Lesson 6 of 47 · St. Andrew
Mark ongoing action with a + verb (Mi a go, im a come) and narrate live running commentary.
That same little word a has a second life: put it BEFORE a verb and the action is happening right now. Mi a go — I'm going. Im a come — he's coming. Wi a nyam — we're eating. No -ing ending, no am/is/are: the verb never changes shape in Patois; the particle does all the work. With motion, the destination takes a as well (the preposition 'to/at'): Mi a go a tung — I'm going to town. Wi a go a Half Way Tree. In fast speech go a melts into gaa: Mi a gaa maakit. Related future preview: a go before another verb points forward — Mi a go tell im (I'm going to tell him) — we drill that later in the journey. And remember the famous elastic promise: Mi soon come — I'll be there... eventually. Example sentences: 1) Mi a mek coffee. — I'm making coffee. 2) Di bus a come. — The bus is coming. 3) Wi a go a Half Way Tree. — We're going to Half Way Tree. 4) Rain a faal pon di mountain. — It's raining on the mountain. 5) Di students dem a walk go a class. — The students are walking to class. 6) Wa yu a du? Mi a wash di plate dem. — What are you doing? I'm washing the plates. 7) Im a run come. — He's running this way. 8) Mi a lef now — likkle more! — I'm leaving now — see you! Jamaicans narrate life as it happens — running commentary is a real speech style, and it's your best drill: say what you're doing WHILE you do it. Errors to recast: adding -ing (Mi a going → Mi a go); inserting is/am (Mi is going → Mi a go); dropping the a (Mi go a tung means a completed or habitual trip, not right now); and English 'to' (go to town → go a tung). If the learner freezes, feed the frame: Yu a...? and let them finish it.
| Patois | Cassidy-JLU | English |
|---|---|---|
| a (+ verb) | a (+ verb) | -ing marker: happening now |
| go | go | go |
| come | kom | come |
| nyam | nyam | eat |
| wuk | wok | work |
| walk | waak | walk |
| run | ron | run |
| cook | kuk | cook |
| wash | wash | wash |
| buy | bai | buy |
| chat | chat | talk, chat |
| lef | lef | leave |
| gaa | gaa | going to (go + a) |
| soon come | suun kom | coming soon (elastic time!) |
He describes a preverbal particle as the regular way of marking the progressive, doing exactly the work of Standard 'be' plus present participle, with the verb itself never changing shape ('Me a try fi remember' = am trying).
The description of the grammar is checked against the published work above. The lesson, the examples and the wording are mine.
Practise this lesson in the app →← A the equative + zero copula · Uptown, downtown — the language slide →