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Hawai‘i Creole

Grammar Quiz

Just like any language, Hawai‘i Creole has its own grammatical rules. If you don't follow them, you'll produce a sentence that sounds odd to speakers of the language. On the basis of the description above, say which of the following sentences are OK in Hawai‘i Creole and which ones are not. If the sentence is not OK, see if you can change it to make it acceptable.

   a)

Wi wen saw daet muvi awredi.

OK    Not OK

(We wen saw dat movie already.)

'We already saw that movie.'

 

   b)

Da ka red.

OK    Not OK

(Da car red.)

'The car's red.'

 

   c)

Jo nat ste pleing futbawl.

OK    Not OK

(Joe not stay plaing football.)

'Joe's not playing football.'

 

   d)

I ste rait da leta.

OK    Not OK

(Ai stay write da letter.)

'I'm writing the letter.'

 

   e)

Shi wen iting da kek.

OK    Not OK

(She wen eating da cake.)

'She was eating the cake.'