Compound Prepositions in Welsh

Overview

Compound prepositions are two-word (or multi-word) expressions that function as a single preposition. They are extremely common in Welsh for describing spatial relationships and are essential at the A1 level for giving and understanding directions, describing locations, and talking about the position of objects.

While simple prepositions like "ar" (on) and "yn" (in) cover basic locations, compound prepositions give you the precision to say "next to," "in front of," "behind," and "around." These are the expressions that make your Welsh descriptions vivid and accurate.

How It Works

Common Compound Prepositions

Welsh	English	Example
wrth ymyl	next to	wrth ymyl y siop
o flaen	in front of	o flaen y tŷ
y tu ôl i	behind	y tu ôl i'r car
ar ben	on top of	ar ben y mynydd
o gwmpas	around	o gwmpas y dref
yn ymyl	near	yn ymyl yr ysgol
ar bwys	near, beside	ar bwys y parc
gyferbyn â	opposite	gyferbyn â'r siop
ar draws	across	ar draws y ffordd
y tu mewn i	inside	y tu mewn i'r tŷ
y tu allan i	outside	y tu allan i'r ysgol

Examples in Context

Welsh	English	Note
wrth ymyl y siop	next to the shop	Common location
o flaen y tŷ	in front of the house	Spatial
y tu ôl i'r car	behind the car	With article
o gwmpas y dref	around the town	Movement
ar ben y bwrdd	on top of the table	Position
gyferbyn â'r ysgol	opposite the school	Facing
ar draws y ffordd	across the road	Direction
y tu mewn i'r adeilad	inside the building	Enclosed
Mae'r banc wrth ymyl y swyddfa bost.	The bank is next to the post office.	Full sentence
Mae'r car y tu ôl i'r tŷ.	The car is behind the house.	Full sentence

Common Mistakes

Forgetting "i" at the end of compound prepositions

• Wrong: y tu ôl y car
• Right: y tu ôl i'r car
• Why: Many compound prepositions ending in "i" need it to connect to the following noun.

Using the wrong compound preposition

• Wrong: ar flaen (mixing "ar" and "o flaen")
• Right: o flaen (in front of) or ar ben (on top of)
• Why: Each compound preposition is a fixed expression. Learn them as units.

Forgetting the article

• Wrong: wrth ymyl siop
• Right: wrth ymyl y siop (when referring to a specific shop)
• Why: When referring to specific nouns, the article is needed after the compound preposition.

Practice Tips

1. Describe a room: Use compound prepositions to describe the spatial relationships between objects in a room.

2. Give directions: Practice giving directions to a friend: "Mae'r siop gyferbyn â'r banc. Mae'r ysgol y tu ôl i'r eglwys."

3. Learn in pairs: Pair opposite prepositions: "o flaen" (in front of) with "y tu ôl i" (behind), "y tu mewn i" (inside) with "y tu allan i" (outside).

Related Concepts

• Simple Prepositions