Grammar Flashcards Lessons 1-5
Definite article “the”
- Where does it go?
- What words do you use?
- practice adding to nouns
THE is placed after nouns or noun phrases (noun/adjective/the). The article marker used depends on the last letter of the word immediately preceeding it.
la - for any consonant besides “n” and “m”
nan - for words ending in “n” or “m”
an - for words ending in any blend (an, en, on, ou)
a - for words ending in a vowel
Practice adding “the” to as many nouns as you can think of.
How do you pluralize a noun?
Yo
When making a noun plural, yo can also replace other forms of the. Yo also follows possession/possessor phrase. Example below:
Sè li yo - Her sisters
Sè yo a - Their sisters
You don’t need to use a plural marker for pairs that are commonly assumed to go together (i.e. shoes, socks, eyes, ears)
How do you use indefinite articles “a/an”?
Yon
Unlike all forms of “the” yon is placed BEFORE the noun or noun phrase just like in English.
Rules for using se (to be)
It is taken literally so it is NOT used for attribute, state of being or preposition. You do NOT use se when followed by an adjective.
You can say Lisa is a doctor (Lisa se yon dòktè) but you can’t say Lisa is pretty.
Se is used when you want to say (it’s) in the generic sense. It’s Mom - Se mama. It’s a beautiful day - Se yon bèl jounen.
Rules for using ye
Ye serves as “to be” for a question. It is only used when there is NO OTHER verb in the question? It comes at the end of the question.
Where are you - Ki kote ou ye?
Where do you sleep - Ki kote ou dòmi?
Ki jan ou ye? - How are you?
Ki kote ou prale - Where are you going?
Notes on using pou
Pou is used as for or so when explaining the reason why you are going or doing something.
Ex: Mwen ale legliz pou priye -(I got to church TO pray (for the reason of praying).
Mwen ale nan kay la pou mwen ka manje - I go in the house (for this reason) SO I can eat.
Pou can also replace FÒK
Ex: Se pou ou al dòmi - It’s necessary for you to go to sleep OR You must go to sleep.
Using sa
Sa is placed after the noun or noun phrase when it is used as an article.
Ex: I don’t like that - Mwen pa renmen sa.
I don’t like that boy - Mwen pa renmen gason sa.
Rules about placement of adjectives
Adjectives follow the nouns they modify UNLESS:
- Quantity Modifiers - #s, many, a lot of, enough, etc (Ex: de gason - two boys OR anpil bo - many kisses)
- Size
- The 3 B’s plus 2: bèl, bon, bo, vye, menm (Ex: ti fi - little girl OR yon bèl kay - a beautiful house)
How to use THE or POSSESSOR with adjectives to make noun phrases
THE comes after the adjective. Remember the form of THE used will depend on the ending of the word immediately preceding it - even if that word is the adjective modifier.
Ex: Bagay wouj la - The red thing
Possessors also come at the end of the noun phrase
Plural marker comes at very end
Ex: Pitit gason li yo - Her sons
Twa valiz mawon li yo - Her three brown bags (note that little comes before the noun, but color comes after noun.)
Conjugating bay
Bay is the ONLY verb that gets conjugated in Creole. It is ONLY conjugated if followed by a pronoun. If it is followed by anything other than a pronoun you use BAY. If followed by mwen or nou, use ban. If followed by li, yo, or ou, use ba
bay bebe a - give the baby
ba li bebe a - give her the baby
ban mwen bebe a - give me the baby
Phrases using fè
In Creole you don’t say he upsets me….
Li fè mwen fache - He makes me angry.
Sa fè mwen tris - That makes me sad.
Pa fè mwen sa - Don’t do that to me.
Li fè mwen sa - He did that to me.
