Some words seem simple at first glance, yet conceal a remarkable depth of meaning within their origins. The Welsh phrase ar ôl is a perfect example – rich with layers that might bamboozle even the most experienced of Welsh learners!
ar ôl
after / left
But first, a little about the etymology. Ar ôl comprises two parts: the preposition ar, meaning on, and ôl, meaning track, print, impression or mark. In short, it literally translates as something similar to “on the track of.” Keep this analogy in mind as it will become useful later on!
Ôl appears in many common words and expressions like yn ôl (ago / according to), ôl troed (footprint), ôl bys (fingerprint), yn ôl ac ymlaen (back and forth), tu ôl (behind), and the verb nôl (to fetch). As you can see, it’s a very handy term to add to your mental dictionary.
Using ar ôl is pretty straightforward if it is followed directly by a noun. After the film is quite simply ar ôl y ffilm, just as after the game would be translated as ar ôl y gêm.
Es i i’r archfarchnad ar ôl gwaith.
I went to the supermarket after work.
Things get a little trickier once you start to involve personal pronouns. When producing the phrase after I / you / he / she / etc. does something, you need to place the preposition i (to) after ar ôl, followed by the personal pronoun (mi, ti, chi, etc.) and the soft mutated form of the verb. Here is the complete list using the verb gorffen (to finish) as an example.
- ar ôl i mi orffen = after I finish (north)
- ar ôl i fi orffen = after I finish (south)
- ar ôl i ti orffen = after you finish (informal, singular)
- ar ôl iddo fo orffen = after he finishes (north)
- ar ôl iddo fe orffen = after he finishes (south)
- ar ôl iddi hi orffen = after she finishes
- ar ôl i ni orffen = after we finish
- ar ôl i chi orffen = after you finish (formal, plural)
- ar ôl iddyn nhw orffen = after they finish
Mi wna i ffonio ar ôl i ti orffen dy swper.
I’ll call after you finish your dinner.
The very same pattern can be used to express the past. You will know if the speaker is talking about the past or future from the surrounding context.
- ar ôl i mi orffen = after I finished (north)
- ar ôl i fi orffen = after I finish (south)
- ar ôl i ti orffen = after you finished (informal, singular)
- ar ôl iddo fo orffen = after he finished (north)
- ar ôl iddo fe orffen = after he finished (south)
- ar ôl iddi hi orffen = after she finished
- ar ôl i ni orffen = after we finished
- ar ôl i chi orffen = after you finished (formal, plural)
- ar ôl iddyn nhw orffen = after they finished
Mi wnes i ffonio ar ôl i ti orffen dy swper.
I called after you finished your dinner.
What if you want to say after me, after you, after him, and so on? In this case, you need to use possessive adjectives, basically the Welsh equivalent of the English possessive pronouns (my, your, his, etc.). It might help to think that you’re literally saying after my track, after your track, and so on. (See, I told you the analogy would come in handy!) Here they are in all their glory:
- ar fy ôl i = after me
- ar dy ôl di = after you (informal, singular)
- ar ei ôl o = after him (north)
- ar ei ôl e = after him (south)
- ar ei hôl hi = after her
- ar ein hôl ni = after us
- ar eich ôl chi = after you (formal, plural)
- ar eu hôl nhw = after them
Wyt ti eisiau canu’r gân ar fy ôl i?
Do you want to sing the song after me?
Note how after her, after us and after them all use hôl rather than ôl. This is due to a process called h-prothesis and it only affects words that start with a vowel.
Gallwch chi ddefnyddio’r cyfrifiadur ar ein hôl ni.
You can use the computer after us.
Usefully for English speakers, ar ôl works as a translation for after even in more idiomatic phrases such as rhedeg ar ôl rhywun (to run after someone), cael ei enwi ar ôl rhywun (to be named after someone), tynnu ar ôl rhywun (to take after someone), and edrych ar ôl rhywun (to look after someone).
Up until now, we’ve covered ar ôl as a translation for after, but did you know that it can also mean left, left over or remaining? For example, on the day following your parti penblwydd (birthday party), you might be shocked and devastated to discover that does dim cacen ar ôl (there’s no cake left over) – and to make matters worse, neither your husband nor son will own up to the crime! (Stori wir – true story!)
Does dim bwyd ar ôl yn yr oergell. Bydd yn rhaid i mi fynd i siopa.
There’s no food left in the fridge. I’ll have to go shopping.
Related to this meaning is the expression gadael rhywbeth ar ôl, which means to leave something behind.
Additional expressions featuring ‘ar ôl’
Before we wrap up, let’s take a look at a few useful expressions featuring ar ôl that don’t really fit in anywhere else.
- ar ôl hynny = after that
- teimlo’n chwith ar ôl rhywun = to miss someone (you can also use gweld eisiau or colli, although the latter might be considered less idiomatic)
- un dyn bach ar ôl = there’s always one, or literally, one small man left
- y naill ar ôl y llall = one after the other
- ar ôl yr oes = behind the times, or literally, after the age
- gwynt teg ar ei hôl hi!= good riddance to her!, or literally, fair wind behind her(can be used with any pronoun)
- dro ar ôl tro = repeatedly, time after time
- ar ôl ystyriaeth = advisedly, or literally, after reflection
- coel gwrach ar ôl bwyta uwd = old wives’ tale, or literally, belief of the witch after eating porridge
- codi pais ar ôl piso = to shut the door after the horse has bolted, or literally, to lift up a petticoat after peeing
Well, I don’t think there is much ar ôl (left) to say about ar ôl but I hope you’ve enjoyed discovering how to use it half as much as I’ve enjoyed writing this article.
