The Welsh Verb Bod (To Be): Core Spoken Forms and Tables

If you learn one Welsh verb first, make it bod. Welsh relies heavily on periphrastic constructions — Mae e'n rhedeg (He is running) rather than a single conjugated lexical verb — so bod carries the tense and person in many everyday sentences.

This guide covers the core spoken forms of bod for the present, imperfect past, future, and conditional, with common affirmative, negative, and interrogative patterns. For the broader grammar context, see our Welsh grammar beginner's guide.

Present Tense

The present tense of bod is the first thing to learn. Note that Welsh uses different forms for statements, questions, and negatives — you can't just add a question mark.

Affirmative (Statements)

Note: Mae is used for third-person statements. Dw/Dyn/Dych are used for 1st and 2nd person. Don't mix them — Mae fi is incorrect.

Negative

The negative uses ddim (not) — notice the soft mutation on dim → ddim. See the Welsh mutations guide for why.

Questions and Answers

This is the Welsh "yes/no" system — you echo the verb form. Wyt ti'n hapus? → Ydw (Yes, I am) or Nac ydw (No, I'm not). Each tense has its own answer forms.

Past Tense (Imperfect)

The imperfect describes past states and ongoing past actions: "I was," "she was working."

Answers: Oeddwn / Nac oeddwn (for I), Oedd / Nac oedd (for he/she), etc.

Future Tense

Notice the pattern: negatives and questions use soft mutation on the initial b → f. This is systematic — B for affirmative, F for negative/question.

Conditional

Used for "would" statements. There are two common sets of forms — both are widely used.

Negative: Faswn i ddim / Fyddwn i ddim (I wouldn't). Questions: Faswn i? / Fyddwn i? (Would I?).

How Bod Powers Welsh Sentences

Understanding why bod is so central helps you see how Welsh works. Most Welsh sentences use the pattern:

Bod form + subject + yn + verbnoun/adjective

• Mae Siân yn gweithio — Siân is working
• Roedd y plant yn chwarae — The children were playing
• Bydda i yn mynd — I will be going (= I will go)
• Mae hi yn hapus — She is happy

The yn particle connects bod to what follows. Before a consonant it's often written 'n: Mae hi'n hapus. Before a vowel it stays as yn.

This pattern means that changing tense is just a matter of swapping the bod form — the rest of the sentence stays the same:

• Mae e'n gweithio — He is working
• Roedd e'n gweithio — He was working
• Bydd e'n gweithio — He will be working
• Basai fe'n gweithio — He would be working

Master the core bod forms and you can build a wide range of everyday Welsh sentences. For mutation rules that interact with bod, see our complete Welsh mutations guide.