§ 3. Caution. Be careful always to give each vowel its own sound, and so to avoid confusion between ae and ai, as in the words waewae and wai; between ao and au, as in the words tao and tau; between ou and u, as in the words koutou and mutu.
[II. NOUNS AND PERSONAL PRONOUNS.]
§ 4. The nouns have no inflexions, nor any distinctions of gender to affect grammatical construction.
Obs. The common interrogative pronoun aha, what, is treated as a common noun.
§ 5. Number. The number of a common noun is denoted
1. by a lengthened pronunciation of certain words for the plural, as in the following:
| SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
| Mătua, parent. | Mātua, parents. |
| Tŭpuna, ancestor. | Tūpuna, ancestors. |
| Tăngata, man. | Tāngata, men. |
| Wăhine, woman. | Wāhine, women. |
| Tuăhine, sister (of a man) . | Tuāhine, sisters. |
| Tuăkana, elder brother. | Tuākana, elder brothers. |
The word tamaiti, child, is only used in the singular, the plural being tamariki.