Possessives in Te Reo Māori – a and o categories notes and flashcards
‘A’ AND ‘O’ CATEGORIES FOR POSSESSION
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
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Decide if the article, person, action etc mentioned should be in the ‘a’ or ‘o’ category.
- hipi - sheepa - domestic animals*
- kai - fooda - food
- whaea keekee - aunto - senior relatives
- tamariki - childrena - children
- hoa tane - husbanda - husbands
- kakau - handleo - (body) parts
- moenga - bedo - support
- nui - bigo - personal quality
- aroha - loveo - emotions
- taringa - earo - (body) parts
- te matua - the parento - relatives*
- te tungaane- the brothero - relatives*
- kaawhe - calfa - domestic animals*
- huu - shoeso - clothing
- hoa - mateo - relatives and partners*
- ringa - hando - (body) parts
- paraikete - blanketa - portable
- maangere - lazyo - personal quality
- whare-houseo - immovable man-made
- koorero - speecha -activity
- ingoa - nameo - names
- pukapuka - booka - portable
- keekee - armpito - (body) parts
- keke - cakea- food
- iwi - tribeo - part of
- aakonga - studentsa - students
- mokopuna - grandchildrena - grandchildren
- mahi - worka - activity
- waka - canoeo - transport
- hungarei - in-lawso - senior relatives
- whaanau - family o - part of
- roopuu - organizationo - part of
- aataahua - beautyo - personal quality
- whakaaro - thoughto - thoughts
- pukuriri - angero - personal quality
- tuuru - chairo - support
- waewae - lego - part of
- kupu - wordsa - activity
- pikinga - climbinga - action
- kapu - cupa - portable