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Monday, May 18, 2015

Can you clarify something about the use of the word depi? I understand that besides “since” it also means ALL? I saw it written somewhere. Can you provide some examples? Thanks

Depi, conj., usage: once, whenever, since, as soon as, as long as, from ….every, all

1. Situations where it can translate every or all:
Ti Djo t ap fè dezòd. Li lage bòl diri a atè a. Se pa ti fache manman l te fache. Li fè misye ranmase depi se grenn diri ki te tonbe atè a.
Ti Djo was misbehaving. He spilled the bowl of rice on the ground. His mother was really angry. He made him pick every grain of rice off the floor.
So,
ranmase depi se grenn diri
pick up every grain of rice

2. whenever, if
Depi se misye ki pale tout moun anbranl.
Whenever he speaks everyone is motivated.

3. once
Depi lapli tonbe ou dejà konnen pral gen inondasyon.
Once it rains you know that there will be flood.

4. As long as, if
Depi se ou ki di sa m ap kwè.
I’ll believe it if you say so.

5. since
Depi m fèt mwen poko janm wè yon bagay konsa.
I have never seen such a thing in my life.

6. From … to
Tout moun alawonnbadè depi sa k pi granmoun rive sou sa k pi piti dwe prezante.
Everybody everywhere from the oldest to the youngest must be present.

Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

2 comments:

  1. I'm a little confused. Does "depi se" express the meaning "all, every, whenever, if" or is it just the word "depi" that expresses those meanings that I have mnentioned? Is "se" needed with "depi" in certain contexts or situations?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, depi se does express the meaning.
      But whenever you see depi followed by se, it doesn't just mean ALL, it could also mean something else.

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