Ask Dr Gramadeg: Er- Although / Despite

Mae i'r gair Er ddau brif ystyr - mae'n gallu golygu although neu despite yn Saesneg, e.e:

Er bod hi’n ifanc            Although she is young
Er hynny                        Despite that
Er gwaetha’                    Despite / In spite of

Er can mean although or despite, e.g:

Er bod hi’n ifanc        Although she is young
Er hynny                    Despite that
Er gwaetha’               Despite/in spite of

Mewn cyd-destunau eraill, mae'n gallu golygu'r canlynol, hefyd:

Ers 1989                        Since 1989
Ers (l)lawer dydd           Since many days (yn llythrennol, 'this long time')
Er cof am                        In memory of
Er mwyn                         In order to
Er lles                               For the benefit of
Er gwell neu er gwaeth    For better or for worse

It also has other meanings in certain phrases, e.g.

Ers 1989                               Since 1989
Ers (l)lawer dydd                  Since many days (this long time)
Er cof am                              In memory of
Er mwyn                                In order to
Er lles                                    For the benefit of
Er gwell neu er gwaeth         For better or for worse

Byddwn ni'n defnyddio 'Bod' (yn yr Amser Presennol, a'r Amser Amherffaith) i gysytlltu'r ymadrodd yn cynnwys 'Er' â gweddill y frawddeg, e.e.

Mae hi’n ifanc                   Er (ei) bod hi’n ifanc
She is young                    Although (that) she is young

Roedd hi’n dda                 Er (ei) bod hi’n ifanc
She was good                   Although (that) she was young

‘bod’ - ‘that is/are’ is needed to join the phrase to the sentence

Mae hi’n ifanc.           Er (ei) bod hi’n ifanc.
She is young.            Although that she is young.

Roedd hi’n dda                 Er (ei) bod hi’n ifanc
She was good                   Although (that) she was young

Er mwyn defnyddio 'Er' yn yr Amser Gorffennol, bydd rhaid defnyddio'r arddodiad 'i' (Nodiwch fod yr un pethn yn digwydd gyda 'Cyn' ac 'Ar ôl'), e.e.

I went early                            Es i’n gynnar
Although I went early         Er i fi fynd yn gynnar

As with the phrases ‘cyn’ and ‘ar ôl’, the past tense is not used with ‘er’.  The preposition ‘i’ is used to put it into the past tense, e.g:

I went early.                            Es i’n gynnar.
Although I went early.           Er i fi fynd yn gynnar.

Er mwyn pwysleisio rhywbeth, bydd rhaid rhoi'r gair i'w bwysleisio'n gyntaf yn yr ymadrodd, a defnyddio 'taw' (neu 'mai'), e.e.

Fi yw’r gorau                    Er taw fi yw’r gorau
I’m the best                      Although I’m the best

Emphatic -  Fi yw’r gorau.           Er taw fi yw’r gorau.
                     I’m the best.            Although I’m the best.

 


 

* Rhagor o Enghreifftiau / More Examples

1. Er fod e’n hen, mae e'n gweithio'n galed iawn
Although he is old, he works very hard

2. Er hynny oll, dyn ni'n ffrindiau da o hyd
Despite all that, we're still good friends

3. Er gwaetha’r problemau i gyd, byddan nhw'n llwyddo
Despite all the problems, they will succeed

4. Dw i'n byw yng Nghaerdydd ers 2012
I've been living in Cardiff since 2012

5. Maen nhw'n gweithio yn y ffatri 'slawer dydd
They've been working in the factory for a long time

6. Dyn ni wedi codi colofn er cof am yr arwyr dwer
We have erected a column in memory of the brave heroes

7. Byddwn ni'n mynd i'r cyngerdd er mwyn gwrando ar y plant
We'll be going to the concert in order to listen to the children

8. Mae'r aelodau o'r cyngor yn gweithio er lles y cyhoedd, meddan nhw
The members of the council work for the benefit of the public, they say

9. Bydda i'n canu yn y côr, er gwell neu er gwaeth
I'll be singing in the choir, for better or for worse

10. Mae hi’n hapus, er (ei) bod hi’n dlawd
She is happy, although (that) she is poor

11. Ro'ch chi'n dawel er (eich) bod chi’n grac
You were quiet although (that) you were angry

12. Er iddi hi adael yn gynnar, cyrhaeddodd hi'n hwyr
Although she left early, she arrived late

13. Er taw ti yw'r hyna', fi yw’r mwya'
Although you are the oldest, I am biggest

14. Maen nhw'n gadael iddo fe chwarae er taw fe yw’r gwaetha'
They let him play, although he is the worst