Lesson 28 of 47 · Hanover
Compare things two ways (hotta dan / sweet more dan) and crown the winner with di bigges.
Fi compare eena Patois, yu have two good pattern — an nobody naa fuss which one yu pick. Pattern one: adjective + -a + dan, jus like English -er than: Wasp bite hotta dan ants bite (a wasp sting is more painful than an ant bite). Im badda dan dem (he is tougher than they are). Dis ya mango sweeta dan dat deh one. Pattern two: adjective + more dan: Hanover small more dan St. James (Hanover is smaller than St. James). Di sea calm more dan yeside. Yu can even double up fi emphasis eena talk — sweeta more dan — but teach di two clean pattern dem fus. Fi di superlative, use di + adjective + -es/-is: di bigges, di swees, di fassis: Im a di bigges outta di whola mi pickney dem (he is the biggest of all my children). A di bes yam eena di whole maakit. Den yu have di famous Patois intensifier dem weh beat any superlative: I sweet yu see! (it is SO sweet!). Shi love im gaan a bed (loves him beyond measure). Money cyaan done (endless money). Di road bad so till (the road is unbelievably bad). Fi seh two ting equal: dem level, or di two a dem tan same way. Learner error dem fi recast: (1) More sweeter than — pick one marker: sweeta dan OR sweet more dan. (2) The most big — no; di bigges. (3) Than pronounce dan — flat, no th. (4) No figet di article: a di bes, no i is best. (5) Adjective no need ly or very — seh well sweet, sweet-sweet, or sweet cyaan done. Drill wid real ting: two fruit, two parish, two footballer — mek di learner judge an defend dem verdict.
| Patois | Cassidy-JLU | English |
|---|---|---|
| -a dan | -a dan | -er than (hotta dan, sweeta dan) |
| more dan | muor dan | more than |
| badda dan | bada dan | tougher/worse than |
| di bigges | di bigis | the biggest |
| di fassis | di faasis | the fastest |
| di bes | di bes | the best |
| outta di whola | outa di uola | out of all of |
| level | levl | equal, even |
| so till | so til | extremely, beyond words |
| cyaan done | kyaahn don | endless(ly) |
| gaan a bed | gaan a bed | superlatively (love i gaan a bed) |
| well + adj | wel + adj | very (well sweet) |
| sweet yu see! | swiit yu si! | it's SO good! |
The -er and -est comparatives this lesson teaches are described here as fully adopted into the folk speech.
The description of the grammar is checked against the published work above. The lesson, the examples and the wording are mine.
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