CHAPTER XVIII.
SYNTAX OF THE PRONOUNS.
§ 1. The personal pronouns follow the verb; e. g., e mea ana ahau.
§ 2. They are often also omitted after it; e. g., Ka tukua atu te purahorua, ka tae ki te pa, korerotia atu, Kia mohio i te taua e haere mai nei——na ka te whai e te pa. Na wai i haere, a; ka tae ki nga whakatakoto; ka pau te huaki, ka tangi te patu, ka whati tera, te pa; the messenger is sent (he) arrives at the pa (it) is told (them,) be on (your) guard against the hostile party (which) is approaching, so the pa then pursued. On then (they) proceeded, till (they) came to the ambush, the assault is made, the blow resounds, that flies, the pa. Sometimes, in Waikato, they are redundant; e. g., kei te kai taro mana, he is eating bread for himself. Examples however of this construction are not varied or frequent.
In Waikato the personal and possessive pronouns will frequently take the particle nge before them, but without any variation of meaning.
§ 3. It was observed (page 29) that there is no word in Maori to denote the pronoun it. Occasionally, however, that word will be designated by ia and its branches; e. g., waiho mana e rapu atu te tahi huarahi mona, let it (the axe,) search out a path for itself. This perhaps should be explained by prosopopœia. Sometimes also we hear the following: te paraoa raua ko te poaka, flour and pork; nga toki ki a ratou whakatoki, nga kakahu ki a ratou whakakakahu, axes by themselves, garments by themselves.
§ 4. Often the singular and dual of the personal pronouns will be employed to denote a whole tribe, or company; e. g., naku tena, na te Urioteoro, that is mine, the Urioteoro's; i. e., the property of my tribe. Keihea taua? where are we two? i. e., where is our party, ko ta maua ki tena, ta te tangata Maori, that is a phrase of us (two) of the New Zealander, i. e., of the New Zealanders.
Note.—This form is often also used when the speaker wishes to propound some remark which would appear harsh if too personal; e. g., he aha kei a maua ko Hone, what is with me and John; i. e., oh, never mind John: of what importance is he?
Connected with this is a mode of phrase which we have been surprised to hear questioned by some who claim a high character as Maori scholars.
§ 5. A pronoun in the singular will often be made to refer to a noun in the plural; ko nga tangata tenei, nana nga tikaokao, this are persons, his are the fowls; nga tangata nona te kainga, the men his is the settlement, i. e., whose is, &c.; nga tangata nana i patu, the men his was the having struck; i. e., who struck. Tenei matou te noho atu nei, this is we, who am sitting towards you.
§ 6. It is a very common thing in Maori to put into the third person a pronoun which has reference to either the first or second; e. g., hei rama aha? tana koke noa atu,—nana tana rakau, a light for what purpose?—his stumbling away—his is his own stick, i. e., "What do I want of light?—I can stumble out my way—I am accustomed to that kind of work;" ko te rangi mahi kai tenei ma tona tinana, this is the day for procuring food for his body; i. e., for ourselves; kei tena tangata pea, it rests perhaps with that individual; i. e., with you; tona tangata kaha ko koe, you are his strong man; i. e., what a very strong man you are! (ironically); haere korua, e Hone, raua ko Hemi, go you (two) John, they two and James; i. e., go you and James.