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First Lessons in Maori
§ 54. Uses of Active and Passive
§ 54. Uses of Active and Passive.
—The Passive Voice is generally used when the action is emphatic rather than the agent, and therefore in the case of transitive verbs it is more frequently required than the Active Voice. But when a transitive follows an intransitive verb expressing an action consequent upon it, both verbs will be in the active voice.
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I mauria e ia te kaheru, the spade was taken by him, i.e., he took the spade.
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Ka haere ahau ka mau i taku toki, I will go and take my axe.
Obs. The Maori language allows of the use of an intransitive verb in the passive, but in such a case a preposition will generally have to be added in English to make the sense complete.
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Noho, sit. Nohoia, be sat upon.
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Kihai tera wahi i whitingia e te ra, that place was not shone upon by the sun.