Object Pronouns in Welsh

In Brief

In a common Welsh pattern, an object pronoun is placed before a verb-noun and repeated after it: fy ngweld i “see me,” dy weld di “see you,” and ei gweld hi “see her.” The first word has the same form as a possessive (“my,” “your,” “his/her”), it may mutate the verb-noun, and the final echo pronoun makes the person clear.

Overview

An object is the person or thing affected by an action: in “She sees him,” she performs the action and him is its object. English normally puts an object pronoun such as me, you, or them after the verb. Welsh often packages that same information around a verb-noun (berfenw), the basic verb form used after words such as yn, wedi, and gwneud.

The result initially looks like possession. For example, fy normally means “my,” but in Mae e'n fy ngweld i it marks me as the person being seen. The verb-noun gweld “see” undergoes nasal mutation and becomes ngweld, while i appears at the end as an echo. Learn the whole unit as fy ngweld i, not as three unrelated words.

This A2 topic builds directly on Welsh possession: the same possessive forms trigger the same mutations. The new step is to use them with an action rather than a possessed noun. The pattern occurs constantly with present forms of bod “be,” but it also fits into past, future, perfect, and non-finite constructions.

How It Works

The basic frame

With the common spoken present construction, the frame is:

subject + form of bod + yn + object form + mutated verb-noun + echo pronoun

In normal spelling, yn is often shortened to 'n after a vowel:

• Mae e 'n fy ngweld i. — He sees me.
• Dw i 'n dy garu di. — I love you.
• Maen nhw 'n ein helpu ni. — They help us.

The grammatical subject still comes first: e is the person who sees in the first sentence. The pair fy ... i identifies the person seen. Do not interpret this word for word as ordinary possession; it is a Welsh object construction.

The full set

English object	Form before the verb-noun	Mutation	Usual echo	Example unit
me	fy	nasal	i	fy ngweld i
you, one familiar person	dy	soft	di	dy weld di
him / a masculine “it”	ei	soft	e/fe	ei weld e
her / a feminine “it”	ei	aspirate	hi	ei gweld hi
us	ein	none	ni	ein gweld ni
you, plural or polite	eich	none	chi	eich gweld chi
them	eu	none	nhw	eu gweld nhw

The table distinguishes familiar singular dy ... di from plural or polite eich ... chi. This is a distinction English you does not show. The two third-person singular forms are both written ei, so mutation and the echo pronoun distinguish “him” from “her” when possible.

The echo for “me” is i in this construction, even though the independent pronoun is often fi elsewhere. For masculine “him,” e and fe are common spoken forms; o/fo also occur, especially in northern varieties. Start with the form used in your course or local variety and learn to recognise the others.

Mutation carries information

A mutation is a regular change to the first sound and spelling of a Welsh word. Here the object form controls the mutation:

• fy causes nasal mutation: gweld → fy ngweld i, caru → fy ngharu i.
• dy causes soft mutation: gweld → dy weld di, caru → dy garu di.
• masculine ei causes soft mutation: gweld → ei weld e, caru → ei garu fe.
• feminine ei causes aspirate mutation: caru → ei charu hi.
• ein, eich, eu do not mutate the verb-noun: ein gweld ni, eich caru chi, eu helpu nhw.

The most useful initial changes for this topic are:

Mutation	Common changes	Object forms that trigger it
nasal	c → ngh, p → mh, t → nh, g → ng, b → m, d → n	fy
soft	c → g, p → b, t → d, g → ∅, b → f, d → dd, m → f, ll → l, rh → r	dy, masculine ei
aspirate	c → ch, p → ph, t → th	feminine ei

The symbol ∅ means that initial g disappears: gweld → weld. Not every verb-noun visibly changes. For example, initial h in helpu stays the same in ei helpu fe and ei helpu hi. In such cases, the echo pronoun is especially valuable because ei alone does not reveal gender.

The pattern survives changes of tense and aspect

The object unit remains together while the surrounding verb frame changes:

Frame	Welsh	English
present with bod	Mae e'n fy ngweld i.	He sees me.
past ongoing/habitual	Roedd e'n fy ngweld i bob dydd.	He used to see me every day.
perfect with wedi	Mae e wedi fy ngweld i.	He has seen me.
past with gwneud	Wnaeth e fy ngweld i.	He saw me.
future with bod	Bydd e'n fy ngweld i yfory.	He will see me tomorrow.
after another verb-noun	Dw i eisiau dy weld di.	I want to see you.

Notice that yn belongs to the bod + yn frame. It does not appear after wedi or between a past form of gwneud and its following verb-noun. This is a matter of the larger verb construction, not a change to the object pronoun itself.

Direct and indirect meanings

This pattern most clearly marks a direct object: the person or thing directly seen, loved, invited, or helped. English can also place an indirect object after a verb, meaning a recipient, as in “She gave me the key.” Welsh often expresses that recipient with a preposition instead:

• Mae hi'n rhoi'r allwedd i mi. — She gives the key to me.
• Anfonodd e neges ata i. — He sent a message to me.

Follow the construction required by the Welsh verb. Do not automatically replace every English me or her with fy ... i or ei ... hi. In fy rhoi i, for example, “me” is the thing or person being put, not the recipient of something.

Examples in Context

Welsh	English	Note
Mae e'n fy ngweld i.	He sees me.	fy causes nasal mutation: gweld → ngweld.
Dw i'n dy garu di.	I love you.	Familiar singular dy ... di; caru → garu.
Mae hi'n ei helpu fe.	She is helping him.	Masculine ei ... fe; h shows no visible mutation.
Mae Siân yn ei charu hi.	Siân loves her.	Feminine ei causes caru → charu.
Wnaethon nhw ein gwahodd ni.	They invited us.	ein ... ni does not cause mutation.
Bydda i'n eich ffonio chi yfory.	I will phone you tomorrow.	eich ... chi can be plural or polite.
Mae'r athro'n eu deall nhw.	The teacher understands them.	eu ... nhw marks a plural object.
Doedd hi ddim yn fy nghofio i.	She did not remember me.	Negative past frame; cofio → nghofio.
Roeddwn i'n dy glywed di'n glir.	I could hear you clearly.	Soft mutation changes clywed to glywed.
Wyt ti wedi ei weld e o'r blaen?	Have you seen him before?	Perfect frame with wedi; masculine gweld → weld.
Mae hi wedi ei charu hi ers blynyddoedd.	She has loved her for years.	The aspirate mutation makes the feminine reference clear.
Dw i eisiau dy weld di ar ôl gwaith.	I want to see you after work.	The object unit follows eisiau.
Maen nhw'n ein disgwyl ni wrth y drws.	They are waiting for us by the door.	Welsh disgwyl takes this direct-object pattern.
Fydd y plant yn eu cofio nhw?	Will the children remember them?	Question in the future; the object unit is unchanged.

Common Mistakes

Putting only an English-style pronoun after the verb

• Avoid in the standard pattern: Mae e'n gweld i.
• Use: Mae e'n fy ngweld i.
• Why: The object is introduced before the verb-noun with fy, which also causes nasal mutation. The final i echoes it; it does not normally do all the work by itself in this pattern.

Forgetting the mutation

• Wrong: Mae e'n fy gweld i.
• Right: Mae e'n fy ngweld i.
• Why: fy triggers nasal mutation. Memorise fy ngweld i as one spoken chunk rather than trying to add the mutation after building the sentence.

Using one mutation for both “him” and “her”

• Wrong for “I love her”: Dw i'n ei garu hi.
• Right: Dw i'n ei charu hi.
• Why: Masculine ei causes soft mutation (caru → garu), while feminine ei causes aspirate mutation (caru → charu).

Mismatching the opening and echo forms

• Wrong: Dw i'n dy weld chi.
• Right, one familiar person: Dw i'n dy weld di.
• Right, plural or polite: Dw i'n eich gweld chi.
• Why: The two parts form a pair. English has only one word you, but Welsh keeps familiar singular and plural/polite address separate.

Adding yn to every tense

• Wrong: Wnaethon nhw yn ein gwahodd ni.
• Right: Wnaethon nhw ein gwahodd ni.
• Why: Yn is used in constructions such as maen nhw'n... and roedden nhw'n.... The auxiliary gwneud is followed directly by the verb-noun phrase.

Treating every English object as a direct object in Welsh

• Wrong for “She gives me the book”: Mae hi'n fy rhoi i'r llyfr.
• Right: Mae hi'n rhoi'r llyfr i mi.
• Why: Here “me” is the recipient, so Welsh uses i mi “to me.” Learn each Welsh verb together with any preposition it requires.

Usage Notes

The full pattern with an echo pronoun is particularly common and clear in speech: fy ngweld i, dy weld di, ei gweld hi. In more compact or formal writing, the final echo may be omitted when the meaning is already clear: Rwy'n ei gweld can mean “I see her.” For a learner, keeping the echo is a reliable way to remember the pair and avoid ambiguity.

Natural spoken Welsh varies by region and speaker. You may hear e or fe for masculine “him,” and northern speakers may use o or fo. Forms of bod also vary—Dw i, Rydw i, and other regional forms can surround the same object phrase. These differences do not alter the mutation rule.

Colloquial speech may also use independent pronouns after a verb-noun in places where careful written Welsh prefers the possessive pattern. Recognise the variation, but use the full pattern taught here when practising: it works across many settings and makes the mutation relationship explicit.

Pronouns can refer to things as well as people. Welsh nouns have grammatical gender, so a singular object may be resumed as masculine e/fe or feminine hi. For a plural object, use eu ... nhw. In real conversation, speakers may repeat the noun instead when its gender is uncertain or when clarity matters.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to master the following details at A2, but they explain forms you will meet later.

After a vowel, object forms are often contracted in polished writing and in fixed combinations. For example, i + ei commonly becomes i'w:

• Dw i'n mynd i'w weld e. — I am going to see him.
• Dw i'n mynd i'w gweld hi. — I am going to see her.

The spelling i'w is identical in both sentences; the mutation and echo show the intended gender. Likewise, eich can appear as 'ch after a vowel, as in Alla i'ch helpu chi? “Can I help you?” Learn the full forms first, then treat contractions as more fluent versions of the same system.

In literary or highly formal Welsh, you may encounter shorter dependent pronouns attached to finite verbs and forms without a spoken echo. Those systems are related historically but are not the best starting point for everyday conversation. Modern spoken courses generally give priority to the verb-noun construction described here.

Strong contrast is often carried by stressing the echo pronoun:

• Mae hi'n fy neall i. — She understands me (even if she does not understand someone else).
• Dw i'n siarad â hi, nid ag e. — I am speaking to her, not to him.

The second sentence also shows an important boundary: after a preposition such as â “with,” Welsh uses a prepositional form rather than the possessive-plus-verb-noun pattern. As your Welsh develops, learning conjugated prepositions such as i mi, ata i, arna i, and gyda fi will complete the wider object system.

Finally, tense and English translation do not line up mechanically. Mae e'n fy ngweld i can be translated as “He sees me” or, in the right situation, “He is seeing me.” The object grammar stays the same; context decides how the whole verb phrase is rendered in English.

Practice Tips

1. Drill one verb across all seven objects. Say fy ngweld i, dy weld di, ei weld e, ei gweld hi, ein gweld ni, eich gweld chi, eu gweld nhw. Then repeat with caru so that the masculine/feminine contrast becomes audible: ei garu e versus ei charu hi.
2. Mark three layers in real sentences. Underline the subject once, circle the object pair, and highlight the mutated verb-noun. In Mae hi'n fy nghofio i, this separates the doer hi from the object pair fy ... i.
3. Change the frame, not the object chunk. Transform Mae hi'n dy helpu di into Roedd hi'n dy helpu di, Bydd hi'n dy helpu di, Wnaeth hi dy helpu di, and Mae hi wedi dy helpu di.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Possession — introduces fy, dy, ei, ein, eich, and eu with their mutation patterns.