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Haitian Creole Verb Tense Cheat Sheet
All the verb tenses together in one place: Cut it out, laminate it, and bring it with you! An easy way to help you put
together those more complicated sentences, this is your go-to tense resource!

Haitian Creole Verb Tense Cheat Sheet
Verb: Manje

I verb..........................................................Mwen manje I do not verb............................................Mwen pa manje.
I am verbing............................................M ap manje I am not verbing....................................Mwen pap manje.
Verb!...........................................................Manje! Dont verb! ..............................................Pa manje!

I verbed.....................................................Mwen te manje I did not verb..........................................Mwen pat manje
I was verbing..........................................M tap manje I wasnt verbing.....................................Mwen pa tap manje
I already verbed....................................Mwen gen tan manje I havent verbed yet.............................Mwen poko manje
I had already verbed...........................Mwen te gen tan manje I hadnt verbed yet...............................Mwen potko manje

Im going to verb...................................Mwen pral manje Im not going to verb...........................Mwen pa pral manje
I will verb (definite)........................... Mwen pral manje I wont verb..............................................Mwen pap manje
I will verb (conditional)...................M a manje I wont have verbed yet......................M poko pral manje
I will have already verbed................Mwen pral gen tan manje
I wouldnt verb......................................Mwen pa ta manje
I would verb............................................Mwen ta manje I wouldnt have verbed......................M pa tap manje.
I would have verbed............................Mwen ta va manje
I shouldnt verb.....................................Mwen pa dwe manje
I should verb (imperative).............. Mwen dwe manje I shouldnt have verbed.....................M pat dwe manje
I should verb (conditionall).............Mwen ta dwe manje
I should have verbed...........................Mwen te dwe manje I cant verb...............................................M pa ka manje
I couldnt verb........................................M pat ka manje
I can verb..................................................Mwen ka manje
I could verb.............................................Mwen ta ka manje I wasnt going to verb..........................M pa ta pral manje
I could have verbed.............................Mwen te ka manje

I was going to verb...............................Mwen te pral manje

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 A More In-depth Look at Haitian Creole Verb Tenses & Moods

Verb forms do not change according to subject (mwen, ou, li, nou, yo) in Haitian Creole. There are no
conjugations*. Thus, all tables and examples will give tense structure using only mwen, which will give
you the correct verb form for all other subjects.

Likewise there are no verb conjugations for tense. Instead, H.C. grammar relies on different indicator
words or markers to place events in the correct temporal setting. These will appear in bold in the
tables below.

Present Indicative Tenses & The Imperative (Giving Commands):

Simple Present Progressive Present: Imperative:
I verb. I am verbing. Verb!

Subject + Verb Subject + ap + verb Verb (directive)
Mwen manje. = I eat. M ap pale = I am speaking. Ede l = Help him.

L m an Ayiti, mwen manje L m ap pale, m vle tout moun Al* vizite manman w.
griyo. koute mwen. * This is a shortened form of the
verb ale, it is not a conjugation.
Used for: Stating facts and Used for: Describing ongoing
describing habitual actions actions and actions not yet Used for: Giving commands.
completed at the time of
speech.

Simple Past Tense, Imperfect, Use of gen tan as already, and the Past Perfect:

Simple Past: Imperfect: Gen tan: Past Perfect:
I verbed. I was verbing. I already verbed. I had already verbed

Subject + te + verb Subject + tap + verb Subject + gen tan + Subject + te + gen tan +
M te kanpe. = I stood. M tap manje = I was verb. verb
eating.
M te gen tan pati l l te
M te kanpe pandan tout M tap ale lekl l lapli te M gen tan manje = I rive. = I had already left
reyinyon an. kmanse tonbe. already ate. when he arrived.

Nou te gen tan fin manje
l yo te rive lakay nou.
Used for: Placing events Used for: Describing an
/ actions in the past. on-going action in the Used for: Designating
past, or in a series of Used for: Specifying an an action which has
events where one event event as something that been completed before
is interrupted by a 2nd has already happened. another past action.
event.

Simple Future Tense Indicator Words, The Verb to be in the Future & Future Perfect:

Ap For the near / immediate Pral Going to A / Va / Ava For the indefinite
future Im going to verb. future
Im verbing! Subject + pral + verb I will verb.
Subject + ap + verb Subject + a / va/ ava + verb

M ap rive = Im arriving (Ill be M pral achte kk bagay nan N a w. = We will see each other.
there any second.) mache a = Im going to buy a few N ava w.
things in the market. Nou va w.
N ap manje ansanm asw a = We
are eating together tonight M prale* leglz ak Marie. Y a enseye nou Kreyl.
* pral + ale are most commonly Y ava enseye nou Kreyl.
M ap ale nan mache a pita jodi a = contracted to prale. Yo va enseye nou Kreyl.
Im going to the market later
today. Generally Used for: Events
occurring in the near future. Generally used for: Events that
Generally Used for: Events Similar to Englishs Im going to will occur sometime in the
occurring in the near or indefinite or non-immediate
immediate future. future, used for more general
statements of future events.
I will be + place + time. I will be + emotion. I will have [already]
Subject + ap / ava + place + Subject + pral + emotion verbed.
time. Subject + pral + gen tan + verb

ap = certainty Li pral kontan = Shell be
ava = conditional happy. / Shes going to be Nou pral gen tan manje l w
happy. rive = We will have already
This rule is not as fast for ap as it is for ava.
Ava is use almost, if not exclusively, with
eaten when you arrive.
si. Ap can be used with or without si. Yo pral fache = Theyre going
to be angry. Li pral gen tan dmi l w rive =
M ap la demen. = Ill be here She will have already gone to
tomorrow. sleep when you arrive.

M ava la demen si m pa malad.
= Ill be here tomorrow if Im
not sick.


Would, Should, & Could
I would verb. I should verb. I could verb.
Subject + ta + verb. Subject + dwe + verb. Subject + ta + ka + verb.

M ta naje, men m pa konn naje. M dwe etidye. = I should M ta ka ale, men m pa vle. = I
= I would swim, but I dont study. could go, but I dont want to.
know how to swim.

Would have & Was going to
I would have verbed. I would have verbed. I was going to verb.
Subject + ta + verb. Subject + ta + va + verb. Subject + te + pral + verb.

M ta naje, si m te konn naje. = I Si w te vin kote m, m ta va ede M te pral vizite w, men m te
would have swum, if I had w. = If you had come to me, I tw okipe y. = I was going to
known how. would have helped. visit you, but I was too busy
yesterday.

Should have & Could have
I should have verbed. I could have verbed.
Subject + te + dwe + verb. Subject + te + ka + verb.

M te dwe ede w. = I should have helped you. M te ka etidye plis. = I could have studied
more.

M te dwe ale av l. = I should have gone with M te ka f manje sa a. = I could have made that
him. food.



A Few Notes on Negation: Pa, Contractions, & Poko
To create a negative in Haitian There are a few instances We already know that one of
Creole, Creole speakers use where pa + the tense indicator the Creole equivalents for
the word pa. word are contracted to form already is gen tan. To
one word: negate this, we need the
Subject + pa + [other Creole equivalent of yet.
indicator word] + verb. Pa + ap = pap
Pa + pral (or any other future To express that one has not
Examples: indicator word) = pap yet done something, or that
Pa + te = pat something has not yet
M pa vle manje = I dont want happened, we would use the
to eat. Subject + contracted form of word poko.
pa + verb.
Pa f sa! = Dont do that! Example:
M pap ale. = Im not going. / I
M pa ta vle ale avk ou = I will not go. M poko rive lakay. = I have not
wouldnt want to go with you. yet arrived home [Im not
M pat ale. = I didnt go. home yet.]

Bonus: To say had not yet
Creole speakers use the word
potko