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Grammar & Function Words
81 entries in this part of the language, each with meanings, pronunciation and worked examples.
- A fi 'It belongs to / it's for' — a construction combining 'a' (it is) with 'fi' (for, belonging…
- A nuh so 'It's not so / that's not how it is' — a correction or denial, built from 'a' (it is)…
- A so 'That's how it is / just so' — a compact affirmation that something is exactly as described…
- Aal 'All' — the whole of something — but it also carries the sense of 'even' or 'right up to'…
- Affi Have to, must — a shortened form of 'haffi', with the 'h' dropped.
- Ago Going to — the Patois marker for the future tense, placed before a verb.
- Ah A small but essential Jamaican word that does several grammatical jobs — marking ongoing…
- Anadda Another — 'an-other' with the 'th' flattened to 'd'.
- Anuh 'It is not', or, tagged onto a statement, 'isn't it?' — the negative of the equating…
- Bag a tings A whole lot of things;
- Bagga A lot of, plenty of, many — set before a noun to mean a large amount or number.
- Bare Nothing but;
- Bere Nothing but, only, or pure — and, by extension, a whole lot of.
- Bout 'About' — concerning something, or approximately, as in 'talk bout it' or 'bout ten…
- Cum een like 'Come in like' — it seems like, it's as if, it looks as though.
- Cyaa Can't;
- Dah The demonstrative 'that' or 'this', pointing to a specific thing — most often paired with…
- Dat That — the Patois pronunciation of 'that', with the 'th' hardened to 'd'.
- Dat deh 'That there' — a pointing demonstrative singling out a specific thing or person a little…
- Deggeh-deggeh Only one;
- Deh Marks location and existence — roughly 'there', 'is at', or 'to be somewhere'.
- Deh pon 'To be on / at / onto' — 'deh' (to be) plus 'pon' (on).
- Dem 'They' or 'them', but it does more than the English pronoun: placed after a noun it makes…
- Dem deh Those;
- Di 'The' — the definite article, placed before a noun to point to a specific, known thing…
- Dis This — the Patois pronunciation of 'this', with the 'th' hardened to 'd'.
- Done done Completely and utterly finished — the reduplication of 'done' stressing that a thing is…
- Dun Done or finished — but it does extra work in Jamaican grammar.
- Ehn A tag added to the end of a statement to seek agreement or confirmation — 'right?', 'isn't…
- Enuh A tag added to the end of a statement meaning 'you know', 'you hear', or 'isn't that so' —…
- Fi One of Jamaican's hardest-working words, covering several English jobs at once — purpose…
- Fi mi Mine;
- Fi wi Ours;
- Hab Have;
- Haffi Have to, must, be obliged to — the core Patois word for necessity and obligation.
- Hap'm Happen — the compressed pronunciation of 'happen', where the '-pen' collapses to a hummed…
- How come 'How come' — why;
- Im The third-person singular pronoun — 'he', 'she', 'him', 'her', and the possessive 'his' or…
- Inna In, inside, into — one of the most common Patois prepositions, covering both position and…
- Likkle bit A little bit;
- Likkle most Almost;
- Longside Alongside;
- Mi The first-person pronoun — 'I', 'me', and 'my' all at once.
- Mussi Must be;
- Na A negative marker meaning 'not', 'won't', or 'am/are not (doing)'.
- Nuff Plenty;
- Nuff-nuff Very many;
- Nuffa Plenty of, a lot of — a run-together of 'nuff a' (nuff of).
- Nuffi Ought not to;
- Nuh One of the busiest little words in Patois, doing several jobs.
- Nuh'n Nothing — the most compressed pronunciation of 'nothing', collapsing 'nutten' all the way…
- Nuhbadi Nobody;
- Nuhwan No one;
- Nutten Nothing — the Patois pronunciation of 'nothing'.
- Offa Off;
- One anadda One another;
- Outta Out of;
- Plenty Many;
- Pon On, upon, or at — a core Jamaican preposition worn down from 'upon'.
- Same so 'Just the same / exactly like that' — affirms that something is the same as before or as…
- Sawta Sort of;
- Seh Seh — 'say', one of the busiest little words in Patois.
- Sinting Something — the Patois pronunciation of 'something'.
- Smaddy Somebody, someone — the Patois pronunciation of 'somebody'.
- So So — a small, hard-working word meaning 'thus', 'like that', 'this way'.
- So-so Only;
- Sump'm Something — a heavily compressed pronunciation of 'something', where the middle collapses…
- Supuozin Supposing;
- Unnu You (plural) — 'you all', 'y'all'.
- Unu The plural 'you' — 'you all', 'you people'.
- Weh A multi-purpose question and linking word — 'where', 'what', or the relative…
- Weh part Where;
- Whentime When;
- Whole heap A great many;
- Wi The first-person plural pronoun — 'we', 'us', and 'our'.
- Wid With — the Patois pronunciation of 'with', where the 'th' becomes a hard 'd'.
- Wid a quickness Very quickly;
- Yaago 'You are going to' — a run-together of 'yuh a go', marking what someone is about to or will…
- Yah so Right here;
- Yet Yet — up to now, still, so far.
- Yuh You — the ordinary second-person pronoun, singular, serving as subject, object, and…