Thursday, October 25, 2012

Degaje is the first pronominal verb I have seen in Kreyòl? Are there others?

Yes, most definitely.  Here are some of them:

Absteni → to abstain from
Si nou absteni nou de moun sa yo, n’ap mennen yon lavi pezib.
If you abstain from these people, you'll live a peaceful life.

Adonnen → to devote self to
Apre mari l te mouri, li te adonnen li a timoun li yo.
After her husband died, she devoted herself to her kids.

Atann → to expect, to foresee
Mwen pa’t atann mwen a sa.
I wasn't expecting this.

Debouye → to manage
Apre li te jwenn travay la, li te debouye li ase byen.
After he found the job, he managed quite well.

Depeche → to hurry up
Si ou pa depeche ou, m’ap kite w dèyè.
If you don't hurry, I'll leave you behind

Kalme → to calm down, to take it easy, to maintain composure
Lè ti bebe a wè manman li, li te kalme l byen vit.
When the baby saw his mom, he quieted down quickly.

Konpòte → to behave
Li te konpòte li byen.
He behaved well.

Konfòme → to conform
Apre patwon an te ba li yon avètisman, li te konfòme li ak inifòm travay la
After the boss gave he a warning, she finally conformed to the work dress code.

Kontante → to be satisfied, to be gratified
Li pa’t gen premye pri a, men li te kontante li ak sa yo te ba li a.
He didn't win the first prize, but he was gratified with what they gave him.

Pèmèt → be bold enough, take a risk, dare

Apre sa li te fè a, li te pèmèt li vin pale avè’m.
After what she did, she had the nerve to come and talk to me.

Pran plezi → to enjoy self
Nou te pran plezi nou nan fèt la.
We enjoyed ourselves at the party.

Raple → to recall
Mwen pa raple mwen.
I don't recall.

Reziyen → to give in, to relinquish
Li sispann lite ak maladi a.  Li reziyen li pou l mouri.
She stopped fighting the disease.  She accepted that she will die.

Twonpe → to miscalculate,  to misjudge, to make a mistake
Mwen te panse ou te papa tifi a.  Mwen te twonpe m.
 I thought you were the girl's father.  I made a mistake.


Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

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