Chapter 2: Grammar
Prepositions are common words that are employed in the Creole language. What is a preposition? A preposition is a short word that links nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words in a sentence, showing relationships of time, place, or direction.
In Creole, there are many prepositions. Some of the most common ones are a, dan, dési, pou, san, apré, and dépi. Here below are some examples of their usage.
Yé dan lamézon They are in the house
Mo p'olé kouri san twa I don't want to go without you
Ça to gin pou mwin? What do you have for me?
Dépi mo té jènn Since I was young
N'a kouri apré tô miting We'll go after your meeting
N'ap kouri a latab We are going to the table
In order to indicate direction, the speaker can choose to employ the use of the proposition a, however, it is not obligatory to use this proposition. Take the previous sentence above N'ap kouri a latab for example. It employs the use of the proposition, but the proposition can be omitted from the sentence to make a new sentence; N'ap kouri latab. Even though the proposition is omitted it still carries the same meaning of We are going to the table.
While a is used to signify a proposition indicating direction, it can also be used to indicate possession/ownership such as in the example below.
ça çé shar a Adrien That is Adrien's car
| Creole | English |
|---|---|
| a | to / poession |
| dan | in |
| pou | for |
| apré | after |
| dépi | since |
| san | without |