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Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

1. (particle) there (by the listener) - used after nouns, location words, pronouns and personal names to indicate position or connection with the listener or the principal character in a narrative. Like the other two locative particles, nei and , it follows manner particles (i.e. kau, kē, noa, rawa and tonu) and directional particles (i.e. mai, atu, iho and ake) in the phrase if they are present.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 44;)

He tūtaeruru te ngārara . / That insect is a grass grub.

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2. (particle) Used to refer to something just said by the listener or the speaker.

I mua o te taenga mai o tēnei ope kua hoki mai anō a Rongo ki tētehi o ōna pā, ko Motu-wheteke te ingoa. Koia nā te pā i whawhaitia ai a Rongo (JPS 1911:104). / Before this war party arrived Rongo and his people had returned to one of his other pā, named Motu-wheteke. It was in this pā where Rongo was attacked.

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3. (particle) Used following possessive determiners to imply that the thing possessed is a little distance away, associated with the listener, or simply for emphasis.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 85-86;)

Whakarāpopototia ēnei kōrero ki āu ake nā kupu. / Summarise this story in your own words.

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4. (particle) who, that, which - when used in dependent clauses to refer to something or someone just mentioned or mentioned by, or associated with, the person being spoken to.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 120;)

Ko tēnā te kākahu i whatua e koe. / That is the cloak that you wove.

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5. (particle) Used following koe, kōrua, koutou when giving opinions, etc.

Ki a koe nā, me pōti au mō tēhea rōpū tōrangapū? / In your opinion, which political party should I vote for?
Ki a kōrua nā, he pai tonu hoki tēnei ture, nē rā? / In your opinion, this law is quite alright, isn't it?

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6. (particle) Sometimes used in close association with the same locative particle, or another, for emphasis e.g. nei nā.

I te kitenga atu o ngā koroua, o ngā kuia i te kaipuke o Kāpene Kuki, ka karanga, "He motu, he motu rere mai nō tawhiti ina e tere mai nei nā." (RK 1994:46). / When the elderly men and women saw Captain Cook's ship they called, "It's an island, it's an island sailing here from afar, it's sailing right here."

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7. Used as a suffix in the words such as tēnā, ēnā, pēnā, konā, anā and koinā.

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