Writing a Diary 22 (counting the minutes)

Counting the minutes

We have a number of ways of talking about short periods of time, but with the benefits of modern technology we can be more accurate in our time telling. Again, some of the words we use have to be borrowed.

qwarter our (SWFM kwarter our)	a quarter of an hour
en cott termyn (SWFM yn kott termyn)	in a short time
powes bian	a brief pause (a rest)
pols alebma	a short while ago
speis	a short while
nebes mynysen	several minutes
teken (f)	a tick a second

Here they are put into sentences (some obviously more useful in conversation than in your diary)

Me vedn metya genes en qwarter our.	I will meet you in a quarter of an hour.
Me a wra agas gweles en cott termyn.	I will see you in a short time.
Gwra gòrtos rag teken!	Wait for a tick! Wait a second!
Me a wrüg debry pols alebma.	I ate a short while ago.
Òja nebes mynysen me a godhas en cosk.	After several minutes I fell asleep.
An pres ew deg mynysen òja deg eur.	The time is ten minutes after 10 o’clock.
Pana bres ew? Qwarter dhe eth.	What time is it? A quarter to 8.
Me a worfednas an descans pemp mynysen dhe naw er glogh.	I finished the lesson at five minutes to 9 o’clock.
Termyn vy a veu pemp our, eth mynysen warn ügens ha dewgens teken.	My time was 5 hours, 28 minutes and 40 seconds.
Venta che cowsel genam rag speis?	Will you have a chat with me for a short while?
Vedno whei rei dhebm deg mynysen a ‘gas termyn?	Will you give me 10 minutes of your time?
Vedno whei metya genam en ügens mynysen?	Will you meet me in 20 minutes?