what is the word vie

The word vyé means old

pantalon-mwen vyé = My pants are old.

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Lesson 33 - Using "IF...". Sentences with IF clauses

In today's lesson we will learn about IF clauses  If-then clauses, also known as conditionals, or conditional sentences,* are sentences with one clause stating a condition or possibility, and a second clause naming a result which is dependent upon that condition.


The English conjunction IF is expressed in Kwéyòl by the word Si pronounced (SEE)


SI -----> IF



There are different types of si clauses, but they all have two things in common:


1) The English result clause might be preceded by "then," but there is no equivalent word preceding the Creole result clause.


Example :


1) Si ou tjwit sa, mwen ké vann-li.
    If you cook that, (then) I will sell it.


2) Si nou té la, nou té ké wè yo.
    If we were there, (then) we would have seen them.


3) Si ou pa alé jòdi-a, ou pa sa alé démen.
    If you don't go today, (then) you can't go tomorrow.


4) Si mwen ka kwè an Jézi, mwen ké wè fidji Bondyé-a.
   If I believe in Jesus, (then) I will see the face of God.


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2) The clauses can be in either order, si clause followed by result clause, or result clause followed by si clause, as long as the verb is used correctly and (si) is placed BEFORE the condition.


Example :


5) Mwen ké alé si ou vlé.
    I will go if you want me to.


6) Li pé palé Alman si sé sa yo pito.
    He can speak German, if that is what they prefer.


7) Ès zanmi ou ké péyé si James ka kondwi motoka-a?
    Will you friend pay if James drives the car?


8) Li ké pwotojé tifi'y si ou soté anlè'y.
    He will protect his daughter if you attack her.


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Even If - Menm Si


1) Menm si ou pati, mwen enmen'w.
    Even if you leave, I love you.


2) Menm si nou di'w sa, ou pa ké kwè nou.
   Even if we tell you that, you won't believe us.


3) Menm si ou tonbé, fò ou lévé.
    Even if you fall, you must get up.


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As if, as though - Konmsi

1) Poutji ou ka fè konmsi ou pa konnèt nou?
   Why are you acting as if you don't know us?

2) Nonm-lan fè konmsi y pòv, mé y ni lajan.
   The man acted as if he's poor but he has money.

3) Mé, li ka palé konmsi y té la.
    But, he is speaking as though he was there.

Bonjou! Kouman ou di "stand out" i.e. "born to stand out" an Kwéyòl? Mèsi é tjenn leve twavay-la bon.

Stand out in the sense of distinction is usually translated used the verb "kléwé" which means "to shine", but it can also be translated in other ways depending on the context.

I was born to shine/ stand out. - Mwen té fèt pou kléwé.

I was born to excel / stand out. - Mwen té fèt pou chapé.

I was born to dominate / stand out. Mwen té fèt pou donminé.

You can also use the verb distengwé which means "to distinguish".

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WHAT IS THE WORD VIE

The word vyé means old.

Example :

Sla-mwen vyé, mé sla-ou nèf. = Mine is old, but yours is new.

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The night is cool lanwit la

The night is cool. = Lanwit-la fwé

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night is lanwit but in one sentence i see you use OSWE-A for the night why did you not say LANWIT?

lanwit = night

oswè-a = tonight


Example:

Nou k'alé dansé tout lanwit = We're going to dance all night.

Ki sa ou vlé fè oswè-a? = What do you want to do tonight?

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mwen poko ale laplas i have not yet go to the market is this right?

Mwen pòkò alé laplas = I have not yet gone to the market.

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Patois Class in Tunapuna, Trinidad

Women Working for Social Progress (Workingwomen) will be starting a Patois class on Friday 16th March, 2012 at their office on 8 Niles Street, Tunapuna, T&T, beginning at 5:00 p.m.

For further information please call Ms Phillip at 663-9509.

Mwen domi lapli i sleep in the rain Pretty dress wob joli are these sentences right

Mwen dòmi AN lapli - I sleep IN the rain.

joli wòb - pretty dress

In Creole, joli is an adjective that is placed BEFORE the noun; its synonym bèl (beautiful) is also placed BEFORE the noun.

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mwen denmi chivi mwen i sprained my ankle ale pou potla ban mwen go bring the pot for me are my sentences right ?

Mwen denmi chivi-mwen - I sprained my ankle.

Alé pou pot-la ban mwen - Go and bring the pot for me.

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The night is cool Lanwit chiveni dont know how to write IS and THE please write it correctly for me

The English adjective "cool" translates as the Kwéyòl word "fwé". The Kwéyòl word fwé is pronounced "fway". I will give you some examples of how the Kwéyòl adjective fwé can be used in a sentence.

Glo lawivyè-a fwé - The river water is cool.

Bwiz-la byen fwé oswè-a - The breeze is cool tonight.


So, if you want to say "The night is cool", you would say:

Lannwit-la fwé. - The night is cool.

Wherever we use adjectives in a sentence the verb "to be" (is/are, etc.) is not needed or used in Créole.

Example

Lakay-ou blé - Your house is blue.

Lanmen-mwen kout. - My hand is short.

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There are two forms of the verb "to be" in Creole.

These 2 forms of the verb "to be" are sé (pronounced (say)) and the other is yé (pronounced (yay)). Each form of the verb is used in a specific way.

The most common form of the verb is sé, it can appear at the beginning or middle of a sentence.

Example:

Papa-mwen sé lipap-la! - Mwen father is the Pope!

Janice sé yon machann snokònn. - Janice is a snow-cone vendor.

Sé méchan ou méchan! - You're extremely wicked / Is wicked yuh wicked! [Trini English Creole]

Sé mwen ki fouté ou! - I was the one who hit you / It was me who hit you!


The second form yé only appears at the END OF A SENTENCE. It is used when asking question and emphatic statements.


Example:

Ki koté ou yé? - Where are you?

Ki lè i yé? - What time is it?

Jan Lagwinad nou yé. - We are Grenadians.


For more information on the verb "to be" as it is used in the Kwéyòl language, please read the following lesson

The Verb "To Be"

For information on the Singular Definite Article, the, please read the following lesson:

http://trinikalalou.blogspot.com/2011/12/lesson-4-definite-article-singular.html

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The word chiven is an interjection as in "That was cool, man!"

Example:

Boug, sa té chiven! - Dude, that was cool!

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see if my sentence Mwen ale lekol demen i am going to school tomorow is this right?

I am going to school tomorrow - Mwen ka alé lékòl démen.

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Creole Proverb of The Day

Creole Proverb of the Day.

Apwé lafèt, sé doulè an tèt.

After the party, the head aches. [hangover]

After the good times, the bad time come.

Lewa means King how do you say Queen

The Creole word for Queen is Lawenn (lah /wehn)

This word is sometimes shortened to wenn pronounced like the English word [when]

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marche means Walk how do you say cheap is it mache?

Maché pronounced (mah /shay) means "To walk."

In order to translate the adjective cheap, we say bonmaché (bon /mah/shay)

Bannan té bonmaché jòdi-a. - Plantains were cheap today.


The word bonmaché is derived from French [bon marché] which also means cheap or inexpensive.

Note: French [bon marché] literally means "good market"
The Creole word for market is laplas which is pronounced (lah /plahs)

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Lesson 32 - Adjectives Continued

Adjectives are words that mostly describe nouns in a sentence. We covered some aspects of adjectives in lesson 12. In that lesson, we learned that Kwéyòl adjectives only have one form and we also learned that most adjective are placed AFTER the noun. There are also adjectives that are placed BEFORE the noun. Today we will learn more about those adjectives.

Here are a few sentences with adjectives that appear AFTER the noun and actually function more like verbs.

1. Pa palé moun mal, sé ou ki lèd!
Don't say bad things about people, you're the ugly one!

2. Sé jou-sala té lonng, men nou té enmen yo.
Those days were long, but we loved them.

3. Mwen sé vlé koupé chivé-mwen kout.
I would like to cut my hair short.

4. Byè-a té fwé lè mwen bwè'y.
The beer was cool when I drank it.

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Now we will look at a list of commonly used adjectives which always appear BEFORE the noun that they describe.

There are some adjectives that appear before the noun, you can memorise these kinds of adjectives by the acronym B.A.G.S.


Beauty


Age


Good & Bad


Size

The adjective will be listed first, followed by a sentence demonstrating how the adjective may be used in a sentence.

Tout - All

Mwen ka sové tout lanmou-mwen pou'w.
I am saving all of my love for you.

Mové - Bad

An mové tan, bon zanmi-nou ké la.
In bad times, our good friends will be there.

Bon - Good

Ou achté yon kay, sa sé yon bon bagay.
You bought a house, that is a good thing.

Bèl - Beautiful / Handsome

Bernadette tini yon bèl vwa.
Bernadette has a beautiful voice.

Pwèmyè - First

Pwèmyè fwa mwen wè'w, mwen tonbé damou.
The first time I saw you, I fell in love.

Denyè - Last

Sa sété denyè moman mwen palé ba yo.
That was the last moment I spoke to them.

Anpil - Many

Sé zanj-la té tjwé anpil denmou adan ladjè-a.
The angels killed many demons in the war.

Yonndé - A Few

Mayotte té wè yonndé moun nan lantèman-an.
Mayotte saw a few people at the burial.

Vyé - Old

Yon soukounya ka viv nan vyé kay-la.
A blood sucking witch lives in the old house.

Jenn - Young

Di mwen pouki'w vlé mayé yon nonm pli ki jenn pasé'w?
Tell my why you want to marry a man who is younger than you?

Lòt - Other

Annou diskité lòt sijè-a.
Let's discuss the other topics.

Menm - Same

Mwen pa ké fè menm bagay-la ankò.
I will not do the same thing again.

Plizyè - Several

Tifi-a sa palé plizyè lanng Afwiken.
The little girl can speak several African languages.

Ti- Small / Little

Nou pwan yon ti vakans an Venézwèl.
We took a little vacation in Venezuela.

Big - Gwo

Kouba sé yon gwo zil.
Cuba is a big island.

Bidim - humongous, huge

Ostwali sé yon bidim zil épi yon kontinan.
Australia is a humongous island and a continent.

Okenn - Any

Mwen pa sa touché okenn wòch nan lawivyè-a.
I cannot touch any rocks in the river.

i saw you used the word bay in a sentence pouki ou ka hele bay sese w meaning why are you screaming at your sister BAY in that sentence means at?

yes, in that sentence it means "at" though more literally it means "to"

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I am doing a research on the tense-aspect and mood marker in Patois. Can u help me?

Yes I can, what questions do you have?

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what is the word BAY means in english does it means AT?

The Kwéyòl word bay which is pronounced like the English words(buy, bye) has several meanings. It is mostly used as a verb meaning "To give."

Example :

1) Bay Annette wòb wouj-la. - Give Annette the red dress.

2) Nou té bay zwézo-a mayi. - We gave the bird corn.


The Kwéyòl word bay is also used as a preposition meaning for, to, or on behalf of

Example:

1) Mwen ka kwit sa bay Mohan - I am cooking that for Mohan.

2) Ès nou té ka palé bay zòt, non! - Were we talking to you(all), no!

3) Mwen ka'alé achté chapo-a bay ti-fi ou. - I am going to buy the hat for your daughter.

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for more information on the Kwéyòl verb (Bay) please read the following lesson

The verb "To give" (Bay)

chante chanson epi lanmou does this means in Patwa sing a song of love?

"Chanté épi lanmou" means Sing with love.

"Chanté yon chanté lanmou" means Sing a song of love.

You can also say 

"Chanté yon chanson lanmou" which means Sing a song of love.

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Creole proverb of the Day

Creole proverb of the Day

Bouden pa tini zòwèy.

Belly has no ears.

One cannot reason with hunger.

Lesson 31 - The conjunction "Since"

Conjunctions are words that provide a link between similar words, such as nouns, verbs, people, etc. We have we have already learned how to use two conjunctions, they were the conjunctions AND in lesson 24; then we learned how to use the conjunction WHEN in lesson 29.

Today we will learn how to use the Creole conjunction DÉPI [day /pee]. This word mostly functions as a conjunction and it is derived from the French word depuis. In Trinidad French Creole, the conjunction DÉPI is used to translate since, since after,as long as, if, ever since

Dépi translated as since...

1. Ou té jalou mwen dépi mwen fèt!  

    You've been jealous of me since I was born!

2. Nou pa wè-y dépi lendi maten.  

    We haven't seen him since Monday morning.

3. Démen k'alé fè kat lanné dépi nou la. 

    Tomorrow will make it four years since we've been here.

4. Depi'w enmen mwen, mayé mwen. 

    Since you love me, marry me.

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Dépi translated as from...

5. Lé Vandwédi, magazen-mwen ouvè dépi nèvè nan maten jous sizè an apwémidi.

    On Fridays, my store is open from 9 in the morning until 6 in the afternoon.

6. Pou dévwa-zòt, zòt ké li dépi paj twant pou paj twant-kat.

    For your homework, you will read from page thirty to page thirty-four.

7. Moun té ka goumen dépi Sent Ann wivé Lopino.

    People we fighting from Saint Anne to Lopinot.  

8. Dépi moman mwen wè'w, mwen té sav ou méchan.

    From the moment I saw you, I knew you were evil.

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Dépi translated as since when / for how long?

9. Dépi ki tan ou té an Almany?

    For how long were you in Germany?

10. Dépi konbyen jou ou té malad?

      For how many days were you sick?

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Dépi translated as whenever

11. Dépi li vini faché, li koumansé palé Panyòl.

     Whenever she gets angry, she starts speaking Spanish.

12. Dépi ou wè manzèl-la, ou pa sa di ayen.

     Whenever you see the young girl, you can't say anything.

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Dépi translated as ever since

13. Dépi jou-sala mwen pa janmen wè'y ankò.

      Since that day, I never saw him again.

14. Mwen té wè vè adan vyann-an, dépi jou-sala mwen pa manjé'y.

      I saw worms in the meat, ever since that day, I don't eat it.

Creole proverb of the day

Creole proverb of the Day :

Bon bouch ka genyen chouval a kwédi.

A good mouth buys horses on credit.

The ability to speak well goes a long way.

why is it that some words like "mwen" and "jou" dont have accents

Accents are only used for <e> and <o>. Thus they distinguish <é> from <è> ("fwé" = "cool" from "fwè" = "brother"), and <o> from <ò> ("mo" = 'word' vs "mò" = 'dead'). This contrast between <é> and <è>, etc., is only in syllables that end in those vowel sounds, in open syllables (open syllables end in vowels, closed syllables end in consonants).

The two-letter combinations <en> and <ou> are digraphs, and the <n> is functioning as a sort of letter "accent", signalling that the <e> is nasalised. The <o> functions as a helping letter for the <u>: this combination is useful for English speakers as we already have words like "soup" (from French, of course), so we wouldn't pronounce it "sup" and the French wouldn't pronounce it "syup".

And we can note that Patois refuses silent (redundant/useless) letters - all letters are useful and pronounced.

Other systems, like in Martinique and Haiti, leave out some accents. In Haiti, <e> is always <é>, just like Spanish. In Martinique, in syllables that are closed or ending with a consonant <e> is always <è>, so they leave it out (bet, bef, fwet, fet, because there are no bét, béf, fwét, fét). The contrast between <é> and <è>, etc., is only in syllables that end in those sounds, or in open syllables.

For more information on the writing system used in Trinidad French Creole, please click on the link below.

Sounds and spelling

French Creole orthography

There are also books in French written on the subject, e.g., Graphie Créole by Jean Bernabé.

Information provided by Jo-Anne S. Ferreira (Blog moderator)

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Lesson 30 - Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns are the words which replace nouns modified by possessive adjectives.We use the Possessive Pronouns when we want to substitute a group of words that are indicating a possession relation. In English, the possessive pronouns are: mine, yours [sing.], his hers, its, ours, yours [plur.] theirs.




In Trinidadian French Creole, Possessive Pronouns are formed by prefixing sla (slah) to the personal pronoun. There are 6 possessive pronouns in total, one for each personal pronoun.


1. Mine : sla-mwen or contracted form : sla'm

2. Yours [singular] : sla-mwen or contracted form : sla'w

3. His / hers / its : sla-li or contracted form : sla-y

4. Ours : sla-nou

5. Yours [plural] : sla-zòt

6. Theirs : sla-yo

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Examples : sla-mwen / sla'm [mine]

1. Sé djaman-sala sé sla-mwen. - Those diamonds are mine.

2. Tout kò'w sé sla-mwen! - You're all mine!

3. San-an asou chimiz-la sé sla'm. - The blood on the shirt is mine.


Note: 'w is a contraction of the pronoun ou, and it appears after a vowel sound.

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Examples : sla-ou / sla'w [yours] singular

1. Dé liv diwi sé sla-ou. - Two pounds of rice are yours.

2. Lajan-mwen sé pa sla-ou! - My money is not yours!

3. Pwan sla'm, pas mwen vlé sla'w. - Take mine, because I want yours.

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Examples : sla-li / sla-y [his, hers, its]

1. Chato-a sé sla-li. - The castle is his.

2. Bougèt-la sé sla-y. The coin purse is hers.

Note y is pronounced <ee>

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Examples : sla-nou [ours]

1. Twézò-a sé sla-nou, déga!.- The treasure is ours, go away!

2. Pou lé pwézan, péyi-a sé sla-nou. - For now, the country is ours.

3. Nou ni sla'w, ès ou tini sla-nou? - We have yours, do you have ours?

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Examples : sla-zòt [ yours] plural.

1. Sé sak-la, yo pèd sla-zòt. - The bags, they lost yours.

2. Yo vòlè byen-li; yo vòlè -sla-zòt tou? - They stole his things; did they steal yours too?

3. Mé, éti sla-zòt yé? - But, where is yours?

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Examples : sla-yo [theirs]

1. Bisiklèt-la sé sla-yo. - The bicycle is theirs.

2. Bitasyon-an sété sla-yo. - The estate was theirs.

3. Sé pa sla-zòt menm! - It is not even theirs!

Lesson 29 - When [used as a conjunction]

Conjunctions are words that provide a link between similar words, such as nouns, verbs, people, etc. We have we have already learned how to use the conjunction AND in lesson number 24.


Today we will learn how to use the Kwéyòl equivalent of the English word WHEN which can be used as a conjunction.


Then using the Creole equivalent of the English conjunction WHEN, we have two forms; these are "lè"and "kan." These two forms are interchangeable but kan is used less frequently than lè.

[Kan is somewhat archaic.]

Kwéyòl speakers will translate WHEN as "kan" and "lè".


When -----> Kan [ca{n}]

1. Kwiyé nou kan ou wivé biwo-a. or
Kwiyé nou lè'w wivé biwo-a
Call us when you reach the office.


2. Pasé bò kay-mwen kan ou fini twavay. or
Pasé bò kay-mwen, lè'w fini twavay.
Drop by [visit] when you finish work.

3. Li té ka wi, kan tab-la chaviwé. or
Li té ka wi. lè tab-la chaviwé.
She was laughing when the table capsized.

4. Kan ti bébé-a lévé, nou k'alé pati. or
Lè ti bébé-a lévé, nou k'alé pati.
When the baby wakes up, we are going to leave.

5. Kan gangan té wè makouchat-la, li fè yon kwi! or
Lè gangan té wè makouchat-la, li fè yon kwi!
When grandma saw the bobcat, she screamed out!

Note: 'w is a contraction of the pronoun ou, which is contracted when it appears after a vowel.

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When -----> Lè [leh]

6. Lè mwen té jenn, mwen té pli bèl. or
Kan mwen té jenn, mwen té pli bèl.
When I was young, I was prettier.

7. Tèt-ou ké fè mal, lè'w bwè ji-sala. or
Tèt-ou ké fè mal, kan ou bwè ji-sala.
Your head will hurt, when you drink that juice.

8. Mwen va di'w, lè nou té fè lanmou sété fantastik! or
Mwen va di'w, kan nou té fè lanmou sété fantastik!
I'll tell you, when we made love, it was fantastic!

9. Lè tan-an wivé, mwen ké sav sa mwen bizwen. or
Kan tan-an wivé, mwen ké sav sa mwen bizwen.
When the time comes, I will know what I need.

10. Lè moun ka pléwé, Bondyé ka soulajé yo. or
Kan moun ka pléwé, Bondyé ka soulajé yo.
When people cry, God comforts them.

Note: 'w is a contraction of the pronoun ou, which is contracted when it appears after a vowel.