Naku tenei, nau tena, this is mine, that is yours.
Ne rangatira taua tangata, that man is a chief.
§ 19. The Difference between a and o, which applies also to na, no, ma, mo, ta, to, is this; a is active, and o is passive, that is to say, a is used with reference to the agent, o with reference to the person or thing acted upon, thus:
Taku patunga i a koe, my striking you.
Toku patunga e koe, my being struck by you.
They are also strictly correlatives, a having reference to the superior, and o to the inferior, thus:
Toku pāpā, my father.
Tana tamaiti, his child.
Tona rangatira, his master.
He pononga nana, a servant of his.