when do u put in the dots above the DOT above the E O ICANT get it done right when writing i put the dot above my E and O i get it wrong and if i dont put it then i still get it wrong tell me when is the right time to put it or not i am confuse i get all

In Trinidadian French Creole, accent makers are only placed over 2 letters. These letters are E and O. These accents, when placed over letter affect how the letter sounds.



The acute accent ´ is placed over the letter E.


When this accent is placed over the letter [E] it becomes <É> and it produces a sound like the name of the letter A.

Example

Léti sounds like (lay / tee) [lettuce]

Lélé sounds like (lay / lay) [To mix]




The grave accent ` is used over the letters E and O.


When the grave accent is placed over the letter E, it represents <È> and it produces an (eh) sound.

Example :

Zè sounds like (zeh) [egg]

Bèf sounds like (behf) [cow]


When the grave accent is placed over the letter O it represents <Ò> and it produces an (uh) sound.

Example :

hò sounds like (huh) [high]

mò sounds like (muh) [dead]


There are are several ways to write the accents needed to spell Kwéyòl words. Below you will find a few links to help you get started writing the accented letters of the Kwéyòl language.


1) French / Kwéyòl accent codes

2) Typing accents on your computer

Ask me anything

Lesson 28 - Negatives [Part 3] NOT YET

In order to express that someone has NOT YET been done, the word pòkò is placed BEFORE THE VERB, adjective or another adverb. The Creole word Pòkò (po(r)/ko(r) - don't pronounce the "r", use the same vowel)) is derived from the French adverb [pas encore] which means not yet.

Example :

1. Mwen pòkò kouwan an Katalan. - I'm not yet fluent in Catalan.

2. Ou pòkò pwan dité. - You have not had breakfast yet.

3. Ti bébé-a pòkò dòmi. - The little baby is not sleeping yet.

4. Adrian pòkò wivé. - Adrian has not arrived yet.

5. Maman pòkò fòni vivanno-a. - Mother has not baked the red snapper yet.

6. Pòkò asiz. - Do not sit down yet.

7. Pòkò koumansé. - Do not start yet.

8. Pòkò fini sa. - Do not finish that yet.

9. Pòkò di li ayen. - Do not say anything to him / her yet.


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

Here are some other examples:

10. És ou fini? - Are you finished?
Non mwen pòkò fini! - No, I'm not finished yet!

11. Zò ja palé ba' y? - Have you spoken to him already?
Non, nou pòkò palé ba 'y - No, we have not spoken to him yet.

12. Éskè'w ba yo liv-la? - Did you give them the book?
Pòkò - Not yet.

Lesson 27 - Negative Sentences [NEVER]

In the last lesson, we learned how to construct and use negative imperatives, we were also reminded that negative sentences are formed by placing "PA" before verbs, adjectives, adverbs and tense markers. In this lesson we will learn how to use the adverb NEVER in a sentence. The Creole equivalent of the negative adverb NEVER is formed by placing "PA" BEFORE the word janmen; the Creole word "janmen" is derived from the French word [jamais] which means "never". Tense markers usually maintain their position being placed after the negative determiner PA; tense markers may also be placed after the construction [pa+janmen] 1. Mwen pa konnèt ou - I don't know you. 2. Mwen pa té janmen konnèt ou - I never knew you. 3. Yo pa kozé. - They don't chat. 4. Yo pa janmen kozé. They never chat. 5. James pa ka bat tanbou.- James does not play drums. 6. James pa janmen ka bat tanbou. - James never plays drums. 7. Mwen pa ka palé konsa. - I don't speak like that. 8. Mwen pa janmen palé konsa. - I never speak like that. 9. Nou pa sòti. - We don't go out. 10. Nou pa janmen sòti. - We never go out. 11. Pa li sa. - Don't read that. 12. Pa janmen li sa. - Never read that. Here are some other examples : 13. i twò ta. - It's too late. 14. i pa janmen twò ta. - It's never too late. 15. Mwen ké kité'w. - I will leave you. 16. Mwen pa ké janmen kité'w. - I will never leave you. 17. Yo ké rayi'w. - They will hate you. 18. Yo pa ké janmen rayi'w. - They will never hate you. 19. Obliyé mwen! - Forget me! 20. Pa janmen obliyé mwen! - Don't ever forget me! 21. Janmen! - Never! 22. Pa janmen di janmen! - Never say never!

how do you say screaming in TFC if it is not kriyan?

In Trinidadian French Creole, the verb "to scream" is hélé (hay / lay).

There is NO exact adjective equivalent to the English adjective "screaming". In order to translate "screaming", we place a tense marker BEFORE the verb. Here are some examples:

Hélé : To scream

Mwen ka hélé. - I am screaming.

Ou ka hélé. - You [singular] are screaming.

Li ka hélé. - He, she or it is screaming.

Nou ka hélé. - We are screaming.

Zot ka hélé. - You [plural] are screaming.

Yo ka hélé. - They are screaming.



Gason-an té hélé ban mwen - The boy screamed at me.


Yè, mwen wè yon vyé fanm lèd ki té ka hélé - Yesterday, I saw an old ugly woman who was screaming.


Démen mwen ké wè nonm-lan ki ka hélé. - Tomorrow, I will see the man who screams.


Mwen ni yon chouwèt ki ka hélé - I have a screeching / screaming owl.


Pouki ou ka hélé bay sésé'w? Why are you screaming at your sister?

Ask me anything

what is the meaning of zafe ou

zafè ou (zah /feh / oo) literally means your business or your affairs

Example :

Gason, véyé zafè ou menm! - Boy, mind your own business!


Nou pa vlé mélé kò-nou an zafè-ou. - We don't want to meddle in your affairs/business.

Ask me anything

Lesson 26 - Negative Sentences [Part 2]

In Lesson 10, we learned that in Trinidadian French Creole a negative sentence is formed by placing "PA" BEFORE the verb, adjective or adverb; "pa" is also placed before any tense markers. In this short lesson we will have a short review before being introduced to other types of negative statements.

1. Mwen pa ka manjé lay. - I don't eat garlic.

2. Sésé Bernard pa ka palé. - Bernard's sister does not speak.

3. Nou pa vlé vizité'w. - We don't want to visit you.

4. Mwen pa ka tjwit vyann. - I don't cook meat.

5. Zòt pa kontan. You [all] are not happy.

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

There isn't / There aren't.

6. Pa ni manjé lakay. - There isn't any food at home.

7. Pa ni klas Mékwédi. - There aren't any classes on Wednesday.

8. Pa ni twavay. - There are no jobs.

9. Pa ni pwòblèm. - There's no problem.

10. Pa ni plas pou mwen la. - There is no place for me here.

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

Negative Imperatives.


11. Pa touché. - Don't touch.

12. Pa fouté yo. - Don't hit them.

13. Pa di sa. - Don't say that.

14. Pa pléwé. - Don't cry.

15. Pa wi. - Don't laugh.

16. Pa pè. - Don't be afraid.

17. Pa faché. - Don't be angry.

18. Pa asiz. - Don't sit.

19. Pa doubout. - Don't stand.

20. Pa kouché. - Don't lie down.

Lesson 25 - Asking Questions with the verb "To Be"

There are only two forms of the verb "to Be" in Trinidadian French Creole; they are "sé" and "yé."

The most common form "Sé" can be found at the beginning or middle of a sentence.

Example:

Sé ou mwen vlé. - It is you that I want.

Sé té yon ti-gason ki wè'w. - It was a little boy who saw you.

Nonm-sala sé an Lougawou! - That man is a werewolf!

Mwen sé yon Twinidadyen. - I am a Trinidadian.

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

The second form "Yé" appears at the end of sentence, especially when an emphatic statement is made.


Nou konnèt ki moun ou yé. - We know who you are.

Moun Kwéyòl yo yé. They are Creole people.

Kouman papa'w yé? - How is your father?

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

When asking questions with the verb "To be" we use the "YÉ" form of the verb and it is placed at the end of a sentence.

What? - Ki sa + subject + yé

Who? - Ki moun + subject + yé

Which? - Kilès + subject + yé

Where? - Ki koté + subject + yé

When? - Ki tan + subject + yé

How? - Kouman + subject + yé

How much /many? - Konbyen + subject + yé

How come? - Ki mannyè + inquiring sentence / kouman fè + inquiring sentence.

Why? - Pouki + inquiring sentence.

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

Example : What?

Ki sa bagay-la yé? - What thing is that?

Ki sa sa yé? - What is that?

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

Example : Who?

Ki moun Rolando yé? - Who is Rolando?

Ki moun jenn fi-a yé? - Who is the young girl?

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

Example : Which?

Kilès zasyèt sa yé? - Which plate is that?

Kilès madanm sa yé? - Which woman is that?

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

Example : Where?

Ki koté boutik-ou yé? - Where is your store?

Ki koté tifi-yo yé? - Where is their daughter?

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

Example : When?

Ki tan nòs maman'w té yé? - When was your mother's wedding?

Ki tan lafèt-matant mwen yé? - When is my aunt's party?

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


Example : How?

Kouman lègzanmen-ou té yé? - How was your exam?

Kouman lannwit-ou pasé? - How was your night? [past tense is indicated by pasé]

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

Example : How many, how much?

Konbyen mango ki la? - How many mangoes are there?

Konbyen glo ki la? - How much water is there?

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

Example : How come?

Ki mannyè fè ou pa enmen léti? - How come you don't like lettuce?

Ki mannyè fè yo pa tini kay? - How come they are homeless?

Kouman fè'w pa enmen mwen ankò? - How come don't you love me any more?

Kouman fè'w kontan konsa? - How come you're so happy?
-----------------------------------------------------

Example: Why?

Pouki li kasé tjè-w? - Why did she break your heart?

Pouki ou vlé débatjé avyon-an? - Why do you want to disembark the plane?

gangan mwen pati and gangan mwen soti does it means the same?

yes gangan-mwen pati and gangan-mwen sòti mean the same thing. They both mean "My grandmother left/departed."

Ask me anything

tonton and mononk is this two words means uncle in Patwa?

Yes the words Tonton and mononk both mean uncle.

Ask me anything

Lesson 24 - The conjunction "AND"

Conjunctions are words that provide a link between similar words, such as nouns, verbs, people, etc. This lesson will focus on the English conjunction "and" which has several different forms in the Creole language, with épi being the most commonly used form.


The conjunction AND appears in the following forms in Creole: é, épi, ék, and étou.

Here are some examples of how each form of the conjunction is used

Example:

ÉK is used when joining words of equal value.

Nou wè yon chyen ék kat liza. - We saw a dog and four lizards.

Mwen enmen fig ék zanana. - I like bananas and pineapples.

Mwen menm ék ou. - You and I.

Maman ék Papa ka alé. - Mom and Dad are going.

Example :

É is used to join clauses in a sentence, and its use is identical to the English "and."

Li enmen li é ou enmen dansé. - She likes to read and you like to dance.

Nou byen é ou menm? - We're fine and yourself?

Loulou ka li é ékwi sa ba'w. - Loulou is reading and writing that for you.

Mononk-yo manjé é bwè tout bagay. - Their uncle ate and drank everything.


Épi is used to join clauses in a sentence, it is interchangeable with é


Example:

Bann nonm-lan té vini épi bati kay-la.- The group of men came and built the house.

Fanm béké-a té vini épi ban nou dé bag dajan. - The White woman came and gave us two silver rings.

Chanté épi dansé bay Bondyé. - Sing and dance for God.

Vini épi alé. - Come and Go.


Étou


Example:


Chanm-lan bèl, gwo étou y bon maché. - The room is pretty, big and its cheap.

Wad-ou chifonnen, kòskèl, étou mès-ou sovay. - Your clothes are ruffled, mismatched, and your manners are wild.

Mwen anwita, zafè-mwen déwanjé, étou mwen pa menm pawé. - I'm late, my things are disorganised, and I'm not even ready.

Madou-mwen bèl, savan étou li wich. - My sweetheart is beautiful, smart and she's rich.

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.

Eskize mwen, es ou sa di mwen ki sa "salmodi" vle di an chanson sala...Lanmè-a pa chanté salmodi i mò pòv maléwé!

Salmodi is a noun it corresponds to the English word ditty [short simple song]

Ask me anything

Mwen pa konpwan sa "Kongo ba yo bwa" vle di icit... Dé ésklav sòti Tounapoun, Kongo ba yo bwa, fè yo déviwé!

Kongo ba yo bwa literally means "Congo gave them wood" in other words he beat them with a piece of wood.

the sentence " Dé ésklav sòti Tounapoun, Kongo ba yo bwa, fè yo déviwé" is translated as:

Two slaves ran away from Tunapuna, Congo beat them with a staff and made them return!


Tunapuna is a town in Trinidad.

Bay bwa in this case means to hit someone with a wooden staff.

Ask me anything

Lesson 22 - The Past Tense [part 1]

The Past Tense can be expressed more directly by the use of the marker té. This marker is used to indicate that some action took place in the past; it is also applied to past conditions. The tense marker té can be used with other markers in expressing more complex notions of time. The tense marker té always appears before nouns, adjectives and adverbs.

Example:

Mizik-la té bèl oswè-a. - The music was great tonight.

Lè mwen tan nouvèl-la, mwen té kontan. - When I heard the news, I was happy.

Manzèl-la té swen pòpò-a épi lanmou -The woman lovingly cared for the baby.

Dé vyé nonm-lan té malad. - The two old men were sick.

Mwen té la pou baptènm-la - I was there for the baptism.

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

The Recent Past

Any action that was completed in the recent past or just before the present time, is expressed by the use of SÒTI. The recent past tense is formed by placing SÒTI before the verb.

Example:

Nou sòti lavé sé wad-la. - We just washed the clothes.

Fwè mwen sòti pati lékòl. - My bother just left school.

Tonton-li sòti manjé yon bon soup. - His uncle just ate a good soup.

Papa, maman, mwen sòti wè yon zonbi! - Dad, Mom, I just saw a ghost!

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

Please translate the following sentences. You will find the answers below.

1. The elephant just passed here.

2. A big bird just flew over our heads.

3. James just got off the boat.

4. Anne just fought the thief.

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

1) Léfan-an fini pasé isi-a.

2) Yon gwo zwézo fini volé anlè tèt-nou an.

3) James fini débatjé bato-a.

4) Anne fini goumen vòlè-a.

Lesson 21 - Simple Present and PastTense.

The Simple present and The Simple Past Tense is indicated by the absence of any verbal particles (or the “zero marker”). The simple present is used to express general truths. The tense is learned from context. When the verb appears alone, it indicates an action that will not be repeated.


1. Simple Present Tense: Mwen twavay wèd. (I work hard.)
    Simple past tense: Mwen twavay wèd yè oswè-a. (I worked hard last night)




2. Simple Present Tense: Nou wè Pierre. (We see Pierre.)
   Simple Past Tense: Nou wè Pierre simenn pasé-a. (We saw Pierre last week.)




3. Simple Present Tense: Ou konpwann mwen. (You understand me.)
 Simple Past Tense: Ou konpwann mwen avan. (You understood me before.)


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

Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future.

Example:

1. Chat pa tété wat.- (Cats do not suckle rats.)

2. Kochon pa volé. - (Pigs do not fly.)

3. Bondyé pa manti. - (God does not lie.)

The Simple Present Tense can be used to express that an action is happening or not happening now. This can only be done with non-continuous verbs such as the verbs to be, to want, to cost, to need, etc.

Example:

1. Mwen bizwen lanmou'w atwèlman. - (I need your love now.)

2. Mwen pa bizwen lanmou'w atwèlman. - (I don't need your love now.)

3. Nou tini twa tablo Cazabon. - (We have three of Cazabon's paintings.)

4. Nou pa tini twa tablo Cazabon. - (We don't have three Cazabon paintings.)



Note: atwèlman, is one variant of the adverb atjwèlman meaning now.


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

The Simple Past Tense.

The Simple Past Tense is used to express an idea that an action was started and completed sometime in the past; occasionally, the speaker may not specify when the action took place, but there is a specific time in mind.

1. Nou dansé oswè-a. - We danced tonight.

2. Manzèl-la bouwi sé fèy-la. - The woman boiled the leaves.

3. Ou kwiyé minis-la? - Did you call the minister?

4. Gangan-mwen pati. - My grandmother left.