The Copula
Papiamentu's copula, equivalent to English be, am, is, are, was, were, is ta. (This word ta also serves as the indicator of the present tense for other verbs.)
Mi ta merikano.
I am American.
Nan ta hulandes.
They are Dutch.
Conjugations
Papiamentu verbs are relatively easy to conjugate. They indicate their tenses by adding short words to the sentence rather than changing the form of the verb. ta indicates the present, lo indicates the future, and a indicates the past tense. The pronoun e (meaning "he" or "she") changes into el when it appears before a. Some speakers put the future tense marker lo before the subject of the verb.
mi ta kanta
|
I sing
I am singing
|
|
nos ta kanta
|
we sing
we are singing
|
bo ta kanta
|
you sing
you are singing
|
|
boso ta kanta
|
you (plural) sing
you all are singing
|
e ta kanta
|
he/she sings
he/she is singing
|
|
nan ta kanta
|
they sing
they are singing
|
|
|
|
|
|
mi a kanta |
I sang |
|
nos a kanta |
we sang |
bo a kanta |
you sang |
|
boso a kanta |
you (plural) sang |
el a kanta |
he/she sang |
|
nan a kanta |
they sang |
|
|
|
|
|
lo mi kanta or
mi lo kanta
|
I will sing |
|
lo nos kanta or
nos lo kanta
|
we will sing |
lo bo kanta or
bo lo kanta
|
you will sing |
|
lo boso kanta or
boso lo kanta
|
you (plural) will sing |
lo e kanta or
e lo kanta
|
he/she will sing |
|
lo nan kanta or
nan lo kanta
|
they will sing |
ta bai
According to Getting around the Islands in Papiamentu, a different flavor of the future can be expressed using ta bai as in Mi ta bai kanta = "I am going to sing."
Progressive Aspect
The progressive aspect indicates either of the following:
a) one action was in progress when something else happened, or
b) habitual or customary activity.
The progressive aspect of the past tense can be created using tabata followed by the plain verb or the present participle.
Ora bo a drenta mi tabata kome. or
Ora bo a drenta mi tabata komiendo.
When you came in I was eating.
Exceptional Verbs
The following verbs do not use ta to indicate the present tense. You might say that the present tense is the default condition for these verbs: tin (have), por (be able to), ke (want), sa and konose (know), mester (must). Obviously ta also does not use ta to indicate its own present tense; one never says anything like mi ta ta merikano.
The following verbs may be used with or without ta in the present tense: gusta (to like), stima (to love), bal (to be worth), kosta (to cost), debe (owe), parse (resemble). Some sources also include di (to say), dependé (depend), nifica (signify) in this category.
Negation
References:
Blankenburg, Eleanor Basic Papiamentu Grammar for English Speakers 1986
T. Dovale, G. Dammers and B. Lockwood Getting around the Islands in Papiamentu 2007
Goilo, E.R. Papaimentu Textbook, ninth edition 1994
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