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User:Robbiemuffin/Kreyol/Chapter 3/Sentences

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Sentence structure

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- taken from the grammar section of Haitian Creole

The primary word order (SVO) is the same as French, but the variations on the verbs and adjectives are minuscule compared to the complex rules employed by French.

Many grammatical features, particularly pluralization of nouns and indication of possession, are indicated by appending certain suffixes (postpositions) like yo to the main word.

Examples

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Subject-marked

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  • Èske ou konnen non li? - Do you know his name?
  • M pa konnen kote li ye. - I don't know where he is.

Object-marked

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  • Kouman ou fè pale kreyòl? - How did you learn to speak Kreyòl.
  • Mwen konn fè manje. - I know how to cook.

Verb-marked

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  • Mwen pale kreyòl. - I speak Kreyòl.
  • Mwen ka ale demen - I can go tomorrow.

Pluralization

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Pluralization is marked with a postposition “yo”. The subject and the direct object may share the subject's plural marker (likewise, between direct object and the indirect objects with the DO's plural marker):

  • Fi mete wòb yo. - The girl puts on the dresses.
  • Fi mete wòb - The girl puts on the dress.
  • Fi yo mete wòb - The girls put on the dress/dresses.

Possession

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Possession is marked with the pronoun after the object possessed:

  • lajan li - his/her money
  • fanmi mwen or fanmi m - my family (short forms are more common than long forms for possessives.)
  • kay yo - their house/their houses

Pro-form determiners

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There is a single word sa that corresponds to French ce/ceci or ça, and English "this" and "that". As in English, it may be used as a demonstrative, except that it is placed after the noun it qualifies. It is often followed by a or yo (in order to mark number):

  • jaden sa bèl or jaden sa a bèl - this garden is beautiful
  • flor sa yo bèl - these flowers are beautiful

As in English, it may also be used as a pronoun, replacing a noun:

  • sa se zanmi mwen - this is my friend
  • sa se chien frè m - this is my brother's dog


Beginning Kreyol
 
 
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