Grammar
In Saint Kitts creole, words are rarely pluralized by adding an ending to the word. The word is usually followed by the word 'dem' to indicate the pluralization. e.g. de gyul dem - "the girls." Note that if the standard English form of the word is not pluralized with an 's', e.g. children, the plural form of the word in Saint Kitts creole will be the standard English plural form followed by 'dem', e.g. "children dem."
Questions ending in "is it" have the "is it" replaced with "y be" (i bee); e.g. who is it? - who y be?, what is it? - wha y be?
Words used to intensify adjectives, such as "very" and "extremely", are rarely used. To replace "very", the adjective in question is repeated. E.g.: "de gyul look bad bad" - the girl looks very ugly. To replace "extremely" the word "so tail" is used. "So tail" is placed at the end of the adjective. e.g.: "de gyul look bad so tail" - the girl looks extremely ugly. The use of "so tail" indicates a very strong emphasis or intensification.
A unique aspect of Saint Kitts Creole is to end certain sentences in the speech with the words "burdee", "poopa" or "daady buh". The meaning of the phrase varies with context, but they tend to be used to emphasise the sentence they attach to. e.g.: "Tall poopa" - not at all(extreme). "Hush buhdee" - hush buddy (used when extremely annoyed).
Read more about this topic: Saint Kitts Creole
Famous quotes containing the word grammar:
“Grammar is the logic of speech, even as logic is the grammar of reason.”
—Richard Chenevix Trench (1807–1886)
“Literary gentlemen, editors, and critics think that they know how to write, because they have studied grammar and rhetoric; but they are egregiously mistaken. The art of composition is as simple as the discharge of a bullet from a rifle, and its masterpieces imply an infinitely greater force behind them.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Proverbs, words, and grammar inflections convey the public sense with more purity and precision, than the wisest individual.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)