A Pronoun Attached to a Verb

Level 3

The series includes -ni, -ek/-ok/-k, -u/-h, -ha, -na, -kom and -hom.

How It Works

A direct-object pronoun attaches to the verb in one written word. It identifies me, singular you, him or it, her or it, us, plural you, or them. Third-person singular distinguishes grammatical gender, including for things. Subject agreement remains separate: xtratha, ‘she bought it’, combines feminine subject morphology with a feminine object suffix.

Attachment can alter the stem. Compare nesa, ‘he forgot’, with nsieni, ‘he forgot me’. Masculine single-object forms use -u after a consonant and -h after a vowel, applied to the appropriate suffixed stem. Singular-you variants include -ek, -ok and -k; their selection requires the actual host form. Direct objects differ from l-based indirect objects, and additional clitics can change the object suffix's shape.

Examples (3)

  1. Marija xtrat il-borża; xtratha għall-vjaġġ.

    Maria bought the bag; she bought it for the trip.

    -ha refers to the feminine bag.

  2. Pawlu nsieni.

    Paul forgot me.

    -ni follows a changed stem.

  3. L-għalliem rahom wara l-lezzjoni.

    The teacher saw them after the lesson.

    -hom identifies the plural direct object.

How It Connects

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A Pronoun Attached to a VerbLevel 3

Learn This First

Introduce attached objects as participants distinct from the verb's subject. Use xtratha, nsieni and rahom to show gender, person, number and host-dependent stem changes before detailing the suffix series.

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Patterns that build on this one.