Prepositions in all languages are extremely irritating- they’re so small and awkward. The meanings and uses that distinguish prepositions can be so slight that they can be difficult for learners to discern.
Prepositions are small grammatical words that give us information about the relationship between things; this information can be spatial (e.g. in, on), temporal (e.g. before) or semantic (e.g. for).
Conjugating ar
arna i - on me
arnon ni - on us
arnat ti - on you
arnoch chi - on you
arni hi - on her
arno fe - on him
arnyn nhw - on them
When to use ar
● With some expressions of time:
○ O’n i’n arfer nofio ar ddydd Gwener (I used to go swimming on Fridays)
○ ar hyd y nos (all through the night)
○ ar yr un amser (at the same time)
○ ar dywydd oer iawn (during very cold weather)
● on
○ Mae’r ci ar y soffa eto! (The dog’s on the sofa again!)
● Used with physical ailments and mental states
○ Mae’r ffliw arna i (I’ve got flu)
○ Mae ofn arnyn nhw (They’re afraid)
● part of, a bit of
○ Hoffwn i flas ar yr hufen iâ ‘na (I’d like a bit of that ice cream, ~I fancy a taste of that ice cream)
● With the following verbs:
○ Edrych (to look)
■ Edrycha i ar yr adeilad (I [will] look at the building)
○ Gwrando (to listen)
■ Gwnes i wrando arno (I listened to him)
○ Ymosod (to attack)
■ Ymosodwch arnynt! (Attack them!)
To indicate states/conditions (some of these correspond to past participles in English):
ar agor (open)
ar gau (closed)
ar goll (lost)
ar glo (locked)
ar dân (on fire)
ar werth (lost)
ar waith (for sale)
ar ddihun (awake)
ar fai (at fault)
ar frys (in a rush/emergency)
ar wahân (detached, separated)
ar fin (just about to)
In the following idiomatic expressions:
wedi + canu + ar + rywun/rhywbeth
o Mae hi wedi canu arna i! (I’m done for!)
cael + gwared + ar + rywbeth
o Dw i eisiau cael gwared ar y swbriel ‘ma (I want to get get of this rubbish)
cymryd + [ar + RHAGENW] + bod...
o Mae e’n cymryd arno ei fod e’n hapus (He’s pretending to be happy)