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To listen to this audio, click the play button and follow along :)
Bonjou e yon bèl kout chapo pou tout moun!
Hello and hats off to everyone!
Kouman nou ye? M'espere nou trè byen.
How are you? I hope you are well.
Mine → Pa mwen (pa'm)
Yours → Pa ou (pa'w)
His / Hers → Pa li (pa'l)
My friend
zanmi mwen (using possessive adj.)
zanmi pa mwen* or zanmi pa m (using possessive pronouns)
* zanmi pa mwen → friend mine, friend of mine literally
Your house
Kay ou (using possessive adj.)
kay pa ou or kay pa w la* (using possessive pronouns)
*kay pa ou → house yours, the house of yours literally
My book is lost.
Liv mwen an pèdi (using possessive adj.)
Liv pa'm nan pèdi* (possessive pronouns)
*Liv pa m nan pèdi → the book of mine is lost literally
Know your definite articles!!!! :)
1. Sa yo se timoun pa m yo. (contracted)
Sa yo se timoun pa mwen yo. (un-contracted)
sa yo | se | timoun | pa mwen | yo
these/those | are | kids | mine | the
These are my kids.
2. Dezi pa m se pou m sèvi w. (contracted)
Dezi pa mwen se pou mwen sèvi ou. (un-contracted)
Dezi mwen se pou m sèvi w. (using possessive adj.)
Dezi | pa mwen | se | pou | mwen | sèvi | ou
Desire | mine | is | for | I | serve | you
My desire is to serve you.
3. Pa m nan pi gwo pase pa w la.
pa m | nan | pi | gwo | pase | pa w | la
mine | the | more | big | than | yours | the
Mine is bigger than yours.
4. Pran machin pa m nan pito. (contracted)
Pran machin pa mwen an pito. (un-contracted)
Take my car instead.
Use my car instead.
5. Jounal pa yo a mouye, konsa yo vòlò pa nou an.
Their newspaper got wet, so they stole ours.
6. Eske sa se pa w la?
Is this yours?
7. Kote machin *pa'l la? (contracted)
Kote machin *pa li a? (un-contracted)
Where's his car?
*See more ways to use the third person with possessive pronouns below.
8. Tradisyon granpapa nou se eritaj pa nou. (un-contracted)
Tradisyon granpapa nou se eritaj pa'n. (contracted)
Our grandparents' tradition is our heritage.
9. Jodi a se tou pa w, demen se ka tou pa m. (contracted)
Jodia a se tou pa ou, demen se ka tou pa mwen. (un-contracted)
Today is your turn, tomorrow might be my turn
Enben se tout. Mèsi e orevwa
Well that's all. Thanks and goodbye.
* When using the third person in the possessive pronouns, you can replace the pronoun by a proper name or noun. You'll see this often in spoken and written Creole.
Example:
Instead of: Pa li a → his
you'll have: Pa Jozèf la → Joseph's
or : Pa manman m nan → my mother's
Using it in a sentence:
Sa se pa'm nan. Sa se pa'w la. E Sa se pa Jimmy an.
That's mine. That's yours. And that's Jimmy's.
Here's another sentence:
Mwen pa't ka jwenn pa'm nan, men mwen te jwenn pa Rosie a.
I could not find mine, but I found Rosie's.
One more example:
Mwen te resevwa tout lèt yo, men mwen pa't resevwa lèt pa Michelle la.
I received all the letters, but I did not receive Michelle's.
Did you know that the "pa" of the possessive pronoun translate into 'part, portion, allotment'?
Would it be easier if I said:
my part → pa mwen or pa'm
your part → pa ou or pa'w
our portion → pa nou or pa'n
other helpful links for possessive pronouns:
Yours, Mine, and Ours
Not mine
Pa m
Track: Li Di m konsa by Claude Marcelin
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