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Showing posts with label Possessive adjectives: mwen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Possessive adjectives: mwen. Show all posts

Haitian Creole POSSESSIVE (Part 1)

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Bonjou a tout moun kap koute!
Hello to everyone listening in!

Part 1 - possessive adjectives (my, your, our.)

Part 2 - possesive nouns (Joe's car)

In Haitian Creole the possessive adjectives are:
mwen, m - my
ou, w -  your
li, l - his, her
nou, n - our
nou, n - your
yo - their

Ezamples:
1. papa mwen.
    my dad / my father

2. papa m.
    my dad / my father

3. Papa m malad.
    My dad is ill.
____________
4. chapo li
    his hat / her hat

5. chapo l
    His hat / her hat

6. Chapo l tonbe.
    His hat fell
__________
7. liv ou
    your book.

8. liv ou a
   your book

9. Liv ou a ble.
   Your book is blue.
__________
10. zanmi w
     your friend

11. zanmi w la
     your friend

12. Zanmi w la komik.
      Your friend is funny.
__________
13. Ban m men ou.
     Give me your hand.

14. Mwen renmen cheve w.
      I like your hair.

15. Biznis mwen an ap mache byen.
      My enterprise is going well.

16. Pitit yo a lopital.
      Their child is at the hospital

17. Li pèdi tèt li.
     She lost her head.
Enben se tout.  Mèsi e Orevwa!
Well that's all.  Thank you and Goodbye!

Learn more about Possessive adjectives at these links:

Exercise 63 - Review of the possessive Adjectives

After reviewing the possessive nouns and possessive adjectives you may take an online test by clicking on the following links:
http://hosted.onlinetesting.net/HaitianCreole/login.pl


Other places to find more about possessive adjectives are LESSON 16 (2/19/2010 blog) and EXERCISE 25 (10/13/2010 blog)

1. Let's begin with the basics:
My car - machin mwen
My dad - papa m (the "m" is the contracted form of "mwen".  So "papa m" is the same as "papa mwen")
my book - liv mwen
your car - machin ou
your dad - papa ou or papa w
his car - machin li
our car - machin nou
our dad - papa nou or papa n
their car - machin yo

2.  Now let's move to the next level

My house - kay mwen
Important! - Sometimes a definite article is added after the possessive adjective like this:
My house - kay mwen an
The definite article can be omitted when using demontratives (this is, that is, these are, those are).
The definite article can be omitted when using nouns  in such a specific way that there is no way of having more than one: father, mother, grandpa, grandma, husband, wife, heart, etc...
My mother - Manman m instead of Manman m nan
My grandmother - Grann mwen instead of Grann mwen an
His grandfather - Granpapa li instead of Granpapa li a
Our father - Papa nou instead of Papa nou an
This is my luggage.  Sa se malèt mwen.
Those are my books.  Sa yo se liv mwen.
Very Important - You know that the Haitian Creole Language have about five definite articles: a, an, la, lan, nan.  Just follow the rules before you place them in a sentence.

Examples:
his car - machin li an
your book - liv ou a
my uncle - tonton mwen an ...or...my uncle - tonton m nan (follow the rules of the definite article)
our family - fanmi nou an
my friend - zanmi m nan
their child - pitit yo a
his brother - frè li a ... or...his brother - frè l la
his book - liv li a

3. Now let's make sentences with the possessive adjectives.
1. My book is red. - Liv mwen an wouj.
2. His car is small - machin li an piti.
3. My dad is sick - Papa m malad.
4. My uncle is here - Tonton m nan la.
5. Our school is far - Lekòl nou an lwen
6.  This is my mom. - Sa se manman m.
7. This is my shirt - Sa se mayo m nan. or you could also say: Sa se mayo m.
8.  This is my book - Sa se liv mwen an. or you could also say: Sa se liv mwen.
9. I understand your language - M konprann lang ou a.
10. Come to my house - Vini lakay mwen.
11. Come to my party - Vini nan fèt mwen an.
12. Come to my school - Vini nan lekòl mwen an
13. Come to their party - Vini nan fèt yo a.
14.  Come to her school - Vini nan lekòl li a.
15. My pencil is yellow. - Kreyon m nan jòn.
_________________________
Learn more about Possessive adjectives at these links:
Possessive adjectives 2
Possessive adjectives 3

Exercise 26 - Answers to Exercise 25

When using possessive adjectives - Sometimes Haitian Creole speakers do drop the definite article that comes after it. You will see it mostly when they use demontratives (this is, that is, these are, those are). You will see it also when they talk about unique members of the family such as: father, mother, grandpa, grandma.


1. My car broke down.
1.Machin mwen an anpàn.

2. My sons live in Canada.
2.Ti gason mwen yo rete Canada.

3. Your dress is too short.
3.Rad ou a twò kout.

4. That's my dad.
4.Sa se papa mwen.

5. Her shoes are pretty but her car is ugly.
5.Soulye li a bèl men machin li a lèd.

6. Our church is on a small hill.
6.Legliz nou an sou yon ti mòn.

7. Their language is too hard to learn.
7.Lang yo a twò difisil pou aprann.

8. The wheels of my car are big.
8.Kaoutyou machin mwen yo gwo.

9. That is my house.
9.Sa se kay mwen. (Yes, you can also say: Sa se kay mwen an.)

10. His house is kind of small.
10.Kay li a yon ti jan piti.

Exercise 25 - Reviewing the Possessive Adjectives

Translate the following sentences.(Answers will be found in the Exercise 26).

1. My car broke down.

2. My sons live in Canada.

3. Your dress is too short.

4. That's my dad.

5. Her shoes are pretty but her car is ugly.

6. Our church is on a small hill.

7. Their language is too hard to learn.

8. The wheels of my car are big.

9. That is my house.

10. His house is kind of small.

Learn more about Possessive adjectives at these links:
Possessive adjectives 2
Possessive adjectives 3

Lesson 16 - Possessive Adjectives

Remember the "Definite article". Most of the time the Haitian Creole Definite Article follows the Possessive Adjectives.

Please review Lesson 9 and memorize the definite articles.

______________________________

The Possessive adjective always follows the noun. And... most of the time a definite article will follow that possessive adjective.

Possessive adjectives:

My - Mwen

Your - Ou

His - Li

Her - Li

Its - Li

Our - Nou

Your - Nou

Their - Yo

________________________________________________________________________

Possessive adjectives followed by singular definite article.

Mwen an

Ou  a

Li a

Nou an

Yo a


Possessive adjectives are followed by plural definite article.

Mwen yo

Ou yo

Li yo

Nou yo

Yo an
____________________________________
Examples

1. my pencil - kreyon mwen OR kreyon mwen an
2. her house - kay li OR kay li a
3. our child - pitit nou OR pitit nou an
4. my car is white - Machin mwen an blan.
5. my child's name is Kalou - Pitit mwen an rele Kalou.
____________________________________________________________

Shall we practice? Please translate.

1. My name is John.

2. Our bed is too small.

3. His hair is short.

4. Your kids are on the roof of the house.

5. Their book is heavy.

Find answer key at the bottom of this page.



1.non mwen se John    2.kabann nou an twò piti    3.cheve li kout    4.ti moun ou yo sou tèt kay la    5.liv li yo lou.

Learn more about Possessive adjectives at these links:
Possessive adjectives 2
Possessive adjectives 3