T- Possession
T- class possessives have the following forms depending on whether one or more things are possessed:One thing: tā/tō + possessor
Two or more things: ā/ō + possessor
(Recall the a/o categories above.)
There are also two different forms depending on whether the possessor is a singular pronoun (au, koe, ia) or a plural pronoun (kōrua, mātou, tātou etc).
Singular Pronoun Forms
| Number of things possessed |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Person | One | Two or more |
English |
| 1st | tāku / tōku | āku / ōku |
my |
| 2nd | tāu / tōu | āu / ōu |
your |
| 3rd | tāna / tōna | āna / ōna |
his or her |
Examples of one thing being possessed:
tāku pene (my pen)
tōna waka (his/her car)Simply remove the 't' from the possessive pronoun if two or more things are possessed:
āku pene (my pens)
ōna waka (his/her cars)
Plural Pronoun Forms
| Number of things possessed |
||
|---|---|---|
| One | Two or more |
English |
| tā/tō tāua | ā/ō tāua |
our (2 inclusive) |
| tā/tō tātou | ā/ō tātou |
our (3+ inclusive) |
| tā/tō māua | ā/ō māua |
our (2 exclusive) |
| tā/tō mātou | ā/ō mātou |
our (3+ exclusive) |
| tā/tō kōrua | ā/ō kōrua |
your (2) |
| tā/tō koutou | ā/ō koutou |
your (3+) |
| tā/tō rāua | ā/ō rāua |
their (2) |
| tā/tō rātou | ā/ō rātou |
their (3+) |
Examples of one thing possessed by more than one person:
tā tātou karaihe
our (3+ inclusive) class
tō rāua whareSimply remove the 't' from the possessive pronoun if two or more things are possessed:
their (2) house
ā tātou karaihe
our (3+ inclusive) classes
ō rāua whare
their (2) houses
When the possessor is not a pronoun
When the possessor is not a pronoun, simply replace the pronoun in the above examples with the noun phrase:tā te kuia mokopuna
the old woman's grandchild
ā te kuia mokopuna
the old woman's grandchildren
tō te tāne waka
the man's car
ō te tāne waka
the man's cars
When the possessor is a proper name
When the possessor is a proper name, place the name directly after tā/tō, ā/ō:tā Kelly rorohiko
Kelly's computer
ā Kelly rorohiko
Kelly's computers
