Lesson 1: Vowels and Word Order

Welcome to your HaitiHub Modules! And congratulations on starting on the path to

Haitian Creole fluency! Here you will find 16 subject Modules which cover the most
important concepts in the language.
In this opening lesson we will get our first introduction to Creole vocabulary and
sentence structure. Well practice pronouncing vowel sounds and well take a
closer look at the word order of sentences in Creole.
When were done with Module 1, youll know a dozen of the most important words
in the language and youll already know how to use them to form simple sentences.
As you proceed through all 16 Modules, you are free to learn at your own pace.
However, HaitiHub students have been most successful when using the following
2-month language training schedule:
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 Review

1st Week

Review Module 4 Expression Catch up Review

1st Week Session A and absorb 2nd Week
Serve Smart 1

Review Module 5 Module 6 Module 7 Review

2nd Week Serve Smart 2 3rd Week

Review Module 8 Expression Catch up Review

3rd Week Session B and absorb 4th Week
Serve Smart 3

Review Module 9 Module 10 Etc...

4th Week

You may modify this schedule to fit your learning style and the time you have
available before your next trip to Haiti.
Your copy of the Creole Made Easy textbook (which will arrive 5-7 days after you
joined HaitiHub) is a great companion to your HaitiHub Modules. The textbook and
modules do not match each other verbatim. Creole Made Easy has more vocab
words and HaitiHub has more exercises. There are variations in the lessons as
well which makes each a perfect supplement for the other.
Finally, whenever you are done using the HaitiHub Modules, please remember to
click Log Out in the top right corner of the page.
Thank you so much for your involvement in Haiti and your commitment to Haitis
better future! Its wonderful to have you join the HaitiHub community.
Byenveni nan HaitiHub!
HaitiHub: Kote nap mete tt ansanm!

Word Order and Pronunciation

Word Order:
In Creole, sentence structure usually follows what we are used to in English.
Subject + verb + object.

John loves Marie.

Jan renmen Marie.

One big variation in word order for us English-speakers is with the article the.
Lets take the word kay (meaning house) as an example. In Creole, you would
say
A house = Yon kay
(which is the word order we are familiar with.)
But you would say:
The house = Kay la
(la being the word for the. For us, this seems reversed.)
We will revisit this concept in Module #4.
Pronuncation:
In Creole, as a general rule each letter has one sound and one sound only and
every letter is pronounced.
He / she / it li lee

Can kapab kah-pahb

Not / dont pa pah

There are just a few exceptions to this general rule about pronunciation. There is
the ou combination which in Creole is pronounced like our English oo:
We nou noo

Person moun moon

You ou oo

There is the ay combination which is pronounced the way a pirate would say Aye
aye, Captain!
Thing bagay bah-guy

House kay kye

The rest of the vowel pronunciations are best learned using our vocabulary list for
this lesson. So lets learn the vocabulary!

I love you. Mwen renmen ou.

We can. Nou kapab.

No, we cannot. Non, nou pa kapab.

They give me the thing. Yo ban mwen bagay la.

She can give him the thing. Li kapab ba li bagay la.

He cannot give us the thing. Li pa kapab ban nou bagay la.

Note: Bay (to give) changes spellings in a way that no other Creole verb
does. Bay changes depending on who is being given something. The changes in
spelling are very subtle and exist simply to facilitate the sound of the language.
Bay becomes ba before the pronouns li, ou, and yo.
Bay becomes ban before the pronouns mwen, and nou.
This is a VERY minor technicality that exists only for this one verb. Theres no need
to spend much brain power on this. As long as you are learning bay as the verb to
give, you are in good shape.
Lesson 2: Nasal Sounds
In this lesson we will discuss nasal sounds which can be a foreign concept for us
English speakers. Well practice pronouncing these sounds and will continue
forming new sentences.
When were done, you will have doubled your Creole vocabulary and started
training your mouth and ear to produce and recognize nasal sounds.

The Nasal Sounds In Creole

There are three nasal sounds in Creole:

an

The Creole sound an is nasalized like the un in bunny. To learn to make the
Creole sound an try to say bunny, while holding your nose. Without moving
your mouth or tongue, repeat the un, omitting the 2nd n sound. Here are some
examples:

Nan (in), anpil (a lot), medikaman an (the medicine)

en

To learn to make the en sound, say bench but nasalized; that is, say it through
the nose while shortening the sound of the n. Here are some examples:

Lwen (far), bezwen (need)

on

To learn to make the on sound, say dont. Without moving your mouth or
tongue, repeat the o sound, once again nasalized. Here are some examples:

Bon (good), reyinyon (meeting)

I need to go. Mwen bezwen ale.

The house is good. Kay la bon.

They give a lot. Yo bay anpil.

It cant go far. Li pa ka ale lwen.

We are very happy. Nou kontan anpil.

I cant wait for you. Mwen pa ka tann ou.

Lesson 3: Consonant Sounds

In this lesson we will work with the consonant sounds in Creole and well further
familiarize ourselves with Creole sentence structure.
When were done, you will be able to accurately sight-read anything in the
language.
Please note, when typing your answers you are NOT required to insert accented
letters ( ) which are difficult to produce on an American "qwerty" keyboard. The
answer keys will always display the accented letters so that you are reminded of
the correct accents. The most important thing is not accented spelling but correct
pronunciation of accented letters.

Pronouncing consonants in Creole

ch

In Creole, the letters c and h are ONLY used in the ch combination. Ch is

sounded like the English sh as in the English word ship. For example:

Chita (to sit)

g

The Creole g is ALWAYS a hard g sound like the g in the English word gut.
For example:

Genyen (to have)

j is sounded like the s in the English word measure. For example:

Manje (to eat)

s is sounded like the s in the English word soft. It is never sounded like a z.
For example:

Souvan (often)

The Creole r is NOT rolled like a Spanish r. It is not quite as guttural as the
French r which can sound like the French speaker is gargling something. But it is
produced further back in the mouth than we are used to in English. For example:

Travay (to work / work), apre (after)

Other letters are sounded as in English.

You can sit. Ou kapab chita.

She has a lot of friends. Li genyen anpil zanmi.

They need to eat. Yo bezwen manje.

I want to go after. Mwen vle ale apre.

He can work with a friend. Li kapab travay avek yon zanmi.

We do a lot. Nou f anpil.

Lesson 4: Articles
In this lesson we will take a look at the articles in Creole. Articles are the small
words that allow us to talk about A something or AN item or THE widgets.
When were done, you will be able to use all the articles in Creole. You will have
mastered about 50 Creole vocabulary words and youll be 1/4 finished with the
HaitiHub Modules!
There are 3 most important concepts to master about articles in Haitian Creole:
1) How to say a something (indefinite article)
2) How to say the something (definite article)
3) And how to say the somethings (plural)
1) Lets talk first about saying a or an in Creole. The word for a or an is
yon.
And the word order is what we are used to in English:

A house yon kay

A meeting yon reyinyon

An earthquake yon tranbleman de t

2) To say the in Creole, you can ALWAYS use the word la. The thing to
remember is that the word order is the opposite of what we say in English.

The house kay la

The meeting reyinyon la

The earthquake tranbleman de t la

La will always be readily understood by Haitians as the even if it isnt always

the most preferred form of saying the. So for now, while we are seeing so many
new concepts, just focus on la as the and start becoming comfortable with the
backwards word order.
You can pick up the other 3 preferred forms later. Its okay to deemphasize these
other forms of the because a) they arent as important, b) la is always
acceptable, and c) they are more easily learned with your ear as opposed to your
brain (meaning its easier to learn them by hearing how other people talk about
the car or the woman, for example, than it is to memorize a lot of rules. But if
you are interested in seeing the rules, we will see them in the FAQ section of this
Module.)
3) In Creole, the all-purpose way of pluralizing anything is with yo. Again in this
instance, yo comes after the noun (like we saw with la).

The houses kay yo

The meetings reyinyon yo

The earthquakes tranbleman de te yo

I want a phone card. Mwen vle yon kat telefn.

You have a house. Ou gen yon kay.

The car is not good. Machin nan pa bon. OR Machin la pa bon.

They like the thing. Yo renmen bagay la.

The children dont sit. Timoun yo pa chita.

We need the medicines. Nou bezwen medikaman yo.

Lesson 5: Possession
In this lesson we will learn how to talk about who owns what. In English we have
different words like my, your, our to express possession. Well see how Creoles
method is beautifully efficient and straightforward.
When were done, youll be able to talk about what belongs to you and what
belongs to others. Youll also be able to ask questions about ownership.

There are 2 main ways of showing possession in Creole.

1) All of the pronouns we have already learned (mwen, ou, li, nou, yo) show
possession when they come after the noun:

- zanmi mwen my friend

- machin ou your car

- travay li her work

- manje nou our food

- kay yo their houses *

* yo when showing possession is a little more complicated. We will discuss this in

the FAQ, but it is not a critical concept.
This word order to show possession also holds true when naming the specific
person or group who owns something. For example:

- zanmi marie Maries friend

- machin legliz churchs car

- travay zanmi mwen my friends work

2) Pou means for and can also be used to show possession. This is particularly
useful if you are trying to ask a question about who owns something.

- Kay la pou ki moun? Who is the house for? [literally: The house is for who?]

- Li pou mwen! It is for me!

3) There is a third way of showing possession but we will not cover it here because
it can be confusing and it doesnt really add any new speaking abilities than these
previous 2 methods. This third way involves pa. We will discuss it in the FAQ for
those who are interested but it is not critical.

You have my key. Ou gen kle mwen.

Her friend works today. Zanmi li travay jodi a.

Give me my medicine. Ban mwen medikaman mwen.

He wants Bobs car Li vle machin Bob

The churchs food is really good! Manje legliz la bon anpil!

Our meetings are not good. Reyinyon nou yo pa bon.

In this last example sentence, you probably noticed an interesting construction:

reyinyon nou yo our meetings
In this phrase, reyinyon nou shows possession: our meeting
And the yo at the end makes it plural (as we know from Module 4): our meetings
A few more examples:

Bagay li yo his things

Telefn ou yo your phones
Zanmi mwen yo my friends

This final example is often contracted to zanmi m yo. We encourage you to

memorize this phrase because people say it often, you can use it when starting to
address a group, and more importantly, once you memorize zanmi m yo, you will
always have something to remind you of the correct word order when you are
talking about possession of several somethings.
Lesson 6: Past Tense
This is one of the most important Modules in the entire system!
In this lesson we will get our first introduction to how tenses work in Creole. We will
learn specifically about the past tense which we use, of course, to talk about things
that have already happened.
When were done, youll understand the sentence structure for all Creole tenses.
Youll be adept with the past tense and youll be in great shape to see the rest of
the languages tenses.

Tenses in Creole are much simpler than they are in English or French. In English,
we are used to changing word endings or spellings completely in order to turn a
present tense sentence into the past.

Instead of I walk, we have learned to add an ed to say I walked.

We have also memorized lots of exceptions to this -ed ending. A sentence like I
eat does not become I eated. We know, of course, to say instead I ate.

This is complicated! Creole, is much simpler.

Instead of changing endings or spellings, in Creole there is just one all purpose
past-tense signal word:

te

In Creole, to turn a present tense sentence into the past, simply insert te before
the verb.*

For example:

Mwen ale = I go
Mwen te ale = I went

Mwen travay = I work

Mwen te travay = I worked

Mwen di = I say
Mwen te di = I said
*(There is one exception to this word order of te + verb. See the FAQ section if
you want more information at this time. If you dont want more right now, dont
worry. Well encounter this concept in the to be Module 11.)

The Negative

If you want to say something like I didnt go, or I wasnt happy, this is the
negative past tense. To form the negative past tense, we simply use our all-
purpose negative word pa with te.

Pa + te (or as it is most commonly abbreviated) ? pat

Mwen te ale = I went

Mwen pat ale = I didnt go

Mwen te travay = I worked

Mwen pat travay = I didnt work

Mwen te di = I said
Mwen pat di = I didnt say

They waited.. Yo te tann.

It began yesterday. Li te kmanse y.

I didnt want to go. Mwen pat vle ale.

I didnt go to church. Mwen pat ale legliz.

She bought a lot of medicine today. Li te achte anpil medikaman jodi a.

We were happy. Nou te kontan.

*In this last example #6, you may have noticed that the Creole sentence has no
verb anywhere in it.
Nou + te + kontan. = We [past] happy.
The meaning of this sentence, of course, is We were happy. This makes sense if
you just think about how we have been saying this kind of phrase in the present
tense.
I am happy. = Mwen kontan.
There is no verb in this present-tense sentence either. The word-for-word
translation of mwen kontan is:
I happy.
Just because were now using the tense indicator word te, that doesnt change
the basic structure.
We will go into more detail about these verb-less sentences in Module 10. For
now, here are a few more examples:

She is good. Li bon.

She was good. Li te bon.
He is big. Li gwo.
He was big. Li te gwo.
They are not well. Yo pa byen.
They were not well. Yo pat byen.

For all of these sentences, there is no to be verb anywhere in them.

Lesson 7: Future Tense

After the last Module about all about the past tense te, you now know how all the
tenses work in Creole. Basically, once you know what tense-indicator word you
want, you can apply it to all the verbs in the language.
For the future tense, there are two tense indicators:
pral
&
va
However, pral is much more commonly used and will always be understood, even
in the minority of cases in which it is not the most native-sounding construction.
We will focus on pral as our future tense indicator word. But remember, its still
important to be aware of va, especially for your listening comprehension.
To turn a present tense sentence into the future, simply insert pral before the
verb.
For example:
Mwen pale = I speak
Mwen pral pale = I will speak
Mwen kmanse = I start
Mwen pral kmanse = I will start
Mwen kontan = Im happy
Mwen pral kontan = I will be happy
Commonly Abbreviated
The only other thing to know about the future tense is that it is fairly commonly
contracted as a with the abbreviated pronouns:

Mwen pral becomes ma

Ou pral wa

Li pral la

Nou pral na

Yo pral ya

For now, say the pral in your own speech and use pral for our exercises (until
Module 12 about contractions). This will help you to learn the future tense
indicator word and remember its placement. Just remember these contractions so
you can start picking them out when other Creole speakers use them.
The Negative
If you want to say something like I wont go, or I wont be happy, this is the
negative future tense. To form the negative future tense, we simply use our all-
purpose negative word pa with pral (or va).
Pa + pral (or va) is always contracted to pap
Mwen pral ale = I will go
Mwen pap ale = I wont go
Mwen pral travay = I will work
Mwen pap travay = I wont work
Mwen pral kontan = I will be happy
Mwen pap kontan = I wont be happy

We will talk tomorrow. Nou pral pale demen.

They wont begin today. Yo pap kmanse jodi a.

I will see her. Mwen pral w li.

He will take everything. Li pral pran tout bagay.

Bob will be happy for you (plural). Bob pral kontan pou nou.

She will need a house. Li pral bezwen yon kay.

Lesson 8: Ongoing Tense

In this lesson we will see one more tense. For us in English, the ongoing tense is
what we use to talk about things that are continuous or are happening in the
moment. We say am/is/are verb-ing.

When were done with this lesson, youll be able to speak in the ongoing tense,
youll have mastered the languages 3 major tenses, and youll know about 100
vocabulary words by heart.

The ongoing or continuous tense in English is constructed as:

to be + verb-ing
For example: I am eating. She is speaking. They are working.
We use this construction to talk about what is actually happening right now.
In Creole, the indicator word for the continuous/ongoing tense is:
ap
To turn a simple present tense sentence into a continuous/ongoing tense sentence,
simply insert ap before the verb. This should be a pretty familiar pattern by now
with all these tense indicator words.
For example:
Mwen tande = I listen
Mwen ap tande = I am listening
Mwen montre = I show
Mwen ap montre = I am showing
Mwen aprann = I learn
Mwen ap aprann = I am learning
Commonly Abbreviated
99.9% of the time, the continuous/ongoing tense will be contracted. If you were to
say the perfectly composed and UN-contracted Creole sentence, Mwen ap aprann
kreyol, the listener would say, Oh yeah. You most certainly are. Here are the
contractions (which are very similar to the future tense contractions from the
previous Module).

Mwen ap becomes map

Ou ap wap

Li ap lap

Nou ap nap

Yo ap yap

Starting right now, use these contractions in your own speech. We will use them in
all our exercises.
The Negative
If you want to say something like Im not telling, or Im not waiting, this is the
negative continuous/ongoing tense. To form the negative continuous/ongoing
tense, we simply use our all-purpose negative word pa with ap.
Pa + ap is always contracted to ? pap
Map ale = Im going
Mwen pap ale = Im not going
Map travay = Im working
Mwen pap travay = Im not working
Map tann = Im waiting
Mwen pap tann = Im not waiting
If youre thinking that the negative continuous/ongoing form looks a lot like the
negative future, youre absolutely right. The two constructions are identical: pap in
both cases. If you want to know more about this, refer to the FAQ in this module.

Im learning Creole. Map aprann kreyol.

Shes not listening to me. Li pap tande mwen.

Bob is working now. Bob ap travay kounye a.

Theyre starting today. Yap kmanse jodi a.

You (plural) are talking a lot! Nap pale anpil!

Hes showing us. Lap montre nou.

Lesson 9: to be as [nothing]
In this lesson we will start the first of three discussions on the verb to be in
Creole. Unlike English, Creole does not have a single dedicated verb to be.
Instead, it has 3 options for to be. Lesson 9 will introduce you to the first option.
When were done with this lesson, youll understand why some Creole sentences
have no verb at all. And youll be able to express just about every kind of
declarative statement.
Creole does not have a dedicated verb meaning to be (am/is/are). This is strange
for us English speakers because we might say that to be is the most important
verb in a language.
Instead of 1 dedicated verb, Creole employs 3 different options where we English
speakers are accustomed to using the verb to be (am/is/are).
The 3 options are 1) [nothing], 2) se, and 3) ye. The next three Modules are
devoted to these options and explaining which you should choose depending on
the sentence. Well start with [nothing].
Weve touched on this concept a bit already. The verb to be is invisible and is
simply assumed in all statements in which an adjective is attributed to a noun.

I am happy. Mwen kontan. (I happy.)

We are hungry. Nou grangou. (We hungry.)

He is here. Li isit. (He here.)

And weve seen that to be remains invisible even when using other tenses. For
example, there is still no verb anywhere in the following Creole sentences:

I was happy. Mwen te kontan (I [past] happy.)

He wont be tired. Li pap fatige. (He [negative][future] tired.)

They are together. Yo ansanm.

Im hungry. Mwen grangou.

She was not well. Li pat byen.

Bob was big. Bob te gwo.

You wont be happy. Ou pap kontan.

It will be big. Li pral gran.

You can see that all together, these six Creole sentences dont have a single verb
anywhere in them.
Since weve been using these constructions for some time now, well do fewer
practice exercises in this Module.

Lesson 10: to be as se
In this lesson we will continue our exploration of to be. Youll see Creoles second
option for to be which is se.
When were done with this lesson, youll be able to make identification statements
like: Im a doctor and The church is a school. Youll also be able to use se to
talk about general circumstances and settings, as in: Its almost Sunday!

Se works like to be in two ways:

1) Se acts as am/is/are in identifications between two nouns.
When identifying that one noun equals another noun, se plays the role of to be.
For example:
I am a doctor. = Mwen se yon dokt.
In this case I is a noun and doctor is a noun. Since they equal each other in an
identification statement, se appears between them. (As a side note: often, the
articles are dropped when using se in this way.)
Remember from the previous Module on [nothing], the verb to be is invisible and
is simply assumed in all statements in which an adjective is attributed to a noun.
In these cases, because we are describing a state/condition or attributing an
adjective quality to a noun (as opposed to dealing with 2 nouns that equal each
other), no verb is used at all. This distinction helps us to make sense of the Creole
sentence:

He is a doctor and he is happy.

Li se yon dokt e li kontan.

[se] [nothing]

2) Se acts as It is and appears at the very beginning of general statements

(often describing the settings or circumstances of a task, time, or place). Here are
some examples:

It is easy. Se fasil.

It is good for us. Se bon pou nou.

It is Sunday. Se dimanch.

Knowing this helps us make sense of the Creole sentence:

He is a doctor and he is happy its Sunday today.

Li se yon dokt e li kontan se dimanch jodi a.

[se identification] [nothing] [se general statement]

One final point: to say It was in general statements about the past, we say se
te.

It was easy Se te fasil.

It was good. Se te bon.

It was Sunday. Se te dimanch.

If you are wondering why the word order for It was is se te instead of the other
way around, refer to the FAQ of this module (we discussed this point in the Module
6 FAQ but will address it again now).

Its easy because she is a child. Se fasil paske li se yon timoun. (se #2, se #1)

He is a doctor and hes good. Li se yon dokt e li bon. (se #1, [nothing])

It was good they were together. Se te bon yo te ansanm. (se #2, [nothing])

Im happy you are here. Mwen kontan ou isit. ([nothing], [nothing])

We are not happy its Sunday. Nou pa kontan se dimanch. ([nothing], se #2)

She is my doctor and he is my friend. Li se dokt mwen e li se zanmi mwen. (se #1, se #1)

Lesson 11: to be as ye
In this lesson we will see the third and final option for to be in Creole: ye.
When were done with this lesson, youll be able to ask very important questions
like: Where are you? and Who is he? And with all three to be options under
your belt, youll be able to construct ANY kind of am/is/are sentence in Creole.

To be as ye
Ye is the final option for expressing to be in Creole.
Ye is used with the following question words to express who is, what is, when is,
where is, how is.
Ye can only ever come at the end of a sentence or clause; it will never start one
or appear in the middle.
For example, we would say:

Where is he? Ki kote li ye?

How are you? Kijan ou ye?

Who is she? Ki moun li ye?

I know who she is. Mwen konnen ki moun li ye.*

*As we can see in this final example, ye does not always go in a question, but it
still most often appears with question-type words (in this case, the word who).
Probably the most helpful way for us to think about ye is to imagine it as be or
be at in heavily slanged English. Revisiting the four examples from above:

Ki kote li ye?

Where he be at?

Kijan ou ye?

How you be?

Ki moun li ye?

Who she be?

Mwen konnen ki moun li ye.

I know who she be.

And remember, ye can ONLY end a sentence or clause while se NEVER can.

Come to where I am. Vini kote mwen ye. (Come to where I be at.).

Who are they? Ki moun yo ye? (Who they be?)

What is that? Ki sa sa ye? (What that be?)

I know how she is. Mwen konnen kijan li ye. (I know how she be.)
When is it? Ki l li ye? (When it be at?)

Where were you? Ki kote ou te ye? (Where you was at?)*

*Notice in this final example that the tense indicator te comes before the verb
ye. This is consistent with the word order for every single verb in Creole (with the
one exception of se, as we discussed in the previous module).

Lesson 12: Contractions

It is much easier to learn to speak Creole than it is to understand what others are
saying. The reason for this is Contractions and Abbreviations. In this lesson we will
examine all the most common ways that Creole speakers chop up words and
combine them together in interesting ways.
Heads up: This is perhaps THE most challenging Module in the whole system. But
you can do it! Youve made it this far! Bon travay! And when were done with this
lesson, youll be well on your way to fuller comprehension of real, live spoken
Creole. Your ear will be more accustomed to contractions and your own speech will
sound more native. Youll also be 3/4 done with the HaitiHub Modules! So take
your time and allow yourself to make mistakes. When you make it past this one,
youre home free!

Contractions and Abbreviations

As we have seen, many aspects of Creole are simpler than English. However, most
learners find listening comprehension to be much more challenging than speaking
Creole. The Number 1 reason for this is Creoles many contractions and
abbreviations.
You will always be understood without using contractions but learning the more
common ones will help you understand others better and will help you sound more
like a native speaker.
Contractions and abbreviations most often involve pronouns (but also regularly
involve certain verbs).
1) The pronouns mwen, ou, li, nou will often be contracted following a word that
ends in a vowel (yo is not contracted). The pronoun is written as a separate word
(m, w, l, n) but is pronounced as part of the preceding word. In our exercises, we
will write these abbreviations with the apostrophes. But we are also starting to see
these words without the apostrophes in written Creole: m, w, l, n)

My friend isnt here. Zanmi mwen pa isit. Zanmi m pa isit.

Pay her now. Peye li kounye a. Peye l kounye a.

2) Pronouns will often be contracted preceding a word that begins with a vowel.

He is thinking. Li ap panse. Lap panse.

I go to church. Mwen ale legliz. Male legliz.

3) Pronouns used with ap indicating an incomplete action or ongoing condition

are usually contracted.

I am learning. Mwen ap aprann. Map aprann.

The people who are coming Moun ki ap vini yo. Moun kap vini yo.

4) Pronouns are often contracted when used with the future tense indicators pral
and va. Then the indicator is abbreviated to a.

She will come. Li pral vini. La vini.

I will know. Mwen va konnen. Ma konnen.

5) Some verbs can be abbreviated, especially when used as adjectives or

imperatives preceding another verb.
The verbs genyen and kapab are used more often in their abbreviated forms
than in the full forms. Please start using these 2 abbreviations for all upcoming
exercises.

genyen gen ex/ Li gen yon kay. = He has a house.

kapab ka ex/ Ou ka vini. = You can come.

For the following short list, its more likely that youll see these verbs abbreviated
when they come immediately before another verb:

ale al ex/ Al rele zanmi ou. = Go call your friend.

vini vin ex/ Vin pale avek mwen. = Come talk with me.

fini fin

konnen konn

soti sot

6) Finally, mwen is often abbreviated when used as I.

Im happy. M kontan.

I went. M te ale.

I need you. M bezwen ou.

Call me, please. Rele m, souple.

You go to church? W ale legliz?

He is fighting with his friend. Lap goumen avk zanmi l

Well see. Na w.

Go find a phone card. Al jwenn yon kat telefn.

Come talk with us. Vin pale avk nou.

Lesson 13: Asking Questions

In this lesson we will focus specifically on asking questions and different question
structures. Although we have worked a bit already with a few types of questions, we will
now discuss voice intonation, yes-no questions, and questions about specific objects.
When were done with this lesson, youll be able to ask any type of question in any tense.
When you dont have the information you need, youll be able to ask for it.

Asking Questions
1) Asking a question with voice intonation only
The easiest way to ask a yes-no question is to say the same statement while
changing the intonation in your voice. We do this often in English.

Statement Question

Youre tired. Youre tired?

Ou fatige. Ou fatige?

2) Asking a question with Eske

Our other option for asking a yes-no question is simply adding Eske to the
beginning of a statement. All other word order and structure remains untouched.

Statement Question

Yo te konprann mwen. Eske yo te konprann mwen?

(They understood me.) (Did they understand me?)
3) Asking the 5-W questions: who, what, where, when, why, (+ how)
Weve seen all of these question words already but it is helpful to discuss them
specifically.

Who Ki moun

What Ki sa

Where Ki kote

When Ki l

Why Poukisa

How Kijan

How many/much Konbyen

As with Eske when using these question words, simply add them to the
beginning of a statement and leave all other word order and structure alone.

Statement Question

Li gen yon reyinyon. Ki l li gen yon reyinyon?

(She has a meeting.) (When does she have a meeting?)

Yo pap vini. Pouki sa yo pap vini?

(They wont come.) (Why wont they come?)

4) Ki or Kils when asking about a specific object.

When asking about a specific object or thing, we use Ki + noun or Kils +
noun.

Which box do you need? Ki bwat ou bezwen?

What church do they like? Ki legliz yo renmen?

Knowing this about ki actually helps us make sense of the other 5-W questions.

Who Ki moun (Which person) moun = person

What Ki sa (Which what) sa = what

Where Ki kote (Which place) kote = place/location

When Ki l (Which hour) l = hour/time

Why Poukisa (For what) pou = for, ki sa = what

How Kijan (What manner) jan = manner

Who do you know in New York? Ki moun ou konnen nan New York?
What will they say? Ki sa yo pral di?

Where did your friend go? Ki kote zanmi ou te ale?

When are we eating? Ki l nap manje?

Why do we fight? Pouki sa nou goumen?

How did Bob know? Kijan Bob te konnen?

Lesson 14: Longer Sentences

In this lesson, well see how to use ki in Creole the way English speakers use
who or that to say more complex sentences. We will also see how all of the
question words from Lesson 13 can be used to create longer sentences.
When were done with this lesson, you will be able to combine short sentences into
longer sentences. This will help you sound more native and will significantly
improve your listening comprehension abilities.

1) Ki is used to connect two sentences that are closely related. In English, we do

this with either the word who or that.

We have a car. Our car doesnt work well. We have a car that doesnt work well.

Nou gen yon machin. Machin nou pa mache byen. Nou gen yon machin ki pa mache byen.

I know a doctor. The doctor speaks Creole. I know a doctor who speaks Creole.

M konnen yon dokte. Dokte a pale kreyol. M konnen yon dokt ki pale kreyol.

2) In fact, all of the 5-W question words can be used to form longer sentences.
When using who, what, where, when in a statement (as opposed to a question),
the words are modified slightly.

Word In a Question In a Statement

Who Ki moun? ki

What Ki sa? sa
Where Ki kote? kote

When Ki l? l

I have a friend who has a computer. M gen yon zanmi ki gen yon konpit.

They understand what we need. Yo konprann sa nou bezwen.

She works where I want to work. Li travay kote m vle travay.

Call me when you need to talk. Rele m l w bezwen pale.

3) When using why, how in a statement (as opposed to a question), the words
are not changed at all.

Word In a Question In a Statement

Why Pouki sa? pouki sa

How Kijan? kijan

I dont know why they went. M pa konnen pouki sa yo te ale.

I remember how to do it. M sonje kijan pou f l.

Ask someone who knows. Mande yon moun ki konnen.

You can show us what you learned. Ou ka montre nou sa w te aprann.

Im not happy when Im not in Haiti. M pa kontan l m pa nan ayiti.

Stop where there are a lot of stores. Rete kote gen anpil magazen.

Hell tell you why your head hurts. La di w pouki sa tt ou f mal.

I dont remember how many we need. M pa sonje konbyen nou bezwen.

Lesson 15: Comparisons

In this lesson well work with 3 main comparison words: more, less, and too.
And well see how these words are combined with adjectives to say things like big,
bigger, biggest or intelligent, more intelligent, most intelligent.
When were done with this lesson youll be able to draw comparisons about objects
or people. This will bring you one important step closer to being able to express
your opinions and observations in Creole.

1) More
More is translated by plis when it stands alone or modifies a noun. It is also
plis in more than. (Than is translated as pase.)

I have more. M gen plis.

Its more than that. Se plis pase sa.

More is translated by pi when you want to modify an adjective to say something

like: bigger, better, faster, nearer, further, etc

good bon

better pi bon (more good)

best pi bon pase tout (more good than all)

big gwo

bigger pi gwo (more big)

biggest pi gwo pase tout (more big than all)

This structure holds with every single adjective in the language.

important enpotan

more important pi enpotan (obviously we dont say important-er in English)

most important pi enpotan pase tout (more important than all)

adjective
pi + adjective
pi + adjective + pase tout
2) Less
Less works in the exact same way as more.
Less is translated by mwens when it stands alone or modifies a noun. It is also
mwens in less than. (Than is translated as ke.)

I bought less. M te achte mwens.

Its less than that. Se mwens ke sa.

Less is translated by mwen when you want to modify an adjective.

They come less often. Yo vini mwen souvan.

Its less crushed. Li mwen kraze.

3) Too
Too continues the same pattern as plis/pi and mwens/mwen.
Too many, too much is translated by twp when it stands alone or modifies a
noun.

He talks too much! Li pale twp!

There are too many. Gen twp.

Too is translated by tw when you want to modify an adjective.

Im too busy. M tw okipe.

Shes too small. Li tw piti.

Youve probably noticed by now the pattern with the Creole forms for more, less,
too. For whatever reason, all the forms that modify adjectives are shortened
versions of the stand-alone forms.

Word Used alone or with noun Used to modify an adjective

More plis pi

Less mwens mwen

Too twp tw

4) Too meaning also

In Creole, too meaning also is translated as tou with practically the same
pronunciation as in English. This is convenient.

Bob came too. Bob te vini tou.

They start today too. Yo kmanse jodi a tou.

Can you give more? Eske w ka bay plis?

His tent is better (more good). Tant li pi bon.

Ill take less today. Ma pran mwens jodi a.

We go to church less often. Nou ale legliz mwen souvan.

You drive too much. Ou kondwi twp.

Bob is too angry. Bob tw fache.

Lesson 16: Conditional Tense

In this lesson we will round out our knowledge of Creole tenses with the one tense
we didnt get earlier: the Conditional. In English, our main conditional tense words
are would, could, should.
When were done with this lesson, youll be able to talk about possibilities,
capabilities, and obligations. You will have learned more than 200 of the MOST
essential vocabulary words. And most importantly, youll be finished with the
HaitiHub Intro to Creole Conversation Modules and youll be well on your way to
Creole fluency! Lets finish strong!

The Conditional Tense

In English, our main conditional tense is would.
In Creole, the all-purpose conditional tense indicator word is
ta
and it works like all the other tense indicator words weve already learned (te,
pral, ap, etc).
To put a sentence into the conditional tense, simply insert ta before the verb.
For example:
Mwen renmen = I like
Mwen ta renmen = I would like
Mwen pral gade = I will watch
Mwen ta gade = I would watch
Mwen te fini = I finished
Mwen ta fini = I would finish
We use the 3 conditional tenses would, could, should very often so they are
worth addressing individually.
would ta

could ta ka*

should ta dwe**

*If we know that ta is the all-purpose Creole conditional and it can apply to
every verb in the language, it makes sense that combining ta with ka (which
on its own means can) produces could.
**It is the same with combining ta and dwe (which on its own means must)
to produce should.

I would like to eat soon. M ta renmen manje tal.

We could look for him. Nou ta ka chache li.

They should live in a house. Yo ta dwe rete nan yon kay.

She should take care of the kids. Li ta dwe okipe timoun yo.

Bob could come with us. Bob ta ka vini avk nou.

I would walk but its too far. M ta mache men se tw lwen.

Expression Session: A
When you start speaking a foreign language, you do two things.
First, you learn how to form new sentences by combining vocabulary and grammar.
This is what all 16 modules are designed to teach.
Second, you memorize common expressions and use them in common situations
(with no need to think about how youre putting things together). This is what you
will practice in HaitiHub Expression Sessions. When youre in an Expression
Session, you can give the grammar rules a break just memorize the 8 phrases
and use! And most importantly of all, SPEAK OUT LOUD!

How are you? Kijan ou ye?

Im well, thanks. Mwen byen, msi.

And yourself? E ou menm?

Whats your name? Kijan ou rele?

My name is Mwen rele

Where do you live? Ki kote ou rete?

Bye. See you later! Babay. Na w!

Good stuff! Bon bagay!

Expression Session: B

What does that mean? Ki sa sa vle di?

How do you say...? Kijan yo di ___?

Repeat, please. Repete, souple.

Slowly, please Dousman, souple.

Im sorry Mwen regrt sa.

Theres a lot... Gen anpil

Help me, please! Ede mwen, souple.

Youre welcome. Pa dekwa.

Expression Session: C

Im looking for... Map chache (Nap chache)

I dont know. Mwen pa konnen.

Excuse me, were in a hurry. Eskize, nou prese. (Eskize, mwen prese.)

It doesnt matter. Sa pa f anyen.

Wait for me! Tann mwen.

Dont forget! Pa bliye, non!

Theres a little problem. Gen yon ti pwoblm.

I dont believe so. Mwen pa kw sa.

Expression Session: D

Where are you? Ki kote ou ye?

What do you need? Ki sa ou bezwen?

Im hungry. Mwen grangou.

Im thirsty. Mwen swaf.

Do you have...? Eske ou gen?

Its delicious! Li gou!

Back up! F bak!

Gimme... Ban m