📖 Berfau

User Guide — Welsh Verb Tutor

Conceived and implemented by Rob Beynon and Jane Hurst

v2.1.0

Berfau (Verbs) is an interactive Welsh verb learning app covering 6 irregular verbs and 43 regular verbs across all tenses, with complete conjugation tables and five practice game modes. Supports both Northern (Gogledd) and Southern (De) dialect forms.

Getting Started

When you open Berfau, you'll see the home screen with two tabs: Ymarfer / Practice for games and Cyfeirio / Reference for conjugation tables.

Choose your filters — Select tense, verb type (irregular/regular), and form (long/short)
Set your dialect — Click the compass 🧭 to toggle between Gogledd (North) and De (South)
Pick a game mode — Start with Dewis if you're new
Use Reference — Check conjugation tables anytime to study forms

💡 Beginner's Tip

Start with bod (to be) in the present tense — it's the most commonly used verb in Welsh and forms the foundation for periphrastic constructions.

Game Modes

Seven game modes are available, grouped into two areas: five core verb conjugation modes and two dedicated Perthynol (relative clause) modes. The core modes are presented in order of difficulty:

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1. Dewis — Multiple Choice

Complete Welsh sentences by selecting the correct verb form from 4 options. For regular verbs, you choose both the verb stem and pronoun separately. Start here — the multiple choice format lets you learn by recognition before you need to produce forms yourself.

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2. Trawsnewid — Transform

Transform sentences between forms: affirmative ↔ negative ↔ interrogative. See a Welsh sentence and type its transformed version. This mode teaches the crucial mutation rules (e.g., Mae → Dydy, Dw i'n → Dw i ddim yn) that underpin Welsh grammar. Tackle this early to build a solid foundation.

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3. Paru — Match Pairs

Match Welsh sentences to their English translations. Click a Welsh card on the left, then its matching English card on the right. 5 pairs per round, 5 rounds per game (25 matches total). Timer tracks your speed. Builds quick recognition and reinforces meaning.

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4. Teipio — Type the Answer

Type the correct verb form to complete the sentence. Two input boxes are provided: one for the verb and one for the pronoun. Use 💡 Hint for first letters, or 👁 Show to reveal the answer. More demanding than Dewis as you must actively recall the forms.

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5. Cyfieithu — Translation

Translate complete sentences between Welsh and English. Choose direction: EN→CY or CY→EN. When translating "you" sentences to Welsh, the prompt shows (ti) or (chi) to indicate which form is expected. The most challenging mode — requires full sentence production with correct verb forms, mutations, and word order.

Perthynol — Relative Clauses

Welsh relative clauses are covered in a dedicated section with its own reference material and two practice modes. Access them via the Perthynol option in the Ymarfer (Practice) tab, and the Perthynol tab in the Cyfeirio (Reference) area.

💡 What is a relative clause?

A relative clause identifies or describes a noun: "the man who is singing", "the book that I read". In Welsh, the key forms are sy'n and sydd in the present, and oedd, fydd, a across other tenses.

📖 Perthynol Reference

The reference tab for Perthynol covers:

mae → sydd transformation — how standard sentences become relative clauses
Decision tree — when to use sy'n (before verbnouns and adjectives) vs sydd (before prepositions and adverbs)
All tenses — present (sy'n/sydd), perfect (sydd wedi), imperfect (oedd), future (fydd), past short (a + mutation)
"a" particle — explains that a oedd and oedd are both correct, with mutation rules for negatives (na/nad)
100 example sentences — filterable by tense, with subordinate clause examples

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6. Perthynol: Dewis — Dropdown

A sentence is shown with a gap in the middle. Choose the correct relative form from a dropdown (sy'n, sydd, oedd, fydd, etc.). Feedback explains the rule behind the correct answer — ideal for learning when to use each form. Filterable by tense.

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7. Perthynol: Cyfieithu — Translation

Multiple-choice translation, bidirectional (EN→CY or CY→EN). Wrong choices use the same sentence with incorrect relative forms — so you're tested on your understanding of the form, not just vocabulary. For example, "Pwy sy'n canu?" vs "Pwy sydd canu?". Filter by tense and direction.

Reference Tab

The Reference tab provides two views for studying verb conjugations:

📋 Tablau / Tables View

Traditional conjugation tables showing all forms for each verb. Select irregular or regular verbs, and for regular verbs choose between long (periphrastic) and short (inflected) forms.

📊 Amserlen / Timeline View

A unique visual reference showing how Welsh verb tenses relate to each other in time and space. The horizontal gold axis represents time (past ← present → future), with tense cards positioned spatially:

Amodol floats above — hypothetical, outside time
Gorffennol, Presennol, Dyfodol — on the main timeline
Amherffaith extends into the present — ongoing past actions
Gorchmynnol projects into the future — commands

Toggle between ✓ Cadarnhaol, ✗ Negyddol, and ? Gofynnol forms. Click any card to expand the full conjugation table. Hover for example sentences. For verbs with short forms, a Hir/Byr toggle appears.

Using Filters

Filter	Options	Notes
Amser / Tense	Pob un, Presennol, Amherffaith, Dyfodol, Amodol, Gorffennol	Amodol (Conditional) available for bod and dylai. Short forms only exist for past & future
Berfau / Verbs	Afreolaidd, Rheolaidd, Cymysg	Irregular, Regular, or Mixed
Ffurf / Form	Hir (long), Byr (short)	Only shown for regular verbs
Nifer / Count	10, 20, 50	Questions per session
Cyfeiriad / Direction	EN → CY, CY → EN	Cyfieithu mode only

Dialect Toggle

The compass icon next to the tabs controls the dialect for the entire app:

Gogledd (N) — Northern Welsh: uses fo/o for "he", hi for "she"
De (S) — Southern Welsh: uses fe/e for "he", hi for "she"

The compass is disabled during active games to prevent mid-test dialect changes. Return home to change dialect.

Gweithiodd o'n galed. (Gogledd)

He worked hard.

Gweithiodd e'n galed. (De)

He worked hard.

Reference Tab

Browse complete conjugation tables for all verbs:

Select a verb from the dropdown (grouped by irregular/regular)
Choose form type — For regular verbs, toggle between Hir (long) and Byr (short)
View all tenses — Tables show affirmative, negative, and interrogative forms
Click any form to see an example sentence in context

The reference tables are colour-coded: teal for affirmative, red for negative, blue for interrogative.

Verbs Covered

Irregular Verbs (6)

bod (to be) mynd (to go) dod (to come) gwneud (to do/make) cael (to get/have) dylai (should/ought to)

Regular Verbs (43)

agor anghofio aros bwyta canu caru cau cerdded chwarae coginio cofio cymryd cyrraedd cysgu darllen dawnsio deall dechrau dringo dweud dysgu edrych eistedd ffonio gallu gorffen gweld gweithio gwerthu gwrando gwylio helpu hoffi meddwl mwynhau nofio prynu rhedeg sefyll siarad talu yfed ysgrifennu

Long vs Short Forms

Long Form (Hir) — Periphrastic

Uses bod as auxiliary (or gwneud for past) + verbnoun. Available for all tenses.

Dw i'n gweithio

I am working / I work

Gwnes i weithio

I worked (note: soft mutation g→w after gwneud)

Short Form (Byr) — Inflected

Single conjugated verb (stem + personal ending). Only exists for past and future tenses.

Gweitha i (future)

I will work

Gweithiais i (past)

I worked

💡 Mutation Note

In negative and interrogative short forms, the verb undergoes soft mutation: Gweitha i → Weitha i ddim (I won't work), Weithi di? (Will you work?)

Learning Tips

Recommended Progression

Reference: Tables — Study the conjugation tables to understand patterns
Reference: Amserlen — Visualise how tenses relate to each other in time
Dewis — Practice recognition with multiple choice
Trawsnewid — Master mutations and form changes early
Paru — Build speed with sentence matching
Teipio — Test active recall by typing answers
Cyfieithu — Challenge yourself with full sentence translation
Reference: Perthynol — Study relative clause forms and rules
Perthynol: Dewis — Practice choosing the correct relative form
Perthynol: Cyfieithu — Test relative clause translation in both directions

Focus Areas

Master bod first — It's used in all periphrastic constructions
Learn mutations — Soft mutation after gwneud in past tense is essential
Practice both dialects — Understand both fo/fe variants
Use sentence IDs — Note problem sentences (e.g., #247) for targeted review

Interface Tips

The context bar shows: Tense · Person · Form · Style (Byr/Hir)
Sentence IDs appear in the top-right corner (e.g., #247)
Navigate freely between questions using ← Blaenorol / Nesaf →
Accents optional — bydda accepts byddâ
Apostrophes flexible — ga accepts ga'

Troubleshooting

Answer marked wrong? — Check for extra spaces, or try without apostrophe
No questions available? — Broaden your filters (short forms only exist for past/future)
Wrong dialect shown? — Check the compass position; return home to change it

← Yn ôl i Berfau / Back to Berfau

Version 1.0.5 · View Changelog