There are two types
of if in Welsh - the sort where something is likely
to happen and the sort where its not.
open
The first type of if is an open condition,
and its pretty simple: If it rains, I have my umbrella.
If the cat throws up once more, shes going to the vet.
If the car breaks down, well have to walk. This kind
of if is translated as os for a positive,
and os na or os nad for a negative
(if
not
).
Os bydd y bws yn
hwyr, bydd rhaid inni cerdded.
Os na fydd na ddigon o arian da ti, bydda in
talu.
closed/hypothetical
The second type of if is the sort where whatever
it is isnt very likely to occur. If I win the lottery,
Ill go on holiday. If the sky falls on my head, Ill
get a headache. If only he hadnt sold me into slavery.
In this case, pe
is used along with the conditional
of bod, (to be), and that comes
in two main flavours:
pe
baswn i |
pe
byddwn i |
if i were |
pe
baset ti |
pe
byddet ti |
if
you were |
pe
basai fe |
pe
byddai fe |
if
he was |
pe
basai hi |
pe byddai hi |
if
she was |
pe
basen ni |
pe
bydden ni |
if we were |
pe
basech chi |
pe byddech chi |
if you were |
pe
basen nhw |
pe
bydden nhw |
if
they were |
You also have these
regional variations to deal with, some of which drop the pe
and all of which have the unreality endings (see
also dylwn, gallwn,
hoffwn and leiciwn).
pe
bawn i |
pe
tawn i |
tawn
i |
pe
taswn i |
taswn
i |
pe
baet ti |
pe
taet ti |
taet
ti |
pe
taset ti |
taset
ti |
pe
bai fe |
pe
tai fe |
tai
fe |
pe
tasai fe |
tasai
fe |
pe
bai hi |
pe
tai hi |
tai
hi |
pe
tasai hi |
tasai
hi |
pe
baen ni |
pe
taen ni |
taen
ni |
pe
tasen ni |
tasen
ni |
pe
baech chi |
pe
taech chi |
taech
chi |
pe
tasech chi |
tasech
chi |
pe
baen nhw |
pe
taen nhw |
taen
nhw |
pe
tasen nhw |
tasen
nhw |
Of these, the last
column is very common:
Taswn in
gyfoethog, byddwn in mynd i Awstralia.
Bydden nhwn dod pe byddai rhaid iddyn nhw.
You can also use
pe with other unreality verbs, such as gallwn,
e.g. Byddwn in helpu pe gallwn i.
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the text document
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