T-CLASS SINGULAR POSSESSIVES + ‘A’ AND ‘O’ CATEGORIES OF POSSESSION/RELATIONSHIP
How well do you know your ‘a’ and ‘o’ categories? If you think you’re good to go at least with the singular t-class possessives go ahead and test your knowledge with the flashcards below. Please note that the macron/tohutō is not supported on the flashcards so I’ve used the double vowel instead to indicate where to place the stress for pronunciation.
And yes while it’s true that there is a neutral form ‘taku, tō, tana’ these are only available in the singular form so it’s best to understand the ‘a’ and ‘o’ categories from the get go then you can express yourself more clearly and you’ll be way ahead when you start learning the plural forms.
NB: If you need to brush up I hope that the grammar notes underneath the flashcards will help. Another post will discuss the dual/plural possessive forms tā tāua, tā tātou etc).
- my stomachtooku puku
- my (1) sheeptaaku hipi
- my (2+) sheepaaku hipi
- his eyesoona whatu
- his eyesoona kanohi
- his aunttoona whaea keekee
- your childrenaau tamariki
- your husbandtaau hoa tane
- your friendtoou hoa
- my pentaaku pene
- her cupsaana kapu
- your booksaau pukapuka
- my moneyaaku moni
- your mobile phonetaau waea puukoro
- my spacetaaku koo
- his worktaana mahi
- her speechtaana koorero
- your blankettaau paraikete
- my greetingsaaku mihi
- your chocolatesaau tiakarete
- his beertaana piia
- my smartphonetaaku waea atamai
- your breakfasttaau parakuihi
- my daughtertaaku tamaahine
- his flock of geesetaana kaahui kuihi
- my childtaaku tamaiti
- my nosetooku ihu
- my earsooku taringa
- my friendtooku hoa
- his shoesoou huu
- his bosstoona rangatira
- your feetoou waewae
- your nametoou ingoa
- his horsetaana hoiho
- my housetooku whare
- her booktaana pukapuka
- your familytoou whaanau
- her booksaana pukapuka
- his dogtaana kurii
- my husbandtaaku hoa taane
- his wifetaana hoa wahine
- your ipadtaau iPapa
- my grandchildtaaku mokopuna
- your fishtaau ika
- my Dadtooku paapaa
- your tribetoou iwi
- This is my house.Ko tooku whare teenei.
- This is my cat.Ko taaku ngeru teenei.
- Here's your mobile phone!Anei taau waea puukoro!
Why are there ‘a’ and ‘o’ categories to express possession?
In te reo Māori when you use words that express possession or relationship (my, your, his, her etc) you can communicate something more than you do in English as you have a number of extra words to choose from.
You can not only say who the thing belongs to or who is in a certain relationship but you can communicate who or what is in the dominant (‘A’ category) or subordinate (‘O’ category) position in the relationship and you can even communicate whether it’s just one thing that you have or more than one thing that is owned or in the relationship.
For example when it comes to people, if we are junior in age to someone we express that using the ‘o’ category – you can tell that the possessives that start with ‘t’ (t-class possessives) are in the ‘o’ category by the letter that follows the ‘t’. Tōku (my), tōu (your) tōna (his/her) etc but if we are in a protective, nurturing role we use the ‘a’ category (tāku (my), tāu (your), tāna (his, her).
Tōku māmā. My mum. (I’m junior to her.)
Tōku matua kēkē. My aunt/uncle. (I’m junior to her/him.)
Tāku tamahine. My daughter. (She’s under my protection)
Tāna pēpē. His baby. (She’s under his protection.)
T-CLASS POSSESSIVES
Let’s look at the ‘t’ class possessives here, ie: the group of words in te reo Māori that in their singular form begin with a ‘t’ and express possession or relationship (just drop the ‘t’ for the plural form to say that more than one thing is owned or that you are referring to more than one person to the relationship.)
Singular Pronoun Forms – when just one person owns something or is in a particular relationship.
Number of things possessed | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
English | One | Two or more | ‘A’ Class Examples – dominant | ‘O’ Class Examples – equal/subordinant |
my | tāku / tōku | āku / ōku | Āku (plural) tamariki. My children. | Tōku (singular) māmā. My mum. |
your | tāu / tōu | āu / ōu | Tāu (singular) tamahine. Your daughter. | Ōu (plural) mātua. Your parents. |
his / her | tāna / tōna | āna / ōna | Tāna (singular) teina. (Her (younger) sister. | Tōna (singular) tuakana. Her (older) sister. |
A CATEGORY = expresses our relationship with anyone or anything we are senior to, anyone under our control, protection or authority
Skills, activities, things we produce or control
Food and drink (but not drinking water)
Portable and man-made things (apart from articles of clothing or parts of something and big immovable man-made things)
Domestic animals and pets (but not horses)
Children, husbands, wives, grandchildren, students
Technology and machinery (apart from transport)
O CATEGORY = expresses our relationship with anyone or thing we are junior to, under the control, protection or guidance of, part of, equal to
Feelings, thoughts, emotions, personal qualities
Clothing
Names
Parts of (things, groups, organizations etc)
Relatives, seniors, partners and friends (apart from husband, wife child and grandchild)
Transport, shelter (things you go into), support, help
Immovable manmade objects