” These become important later and are more frequent in some tenses and registers than others. They do not make verb-nouns obsolete: even advanced Welsh constantly uses verb-nouns in compound tenses, modal expressions, and noun-like uses.

Practice Tips

1. Build sentences in two slots. Choose a subject form—dw i, wyt ti, mae hi, dyn ni, dych chi, maen nhw—then add 'n + verb-noun. Cycle one verb such as gweithio through all six subjects without changing it.
2. Add a time clue. Pair each verb with nawr, bob dydd, heddiw, or weithiau, then give the natural English translation. This trains you to read Dw i'n... as either a simple or progressive present according to context.
3. Record the whole dictionary item. Keep vocabulary cards as mynd — to go, gwneud — to do/make, and darllen — to read, then add one complete phrase such as Dw i'n mynd adre. Learning an ending rule alone will not cover the common irregular-looking forms.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Bod — Present Tense — supplies the person forms used before yn + verb-noun.
• Next step: Habitual Present with Bod — develops the routine and frequency reading of the same construction.
• Next step: Commands and Imperatives — contrasts dictionary verb-nouns with forms used to give commands.
• Later development: Inflected Verb Forms — introduces verbs that mark tense and person without bod + yn.
• Later development: Compound Verb-Nouns — expands the vocabulary and structure of more complex verb-nouns.