Capeverdean Crioulo

Santiago Crioulo Grammar

;verbs

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In the grammar of the Creole of Santiago there are three catagories of verbs: weak verbs (for most verbs), strong verbs and sér verb.

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;plural

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Santiago Crioulo makes its plural by adding an "s", for that there are different rules:

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• Adding just an 's' when ending in oral or nasal vowels:

: báka → bákas (cow, cows from Portuguese vaca, vacas)

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• Adding 'is' when the word is terminated in a consonant different than 's'

: mudjér → mudjéris (woman, women from Portuguese mulher, mulheres)

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• Adding 'sis' or 'zis' in lexicon ending with 's'

: rapás → rapásis (boy, boys from Portuguese rapaz, rapazes)

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: olandés → olandezis (Dutch, Dutch from Portuguese Holandês, Holandeses)

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The plural is only used in the first word of a phrase, and it can be a name, adjective, article, demonstrative, or numeral.

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:nóvi barakon (nine sheds) - The number nine already indicates "shed" is plural.

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;negation

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In this situation we must distinguish three cases:

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• negation

:Náu! (no!, from Portuguese não!)

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• negation of proposition

:Pedro ka ta ben! (Peter doesn't come!, Portuguese O Pedro não vem!/ broken Portuguese: Pedro nunca? está vem)

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• negation of attributes

:tem kusa mas ka sábi (There are less pleasant things, Portuguese Há coisas pouco agradáveis/ broken Portuguese: Tem cousa mas nunca? saber)

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The origin of "ka" is unknown. Some suggest it is from Portuguese "nunca" (never), while others refer it is of west African origin.

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