Pa
Word order
Noun 1 + Pa + Action …
Noun 1 + Pa + Description …
Noun 1 + Pa + Time / Place / Location …
Subject + Pa + Verb / Adjective / Preposition …
When to use this type of sentence?
Things that are not truths or facts
Negative sentences
Explanation
We learned about the most important sentence in Haitian Creole. Now what if those facts are not true? What if they never happened? In English we would use the word ‘not’. For example, ‘cats do not swim’ or ‘we are not doctor’. All the sentences above are called Negative Sentences. In Haitian Creole, we use ‘pa’ to talk about things and events that are not truths or facts. In this context, ‘pa’ comes right after the Noun 1 / Pronoun / Subject.
Important rules to make Negative Sentences
Noun 1 + Se + Noun 2
becomes
Noun 1 + Pa + Noun 2
Add ‘janm’ to emphasis things that never happen
Noun 1 + Pa Janm …
Add ‘non’ at the end of the sentence for extra emphasis
Noun 1 + Pa … Non
* use the rules above one at a time. Once you understand them and listen to how natives use them, then you can mix and match them
Sample Sentences
Nou pa doktè.
We’re not doctors.
Jan pa janm manje diri.
John never eats rice.
Papa m pa rete Nouyòk non.
My father does not lives in New York.
Etazini pa yon zile.
The U.S.A. is not an island.
Chat la pa janm manje vyann.
The cat never eats meat.
Ti chen yo pa nan chanm nan non.
The small dogs are not in the room.
Flè a pa bèl.
The flower is not beautiful.
Li pa a uitè.
It is not at 8 o’clock.
Telefòn nan pa sou biwo a non.
The telephone is not on the desk.