Mo pou jòdi-a

Word of the day - Mo pou jòdi-a

Lawenn: /lah/wehnn

Meaning: Queen

Kontinan léwòp-la ni plizyè lawenn.

(cohn-tee-nahn lay-wohp lah nee pleez-yeh lah-wehn)

The continent of Europe has several queens.

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive Adjectives.

In the previous post, we learned how to demonstrate possession when speaking Trinidad French Creole.  Possessive adjectives are the words used in place of articles to indicate to whom or to what something belongs. Today we will learn more about Possessive Adjectives, these adjectives always follow the noun, and most of the time a definite article will follow the possessive adjective.

Possessive Adjectives

My - mwen (mweh)

Your (singular) - ou (oo)

His, hers, its - li (lee)

Our - nou (noo)

Your (plural) - zòt (zaut)

Their - yo (yoh)

Important! - Sometimes a definite article is added after the possessive adjective like this:

My car - motoka mwen an

The definite article can be omitted when using demonstratives (this is, that is, these are, those are).

The definite article can be omitted when using nouns  in such a specific way that there is no way of having more than one: father, mother, grandpa, grandma, husband, wife, heart, etc...

My darling - Doudou mwen instead of Doudou mwen an

My heart - Tjè mwen instead of Tjè mwen an

My head - Tèt mwen instead of Tèt mwen an

This is my chair - sa sé chèz mwen instead of sa sé chèz mwen an

Those are my books  Sé sala sé liv mwen

Very Important - You know that Trinidad French Creole has up to five definite articles: a, an, la, lan, nan.  Just follow the rules before you place them in a sentence.

Examples:

His chant - chan li a

My cocoa - kako mwen an

Your book - liv ou a

Their friend - zanmi yo a

Our family - fanmi nou a

Your (plural) priest - pwèt zòt la

Creole Possessives Part 1

Possessive adjectives are the words used in place of articles to indicate to whom or to what something belongs. In Trinidad French Creole, the possessive adjectives are identical to personal pronouns. There are 6 of them in total. The possessive is always placed after the noun, there are no exceptions to this rule.

1. mwen - my
2. ou, w - your (singular)
3. li, y - his, her, its (y is pronounced "ee")
4. nou - our
5. zòt, zò - your (plural)
6. yo - their

When the possessive ou appears after a noun ending in a vowel, it is shortened to (-w)

When the possessive li appears after a noun ending in a vowel. it is shortened to (-y)

Examples:

Bato mwen.
bah-toh mweh
my boat.

Bato papa mwen.
 bah-toh pah-pah mweh
My father's boat.

Bisiklèt ou.
bee-seek-let oo
Your bicycle.

Bisiklèt maman'w.
bee-seek-let mah-mahnw
Your mother's bicycle.

note:the word maman ends in a nasalised vowel (-an) pronoun shortened to (-w)

Amanda ka palé bay yich-li.
ah-man-dah kah pah-lay bai yeesh lee
Amanda is speaking to her child.

Chapo'y nwè.
sha-poh ee nweh
His hat is black.

Fanm-lan kité chat nou déwò.
fam lahn kee-tay shat noo day-wuh
The woman left our chat outside.

Mwen vlé achté mango zòt apwézan.
mweh vlay ash-tay mango zaut ap-way-zahn.
I want to buy your (plural) mangoes now.

Nou té wè zanmi yo lòt jou-a.
noo tay weh zah-mee yoh lot joo ah
We saw their friend recently.
 

Demonstrative Pronouns 2

Demonstrative pronouns stand in for a person, place or thing that must be pointed to. They may function as subjects, objects or objects of the preposition. Trinidad French Creole has two demonstrative pronouns sala (sah-lah) is the most common form while sa-a (sah-ah) is less commonly used. Both forms are completely interchangeable.


Sa-a = demonstrative indicator (sa) +  the definite article (a)

Sala = demonstrative indicator (sa) fused with the definite article (la)
 
We say sa a or sala when it's used as a demonstrative adjective or a pronoun to identify a specific person or thing.  It may very well be translated as this one or that one.


Sa-a or Sala is used for singular demonstrative adjectives


This/that chick (girl) - djal sala or djal sa-a
This/that star - zétwal sala or zétwal sa-a
This/that cloud - niyaj sala or niyaj sa-a
This/that cup - tas sala or tas sa-a


In the plural form, the plural marker sé (say) is placed BEFORE the noun with the demonstrative indicator placed AFTER the noun


These/those days - sé jou sala or sé jou sa-a
These/those dresses - sé wòb sala or sé wòb sa-a
These/those snacks - sé kolasyon sala or sé kolasyon sa-a
These/ those people - sé moun sala or sé moun sa-a


Sa-a and sala can also be used for singular demonstrative pronouns, in these cases the demonstrative indicator stands by itself.


sa-a/sala pli bon - This one/that one is better
sa-a/sala pli mal - This one/that one is worse
sa-a/sala kasé - This one/ that one is broken 


In the plural form, the plural marker sé (say) is placed BEFORE the noun with the demonstrative indicator placed directly after it.

sé sa-a/sé sala pli bon - These/those are better
sé sa-a/sé sala pli mal - These/those are worse
sé sa-a/sé sala kasé - These/those are broken
pa touché sé sa-a, yo mouyé - Don't touch those, they're wet.


Sa-a and sala can also be used as singular demonstrative pronouns.

Mwen vlé sa-a/sala - I want this one
Kité sa-a/sala pou mwen  Leave that one for me
Mwen enmen sa-a/sala - I like that one.

How to say "at home"

AT HOME - lakay (lah-kai)

Saying 'at home' in Trinidad French Creole also depends on whose home it is. Use pronouns to indicate whose home it is.

examples:

At my home.
lakay mwen.
lah-kai mweh

At your (singular), home.
lakay ou.
lah-kai oo

At our home.
lakay nou.
lah-kai noo

At his/her home.
lakay li
lah-kai lee

At their home.
lakay yo.
lah-kai yo

At John's home.
lakay Jan.
lah-kai zhahn

More useful phrases in Trinidadian French Creole

Ou byen?  
oo beeyenh
Are you okay?

Mwen byen mèsi é ou menm? 
mweh beeyenh ay oo mem
I'm fine thank you and yourself?

Kouman ou ka kwiyé'w?  
coo-mahn oo ca kwee-yay oo
What is your name? literally [How do you call you?]

Non-mwen sé Jamal.
no mweh say zha-mal
 My name is Jamal.

Mwen kontan kontwé'w. 
mweh cohn-tahn cohnt-tway oo
I'm happy to meet you.

Éskizé mwen, misyé/madanm. 
es-kee-zay mweh mees-yay/ ma-dam
Excuse me sir/madame.

Konbyen sa kouté? 
cohn-beeyehn sah coo-tay
How much does that cost?

Sa twò chè. 
sah twoh sheh
That's too expensive.

Sa twò lèd mwen pa vlé'y! 
sah twoh led mweh pah vlay ee
That's too ugly I don't want it!

Ki lè ou ké vini wè nou? 
kee leh oo kay vee-nee weh noo
When will you come to see us?

Tanpwi/souplé
.tahn-pwee/soo-play
 please.

Mèsi anchay pou konpliman'w. 
meh-see poo coh-plee-mahn oo
Thank you very much for your compliments.

Souplé wépété sa ankò. 
soo-play way-pay-tay sah ahn-kuh
 Please repeat that again.

Souplé palé pli dousman 
soo-play pa-lay plee doos-mahn
Please speak more slowly.

Mwen pa sa konpwann sa'w ka di-a. 
mweh pa sah con-pwahnn sa oo kah dee ah
I can't understand what you're saying.

Kouman ou ka di... an Patwa? 
coo-mahn oo kah dee sah ahn pat-wah
How do you say.... in Patwa?

Li ka palé plizyè lanng. 
lee kah pa-lay pleez-yeh lang
He/she speaks several languages.

Yo ka palé Panyòl nan lakay-yo.  
yo kah pa-lay pahn-yohl nahn la-kai yo
They speak Spanish at home.

Ès ou vlé sòti èvè mwen oswè-a? 
ehs oo vlay soh-tee eh-veh mweh ohs-way ah
Do you want to go out with me tonight? 

Ki koté ou vlé alé oswè-a? 
kee koh-tay oo vlay ah-lay ohs-way ah
Where do you want to go tonight?

Annou alé wè yon flim. 
ahn-noo ah-lay weh yohn fleem
 Let's go see a movie.

Annou wété lakay.  
anhn-noo way-tay la-kai
Let's stay home.

Sé..., Sa..., Sé Sa

Sé is the verb to be.

Sé can be a neutral pronoun too.

Sé - it’s, he’s, she’s, this is, that’s 

For example:

1. It's a creature.

    Li sé yon kwéyati.

    Sé yon kwéyati.

    "Sé" represents an unspecified object.

2. Hello, it's me Roko.

    Bonjou, sé mwen Roko.

    Bonjou, sé mwen menm Roko.

3. Sé té an bèl tan.

    It was a beautiful time.

4. Sé té an bon bagay ou té fè ban mwen.

    It was a good thing that you did for me.

5. Sé pa sla'w!

    It's not yours!

6. Sé kon sa papa li yé.

    That's how his father is.

     "Sé" ----> that is.

7. Sé kou'w pou jwé.

    It's your turn to play.

8. Sa bon.

    That's good.

Sa is the neutral demonstrative pronoun that you use as a subject pronoun with verbs other than the verb to be.

9. Sa fè mwen mal.

    Li/i fè mwen mal.

    It hurts.

   We cannot say: Sé fè mwen mal

10. Sa pa té ké fè mwen kontan.

      Li/i pa té ké fè mwen kontan.

      It would not make me happy.

11. Sa pa ké chakoté mwen.

      Li pa ké chakoté mwen.

      It will not disturb me.

 When Creole speakers ask questions with 'SÉ':

12. Sé ki moun ou yé? 
      Literally: It is who, you are?

      Who are you?

13. Sé kouman ou ka kwiyé'w?

      Literally: It is how, you call you?

      What is your name? 

Lesson 36 - Pito

The Kwéyòl word "pito" is derived from the French "plutôt".  It can be used in several ways: as a conjunction, as an adverb or a verb.

Maman-mwen pito bwè kafé pasé dité.
My mother would rather drink coffee than tea.

Yo pito mò pasé pou viv kon ésklav.
They would rather die than live as slaves.

Ès ou pito alé linivèsité-sa a?
Do you prefer to go to this university?

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Pito at the end of a sentence can mean instead. 

Fanm-li pa té vlé fè manjé. Li achté manjé pito.
His wife did not want to cook. He bought food insted.

Malgwé nou té vlé alé an Fwans, nou alé an Janmayik pito.
Although we wanted to go to France, we went to Jamaica instead.


Mwen té bwè ji-wézen pito.
I drank grape juice instead.

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When pito begins a sentence, it means it's better that.

Pito ou pati avan polis-la wivé.
It's better that you leave before the police arrive.

Doudou, pito ou pasé lannwit-la épi mwen.
Honey, it's better that you spend the night with me.


Pito ou palé bay tifi-ou asou sijè sèks-la.
It's better that you talk to your daughter about sex.