Meaning
On, upon, or at — a core Jamaican preposition worn down from 'upon'. 'Pon di table' is on the table, 'pon di corner' is at the corner, 'depend pon' is depend on, and 'gwaan pon bad' is to carry on badly. It appears constantly in everyday speech, doing the work of English 'on', 'upon', and 'at' across place, time, and manner, and it is among the small structural words most characteristic of the sound and grammar of Patois.
Examples
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Put it pon di table.
Put it on the table.
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Dem deh pon di corner.
They are at the corner.
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It all depend pon yuh.
It all depends on you.
Origin
A worn-down form of English 'upon', reduced to 'pon' and used for 'on', 'upon' and 'at'.
How it’s used
One of the most frequent little words in the language, appearing in countless phrases — 'pon di road', 'gwaan pon', 'pon top'. Sometimes said 'pan'.