That they sometimes take the passive form may be seen in the illustrations of the passive voice. In some cases also their passives change their nature, and become similar in meaning to the passives of active verbs; e. g.
- Nohoia tou kainga, dwell, or occupy, your farm.
- Ka hengia mai ahau e ia, I shall be (literally) ignored by him.
§. 14. As the participial adjectives may be most conveniently classed under this head, we shall insert here a table of the principal of them:—
- Ea, paid for.
- He, unacquainted with.
- Hoha, wearied at.
- Horo, stormed (as a fort, &c.)
- Mahora, given (as a feast.)
- Makini, gapped.
- Mana, ratified, &c.
- Mao, ceased (as rain.)
- Maoa, cooked (as food.)
- Marere, fallen to the ground, &c.
- Maringi, spilt.
- Maru, bruised, beaten, &c.
- Matau, (sometimes with Ngapuhi;) e. g., Pakore e matau i a au, understood.
- Mate, dead.
- Mau, caught.
- Mawheto, loosed (as a knot.)
- Mimiti, dried up.
- Moti, destroyed, &c., (corresponding to the phrase clean sweep; Waikato.)
- Motu, cut.
- Mutu, ended.
- Oti, finished.
- Ongeonge, (same as Hoha.)
- Pahure, passed by.
- Pahemo, idem.
- Pakaru, broken. N.B..—Wākaru, is active.
- Pareho, consumed.
- Pau, idem.
- Riro, departed.
- Rite, completus, perfectus, (sometimes.)
- Riwha, gapped.
- Tahuri, overturned.
- Toremi, sunk into (as into a bog, &c.)
- Tu, wounded, &c.
- Whanau, used sometimes as v.n., bring forth;
- sometimes as part. adj., brought forth or born.
- Whara, hurt (by accident.)
- Wera, burnt.
- Ngaro, lost, destroyed, &c.
- Ngenge, tired.
- Ngonga, beaten (same as Maru.)
§. 15. That we are correct in denominating such words, as the above, "participial adjectives," will appear from the consideration that they will assume the form of an adjective, or participle, according to the nature of the word by which they may be translated: thus marie may be translated quiet, and be considered an adjective; or pacified, and be considered a participle. Neither indeed will it appear strange that an adjective should be found, in one language, exactly corresponding to a participle in another, if we only reflect on the origin of the following adjectives of the English; exact, competent, complete, perfect, correspondent, &c., &c.
Like adjectives, these words will assume the form of a verb, when in connexion with the verbal participles. Indeed, (as we have already observed,) our impression is, that, the more we examine, the more shall we be led to think that a genuine verb is by no means a common thing in Maori; and that substantives, adjectives, and other classes, are the fountains to which most of the verbs of the language may be traced.
[11] There are many things connected with this subject that will, no doubt, often appear strange to the European reader; and he will frequently have to be careful lest he be misled by theories derived from occidental grammars. In those languages the verb is a leading word in the sentence, and by it exclusively is the office of affirmation or predication performed.
In Maori, on the contrary, a pure genuine verb is by no means of frequent occurrence: almost any word denoting a thing, or quality, is capable of sustaining that office; and predication is as frequently implied as expressed. In considering, therefore, the Maori verbs, we shall have to examine, not only those words which have been invested with the properties belonging to that class; but also those forms in which no mark of predication is expressed. The term predication we have adopted, for want of better, to denote those functions which are peculiar to the verb, and which are sometimes described by grammarians under the terms "affirmation" and "assertion."
[12] We have adopted the term "sentence" in preference to "proposition," lest the student should be led into perplexity by conceiving that we used the terms simple and compound in the same senses as those in which they are used by logicians.
From our examples he will see that we should call a sentence simple, even though the subject and predicate be complex terms.