Written by Joseff Jones – Welsh tutor
Sydd can be a tricky concept to explain, and it takes a bit of practice to get really skilled at using it.
The key facts are:
- Sydd is a present tense form of bod. It is only used in the present tense.
- Unlike other present tense forms of bod, there is no special negative form of sydd. We simply use sydd followed by ddim.
- We can contract sydd yn to sy’n. Sy is the colloquial form of sydd.
- Sy’n is somewhat less colloquial than just sy on its own, and is generally appropriate outside of formal contexts.
The present tense nature of sydd is important to remember. In other tenses, rather than sydd, we simply use the appropriate form of ‘bod’ in the required tense. So it’s only in the present that we need to consider sydd.
Sydd has two main uses, which are explained in the following paragraphs.
1) As a relative pronoun (like ‘that’, ‘who is’, ‘which is’ etc. in English). Note, however, that sydd can only relativise the subject of a clause, not the object.
If you’ve studied French, this use of sydd is very similar to the French ‘qui’.
Some examples:
- Fe yw’r un sy’n dysgu fi. = He’s the one who teaches me.
- Mae’r cwmni angen rhywun sy’n siarad Cymraeg. = The company needs someone who speaks Welsh.
- Hwn yw’r cyfrifiadur sydd ddim yn gweithio. = That’s the computer that doesn’t work.
- Mae’r athro sy’n dysgu mathemateg yn llym. = The teacher who teaches maths is strict.
Note that emphatic (or ‘focused’) sentences are still technically relative clauses in Welsh, and so they still require the use of sydd where appropriate:
- Fi sy’n mynd i’r gyngerdd. = It’s me who’s going to the party. / I’m going to the party.
- John sy’n gyrru ni yna. = It’s John who’s driving us there. / John is driving us there.
In relative clauses with a clear action, like ‘the man who teaches me’ or ‘someone who speaks Welsh’, it is relatively straightforward to identify ‘the man’ and ‘someone’ as the subjects of their respective sentences, and so we know we should use sydd. However, the use of sydd in a relative clause also includes:
Relative clauses specifying where something is:
- Fi sydd yma. = It’s me (who is) here. Me here.
- Dw i wastad yn bwyta beth sydd ar fy mhlât. = I always eat what’s on my plate.
- Ydych chi’n mynd i helpu’r gath sydd yn sownd yn y goeden? = Are you going to help the cat that’s stuck in the tree?
- Mae’r dyn sydd ar y bont yn gweiddi. = The man (who is) on the bridge is shouting. (Note ‘Mae’r dyn ar y bont y gweiddi’ is also fine).
Passive constructions:
- Fi sy’n cael fy nhalu. = I’m the one who gets paid.
- Mae’r arth sy’n cael ei fwydo pob dydd yn dew. = The bear who gets fed every day is getting fat.
Relative clauses specifying what someone has (as the ‘mae gen…’ structure used to express possession in Welsh is literally saying ‘there is/are with me’):
- Mae’r gwybodaeth sydd gen i yn gywir. = The information (that) I have is correct.
- Mae’r broblem sydd gen ti yn un syml. = The problem (that) you have is a simple one.
Relative clauses specifying who has something:
- Mae’r dyn sydd gyda’r wybodaeth wedi mynd ar wyliau. = The man who has the information has gone on holiday.
- Dw i angen Google Pixel 9, ond mae’r siop sydd efo fo ar gau. = I need a Google Pixel 9, but the shop that has it is shut.
- Fi sydd gyda’r arian. = I’m the one with the money.
- John sydd gen y wybodaeth. = It’s John who has the information.
That’s right – we also consider the owner of the object to be the ‘subject’ with sydd, even though technically it is just the object of the preposition gen, gyda or efo.
We can also use sydd in indefinite identification sentences:
- Fi sydd yn athro. = I’m the teacher.
- Elin sy’n feddyg. = Elin is the teacher. It’s Elin who is the teacher.
Interestingly, even though there is no the in the Welsh sentences, these mean the same thing as ‘Fi ydy’r athro’ (I am the teacher) and ‘Elin ydy’r meddyg’ (Elin is the doctor).
However, as sydd is not considered a copular form of bod, we cannot use sydd in definite identification sentences.
- Fi sydd yr athro.*
- Hwn sydd y caffi gorau.*
Instead we would simply say ‘Fi ydy’r athro’, ‘Hwn ydy’r caffi gorau’.
Note that constructions with mae, including mae rhaid, mae eisiau, mae angen technically should not take sydd, though this rule is not always applied. You will often see technically incorrect sentences such as:
- Dyna beth sydd angen.*
- Dw i’n gwneud beth sydd rhaid gwneud.*
- Beth sydd eisiau arnot ti?*
The correct forms are:
- Dyna beth mae angen.
- Dw i’n gwneud beth mae rhaid gwneud.
- Beth mae eisiau arnot ti?
Other tenses
Note that if we change the verb to past, future, or any other tense or mood, sydd is no longer required:
- Fe yw’r un wnaeth fy nysgu i. = He’s the one who taught me.
- Dyma’r cadno fwytodd fy ieir. = This is the fox who ate my chickens.
- Hwn yw’r cyfrifiadur oedd ddim yn gweithio. = This is the computer that wasn’t working.
When not to use sydd in a relative clause
Sydd is not used when the relativised element is the object of the sentence.
Some examples:
- Dyna’r afal dw i eisiau (ei) fwyta.
- That’s the apple that I want to eat.
- Dyna’r person wnes i (ei) weld.
- He’s the person that I saw. (in Welsh: ‘He’s the person I saw’)
- Dyma’r llyfr dw i’n (ei) ddarllen.
- This is the book I’m reading.
- Dyna’r eirth dan ni’n aml yn (eu) gweld yn dwyn mêl.
- Those are the bears we often see stealing honey.
Note that in the final example, even though the bears are the subject of the verb dwyn (steal), they are the object of the main verb gweld (see), so sydd is not used.
If we took out the ‘seeing’, sydd would be used:
- Dyna’r eirth sydd yn aml yn dwyn mêl.
- Those are the bears that often steal honey.
2) As a replacement for mae/ydy when asking who (pwy) or what (beth) the subject of an action is, or how many (faint) of the subject there is.
Sydd is not normally used for questions containing pryd, ble, and sut, as these words do not ask about the fundamental nature of the subject. Instead, they ask for a time, a place, or a method by which an action takes place.
So, the use of sydd in questions is generally restricted to questions asking pwy, beth, or faint, and they must be asking about the subject, not the object.
This includes:
- beth, pwy and faint questions asking about the existence of something (‘[what/who/how many] is there/are there’?).
- questions about what someone has, and who has something
Sydd used:
- Who’s eating the apples? = Pwy sy’n bwyta’r afalau?
- What’s on the table? = Beth sydd ar y bwrdd?
- Who is stealing the vitamins? = Pwy sy’n dwyn y fitaminau?
- How many are there? = Faint sydd yna?
- What do you have? = Beth sydd gen ti?
- Who has the pencil? = Pwy sydd gyda’r pensil?
Also note the idiomatic ‘be sy?’ – ‘what’s wrong?’
Sydd not used:
- What are you eating? = Beth wyt ti’n (ei) fwyta?
- Who did you see? = Pwy wnest ti (ei) weld?
- What did the bears steal? = Beth ddwynodd yr eirth?
