te | Past Tense in Haitian Creole
Master the past tense in Haitian Creole with our guide on using “te.” Discover how to correctly apply “te” to describe past actions and events, and enhance your Creole language skills.
Word order
Te + Verb…
Te + Adjective…
Te + Preposition…
When to use this type of sentence?
Actions that already happened.
Past tense
Similar Lesson
Explanation
How do you tell someone that something or an event happened in the past?
To express that something happened in the past, English uses words like “had” (she had a baby), “was” (the building was tall), and adds -ed to verbs (John walked to school). This is known as the past tense. In Haitian Creole, we use the word “te” to indicate that an event has already occurred. Unlike English, “te” does not have a direct translation and must be memorized.
If you’re just beginning to learn Haitian Creole, it’s helpful to consistently use “te” when discussing past events.
Important rules when using 'te'
For events that did not happen in the past, use pa t.
Jan pa t yon doktè.
John was not a doctor
In a sentence where we used ‘se’, ‘se’ becomes ‘te’.
‘Jan se yon doktè’ becomes
‘Jan te yon doktè’
Haitians may drop the ‘te’ when talking about things that already happened. You will need to pay attention to the context. For example, to answer the question “Did you eat?”, you might here
Wi m manje.
Yes I ate.
* Pa + Te = Pa t
Sample Sentences
Mari te yon enfimyè.
Marie was a nurse.
Li te manje diri.
It ate rice.
Papa m te gen de machin.
My father had three cars.
Nou te sou bato a.
We were on the boat.
Chat la te manje vyann nan.
The cat ate the meat.
Ti chen yo te nan chanm nan.
The small dogs were in the room.
Flè a pa t bèl.
The flower was not beautiful.
Li pa t a uitè.
It was not at 8 o’clock.
Telefòn nan pa t sou biwo a.
The telephone was not on the desk.