Reading: notices, forms and short texts
This section covers the Reading domain of the Welsh Mynediad (Entry, A1) exam. It tests understanding of short written Welsh: signs, notices, menus, timetables, forms, adverts, postcards and emails. You need to locate specific information, understand simple instructions and recognise familiar phrases.
Core rules
- Skim first for the topic, then scan for the detail in the question: name, date, time, price or place.
- Learn high-frequency formulas: Ar gau (closed), Ar agor (open), Dim mynediad (no entry), Amser cinio (lunchtime), I'w dalu (to pay), Ddim yn gweithio (not working).
- Watch negation and small words: ddim, heb, ond, dim ond, rhwng ... a ....
- Place names after prepositions mutate; do not let spelling changes hide a familiar name: yng Nghaerdydd, ym Mangor, i Gaerdydd.
- In forms, match labels to answers; in emails, identify the sender, the request and the time.
Worked example
Notice: Mae'r llyfrgell ar gau ddydd Llun rhwng 12 a 2. Question: When is the library closed? Reasoning: ar gau = closed; dydd Llun = Monday; rhwng 12 a 2 = between 12 and 2. The answer is Monday, 12–2, not all day Monday. ddydd is the mutated form of dydd in this adverbial phrase, so recognise it as 'day'.
Traps
- Translating word by word instead of matching the question to the text.
- Missing ddim and choosing the opposite meaning.
- Confusing ar gau (closed) with ar agor (open).
- Ignoring rhwng ... a ... and giving only one time.
- Not checking whether the question asks for the day or the time.
- Assuming a familiar place name must look exactly as it does in a dictionary.