I. You. He. She. It. We. They.
Word order
Subject Pronoun + Action …
Subject Pronoun + Place / Location …
Subject Pronoun + Description of Noun…
Subject Pronoun + Verb / Action / Preposition …
What is a Pronoun?
I, You, He, She, It, We, & They are called pronouns. Since these pronouns usually appear in the beginning of a sentence, we also call them subject pronouns. A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun in a sentence. A noun is a person, place or thing. For example, in English we say:
I love birds.
You love dogs. (You = one Noun)
He loves cats.
She loves conch.
It loves goats.
We love lions.
You [all] love chicken. (You = more than one Noun)
They love fish.
In the sentences above, I, You, He, She, It, We, & They can replace a person, place or thing in a sentence. Instead of saying “Eunice loves conch”, we can say “she loves conch”. Instead of saying “cats and dogs love chicken”, we can say “they love chicken”.
The same rule applies to Haitian Creole. Haitian subject pronouns generally appear in the beginning of sentences.
Mwen
I
Ou
You (one Noun)
Li
He. She. It.
Nou
We
Nou
You (more than one Noun)
Nou
I
Yo
They
Examples
Now let us use the previous examples:
Mwen renmen zwazo. I love birds.
Ou renmen chen. You love dogs.
Li renmen chat. He loves cats.
Li renmen lanbi. She loves conch.
Li renmen kabrit. It loves goats.
Nou renmen lyon. We love lions.
Nou renmen poul. You [all] love chicken.
Nou renmen zwazo. I love birds.
Yo renmen pwason. They love fish.
As you can see, nou can be used as we, you (more than one noun), and I. In addition, there is no distinction between masculine, feminine, or neuter.
Short forms of Mwen, Ou, Li, Nou, and Yo
In English, sometimes we use short forms of words because it is easier and saves time. For example, instead of saying television, we say tv. In Creole we apply the same rule to Mwen, Ou, Li, Nou, and Yo.
Mwen / M
I
Ou / W
You (one Noun)
Li / L
He. She. It.
Nou / N
We
Nou / N
You (more than one Noun)
Yo / Y
They
M. You can use it in two types of sentences:
1. Before a consonant sound
M byen. I am well.
2. Before a vowel sound
M ale. I am leaving.
W. L. N. Y. You can use them before a vowel sound.
Èske w ap rete? Are you staying?
L ale. She left.
N antre. We entered.
Y ap ekri. They are writing.