Chapter 2: Grammar
Like in English and French, Creole has its own articles. These articles are the definite and indefinite articles.
In English, the definite article is The. The serves as both the singular and plural definite article. In Creole, this is not the case. The definite article is separated into both the plural and the singular. The singular definite article is -la. It is placed behind the noun. Unlike French, Creole does not follow gender agreement which allows for the singular definite article to be applied to both masculine and feminine nouns alike. Below are two examples.
Nonm-la The man
Fenm-la The woman
The plural definite article, in Creole, can be divided into two; -yé and -layé. Unlike English, Creole uses a separate article to mark the plural. These articles are, just like the singular definite article, placed behind the noun. -yé is used to signify that a noun is pluralized. This article can also be used to specify the noun that is pluralized. Below are two examples.
Nonm-yé The men/men
Fenm-yé The women/women
-layé is used to specify the noun that is pluralized. To better understand this construction, take the previous examples. Imagine that you add -yé onto -la to form -layé.
Nonm-la + yé The men
Fenm-la + yé The women
It is important to note that the plural definite article is not always necessary. Context can serve as an indicator of pluralization. Below are a couple examples.
Yé gin shyin They have dogs
Nou gin sha We have cats