"Mae rhaid i chi beidio â nofio."

Translation: You must not swim.

[ibisc]

'You must refrain from...' is the literal translation, and it is correct, but it just sounds rather awkward or overly formal in modern British English.

[Anneke69]

Diolch yn fawr!

[MabonHuws]

As Ibisc pointed out, the phrase 'peidiwch a nofio' is used a lot more often than the formal version "Mae rhaid i chi beidio â nofio."

"Peidiwch" is the equivalent to ''don't".

[Anneke69]

Can it also be: You must refrain from swimming?

[DJvdZ]

I wondered whether "You have to refrain from swimming." is an correct translation of "Mae rhaid i chi beidio â nofio". Maybe it sounds awkward in English, and maybe the translation is a bit long, but is it [technically/grammatically] correct?

[ibisc]

Certainly. In English, I suppose 'you have to...' is used more in positive statements:

• You have to go now or you will miss the train = You must go now.....

• You have to work hard to learn a new language = You must work hard to....

[abbymist3031]

"You must not go swimming" is what I put.
<You used the wrong word.>
Correct solution: "You must stop swimming."
?

[ibisc]

'to go swimming' is usually mynd i nofio', so your answer would be rendered as:

• Rhaid i chi beidio â mynd i nofio

A usual translation of the Welsh would be:

• 'You must not swim',

or, if you are already swimming:

• 'You must stop swimming'

[abbymist3031]

Diolch. I appreciate the explanation.

[Squonkalini]

How would you say, "You don't have to swim if you don't want to?"

[ibisc]

• does dim rhaid i chi nofio os nad ydych chi'n moyn
• does dim rhaid i chi nofio os nad ydych chi eisiau

or, more informally:

• does dim rhaid i chi nofio os (dy)dych chi ddim yn moyn etc.

[SCorkill_7]

could you also say "you do not need to swim"? I've been confused by some inconsistencies in this lesson, so I don't know if this translation is valid because it isn't as strong as "you MUST NOT swim".

[ibisc]

you do not need to swim = there is no need for you to swim - does dim rhaid i chi nofio

you must not swim - (mae) rhaid i chi beidio â nofio

don't swim! - peidiwch â nofio!

[CivisRomanus]

May I ask whether the preposition â  carries a circumflex accent merely for the purpose of distinguishing it from the conjunction a ('and')?
Usually the accent lengthens the vowel's sound, but the sampled voice seems to pronounce â  as short as a.
Thanks in advance.

[CliveBradl2]

 is usually 'with'.
Ymweld â = visit with.
Siarad â = talk with.
It is also used s the 2nd 'as' in comparatives.
Mor ddu â hanner nos.
Cyn ddrwg â'u gilyd.
Mor gelwyddog â Boris.
Mor cynddeiriog ag Undebwr ... etc.

With peidio it seems to function as 'from' ... 'from doing/being with'.

[CroesoJohn]

Could this also be Mae'n I chi beidio. Going back to my school days I seem to remember Mae'n rhaid i fi fynd was the sentence not Mae rhaid I fi fynd. Perhaps both are correct?

[Norma494284]

would someone kindly point me in the direction of the notes explaining the use of mae/mae'n versus yw/ydy, and the occasions when none of these is necessary - I'm getting to the stage when rote-copying is not sufficient.

[ibisc]

To see how to find the course notes generally, go to https://forum.duolingo.com/topic/924/hot and read the discussion 'Course tips and notes'. The 'duome' link there is useful for browsing all the notes in one place. We recommend reading the notes for each new section as you start it.