What You Will Learn
The Haitian Creole subject pronouns are mwen (I), ou (you), li (he/she/it), nou (we/you plural), and yo (they).
In this lesson, you will learn how to shorten subject pronouns before the words ap and ale.
These shortened forms are very common in natural Haitian Creole. Using them appropriately can make your speech sound more natural and fluent.
How to Shorten Subject Pronouns
- 1. In this lesson, we will focus on shortening Creole subject pronouns before the words ap and ale.
- 2. The shortened forms are m, w, l, n, and y.
- 3. You can also shorten the word ale to al, as shown in Example 1 below.
Steps to Shorten Subject Pronouns
1. Replace the full subject pronoun with its shortened form:
Mwen → m
Ou → w
Li → l
Nou → n
Yo → y
2. Place the shortened pronoun before ap or ale. Although they are written as separate words, they are pronounced smoothly together in natural speech.
Notice that ou becomes w in its shortened form. This is why its shortened forms are w ale and w ap.
Example 1
I go to school.
Mwen ale lekòl.
M ale lekòl.
M al lekòl.
Example 2
He is sleeping.
Li ap dòmi.
L ap dòmi.
The Meaning of "Ap" and "Ale"
The Creole word ale means to go.
The Creole word ap is a tense and aspect marker that can show an ongoing action or a future action, depending on the context.
For example, the Creole sentence "M ap jwe" can mean "I will play" or "I am playing," depending on the context.