Chapter One: First Language Blocks

Welcome to your first immersion. Mauritian Creole is primarily a French-based Creole, but it has been shaped by English, African, Indian, and Malagasy influences. It is a language of “efficiency”, it strips away complex conjugations and gendered nouns, focusing instead on flow and rhythm.

This lesson is part of our Learn Mauritian Creole lessons and is designed for complete beginners. To reinforce what you learn here, you can also explore our Creole vocabulary lists and test yourself using our Creole practice quizzes.

1. Personal Pronouns (Subject & Object)

The first words you learn in any language are the personal pronouns—the nouns that stand in for people. In Creole, these words are multi-purpose, often serving as both the subject (doing the action) and the object (receiving the action).

Singular Pronouns

Creole Word	English Equivalent	Usage Notes
Mo	I	The basic subject pronoun. Mo kapav (I can).
Mwa	Me	The objective form. Used when you are the receiver of the action. Donn mwa (Give me).
To	You (Informal)	Use with friends, family, children, or peers. Equivalent to French Tu.
Ou	You (Formal)	Use with elders, strangers, superiors, or in professional settings. Equivalent to French Vous.
Twa	You (Objective)	The objective form of to. Used when the informal ‘you’ is the object. Mo trouv twa (I see you).
Li	He, She, It, Him, Her	The champion of simplicity! This single word is gender-neutral and covers all third-person needs.

Guidance on Formal vs. Informal ‘You’: The distinction between to and ou is rooted in respect. A helpful rule of thumb is the “First Name Rule.” If you would automatically use the person’s first name upon meeting them, to is appropriate. If you would use a title (Mr., Madam, Dr.) or a formal greeting, use ou. When in doubt, start with the formal ou—it is always better to be polite!

Pronunciation Tip: Extended Vowels The ‘o’ and ‘ou’ sounds in Creole pronouns are often more extended than in English:

• Mo (I) and To (You) sound closer to “Mow” and “Tow.”
• Ou (You, formal) sounds like a drawn-out English “Ooo.”

Plural Pronouns

Creole Word	English Equivalent	Usage Notes
Nou	We, Us	Covers both subject and object forms. Nou al (We go) or Li tann nou (He hears us).
Zot	You (Plural), They, Them	Used for addressing a group, or for referring to a group of people.
Bann-la	They, Them	Often used specifically for ‘they/them’ to avoid confusion with zot (plural you).

2. The Emphasis Block (Reflexive Pronouns)

To refer back to the subject (e.g., myself, ourselves), Creole uses the suffix -mem (meaning ‘same’ or ‘self’) attached directly to the personal pronoun.

Creole Pronoun	Reflexive Form	English Equivalent
Mo	Momem	Myself
Nou	Numem	Ourselves
To	Tomem	Yourself (Informal)
Ou	Oumem	Yourself (Formal)
Li	Limem	Himself / Herself / Itself
Zot	Zotmem	Themselves / Yourselves
Bann-la	Bann-la-mem	Themselves (Emphatic)

Kreol Tip: Using -mem for Power The suffix -mem isn’t just for reflexive use. You will hear it added to other words for emphasis. For example, la means ‘there,’ but lamem means ‘right there’ or ‘precisely there.’ When spoken, the mem can often be shortened to -em (e.g., la-em).

3. The Action Block (Verbs)

The greatest piece of good news for any Creole learner: Verbs do not conjugate! The form of the verb never changes based on who is performing the action (Mo ale, Li ale, Zot ale).

However, verbs do have two forms: Long Form and Short Form.

• Long Form (Full): Used when the verb is at the end of a clause or is followed by an adverb/prepositional phrase (i.e., when nothing or only descriptive words follow it).
• Short Form (Abbreviated): Used when the verb is followed directly by an object or another verb.

Type A: Regular Verbs (Drop the ‘e’)

The majority of Creole verbs fall into this category. The short form is created by removing the final letter ‘e’.

Long Form	Short Form	Meaning	Example
Ale	Al	To go	Mo pe ale. vs Mo al laboutik.
Koze	Koz	To speak/talk	Li kontan koze. vs Li koz Kreol.
Manze	Manz	To eat	To pe manze. vs To manz dipen.
Panse	Pans	To think	Mo pe panse. vs Mo pans sa.
Trouve	Trouv	To see/find	Nou pou trouve. vs Nou trouv li.

Pronunciation Tip: The Final ‘E’ In Creole, words ending with ‘e’ are typically pronounced with an -ay sound. Ale is pronounced “Al-ay,” and Manze is “Manz-ay.”

Type B: Irregular Verbs (Unique Change)

A small, common group of verbs that undergo a unique sound change when abbreviated.

Long Form	Short Form	Meaning
Vini	Vinn	To come
Fini	Finn	To finish
Dimande	Demann	To ask
Tande	Tann	To hear

Type C: Constant Verbs (Forms are Identical)

These verbs have the same form for both long and short use.

Constant Form	Meaning	Usage Note
Kapav	To be able to (can)	Never changes.
Pran	To take	Never changes.
Perdi	To lose	Never changes.
Konne	To know	Often remains konne or konn.

4. Tense Markers (Building the Timeline)

Since the verb stays the same, we use “markers” to indicate the time of the action. These are placed directly before the verb.

Marker	Tense	Creole Example	English Translation
(None)	Habitual Present	Mo manz pom.	I eat apples (regularly).
Pe	Present Continuous	Mo pe manz pom.	I am eating an apple (now).
Ti	Past	Mo ti manz pom.	I ate an apple / was eating.
Pou	Future	Mo pou manz pom.	I will eat an apple.
Fek	Recent Past	Mo fek manz pom.	I just ate an apple.
Ti pe	Past Continuous	Mo ti pe manze.	I was eating.

5. Supportive Verbs (Modals)

These verbs aid another verb to provide specific meaning (want, must, feel like).

Creole Word	Meaning	Usage Note
Oule	To want	Shortens to ‘le casually: Mo’le manze.
Anvi	To feel like	Mo anvi dodo (I feel like sleeping).
Bizin	To need / must	Mo bizin ale (I must go).

6. Sentence Construction & Negation

Simple Statements

Combine the personal pronoun + tense marker + verb.

• Mo koze. (I speak.)
• Li al laplaz. (He/She goes to the beach.)
• Nou kapav trouv ou. (We can see you.)

Negative Statements

To make a sentence negative, place pa after the pronoun and before the tense marker/verb.

• Mo pa konne. (I don’t know.)
• Li pa ti vini. (He didn’t come.)
• Zot pa pou manze. (They won’t eat.)

7. Questions & Interrogatives

There are three straightforward ways to ask a question:

1. Intonation: Simply raise your voice at the end of a statement. To ale? (Are you going?)
2. The Eski Marker: Place eski at the beginning. Eski to ale? (Are you going?)
3. Interrogative Words:

Creole Interrogative	English Meaning
Ki	What / Who
Kifer	Why
Kan	When
Kot	Where
Kouma	How
Komie	How much / How many
Kisannla	Who (specifically for people)

8. Numerals (Counting to 100)

Creole numbers follow the French logic but are spelled phonetically.

1-10	11-20	Tens
1: Enn	11: Onz	10: Dis
2: De	12: Douz	20: Vin
3: Trwa	13: Trez	30: Trant
4: Kat	14: Katorz	40: Karant
5: Sink	15: Kinz	50: Sinkant
6: Sis	16: Sez	60: Swasant
7: Set	17: Diset	70: Swasanndis (60+10)
8: Wit	18: Dizwit	80: Katrovin (4×20)
9: Nef	19: Diznef	90: Katrovin-dis (80+10)
10: Dis	20: Vin	100: San

The Quirk of 70 and 90: Creole uses the “adding” system for 70 and 90:

• 72: swasanndouz (60 + 12)
• 95: katrovin-kinz (80 + 15)

Pronunciation Hint:

• Sink (5) sounds like “Sank.”
• Wit (8) sounds like “Wheat.”
• De (2) sounds like “Day.”

Summary Practice

Try to translate these sentences to test your knowledge:

1. I am speaking Creole. (Mo pe koz Kreol)
2. They don’t want to go. (Zot pa oule ale)
3. Where did he go? (Kot li ti ale?)
4. We just finished. (Nou fek fini)
5. Give me two apples. (Donn mwa de pom)