medru
Welsh
Etymology
From medr (“ability, skill”) + -u.
Pronunciation
- (North Wales) IPA(key): /ˈmɛdrɨ̞/
- (North Wales) IPA(key): /ˈmɛdri/
Verb
medru (first-person singular present medraf) (North Wales)
- to be able to, can
- to know how to, know, be familiar with
- 1993, Gareth King, Modern Welsh: A Comprehensive Grammar, London: Routledge, →ISBN, p. 202:
- Mae’r ddynes ’na’n medru Cymraeg yn iawn.
- That woman knows Welsh well.
- 1993, Gareth King, Modern Welsh: A Comprehensive Grammar, London: Routledge, →ISBN, p. 202:
Usage notes
- In the colloquial language, the preterite of this verb is almost never used; the past tense is rendered by means of the periphrastic imperfect, e.g. oedd o’n medru (“he could, he was able to”).
- In the colloquial language, the future tense of this verb has a present-tense meaning as well, so medra i means both ‘I can’ and ‘I will be able to’.
Conjugation
Conjugation (literary)
| singular | plural | impersonal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first | second | third | first | second | third | |||
| present indicative/future | medraf | medri | medr | medrwn | medrwch | medrant | medrir | |
| imperfect (indicative/subjunctive)/ conditional | medrwn | medrit | medrai | medrem | medrech | medrent | medrid | |
| preterite | medrais | medraist | medrodd | medrasom | medrasoch | medrasant | medrwyd | |
| pluperfect | medraswn | medrasit | medrasai | medrasem | medrasech | medrasent | medrasid, medresid | |
| present subjunctive | medrwyf | medrych | medro | medrom | medroch | medront | medrer | |
| imperative | — | medr | medred | medrwn | medrwch | medrent | medrer | |
| verbal noun | medru | |||||||
| verbal adjectives | medredig | |||||||
Conjugation (colloquial)
| Inflected colloquial forms | singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first | second | third | first | second | third | |
| future | medra i, medraf i | medri di | medr o/e/hi | medrwn ni | medrwch chi | medran nhw |
| conditional | medrwn i, medswn i | medret ti, medset ti | medrai fo/fe/hi, medsai fo/fe/hi | medren ni, medsen ni | medrech chi, medsech chi | medren nhw, medsen nhw |
| preterite | medrais i, medres i | medraist ti, medrest ti | medrodd o/e/hi | medron ni | medroch chi | medron nhw |
| imperative | — | medra | — | — | medrwch | — |
| Note: All other forms are periphrastic, as usual in colloquial Welsh. | ||||||
Synonyms
- (be able to): gallu
- (know): nabod
Antonyms
- ffili (“fail, be unable, cannot”)
- methu (“fail, be unable, cannot”)
Mutation
| Welsh mutation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
| medru | fedru | unchanged | unchanged |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | |||