- Forum >
- Topic: Welsh >
- "Cei"
29 Comments
Sorry the best I can do is give you a link because there is a lot to explain for a duolingo comment. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/learnwelsh/pdf/welshgrammar_ff_replies.pdf
I'm really confused, 'can I' is 'ga i' but the reply for yes is "cei"? How many variations in this manner is there in Welsh? Is 'will i' another question that will have a yes/no answer that doesn't sound like it? What about 'have i' and 'must i'? Do we need to learn an individual way to answer 'yes' or 'no' to them all?
Because the answer to "may I?" is "you may" -- "you" and "I" will cause the verb to have a different ending.
Also, ga is mutated from ca(f), which is a bit more similar to cei already (it has the same initial letter at least).
If the question had been the other way around -- "May you?" "Yes (I may)" -- then it would be Gei di? - Ca.
Perhaps you also remember the forms for bod: Wyt ti ...? - Ydw. There, too, the verb forms are different since the question uses the "you" form but the "yes" answer uses the "I" form.
So yes, in general, the answer will sound different if "you" and "I/we" is involved, since you have to switch pronouns. Having the answer be the same as the question would be like answering "Are you Tom Jones?" with "Yes, you are." -- no, you have to say, "Yes, I AM", turning the "are you" into "I am".
On the other hand, if you ask about the third person, where no switch is involved, the answers will be more similar to the questions. "May Sophie ...? - Yes (she may)".
Oh I see, so "ga" and "cei" are related, now I know that it makes a lot more sense, they are both just variations of the same root word but with changes because of their position and meaning. In my mind they seemed like two totally different and unrelated words besides the fact that one was an answer for the other. Thank you friend.