Singlish - Grammar - Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

Nia is originated from Hokkien which means 'only', mostly used to play down something that has been overestimated.

Mary: "I not so old lah, I 18 nia."

"Then you know" is a phrase often used at the end of a sentence or after a warning of the possible negative consequences of an action. Can be directly translated as "and you will regret not heeding my advice". Also a direct translation of the Chinese '你才会知道'.

Mother: "Ah boy, don't run here run there, wait you fall down then you know ar."

"There is"/"there are" and "has"/"have" are both expressed using got, so that sentences can be translated in either way back into British / American / Australasian English. This is equivalent to the Chinese 有 yǒu (to have): Aiyyo: A state of surprise. derived from Tamil.

Got question? Any questions? / Is there a question? / Do you have a question?
Yesterday ar, East Coast Park got so many people one! There were so many people at East Coast Park yesterday. / East Coast Park had so many people yesterday.
This bus got air-con or not? Is there air-conditioning on this bus? / Does this bus have air-conditioning?
Where got!? Where is there ?, or less politely, There isn't/aren't any! also more loosely, What are you talking about?; generic response to any accusation. Translation of the Malay "mana ada?" which has the same usage.

Can is used extensively as both a question particle and an answer particle. The negative is cannot.

Gimme can? Can you please give that to me?
Can! Sure!
Cannot. No way.

Can can be repeated for greater emphasis or to express enthusiasm:

Boss: "Can you send me the report by this afternoon?" Employee: "Can, Can!" (No problem!)

The Malay word with the same meaning boleh can be used in place of can to add a greater sense of multiculturalism in the conversation. The person in a dominant position may prefer to use boleh instead:

Employee:"Boss, tomorrow can get my pay check or not?" Boss:"Boleh lah ..." (sure/possibly)

The phrase like that is commonly appended to the end of the sentence to emphasize descriptions by adding vividness and continuousness. Due to its frequency of use, it is often pronounced lidat (lye-dat):

He so stupid lidat. – He really seems pretty stupid, you know.
He acting like a little kid lidat. – He's really acting like a little kid, you know.

Like that can also be used as in other Englishes:

Why he acting lidat? – Why is he acting this way?

If lidat, how am I going to answer to the gong shi ting? – If that's the case, how am I going to answer to the board of directors?

In British English, "also" is used before the predicate, while "too" is used after the predicative at the end of the sentence. In Singlish (also in American and Australian English), "also" (pronounced oso, see phonology section above) can be used in either position.

I oso like dis one. (I also like this one.)
I like dis one oso. (I like this one too.)

"Also" is also used as a conjunction. In this case, "A also B" corresponds to "B although A". This stems from Chinese, where the words 也 (yě), 还 (hái) or 都 (dōu) (meaning also, usage depends on dialect or context) would be used to express these sentences.

I try so hard oso cannot do. (I tried so hard, and still I can't do it. OR I can't do it even though I tried so hard.)

The order of the verb and the subject in an indirect question is the same as a direct question.

"Eh, you know where is he anot?" "Excuse me, do you know where he is?"

"Ownself" is often used in place of "yourself", or more accurately, "yourself" being an individual, in a state of being alone.

"Har? He ownself go party yesterday for what?" "Why did he go to the party alone yesterday?"

Not all expressions with the -self pronouns should be taken literally, but as the omission of "by":

Wah, hungry liao! You eat yourself, we eat ourself, can? (Hey, I/you should be hungry by this time! Let's split up and eat. (Then meet up again)

Some people have begun to add extra "ed"s to the past tense of words or to pronounce "ed" separately. Most of the time, the user uses it intentionally to mock proper English.