The Transitive Suffix '-im'

01

The Basic Pair

luk is to look, to appear, to have an appearance. Add the suffix and lukim is to see or watch something in particular.

• Em luk gut.

  He looks well.

• Em luk smat tru.

  He looks really smart.

• Yu lukim mi tu?

  Do you see me too?

• Mi no lukim dispela.

  I didn't see this.

Other verbs pair off the same way:

• tok (to speak) → tokim (to tell someone)
• rait (to write) → raitim (to write something)
• kuk (to cook) → kukim (to cook something)
• wet (to wait) → wetim (to wait for someone)
• lus (to be lost) → lusim (to leave something)

• Inap yu tok gen?

  Could you speak again?

• Ol i no tokim mi tu.

  They didn't tell me either.

• Plis raitim pas i kam.

  Please write a letter back.

02

Some Pairs Part Company

Where English happens to use one word for both jobs, the two Tok Pisin forms can end up a surprising distance apart. The suffixed verb is still the transitive one, but its meaning has settled somewhere of its own.

• ron (to run) → ronim (to drive, to operate)
• skul (to study) → skulim (to teach)
• kaikai (to eat) → kaikaim (to bite)

• Dispela man i ron wantaim dok bilong em.

  This man is running with his dog.

• Meri ya save ronim liklik kar stret.

  That woman drives a little car.

• Mi save skulim tok Inglis.

  I teach English.

• Dok i kaikaim em.

  The dog bit him.

03

It Marks the Verb, Not the Object

The suffix says what kind of verb this is; it does not require an object to be present. When everyone already knows what is being talked about, the object can simply be dropped, and the verb keeps its ending.

• Mi no laikim.

  I don't like it.

• Yu laikim?

  Do you like it?

• Bai mi go na sekim.

  I'll go and check.

04

Verbs That Are Never Without It

For many verbs the suffix is simply part of the word, and there is no shorter form to fall back on.

• kisim - to get, to take
• givim - to give
• helpim - to help
• painim - to find
• harim - to hear
• askim, baim, putim, holim, werim, ritim and others

• Kisim ol bek bilong yu i kam.

  Bring your bags here.

• Mi givim presen long papa bilong mi.

  I gave a present to my father.

• Mi ken helpim yu olsem wanem?

  How can I help you?

• Yu harim dispela nois?

  Do you hear that noise?

• Mi nonap long painim ai glas bilong mi.

  I can't find my glasses.

05

Transitive Without the Suffix

Some verbs take an object without ever taking -im. The two you will meet constantly are kaikai, to eat, and gat, to have. Note that this is exactly why kaikaim was free to drift off and mean "bite": the plain form was already doing the transitive work.

• Em kaikai wanpela apol.

  He is eating an apple.

• Noken kaikai dispela.

  Don't eat this.

• Mi gat wanpela dok na wanpela pusi.

  I have a dog and a cat.

06

Objects Introduced by 'long'

Some verbs reach their object through the preposition long instead of taking it directly, and those verbs do not take the suffix either. save, to know, is the everyday example: you do not know a thing, you know about it.

• Mi save long meri ya.

  I know that woman.

• Yu save long dispela dok?

  Do you know this dog?

07

Where It Sits

The suffix attaches straight to the verb, with nothing between, and the object follows the whole thing. Everything else - the predicate marker, negation, the tense and modal words - stays out in front of the verb and never comes between the verb and its ending.

• Teksi i wet i stap.

  The taxi is waiting.

• Noken wet longpela taim.

  Don't wait a long time.

• Mi kukim dispela kek.

  I baked this cake.