"August"

Translation: mis Awst

[Bluthund]

So awst can be used without mis but other months can't? In another question, a) "mis ionawr, mis chwefror" and b) "ionawr, chwefror" were given as translations for "january, february", but only a) was accepted. Here, I was marked wrong for only selecting "mis awst" and it says "awst" is a valid translation, too. When do I have to use mis and when can I omit it?

[EllisVaughan]

1)All months can be used with or without "mis" before them.
2)Both should be accepted as translations.
3)Mis is entirely optional and can be omitted or kept in at any time.

[owenblacker]

I'm seeing Duolingo reject the forms without mis almost every time. I'm reporting them all, but they don't appear to be getting fixed.

[ibisc]

It is best to use mis all the time, really. People do drop it in conversation sometimes if the context is clear, but that is not the case with the isolated sentences that we have on Duo. Similarly with dydd in the names of days, unless there is also a bore/prynhawn.

On this course, we do not accept answers that drop the mis, or dydd unless there is also a bore/prynhawn.

[owenblacker]

On this course you do accept answers that drop the mis, just inconsistently. Lots of months do, but Awst isn't one of them.

[ibisc]

We do aim to be consistent, and in writing up the thousands of new sentences for v2 of the course over the summer we hope to have stuck with including mis except where the context is very clear. Bear in mind that this course is for beginners, so we try and keep things straightforward where we can.

As and when we have time, we will check over v1 sentences as well.

[owenblacker]

Surely it still makes sense to accept it without, even if it's not preferred by the course. Especially given other months already do accept mis as correctly being optional

[JoshMassey3]

In some situations the month can also be a season (e.g. Mis Hydref = October vs. Hydref = Autumn) which is why its best to always use Mis for clarity, but you can drop Mis for fluidity if you want.

[anonymous3422]

You are supposed to say "In March" as "Ym mis Mawrth". Is there not an 'ym' if you choose not to say 'mis'? Would you say "Yn Mawrth"?

[ibisc]

Firstly, it is usual to keep the word mis with the name of a month, as many 'month words' have other meanings when they are used on their own:

• Mawrth - Mars
• mis Mawrth, dydd Mawrth - March, Tuesday

Secondly, the preposition yn (in/at) causes a nasal mutation and also changes in front of certain letters to yng or ym, as explained in the course notes. In this case it changes to ym when followed by any word starting with m-:

• yn + mis Mawrth -> ym mis Mawrth - in March
• yn + Bangor -> ym Mangor - in Bangor
• yn + Pontypridd -> ym Mhontypridd - in Pontypridd

It is not a great problem if you forget to change the yn, as you will still be understood.