Haitian Creole/Articles

Definite article Singular nouns Haitian Creole has a definite article, roughly corresponding to English "the" and French le/la. It is placed after the noun, and the sound varies by the last sound of the previous word. If the last sound is an oral consonant, and it is preceded by oral vowel, it becomes la. Recall that in Haitian Creole, y is always a consonant. Haitian CreoleEnglishkravat lathe tieliv lathe bookkay lathe house If the last sound is an oral consonant and is preceded by a nasal vowel, it becomes lan: Haitian CreoleEnglishlanp lanthe lampbank lanthe bank If the last sound is an oral vowel, it becomes a: Haitian CreoleEnglishkouto athe knifepeyi athe country If the last sound is a nasal vowel, it becomes an: Haitian CreoleEnglishchien anthe dogpon anthe bridge If the last sound is a nasal consonant (m, n or ng), it becomes nan: Haitian CreoleEnglishmachin nanthe cartelefòn nanthe telephonemadanm nanthe woman Plural nouns The definite article for any plural noun is yo. Recall that yo can also mean "they", "them" or "their". Placement The definite article goes after the noun, and also after anything that modifies the noun, including relative clauses. Haitian CreoleEnglishzanmi mwen anmy friendfè mwen konnen anthe fact [that] I knowbagay ki nan bwat li aThe thing that is in his/her/its box Usage The usage of the definite article is slightly different in Haitian Creole. It can be used to indicate singular vs. plural if the word sa is used with the same noun, or if there is a possessor indicated. Haitian CreoleEnglishmoun sa yothese/those peoplemoun sa athis/that person Indefinite article Recall that the indefinite article is yon. It means "a" or "an". It goes before the noun it modifies. Haitian Creole/Articles