(a.) Whaka.—The leading property of this particle is causative; e. g., tu is to stand, whakatu is to cause to stand (vid. etiam, page 50, under pai, kau, and kakahu, and Syntax of Numbers, under Ordinals).
Note.—In this use of it, adjectives, and neuter verbs, will be converted into active verbs; e. g., toe, to be left; whakatoe, to put by, as a leaving; e. g., whakatoea etahi ma mea ma, put by some for our friends.
In the following example, the adjective is made improperly to retain the form of a neuter verb, he mea whakapirau i te hau, a thing blasted by the wind. Its meaning, as its stands, is, a thing that destroys the wind.
Considerable variety may sometimes be found in the nature of the causation implied by this prefix. Thus, puru, to cork (a bottle, &c.). Whakapurua nga pounamu, to stow, or pack (with straw, &c., between) them. Waha, to carry on the back; whakawaha, to take up the load on the back; e. g., waiho atu e au e whakawaha ana, as I came away they were loading themselves with their burdens.
(b.) Sometimes it will imply the becoming, or the being like to, or the feigning, or exhibiting the root to which it is prefixed. Frequently, also, it will indicate an origin or propriety in the root; e. g., Kei te whakariwai a Hone i roto i te rua, John is making himself potatoes, i. e., (is occupying the place of) in the rua (or potatoe house); ka po, ka whakaahi; ka awatea, ka whakakapua, at night it became a fire, by day it became a cloud; kia whakatangata, to act like a man; ka riro, ka whaka-Hone ki te wai, he will be off, and become like John in the water; i. e., will be drowned as John was; he kupu whaka-te-Kanaua, a speech made by Kanaua; i. e., any promise, &c., made by him; he tangata whaka-Ngapuhi, a person belonging to, or that frequently visits Ngapuhi; he aha kei to tatou hoa? Kahore pea. E whakamatemate noa iho ana, kia kiia e mate ana, What is the matter with our friend? Nothing at all. He is feigning sickness, that he may be regarded as unwell.
(c.) Sometimes it will denote reciprocity; e. g., ko ratou whakaratou hoki, he is one of themselves! (d.) Sometimes it will denote an action either inceptive or gradually declining; e. g., e whakatutuki ana te tai, the tide is beginning to get full; e whakahemohemo ana, he is sinking; i. e., is on the point of death. (e.) Sometimes it will denote towards; vide page 71. (f.) Occasionally it will indicate some action corresponding to the sense of the root; e. g., ka whaka-ahiahi ratou, they act at sunset; i. e., they wait for sunset to make their assault.
The other auxiliaries of the verb.—These, it has been already observed, are adverbs, prepositions, pronouns, and the articles he and te, placed in connection with the verb. We proceed to make a few remarks upon them, and some other forms which the Maori verb occasionally assumes:—
On the adverbs as auxiliaries.—These chiefly are the adverbs of intensity and negation; we may add, also, the particles atu, mai, ake, iho.
The adverbs of intensity, as well as the last mentioned particles, will frequently lose their distinctive force, and either in some way modify the meaning; i. e., denote rapidity and certainty of effect, succession or connection of events, &c., or be redundant. The following examples will, it is hoped, sufficiently illustrate their use:—te whakaarahanga ake o te ra, tahuri tonu iho, the putting up of the sail forthwith was it upset; akuanei, ahiahi noa, ka tata ta maua te oti, presently by sunset ours will be near being finished; mo te ara rawa ake o nga tamariki kua maoa, that exactly as the children awake it may have been cooked; i. e., it may be cooked before they awake; kahore, ha, he kainga; kainga[39] rawa atu ki Waitoke, oh, there is no settlement (in the interval); the nearest settlement is Waitoke; tia rawa ki te raukura, pani rawa ki te kokowai, he braided his hair with feathers, and besmeared himself with red ochre; te tino haerenga, so on they started.
N.B.—Between noa ake and noa atu a distinction will sometimes be found not unlike that which obtains between the perfect and imperfect of English. Noa ake will generally convey an allusion to some date, either present or past; noa atu will most frequently refer to the past, without any such allusion; e. g., kua mate, noa ake, he has been dead this some time; kua mate noa atu, he died a long time ago; kua maoa, noa ake te kai, the food has been this long time cooked; kua maoa noa atu, it was cooked a long time ago; kua mate noa ake i reira, he had been dead then some time; kua mate noa atu i reira, he had been dead a long time previous to that date.