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Many, but by no means most, ajectives in Medieval Welsh have a special plural form that is used with plural nouns. Fortunately, the ways in which these plurals are formed are the same as some of the ways of forming noun plurals.
Plural adjectives can be formed by changing a vowel.
| Sing. | Plural | ||
| ieuanc | adj | ieueinc | young |
| bychan | adj | bychein | small |
| marw | adj | meirw | dead |
More commonly, they are formed by adding the suffix "-yon".
| crych | adj.m | -yon | curly | f. crech |
| gwir | adj | -yon | true | |
| gwressaw g | adj | -yon | warm, fervent | |
| gwynn | adj | -yon | white | f. gwenn |
| hir | adj | -yon | long | |
| hygar | adj | -yon | affectionate | |
| mawr | adj | -yon | big, great | |
| melyn | adj | -yon | yellow | |
| newydd | adj | -yon | new |
Rarely, other suffixes used for noun plurals are found with adjectives.
| cwtta | adj.m | cwteuon | short | f. cotta |
Occasionally, both a vowel-change and a suffix may be used.
| bwlch | adj.m | bylch (eu)** | gapped, cut | f. bolch |
| crwm | adj.m | crymyon | bent | f. crom |
| crwnn | adj | crynyon | round | f. cronn |
| trwm | adj.m | trymyon | heavy | f. trom |
** The plural occurs both with and without the suffix.
As a general rule, derived adjectives -- that is, words where an adjectival suffix has been added to a different type of root -- don't tend to have plural forms. ("Gwressawg" above is an exception. You will learn more about derived adjectives and how to identify them later.) The adjectives that have vowel affection in the plural tend to be common, everyday words.
We've seen that in singular noun phrases feminine nouns lenite after the definite article and adjectives lenite after feminine nouns. In plural noun phrases neither of these items lenite.
| y gath deg | the pretty cat |
| y cathod teg | the pretty cats |
Using the following vocabulary pairs, make phrases similar to the examples.
| horse/dead | ||
| march marw | a dead horse | |
| y march marw | the dead horse | |
| meirch meirw | dead horses | |
| y meirch meirw | the dead horses | |
Vocabulary