Grammar. At first glance, Tok Pisin grammar seems to be just simplified English

At first glance, Tok Pisin grammar seems to be just simplified English. For example, you don't have to add an "s" to show plural:

wanpela pik 'one pig'
tripela pik 'three pigs'

 

You don’t have to add "ing" or "ed" to show tense:

Mi wok nau. 'I'm working now.'
Mi wok asde. 'I worked yesterday.'

 

The same word em can mean 'he', 'him' 'she', 'her' and 'it'. For example, the following sentence can have three different meanings, depending on the context:

 

Em i stap long haus. 'He's in the house' or 'She's in the house' or 'It's in the house.
Em i lukim mi. 'He/she/it saw me.' Mi lukim em. 'I saw him/her/it.'

 

But Tok Pisin has its own grammatical rules. First of all, look at the following sentences:

Mi wok. 'I worked.'
Yu wok. 'You worked.'
Em i wok. 'He/she worked.'
Tom i wok. 'Tom worked.'

 

Note that the last two sentences have the little word i before the verb. (Remember that in Tok Pisin, i is pronounced something like "ee".) This little word is called a "predicate marker", and it must occur in a sentence when subject is em or a noun (like "Tom" or "the bicycle"). This rule is certainly different from anything found in English.

To show plural, you put the word ol before the word instead of "s" at the end of the word:

Mi lukim dok. 'I saw the dog.'
Mi lukim ol dok. 'I saw the dogs.'

To be specific about tense or aspect, or about other things like ability, you can use different short words. Some occur before the verb and some occur after the verb. Here are some examples:

Ben i bin wok asde. 'Ben worked yesterday.'
Ben bai i wok tumora. 'Ben will work tomorrow.'
Ben i wok i stap nau. 'Ben is working now.'
Ben i wok pinis. 'Ben is finished working.'
Ben i save wok long Sarere. 'Ben works on Saturday.'
Ben i ken wok. 'Ben can work (he is allowed to).'
Ben inap wok. 'Ben can work (he has the ability).'