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The Definite Article After Prepositions of Place in Haitian Creole

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local_library What You Will Learn

In this lesson, you will learn how to use the definite article to add more meaning to prepositions of place and direction.

Now, you don't have to use definite article in this way when you are speaking Creole. But, doing so adds flow and richness to what you are saying.

Remember, Creole has five definite articles. They are a, la, an, lan and nan.

To have a better understanding of this , you should first check our lesson on using definite articles in Creole. This is because the same rules regarding nasal and non-nasal vowels still apply.

Emphasizing Prepositions of Place and Direction

Use a definite article after a preposition of place to stress where you are referring to.

Common prepositions of place in Creole are anndan (inside), deyò (outside), anba (down), etc.

As an example, suppose that you want to say The chair is inside in Creole. The standard way of saying that is simply as Chèz la anndan.

But you can use a definite article after the preposition anndan (inside) to stress that the chair really is inside. In that case, it would be Chèz la anndan an.

Using the definite article after a preposition adds more meaning to what you are saying in Creole

Consider These Examples


1. The box is inside
• Bwat la anndan
• Bwat la anndan an

2. The dog is outside
• Chen an deyò
• Chen an deyò a

3. It is going down
• Li pral anba
• Li pral anba a


When You Need to Be Careful

You can only  use the definite article this way when the preposition is the last word in the sentence

Consider These Examples


1. The box is inside the house 
Right: Bwat la anndan kay la
Wrong: Bwat la anndan an kay la


2. The dog is out of the cage
Right: Chen an deyò kaj la
Wrong: Chen an deyò a kaj la

3. It is going under the table
Right: Li pral anba tab la
Wrong: Li pral anba a tab la


4 comments:

  1. UnknownMarch 7, 2017 at 9:21 PM

    Nice new format ... It is easier to navigate through. Thanks.

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  2. UnknownMay 16, 2017 at 11:48 AM

    Thank you for these lessons! I'd love to see more, as well as more videos. It's so hard to find good Kreyol resources.

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  3. AnonymousJune 20, 2018 at 2:38 PM

    Lessons complete! It's cool to go through and see the grammar behind everything I just naturally say because I learned as a child. Again this is an amazing resource!

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  4. AnonymousDecember 26, 2019 at 11:59 AM

    Thank you! This website has taught me how to read, write and speak creole better. Please continue to update this website, so I can continue to learn this beautiful language.

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