This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(August 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Thesyntax of the Welsh language has much in common with the syntax of otherInsular Celtic languages. It is, for example, heavilyright-branching (including averb–subject–object word order), and the verb forbe (in Welsh,bod) is crucial to constructing many different types ofclauses. Any verb may be inflected for three tenses (preterite,future, and unreality), and a range of additional tenses are constructed withauxiliary verbs and particles. Welsh lacks truesubordinating conjunctions, and instead relies on special verb forms and preverbal particles to create subordinate clauses.

There are at least four registers or varieties of Welsh that the termModern Welsh is used to describe. There isBiblical Welsh, which is archaic and not part of colloquial usage, although some educated Welsh speakers are familiar with it. Two more registers areLiterary Welsh andColloquial Welsh; this article primarily describes Colloquial Welsh, except where noted. Finally, there are also a number of other dialects which diverge from these three varieties of Welsh. These various dialects are understudied, with the exception of some research byAwbery (1990).

Welsh is a language withverb-initial word order, the usual word order beingverb–subject–object (VSO).

In addition to averb and asubject, which are obligatory in a canonical clause, Welsh typically organizes additional information as follows:

Preverbalparticle — Verb — Subject —Direct object —Indirect object —Adverbials (prepositional phrase,adverb, etc.)

Preverbal particle	Verb	Subject	Negator	Direct object		Adverbial (prepositional phrase)			Adverbial (adverb)
Mi	roddais	i		lyfr	da	i	dad	Eleri	ddoe.
AFFIRMATIVE	give.1SG.PST	PRONOUN.1SG		MUT-book	good	to-PREP	MUT-father	Eleri	yesterday
'I gave Eleri's father a good book yesterday.'
Ni	roddais	i	ddim	llyfr	da	i	dad	Eleri	ddoe.
NEGATIVE	give.1SG.PST	PRONOUN.1SG	NEGATIVE	book	good	to-PREP	MUT-father	Eleri	yesterday
'I did not give Eleri's father a good book yesterday.'
A	roddais	i		lyfr	da	i	dad	Eleri	ddoe?
INTERROGATIVE	give.1SG.PST	PRONOUN.1SG		MUT-book	good	to-PREP	MUT-father	Eleri	yesterday
'Did I give Eleri's father a good book yesterday?'

The syntactic analysis of the VSO word order of Welsh is currently under debate. Richard Sproat and Ian Roberts have argued for an underlyingsubject-verb-object (SVO) word order with the surface VSO word order derived bysyntactic movement of the verb to a higher position in the clause.^[1][2] On the other hand, Robert Borsley has argued against an underlying SVO analysis.^[3]

The arguments that Roberts makes about Welsh syntax are largely based on data from the Literary Welsh dialect.^[4]

The first step in the argument that Roberts makes for an underlying SVO analysis of Welsh word order is to argue that the subject moves out of the verb phrase to a position higher in the clause. This argument is made on the basis of data from passives, unaccusatives, and raising predicates in Welsh. The derived subjects in all three of these constructions behave like subjects of other predicates in Welsh in that they cannot be separated from the verb. That is, the subject must immediately follow the verb, as can be seen in (1)—(3).

(1) Welsh passive

(2) Welshunaccusative

(3) Welsh raising predicate

This suggests that the subjects in these three constructions are true subjects. On the assumption that all subjects in the language occupy the same position in the clause, this entails that the subject in Welsh must raise to a higher position in the clause than where it was base generated.^[11]

Another argument for movement of the subject in Welsh comes from reconstruction effects. Andrew Barss noticed that there is an interpretive difference between (4a) and (4b).^[12]

(4)	a.		[Which pictures of himselfi/j] does Johni think that Billj would likee
	b.		[Criticize himself*i/j], Johni thinks Billj never woulde

In (4a),himself can be interpreted as either coreferential withJohn orBill. However, in (4b), it can only be interpreted as coreferential withBill.

Cheng-Teh Huang analyzes these English facts by adopting the VP-Internal Subject Hypothesis and assuming that the subject raises from the verb phrase to a position higher in the clause. That is to say, the structure of (4b) is what is given in (5).^[13]

(5)

[ti criticize himselfi], John thinks Billi never woulde

The closest c-commanding element that binds the reflexive pronoun,himself, is the trace ofBill (see Principle/Condition A of thebinding (linguistics) theory).

The facts in Welsh parallel the facts in English. Specifically, the reflexive in (6a) can be interpreted as coreferential with eitherJohn orBill, whereas the reflexive in (6b) can only be interpreted as coreferential withBill.

The most straightforward analysis of these facts is to adopt the same analysis that Huang gives for English. That is to say, if one adopts theVP-internal subject hypothesis and assumes that the subject raises to a higher position in the clause, then an account of these facts is straightforward.^[13] Moreover, this suggests that the underlying word order is indeed SVO.^[16]

The second step in the argument that Roberts gives to motivate an analysis of Welsh word order in which the underlying structure of the clause is SVO and the verb has moved to a higher position in the clause is to observe that the verb appears in a higher position than the subject. If the subject has raised from a VP-internal position, then it follows that the verb must have also raised in order to be in a higher clausal position and to show up to the immediate left of the subject.^[17]

On the other hand, Borsley has argued against an underlying SVO analysis with the surface word order derived by verb movement. One of the arguments that he gives against such an analysis is based on negation. In Welsh, the negative adverbddim cannot be immediately followed by an object noun phrase, as the following examples show.

Borsley claims that this means the Welsh grammar must have a constraint againstddim appearing next to an object noun phrase. He further argues that it would not be possible to state such a constraint sinceddim is not underlyingly next to the object noun phrase if one adopts an underlyingly SVO analysis of Welsh.^[21]

Note that Borsley takes theddim of a sentence likeWelson ni ddim ci "We didn't see a dog" not to be this negative adverb, but a homophonous negative quantifier.^[22]

Welsh has a highly developed system of fronting constituents in focus in which parts of a sentence can be moved to the front for emphasis, rather than stressing them phonetically as English does. Most elements of a sentence can be moved to sentence-initial position.

Yng Nghaerdydd mae hi'n byw (mae hi'n byw yng Nghaerdydd) - 'She livesin Cardiff'

Ioan mae hi'n ei garu (mae hi'n caru Ioan) - 'She lovesIoan'

The subject of a verb causes a soft mutation.

Fi roddodd lyfr da i dad Eleri (rhoddais i lyfr da i dad Eleri) - 'I gave a good book to Eleri's father'

Sentence elements followingyn, such asverbnouns, lose theyn when moved initially:

Bwyta sglodion oeddwn i (roeddwn i'n bwyta sglodion) - 'I waseating chips'

This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(August 2008)

Determiners precede the noun they modify, whileadjectives generally follow it. A modifier that precedes its head noun often causes amutation, and adjectives following afeminine noun arelenited. Thus:

• dogfen 'a document'
• y ddogfen 'the document' (dogfen is lenited because it is feminine)
• hen ddogfen 'an old document' (dogfen is lenited becausehen 'old' precedes it)
• dogfen fer 'a short document' (ber (feminine form ofbyr) is lenited because it follows a feminine noun)

Genitive relationships are expressed byapposition. The genitive in Welsh is formed by putting twonoun phrases next to each other, the possessor coming second. So EnglishThe cat's mother, ormother of the cat, corresponds to Welshmam y gath – literally, 'mother the cat'; 'the project manager's phone number' isrhif ffôn rheolwr y prosiect – literally, 'number phone manager the project'. Only the last noun in a genitive sequence can take thedefinite article.

Bod "be" is used for a number of constructions, including equating twonoun phrases, using adjectivespredicatively, and forming a wide range ofgrammatical tenses.

One way to equate noun phrases is to use what Gareth King calls "identification" forms ofbod, with the word order NP₁ –bod – NP₂.^[23]

Diffoddwr tânydy Gwyn.

'Gwynis a fireman.'

Alternatively, a verb-initial word order may be used, with the "affirmative forms" ofbod and a particleyn which triggers the soft mutation:bod – NP₁ –yn+SM – NP₂. This construction has both interrogative and negative variations which utilize different verb-forms and require, in the case of the negative, the addition ofddim "not".

Mae Gwyn yn ddiffoddwr tân.

'Gwynis a fireman.'

Ydy Gwyn yn ddiffoddwr tân?

'Is Gwyn a fireman?'

Dydy Gwynddim yn ddiffoddwr tân.

'Gwynisn't a fireman.'

The predicative adjective construction uses this same verb-initial construction:bod – NP –yn+SM – adjective.

Mae Gwyn yn ddiflas.

'Gwyn is miserable.'

Ydy Gwyn yn ddiflas?

'Is Gwyn miserable?'

Dydy Gwyn ddim yn ddiflas.

'Gwyn isn't miserable.'

In addition to the inflected preterite, future, and conditional tense forms,Bod - subject -yn -verbnoun (with no mutation) is used to express a range of other times:

• Present:

Mae bws yn dod.

'A bus is coming.'

• Imperfect:

Roedd bws yn dod.

'A bus was coming.'

• Future:

Bydd bws yn dod.

'A bus will be coming.'

• Conditional:

Byddai bws yn dod.

'A bus would be coming.'

• Subjunctive:

Pe bai bws yn dod.

'If a bus were coming.'

While the present and imperfect have special interrogative and negative forms, the future and conditional forms:

• form questions by leniting the verb, and
• form negative statements by addingddim after the subject, and optionally leniting the verb.

All of thesebod constructions may be given perfect meaning by replacingyn withwedi (lit. "after"), while substitutingnewydd (lit. "newly") forwedi (together with lenition of theverbnoun) expresses what may be termed the immediate perfect ("has just", etc.). Thus:

• Mae Siân yn mynd – 'Siân is going'
• Mae Siân wedi mynd – 'Siân has gone'
• Mae Siân newydd fynd – 'Siân has just gone'

Welsh has inflected preterite, future, and conditional tenses. These do not take any particle such asyn, but instead soft mutation occurs after the subject:Welson ni gi? 'We saw a dog' (wheregi is the lenited form ofci 'dog'). In negative sentences the soft mutation is instead placed ondim "not":Welson ni ddim ci 'We didn't see a dog'.

Questions are formed the same way as with the future and conditionalbod forms above, as are negative statementsexcept when there is aspecific noun phrase functioning as the direct object. A specific noun phrase is a pronoun (fi,nhw, etc.), adefinite noun (yr ardal,y ffilm, etc.), or a noun preceded by a definite adjective (fy nhad,ei chalon hi, etc.). In these cases,ddim is replaced bymo (a contraction ofddim o). Thus:

• Ffeindies i ddim poteli 'I didn't find any bottles', butFfeindies i mo'r poteli 'I didn't find the bottles'
• Welodd hi mo Siôn 'She didn't see Siôn', butWelodd hi mohono fo 'She didn't see him' (mo, likeo, must inflect for pronominal objects)

The preterite, future, and conditional can also be formed with the appropriate inflected tense ofgwneud 'to do' with a verbal noun (again with soft mutation after the subject). The preterite may also be formed withddaru (which is the third person singular preterite ofdarfod 'to happen'), which does not alter its form.

For affirmative statements with inflected verbs, it is particularly common to attachmi orfe, preverbal particles which trigger the soft mutation:

Mi brynes i gar newydd.

'I bought a new car.'

Thepassive voice can be expressed with the verbcael 'get' followed by the verb noun modified by a possessive adjective. For example:

Cafodd Susie ei gweld.

'Susie was seen'. (lit. 'Susie got her seeing', cf. EnglishSusie got seen).

The agent is introduced with the prepositiongan 'with, by'.^[24] A "static passive", expressing the result of an action, can be expressed with the verbbod 'to be' followed by the prepositionwedi 'after' and, again, the verbal noun modified by possessive adjective. For example:

Mae'r ddinas wedi'i dinistrio.

'The city is destroyed'. (lit. 'The city is after its destroying')

The prepositional phrase can also be used attributively:

llythyr wedi'i agor

'an opened letter' (lit. 'a letter after its opening')

The construction can be negated by replacingwedi withheb 'without'.^[25]

There are tworelative pronouns in Welsh,a andy.A (which causessoft mutation) is used in "direct" relative clauses, i.e. those where the relativised element is the subject of its clause or the direct object of an inflected verb (rather than a periphrastic construction withbod):

y dyn a welais i - 'the man that I saw'

y dyn a welodd fi - 'the man that saw me'

A cannot coexist withmae. Instead, a special form,sydd orsy, is used:

y dyn sy'n hapus - 'the man who's happy'

In all other cases, known as "indirect" relative clauses - those where the relativised element is genitival or the object of a preposition - ,y, thecomplementizer, is used.

y dyn y gwrandawais i arno fo - 'the man that I listened to'

y dyn y cafodd ei fam ei charcharu - 'the man whose mother was imprisoned'

Note that because the object of a verbal noun is genitival, all periphrastic constructions takey.

y dyn y mae hi'n ei adnabod - 'the man she knows'

In the colloquial language, botha andy are typically omitted, and soft mutation occurs in both types of relative clause:^[26]

y fenyw werthodd Ieuan y ceffyl iddi - 'the woman that Ieuan sold the horse to'

which in more formal Welsh would be

y wraig y gwerthodd Ieuan y ceffyl iddi - 'the woman that Ieuan sold the horse to'

Welsh has a number ofcomplementizers used under different circumstances.Y is used in non-focused affirmative clauses other than the present periphrastic withbod:

Mae hi'n gwybod y bydd hi'n dod. - 'She knows she's coming.'

Ydy o'n meddwl yr elai hi i Gaerdydd? - 'Does he think she would go to Cardiff?'

Affirmative clauses with the main verb in the preterite are an exception. The construction withy is ungrammatical in many spoken dialects (as well as in the literary language),^[26] and a construction based on the prepositioni and the verbnoun is used instead:^[27][28]

Ydy o'n meddwl iddi hi fynd i Gaerdydd? - 'Does he think she went to Cardiff?'

The present periphrastic withbod tends to use a construction with theverbnounbod in a genitival construction with the subject of the subordinate clause:

Rwy'n teimlo eich bod chi'n anhapus. – 'I feel that you are unhappy.' (lit. 'I am feeling your being unhappy')

Negative clauses can be made negative normally or by replacingy withna:

Mi welith hi [fy] mod i ddim yn anhapus. =Mi welith hi na dydw i ddim yn anhapus. - 'She will see that I'm not unhappy.'

Gwn i yr eith hi ddim. =Gwn i nad eith hi. - 'I know she won't go.'

Focused clauses are complementized withmai (in the North) ortaw (in the South):

Gwyddost ti mai fi ydy'r gorau. - 'You know that it's me who's the best.'

Focused clauses can be made negative withnad, or made negative normally (withmai nid ormai dim):

Gwyddost ti nad fi ydy'r gorau. =Gwyddost ti mai nid fi ydy'r gorau. =Gwyddost ti mai dim fi ydy'r gorau. - 'You know that it's not me who's the best.'

• Awbery, Gwenllian (1990), "Dialect Syntax: A Neglected Resource for Welsh", in Hendrick, Randall (ed.),Syntax and Semantics XXIII: The Syntax of the Modern Celtic Languages, San Diego: Academic Press, pp. 1–25,ISBN 0126061041
• Barss, Andrew (1986).Chains and Anaphoric Dependence: On Reconstruction and Its Implications (Ph.D.). Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Borsley, Robert D.; Jones, Bob Morris (2000). "The syntax of Welsh negation".Transactions of the Philological Society.98 (1):15–47.doi:10.1111/1467-968X.00057.
• Borsley, Robert D. (2006). "On the nature of Welsh VSO clauses".Lingua.116 (4):462–490.doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2005.02.004.ISSN 0024-3841.
• Borsley, Robert D.;Tallerman, Maggie;Willis, David (2007).The Syntax of Welsh. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-1139467513.
• King, Gareth (1996).Intermediate Welsh: A Grammar and Workbook. London: Routledge.ISBN 0203431227.
• King, Gareth (2003).Modern Welsh: A Comprehensive Grammar. Oxford: Routledge.ISBN 0-415-28270-5.
• Huang, Cheng-Teh James (1993). "Reconstruction and the Structure of VP: Some Theoretical Consequences".Linguistic Inquiry.24 (1):103–138.ISSN 1530-9150.
• Roberts, Ian G. (2005).Principles and Parameters in a VSO Language: A Case Study in Welsh. Oxford: Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0195168216.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
• Sproat, Richard (1985). "Welsh Syntax and VSO Structure".Natural Language and Linguistic Theory.3 (2):173–216.doi:10.1007/BF00133840.ISSN 1573-0859.S2CID 170088187.
• Thorne, David A. (1993).A Comprehensive Welsh Grammar. Reference Grammars. Oxford and Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.ISBN 0-631-16407-3.

• Welsh grammar

• Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from June 2024
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles lacking in-text citations from August 2008
• All articles lacking in-text citations
• Articles containing Welsh-language text
• Articles to be expanded from August 2008
• All articles to be expanded
• CS1 maint: publisher location