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.

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.

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 ké wivé, mwen ké sav sa mwen bizwen. or
Kan tan-an ké 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.

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.