Lesson 23 - Past Tense [part 2]

The Past Progressive Tense.

The Past Progressive Tense is used to describe an action that was happening in the past but is not happening now. This tense is formed by combining the past tense marker té with the progressive marker ka. Whenever these two markers are combined, té is always placed before ka and both markers are always placed before the verb. there are no exceptions to this rule; they always appear in this order (té+ka+verb)

Example :

John té ka maché épi ti fwè-y - John was walking with his little brother.

Mwen té ka sòti lakay-mwen. - I was leaving my house.

Fanm-lan té ka pléwé pou yich-li. - The woman was crying for her child.

Nou té ka kondwi a lopital-la. - We were driving to the hospital.

Li té ka gadé mwen oswè-a. - She was watching me tonight.

Yo té ka apwann palé Alman. - They were learning to speak German.

----------------------------------------------------

Please translate the following sentences into the Past Progressive tense:

1. I danced with you.

2. We are eating a roasted duck.

3. I sing.

4. We are stealing money.

--------------------------------------------------

 Mwen té ka dansé épi'w.- I was dancing with you.

Nou té ka manjé yon kanna woti. - We were eating a roasted duck.

Mwen té ka chanté. - I was singing.

Nou té ka vòlè lajan. -We were stealing money.

--------------------------------------------------------

USED TO

To express that something used to be done in the past, use the TÉ KA construction.


Example :

Tanlontan, Mwen té ka wété an Fwans. - Long ago, I used to live in France.

Lè papa-yo té jenn, i té ka palé Italyen. - When their father was young, he used to speak Italian.

Dé lanne pasé, mwen té ka tjwit pou léwa-a. - Two years ago I used to cook for the king.


Li té ka alé légliz Òpò. - He used to go to church in Port-of-Spain.