An infinitive is a noun, and in Using Suffix Pronouns you learned that a suffix pronoun on a noun shows its owner: pr=f "his house". On an infinitive, the "owner" can be either the one who acts or the one acted on.
Key idea
Why it works
Worked example: An intransitive verb
- m-ḫt "after" is a compound preposition (Compound Prepositions).
- jjt is the infinitive of jj "come", which takes no object.
- So =f is the one who comes: "after his coming".
Answer: "After he came."
Worked example: A transitive verb
- rdjt is the infinitive of rdj "give".
- "Give" needs an object, and n=j "to me" names the receiver.
- So =f is what is given: "giving it to me".
Answer: "Giving it to me."
Worked example: Doer and object both named
- sḏm is the infinitive, with its object mdt "the words".
- jn "by" introduces the doer, zꜣ=f "his son".
Answer: "The hearing of the words by his son."
A practical order of questions helps. First, is the verb transitive? If not, the suffix is the subject. Second, if it is transitive, is a doer already named, in the main clause or after jn? Then the suffix is the object. Third, if neither settles it, read the sentence both ways and keep the one that fits the story. Egyptian writers relied on context here, and so do Egyptologists: translations of the same line sometimes differ for exactly this reason.
Common mistake