The concept expressed in English by the verb "to be" is expressed in Haitian Creole by two words, se and ye.
The verb se (pronounced "say") is used to link a subject with a predicate nominative:
Haitian Creole
English
Li se frè mwen
he is my brother
Mwen se yon doktè
I am a doctor
Sa se yon pye mango
That is a mango tree
Nou se zanmi
we are friends
The subjectsa or li can sometimes be omitted with se:
Haitian Creole
English
Se yon bon ide
That is a good idea
Se nouvo chemiz mwen
This is my new shirt
For the future tense, such as "I want to be", usually vin "to become" is used instead of se.
Haitian Creole
English
L ap vin bòfrè m
He will be my brother-in-law
Mwen vle vin yon doktè
I want to become a doctor
Sa ap vin yon pye mango
That will become a mango tree
N ap vin zanmi
We will be friends
"Ye" (pronounced "yay") also means "to be", but is placed exclusively at the end of the sentence, after the predicate and the subject (in that order). This happens especially with question words: