Joining Clauses: na, tasol, o

01

'na' - And

It joins nouns, verbs and whole clauses alike, with no change in form.

• Mi laikim snou na ais.

  I like snow and ice.

• Mi gat wanpela maus na tupela ia.

  I have one mouth and two ears.

• Yutupela amamas na kaikai.

  You two enjoy your meal.

02

'na' - And Then

Linking two verbs, na often carries a sense of sequence or purpose - do this, then that - where English might use "and" or "to".

• Go na sekim hauskuk.

  Go and check the kitchen.

• Bai mi go na sekim.

  I'll go and check.

• Em i pundaun na i dai pinis.

  He fell down and died.

Note the second i in that last one. Each verb keeps its own predicate marker even though they share a subject, so na is joining two full predicates rather than two bare verbs.

03

'na' Starting a Sentence

Unlike the English "and", which teachers discourage at the start of a sentence, na opens sentences freely. It works as a connector between turns in a conversation.

• Na yupela?

  And you?

• Na dispela meri?

  And this woman?

• Na em i luk nais tru.

  And she looks really nice.

• Na yu ting olsem wanem?

  And what do you think?

04

'tasol' - But

• Ol no lukim, tasol ol harim.

  They don't see it, but they hear it.

• Nogat, tasol mi gat kus.

  No, but I have a cough.

• Tasol em i tru!

  But it's true!

05

'tasol' - Only

The same word, placed after what it limits rather than before it, means "only" or "just". English puts "only" in front; Tok Pisin puts tasol behind.

• Nogat liklik tasol.

  No, only a little.

• Na tu mi save kaikai sayor tasol.

  And I also eat only vegetables.

• Noken sindaun tasol.

  Don't just sit around.

• Nem bilong em Lisa, wankain tasol.

  Her name is Lisa, just the same.

Position tells you which is which. At the front of a clause it is "but"; trailing after a word or phrase it is "only".

06

'o' - Or

• Vanila o soklet?

  Vanilla or chocolate?

• Ostrelia o Amerika?

  Australia or America?

• Yu pilim orait o nogut?

  Do you feel good or bad?

A question can be closed with o nogat - "or not" - or, more casually, with o maski, where maski means "never mind".

• Yumi go long haus piksa o maski?

  Shall we go to the cinema, or not bother?

• Dispela tok em i tru, o nogat?

  Is this true, or not?