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Lesson 10
In this lesson you’ll learn how to use the verb gallos (to be able to) to say what you can and can’t do. |
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My a yll lewya an karr mar mynnydh.
I can drive the car if you like. My a wor lewya karr. I can (i.e. know how to) drive a car. Ny allav vy dos dhe’n kevewi. I can’t come to the party. A yll ev dri Enys Tresour ragov? Can he bring Treasure Island for me? Gyll. Ev a yll dri an lyver a-vorow. Yes. He can bring the book tomorrow. A yll’ta gweles an edhen na? Palores yw. Can you see that bird? It’s a chough. |
Na allav. Ny allav vy gweles edhen.
Ple’ma hi? No I can’t. I can’t see a bird. Where is it? A yllowgh hwi gorfenna an ober erbynn dy’ Mergher? Can you finish the work by Wednesday? Gallav - heb mar. Yes - of course. My a allas pareusi kroust de - pastiow ha frooth. I was able to prepare (a packed) lunch yesterday - pasties and fruit. |
Remember to use the free audio file which accompanies this series!
Notes
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The verb gallos, ‘to be able to’ works in the
same way as gul (to do) e.g. my a yll prena losow y’n gwerthji y’n dreveglos ‘I can buy vegetables in the shop in the village’. Just as with gul, you’ll need to use the verb to express yes and no, here you will use gallav for yes and na allav for no. To put your sentence into the past tense, use allas instead of yll. E.g. Hwi a allas dos ‘we were able to (could) come’. |
Care should be taken when explaining ability,
i.e. driving a car or playing chess. Gallos (seen in the phrases above as yll) refers to physical ability and godhvos (seen above as wor) refers to knowledge/experience - e.g. ev a wor seni krowd ‘He can (i.e. knows how to) play the violin‘. |
