'em' as the Linking Word

01

Naming and Identifying

The pattern is simply X em Y. English has to supply is, am or are; Tok Pisin supplies em, and it never changes shape for person or number.

• Dispela em pren bilong mi, Anna.

  This is my friend, Anna.

• Dispela em pik ya.

  That's a pig.

• Poro bilong em tu em tisa.

  His friend is a teacher too.

02

When the Subject Is 'He', 'She' or 'It'

If the thing being identified is simply "he", "she" or "it", there is only one em. The pronoun stands first and does both jobs at once: it is the subject and the link.

• Em wanpela sumatin.

  She is a student.

03

Where It Comes From

This em is the same word as the pronoun "he, she, it", which is why the construction feels odd at first: literally it reads "this one, he my friend". The pronoun came to serve as the link between subject and description, and it is now the standard way to make a statement of identity.

04

With the Predicate Marker

You will also meet em i in the same slot. The extra i is the ordinary predicate marker, and adding it changes nothing about the meaning. Both versions are correct and both are common.

• Dispela em i wanpela meri.

  This is a woman.

• Vanila em i wanpela rop.

  Vanilla is a vine.

05

Echoing a Long Subject

When the subject is a phrase rather than a single word, em often appears after it to gather it up before the statement begins. English has nothing equivalent; the nearest feel is "my belly, it is heavy".

• Bel bilong mi em i hevi tru.

  My heart is very heavy.

• Tok bilong yu em i no stret.

  What you say is not right.

• Bos bilong mi em kamap birua long mi.

  My boss has become hostile to me.

06

Saying It Is Not So

The negative is formed with no in front of the description, exactly as with any other predicate.

• Em no tisa.

  He isn't a teacher.

• Nogat, em no poro bilong mi.

  No, he isn't my friend.

07

Asking

Questions need no rearrangement at all. The statement is left as it stands.

• Em ankol bilong yu?

  Is he your uncle?

• Dispela em bikpela inap?

  Is this big enough?

08

Leaving It Out Altogether

With a name, even the linking word can disappear, and the two nouns are simply set side by side.

• Nem bilong mi Alex.

  My name is Alex.

09

Comparisons Too

The same frame carries comparisons, with olsem supplying the "like".

• Laip em olsem wanpela basket soklet.

  Life is like a box of chocolates.

10

Identity Is Not Location

This construction is only for saying what something is. To say where something is, Tok Pisin uses the verb stap instead, and the two are not interchangeable. Em wanpela sumatin says she is a student; Em stap long skul says she is at school.

• Em wanpela sumatin.

  She is a student.

• Em stap long skul.

  She is at school.