Welsh Syntax - Nominal Syntax

Nominal Syntax

Determiners precede the noun they modify, while adjectives generally follow it. A modifier that precedes its head noun often causes a mutation, and adjectives following a feminine noun are lenited. Thus:

• dogfen ("a document")
• y ddogfen ("the document"; dogfen is lenited because it is feminine)
• hen ddogfen ("an old document"; dogfen is lenited because hen "old" precedes it)
• dogfen fer ("a short document"; ber (feminine form of byr) is lenited because it follows a feminine noun)

See Colloquial and/or Literary Welsh morphology for more precise details on the mutations and the environments that trigger them.

Genitive relationships are expressed by apposition. The genitive in Welsh is formed by putting two noun phrases next to each other, the possessor coming second. So English "The cat's mother", or "mother of the cat", corresponds to Welsh mam y gath – literally, "mother the cat"; "the project manager's phone number" is rhif ffôn rheolwr y prosiect – literally, "number phone manager the project". Only the last noun in a genitive sequence can take the definite article.