'pinis': The Completed Action

01

After the Verb

Unlike bai and bin, which come before the verb, pinis follows it. Position alone therefore separates the three markers.

• Stua i pas pinis.

  The shop has closed.

• Na dok i dai pinis.

  And the dog has died.

• Taim pinis.

  Time's up.

• Yu stretim ol kago pinis?

  Have you finished packing?

02

Right After the Verb, Before the Object

When there is an object, pinis usually still hugs the verb and the object follows both.

• Mi givim pinis fon bilong mi long yu.

  I've already given you my phone.

• Em save pinis olsem mi sik.

  She already knows that I'm sick.

03

'Already'

Much of the time the most natural English rendering is "already", and this shades into simply reporting a state that has been reached.

• Krismas bilong mi em eitin pinis.

  I'm eighteen already.

• Yu harim pinis dispela olain save pilai musik?

  Have you heard this band that plays music?

04

Still an Ordinary Verb

pinis has not stopped being the verb "to finish", and it turns up in that plain sense as well, including with its own transitive object.

• Mi save pinis wok long sikis klok.

  I usually finish work at six o'clock.

• Yu pinis long lukim dispela piksa long DVD.

  You've finished watching this film on DVD.

05

After an Adjective

Following an adjective rather than a verb, it says that the state has now been reached - the person or thing has become that way.

• Bubu meri bilong mi em lapun pinis.

  My grandmother is old now.

• Krismas bilong mi em eitin pinis.

  I'm eighteen already.

06

Completion, Not Time

Because it marks completion rather than past time, pinis can describe something finished at any point, including in the future. And because a completed event is usually also a past one, it very often does the work an English past tense would do, which is why bin is needed so seldom.