The Kwéyòl singular definite article corresponds with to “the” in English. There are five up to forms of the Kwéyòl definite article. In the Kwéyòl language, the definite article always appears AFTER the noun, while in English and French the definite article appears BEFORE the noun.
- la - this article appears after nouns ending in consonants, this is the most common form of the definite article, e.g., lakay-la, bouwik-la, chat-la
- lan - this form of the definite article appears after nouns ending with the letter “m”, e.g., fanm-lan, kwenm-lan, nonm-lan.
- a- this form of the definite article appears after non-nasalised vowels, e.g., motoka-a, flè-a, kako-a.
- an - this form of the definite article appears after nasalised vowels, e.g., gason-an, pan-an, pen-an.
- nan- This form of the definite article appears after nouns ending in the consonant “n” (not the “n” of a nasalised vowel), e.g., machin-nan, akakoun-nan, babadin-nan
Trinidadian French Creole
|
Guadeloupean French Creole
|
French
|
English
|
liv-la
|
liv-la
|
le livre
|
the book
|
bèf-la
|
bèf-la
|
le boeuf
|
the cow/bull
|
Syèl-la
|
syèl-la
|
le ciel
|
the sky
|
chan-an
|
chan-la
|
la psalmodie
|
the chant
|
chyen-an
|
chyen-la
|
le chien
|
the dog
|
pon-an
|
pon-la
|
le pont
|
the bridge
|
motoka-a
|
loto-la
|
la voiture, l’auto
|
the car
|
flè-a
|
flè-la
|
la fleur
|
the flower
|
kò-a
|
kò-la
|
le corps
|
the body
|
fanm-lan
|
fanm-la
|
la femme
|
the woman
|
danm-lan
|
(ma)danm-la
|
la dame
|
the lady
|
Nonm-lan
|
nonm-la
|
l’homme
|
the man
|
machin-nan
|
machin-la
|
la machine
|
the machine
|
lapenn-nan
|
lapenn-la
|
la peine
|
the sorrow
|
kabin-nan
|
kabin-la
|
la cabine
|
the cabin
|
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