Haitian Creole/Basic Grammar

Possession Possession is indicated by placing the possessor after the item possessed. Haitian CreoleEnglishlajan li "money him/her/it"his/her/its moneyfanmi m "family me"my familykay yo "house them""their house" or "their houses"papa ou "father you"your fatherzanmi papa Jan "friend father John"John's father's friendpapa vwazen zanmi nou "father neighbor friend us"our friend's neighbor's father Any "of" relationship is expressed in the same way. Haitian CreoleEnglishbann timoun "group child"group of childrenkontinan Afrik "continent Africa"continent of Africa The word Dayiti means "of Haiti", as in peyi Dayiti ("country of Haiti"). Peyi Ayiti ("country [of] Haiti") is sometimes seen as well. "to know" Konn or konnen means "to know" + a noun (cf. French connaître). Haitian CreoleEnglishÈske ou konnen non li? "[Yes-or-no question partcle] you know name him/her/it?"Do you know his/her/its name? Konn or konnen also means "to know" + a fact (cf. French savoir). Haitian CreoleEnglishM pa konnen kote li ye "I not know where he/she/it is"I don't know where he/she/it is. Note: pa = negative The third word is always spelled konn. It means "to know how to" or "to have experience". This is similar to the "know" as used in the English phrase "know how to ride a bike": it denotes not only a knowledge of the actions, but also some experience with it. Haitian CreoleEnglishMwen konn fè manje "I know make food"I know how to cookÈske ou konn ale Ayiti? "[Yes-or-no question particle] you know go Haiti?"Have you been to Haïti?Li pa konn li franse "He not know read French"He can't read French "That" When "that" or "which" is used as a relative pronoun, it can be either ki or ke. Ki can only be the subject of the relative clause; ke is only the object. Ke can be omitted, but not ki. Haitian CreoleEnglishBagay ki bezwen èd la "Thing that need[s] help the"The thing that needs helpBagay ke mwen bezwen an "Thing that I need the"The thing that I needBagay mwen bezwen an "Thing I need the"The thing I need Note: la and an are definite articles. You will learn about them in the next lesson. "That" can also be a conjunction. In that case, it is either ke or is not used at all. Haitian CreoleEnglishMwen pa kwè ke li gen li "I not believe that he/she/it have him/her/it."I don't believe that he/she/it has him/her/it.Mwen pa kwè li gen li "I not believe he/she/it have him/her/it"I don't believe he/she/it has him/her/it. Haitian Creole/That "This" and "that" 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): Haitian CreoleEnglishjaden sa (a) bèlThis garden is beautiful. As in English, it may also be used as a pronoun, replacing a noun: Haitian CreoleEnglishsa se zanmi mwenthis is my friendsa se chien frè mwenthis is my brother's dog Sa can be used with ki or ke/Ø to mean literally "that which". Haitian CreoleEnglishM bezwen sa ki nan bwat sa aI need what's in that box.