Tenses

Question 1

past tense

Answer 1

te (before verb) represents “was” and “were”

I ate- Mwen te manje

Question 2

future

Answer 2

pral or va (before verb) represents “will”

Contractions=M’a, L’a, N’a, W’a, Y’a
I will eat=M’a mange
I will go=M prale (special contraction of pral and ale)

Question 3

ongoing (-ing)

Answer 3

ap (before verb)

Contractions= M’ap, L’ap, N’ap, W’ap, Y’ap (always)
I am eating= M’ap manje.

Question 4

negative past tense (didn’t)

Answer 4

pat (pa + te)

I didn’t eat= Mwen pat mange

Question 5

negative future tense (won’t, will not)

Answer 5

pap (pa + pral) or pa pral

I won’t go= Mwen pa prale.

Question 6

negative ongoing (not -ing)

Answer 6

pap (pa + ap)

Pap as both negative future and negative ongoing:
Negative future: They won’t go
Negative ongoing: They’re not going
Most often there’s not much of a difference in meaning between the two constructions so it’s not too confusing that they share the same form “pap.”

Question 7

past ongoing (was doing)

Answer 7

tap (te+ap)

I was eating= Mwen t’ap manje