Jamaican Patois grammar rests on a handful of rules, and none of them involve memorizing verb tables. Verbs don't change form. Short words placed before the verb mark tense and aspect. Pronouns have one form each, so mi means "I", "me" and "my". Plurals are made by putting dem after the noun. Once those click, most of what you hear starts to make sense.
This page is the overview. Each topic has its own detailed guide, linked as you go and listed at the end.
Patois has its own grammar
Most Patois words come from English, so it is tempting to treat Patois as English with mistakes. That approach makes it harder to learn. Patois formed in Jamaica from the late 1600s, and West African languages shaped its sound system and grammar. Linguists call it Jamaican Creole. Its rules are consistent: mi did nyam ("I ate") is correct Patois and mi did ate is not, the same way "I ated" is wrong in English.
A practical note before the rules. Most Jamaicans move along a range between broad Patois and Jamaican English, depending on who they're talking to. You will hear him and im, she and shi, going to and a go, sometimes from the same person in the same hour. That's normal variation, not confusion.
Rule 1: Verbs never change
English verbs change their shape: eat, eats, ate, eaten, eating. Patois verbs don't. There's no -s for "he eats", no -ed or irregular past, and no -ing. The bare verb stays the same in every sentence.
Im work a di bank.
He works at the bank.
Wi did buy di ticket dem las week.
We bought the tickets last week.
In the second example, "bought" is did buy. The marker did carries the past, so buy doesn't change.
Rule 2: Small markers before the verb carry tense
Instead of verb endings, Patois puts short markers directly in front of the verb. These are the main ones:
| Marker | Meaning | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| (none) | habit, or a state | Mi eat callaloo every mawnin | I eat callaloo every morning |
| a | happening now | Mi a eat | I'm eating |
| did | past | Mi did go a town yesterday | I went to town yesterday |
| a go / ago | future, "going to" | Mi a go buy a car | I'm going to buy a car |
| done | finished | Mi done eat | I've finished eating |
Markers can stack: did a means "was doing" (Wi did a dance whole night, "We were dancing all night"), and did a go means "was going to" (Mi did a go call yuh, "I was going to call you"). You'll also hear the older past marker ben (also wen or en). The full guide, including how the bare verb can point to the past, is in Patois tense markers.
Rule 3: Pronouns keep one form
English switches between I, me and my, or they, them and their. Patois uses one word in all three positions. What it means depends on where it sits.
Mi hungry.
I'm hungry.
Come wid mi.
Come with me.
Mi phone dead.
My phone is dead.
| Patois | English |
|---|---|
| mi | I, me, my |
| yuh | you, your (one person) |
| im / him | he, him, his (and often she, her) |
| shi | she |
| it | it |
| wi | we, us, our |
| unnu | you all, your (more than one person) |
| dem | they, them, their |
Patois also has a plural "you", unnu, which standard English lost. For "mine", "yours" and "theirs", put fi in front: fi mi, fi yuh, fi dem. More in Patois pronouns.
Rule 4: Plurals use dem after the noun
Patois doesn't need an -s to make a plural. It adds dem after the noun:
Di pickney dem a play outside.
The children are playing outside.
Di dog dem a bark.
The dogs are barking.
Placement matters. Dem after a noun marks the plural. Dem before a noun means "their". So di fren dem is "the friends" and dem fren is "their friends". When the number is already clear from context or from a number word, dem is often left out: Gi mi two ripe mango ("Give me two ripe mangoes").
Rule 5: Three ways to say "is"
English uses "is/am/are" for three different jobs. Patois splits them:
- Linking two nouns: a. Shi a nurse ("She is a nurse"). Mi faada a fisherman ("My father is a fisherman").
- Saying where something is: deh. Mama deh inna di kitchen ("Mama is in the kitchen"). Weh yuh deh? ("Where are you?")
- Describing: nothing at all. Adjectives work like verbs, so you don't need a linking word. Di soup hot ("The soup is hot"). Mi tired ("I'm tired").
A common learner mistake is putting a before an adjective (di soup a hot). Native speakers say di soup hot. For the past, put did in front: Mi did sick las week ("I was sick last week"). The sentence structure guide covers all three in detail.
Rule 6: Negate with a word before the verb
Patois has a small set of negators, and each one does a specific job:
- nuh, meaning don't or not: Mi nuh know ("I don't know").
- neva, meaning didn't, for the past: Mi neva si im ("I didn't see him").
- cyaan, meaning can't: Mi cyaan swim ("I can't swim").
- naw / nah, meaning not doing or won't: Mi naw eat dat ("I'm not eating that").
Double negatives are grammatical, and they reinforce each other rather than cancel out: Mi nuh have nutn means "I don't have anything". Neva often means plain "didn't", not "never ever". See negation and questions.
Rule 7: Questions keep normal word order
English questions move words around ("You are going" becomes "Are you going?") and add "do" or "did". Patois doesn't. A yes/no question is the statement said with a rising tone:
Yuh a come wid wi?
Are you coming with us?
For other questions, put a question word at the front and keep the rest as a plain statement: Wah yuh want? ("What do you want?"), Weh yuh a go? ("Where are you going?"), A who tell yuh dat? ("Who told you that?").
Rule 8: Small words that do big jobs
A few function words come up constantly:
- di means "the". For "a" or "an" you'll hear both a and one: It have one mango tree inna di yard ("There's a mango tree in the yard").
- fi means "to" or "for". It marks purpose (Mi come fi help yuh, "I came to help you"), obligation (Yuh fi go, "You should go") and possession (fi mi, "mine").
- haffi means "have to": Mi haffi work tomorrow.
- seh works like "that" after say, hear, think or know: Mi hear seh shi a come ("I heard that she's coming").
- pon means "on" and inna means "in": Di key dem deh pon di table.
- a also works as "to" or "at" before places: Mi a go a market ("I'm going to the market").
Where usage varies
- Spelling. Patois has no single everyday spelling. This site uses the spellings the app uses (yuh, nuh, cyaan). The academic Cassidy/JLU system writes them differently. You'll also see naw and nah, a go and ago, unnu and unu.
- English-leaning speech. In more formal settings, many speakers use English forms, such as he for im, or "-ing" verbs. Both are real Jamaican speech.
- Older and rural forms. Older past markers like ben are heard more in some areas and among older speakers. Other regional forms exist too.
- Rasta usage. Rastafari speech has its own pronoun habits, such as I and I. We cover them in the pronouns guide.
Where to go next
- Jamaican Patois sentence structure: word order, the three ways to say "is", fronting for emphasis, and serial verbs.
- Patois pronouns: mi, yuh, im, shi, wi, unnu, dem, and possession with fi.
- Patois tense markers: a, did, ben, a go, done, and how they combine.
- Negation and questions: nuh, neva, naw, cyaan, and the question words.
- Numbers and counting: prices, time and counting.
- Grammar words in the dictionary: one entry for each small word.
Questions people ask
Is Jamaican Patois just English with bad grammar?
No. Patois takes most of its vocabulary from English, but its grammar is its own and follows consistent rules. 'Mi did nyam' (I ate) is correct Patois, and 'Mi did ate' is not. Linguists call it Jamaican Creole and treat it as a language.
Do Patois verbs have tenses?
Not as endings. The verb stays the same and small markers in front of it do the work: 'mi a eat' (I'm eating), 'mi did eat' (I ate), 'mi a go eat' (I'm going to eat), 'mi done eat' (I've finished eating).
Does everyone in Jamaica speak Patois the same way?
No. Speech varies by region, age and setting, and most Jamaicans move along a range between Patois and Jamaican English. The rules here are the common core; we flag the places where usage differs.
What should I learn first?
Pronouns (mi, yuh, im, wi, unnu, dem), the progressive marker 'a', the past marker 'did', and the negator 'nuh'. With those you can make and understand a huge share of everyday sentences.