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First Lessons in Maori

§ 72. Who, Which

§ 72. Who, Which.

—When the relative pronoun in English is the subject of the relative clause:

i. The predicate of the relative clause may be placed immediately after the antecedent without any expressed subject, and may be followed by one of the adverbs, (a) nei, (b) na, or (c) ra; according as the thing spoken of is near, or connected with, (a) the speaker, (b) the person spoken to, or (c) neither; but if one of these adverbs is used, and the verb is imperfect, ana must be omitted.

Examples.
  • Te tangata e hanga whare ana, the man who is housebuilding.

  • Te waka i kitea e taua, the canoe which was seen by you and me.

  • Te tamaiti i korero mai ra ki a taua, the boy who spoke to us.

  • Te rakau e tu ra i runga i te puke, the tree which stands on the hill.

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ii. If the relative clause is past or future, the construction mentioned in § 55 may be used; the pronoun of the third person singular serving for all persons and numbers.

Examples.
  • Te tangata nana nei i patu toku matua, the man who killed my father.

  • Ko nga tangata enei nana i tahu te ngahere, these are the men who set on fire the forest.

  • Ko te tohunga koe mana e hanga te whare, you are the skilled man who shall build the house.

iii. If the relative pronoun has a common noun joined to it, the definitive taua (pl. aua) is used to represent it.

Examples.
  • E tu tonu nei taua whare, which house is still standing.

  • I noho ra ratou ki aua wahi, which places they occupied.