Commands in Brithenig

The most common form of making a command, that learners will encounter, is to add -th to the verb; Gwenith per yn turn, Come for a walk. The familiar form of the command drops the ending along with the final vowel; Llaes mi sulfent, Leave me alone. Brithenig speakers use the familiar form of the command among themselves as a form of in-group solidarity. The use of the formal command implies including outsiders (such as the Saxons or the Kerno)

Some imperative forms are irregular, being derived from a subjunctive tense which is no longer used in the spoken language:

Esser, to be, siath, sia (pronounced 'shath, sha')

Gwoler, to wish, gwolath, gwol

Afer, to have, aiath, ai

Saber, to know, seibath, seib

Three verbs have very curt familiar forms:

Diger, to say, digeth, dî

Duger, to lead, dugeth, dû

Ffager, to make, to do, ffageth, ffâ

The replacement of a blunt imperative with ffager is considered polite:

Ffageth (a) wenir per yn turn, Do come for a walk

Ffagewth (a) wenir per yn turn, Would you come for a walk

The verb calfar, to stop, cease, is used to mean 'don't':

Calfath (a) wedder, Don't go.

Calfath (a) weisar, Never mind

Gwan from gweddir, to go is used before another verb to mean 'let's'. On its own it means `let's go'.

And always say: Se ddeg a'w, Please; and Greid, Thank you; and Sa es nyll, You're welcome, it's nothing. Brithenig speakers value courtesy and these little words will help to keep a learner in good standing every time he or she uses them.

'Mr' is ill maistr, 'Mrs, Miss' is lla faistres. The article is omitted when addressing someone by name. Maistr and maistres are also used for sir and madam. Usually in the vocative form with the consonant softened: Faistr, Sir! Mister!