How to speak in the Past Tense [It's very Easy]

Past Perfect tense

The PAST PERFECT TENSE indicates that an action was completed (finished or "perfected") at some point in the past before something else happened. This tense is formed with the past tense form of "to have" (HAD) plus the past participle of the verb (which can be either regular or irregular in form):

I had walked two miles by lunchtime.
I had run three other marathons before entering the Boston Marathon


If you ever took Spanish or French in school, you're more than likely hate the word conjugation. Right?

GOOD NEWS, the beautiful language of Patois (also known as Trinidadian French Creole) does not conjugate its verbs, or in other words the verbs don't change depending on time or condition. Even English conjugates its verbs.

Example: I talk / Yesterday I talked

So how does one speak using the past perfect tense in Trinidadian French Creole / Patois?

It’s as EASY as “Té” (sounds like tay)

Yes, just those 2 letters!

By SIMPLY adding this word “té” before any verb, it makes the sentence past tense.

Even though in English we typically speak in the past tense by adding “ed” at the end of a word, the creole word “té” is easier to remember by relating it to the English word “had”.

Examples:

1. Mwen té palé = I had talked / I talked
2. Mwen té wè = I had seen / I saw
3. Mwen té manjé = I had eaten / I ate
4. Mwen té kouté = I had listened / I listened 
5. Ou té kwéyé = You [singular] had created / you created


So my friends, now you know how to speak in the Past Perfect Tense.

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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.

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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.

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 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.

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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.

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.

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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!

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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.

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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.