Note.—In this use of it, adjectives, and neuter verbs, will be converted into active verbs; e. g., toe,to be left; whakatoe,to put by, as a leaving; e. g.,whakatoea etahi ma mea ma,put by some for our friends.In the following example, the adjective is made improperly to retain the form of a neuter verb, he meawhakapirau i tehau,a thing blasted by the wind. Its meaning, as its stands, is,a thing that destroys the wind.Considerable variety may sometimes be found in the nature of the causation implied by this prefix. Thus, puru,to cork (a bottle, &c.). Whakapurua nga pounamu,to stow, or pack (with straw, &c., between) them. Waha,to carry on the back; whakawaha,to take up the load on the back; e. g., waiho atu e au e whakawaha ana,as I came away they were loading themselves with their burdens.
Note.—In this use of it, adjectives, and neuter verbs, will be converted into active verbs; e. g., toe,to be left; whakatoe,to put by, as a leaving; e. g.,whakatoea etahi ma mea ma,put by some for our friends.
In the following example, the adjective is made improperly to retain the form of a neuter verb, he meawhakapirau i tehau,a thing blasted by the wind. Its meaning, as its stands, is,a thing that destroys the wind.
Considerable variety may sometimes be found in the nature of the causation implied by this prefix. Thus, puru,to cork (a bottle, &c.). Whakapurua nga pounamu,to stow, or pack (with straw, &c., between) them. Waha,to carry on the back; whakawaha,to take up the load on the back; e. g., waiho atu e au e whakawaha ana,as I came away they were loading themselves with their burdens.
(b.) Sometimes it will imply thebecoming, or thebeing like to, or thefeigning, orexhibiting theroot to which it is prefixed. Frequently, also, it will indicate anoriginorproprietyin the root; e. g., Kei tewhakariwai a Hone i roto i te rua,John is making himself potatoes, i. e., (is occupying the place of)in the rua(or potatoe house); ka po, kawhakaahi; ka awatea, kawhakakapua,at night it became a fire, by day it became a cloud; kiawhakatangata,to act like a man; ka riro, kawhaka-Hone ki te wai,he will be off, and become like John in the water; i. e., will be drowned as John was; he kupuwhaka-te-Kanaua,a speech made by Kanaua; i. e., any promise, &c., made by him; he tangatawhaka-Ngapuhi,a person belonging to, or that frequently visitsNgapuhi; he aha kei to tatou hoa? Kahore pea. Ewhakamatemate noa iho ana, kia kiia e mate ana,What is the matter with our friend? Nothing at all. He is feigning sickness, that he may be regarded as unwell.
(c.) Sometimes it will denotereciprocity; e. g., ko ratouwhakaratou hoki,he is one of themselves! (d.) Sometimes it will denote an action eitherinceptiveorgradually declining; e. g., ewhakatutuki ana te tai,the tide is beginning to get full; ewhakahemohemo ana,he is sinking; i. e., is on the point of death. (e.) Sometimes it will denotetowards; vide page 71. (f.) Occasionally it will indicate someaction corresponding to the sense of the root; e. g., kawhaka-ahiahi ratou,they act at sunset; i. e., they wait for sunset to make their assault.
The other auxiliaries of the verb.—These, it has been already observed, are adverbs, prepositions, pronouns, and the articlesheandte, placed in connection with the verb. We proceed to make a few remarks upon them, and some other forms which the Maori verb occasionally assumes:—
On the adverbs as auxiliaries.—These chiefly are the adverbs of intensity and negation; we may add, also, the particles atu, mai, ake, iho.
The adverbs of intensity, as well as the last mentioned particles, will frequently lose their distinctive force, and either in some way modify the meaning; i. e., denoterapidityandcertaintyofeffect,successionorconnectionof events, &c., or be redundant. The following examples will, it is hoped, sufficiently illustrate their use:—te whakaarahanga ake o te ra, tahuritonu iho, the putting up of the sailforthwithwas it upset; akuanei,ahiahi noa, ka tata ta maua te oti,presentlyby sunsetours will be near being finished; mo te ararawa akeo nga tamariki kua maoa,that exactlyasthechildren awake it may have been cooked; i. e.,it may be cooked before they awake; kahore, ha, he kainga;kainga[39]rawa atuki Waitoke,oh, there is no settlement(in the interval);the nearest settlement is Waitoke; tiarawaki te raukura, panirawaki te kokowai,he braided his hair with feathers, and besmeared himself with red ochre;te tinohaerenga, so onthey started.
N.B.—Betweennoa akeandnoa atua distinction will sometimes be found not unlike that which obtains between the perfect and imperfect of English.Noa akewill generally convey anallusion to some date, either present or past;noa atuwill most frequently refer to the past, without any such allusion; e. g., kua mate,noa ake,he has been dead this some time; kua matenoa atu,he died a long time ago; kua maoa,noa akete kai,the food has been this long time cooked; kua maoanoa atu,it was cooked a long time ago; kua matenoa akei reira,he had been dead then some time; kua matenoa atui reira,he had been dead a long time previous to that date.
For further illustrations of the adverbs as auxiliaries the student is referred to chapter 9, pages 78, 79, &c. For the negative adverbs, as employed with the verb, vid. next chapter.
Of the Prepositions.—The use of these as auxiliaries is to supply the place of the verb substantive when no verb is expressed in the sentence; e. g.,nakutenei,this is mine;keihea?where is it?Ia au i runga,when I was at the Southward. The tenses they denote, and those also which they admit after them, have been mentioned, chapter 8. Other notices respecting them will be found in the next chapter. For the pronouns as auxiliaries, vid. page 35.[40]
Verbs which assume the form of a noun.—It has been already observed that Maori inclines to the substantive form; and that such is only natural will be obvious to anyone who will reflect that it is moreeasy for an unpolished mind to conceive of things as existences, than to trace them through the various modifications of act denoted in a verb. In many instances, indeed, a New Zealander is compelled to adopt this form, in consequence of the Maori verb not supplying any satisfactory form for the infinitive mood, and the participles. That these two parts of speech strongly partake of the nature of a noun is well known; and we may therefore be prepared to find the forms for denoting them in Maori exhibit a mixed character; i. e., to be a kind of compound of the verb and the noun. It may be added, also, that, as in some Latin authors, the infinitive mood is often used for the finite verb;[41]so also, in Maori, will the verbal noun, especially when a brief and animated mode of diction is desired, be found very frequently to occupy the place of the verb.
The following examples illustrate the various modes in which the Maori verb adopts the substantive form.
The student will observe that even passive verbs will submit to the same operation, and receive the sign of the substantive, (viz. the article) before them; e. g., Tenei aute tuatu nei,here am Ithestanding towards (you); he kainga houte rapuanei,a new country is the being sought, i. e., is what we are seeking for; ko koetekorerotia nei, it isyou who are the being talked about;he nohoaha tau?what are you sitting for?kua otite keri,it is finished, the being dug; ka tata ahaute patuae koe,I am near, the being beaten by you; he mohio koe?are you a knowing?i. e., do you know anything about it?
The following are examples ofthe verbal noun as used for the finite verb:—me he meako te mahuetangao to matou waka,if it had been the leaving of our canoe, i. e., if our canoe had been left to us; kei riri mai ia ki te kai;te taungaiho—ko ia, ko tana waka,lest he (the God) be angry at the food (not having been given)—the alighting (upon him, the priest), &c., i. e., and should then alight upon him, &c.; haere atu ana a Rona kite kawewai, Ka pouri.Te kangangaki te marama. Tetino tikingaiho nei, ka tae ki a Rona,Rona(the man in the moon)goes to fetch water. It is dark. The cursing at the moon. The instant coming down to him, &c., i. e., he cursed at the moon, and she in anger came down to him.
Note.—More examples of this very animated mode of narration might be easily adduced. The student will find several others scattered throughout this work. We may observe, also, that the very frequent use of this form by the natives constitutes one remarkable feature by which the language, as spoken by him, differs from that spoken by the foreigner.
As a further illustration of the way in which predication in Maori is sometimes performed by the substantive, the following forms may be mentioned:—he mea whakamaorino te reo pakeha,a thing translated from the foreigner's tongue, i. e., it was translated from, &c. Na Hone tenei,he mea ho atu naPita,—this is John's, it was presented to him by Pita: lit. it was a thing presented, &c. Akuanei, henoho atu te otinga,presently a remaining away will be the end, i. e., (we shall find that) he will remain away.
It should be also noted that the following verbs always take the substantive form after them, viz., hohoro, oti, hei, and ahei, pau, taea, tau, timata, heoi ano, kati, poto; e. g., timatate mahi,commence to work; katite tahae,stop thieving, &c.
Note.—These verbs, it would appear, deserve most justly the appellation of "auxiliaries," 1st, as they are real verbs; and 2ndly, as by their help we can approximate to many forms of theverb in other languages. For example, kuaoti te tiki, mai,has beenfetched hence; e kore eahei te korero, cannotdivulge.
The use of the verbal noun, it would appear, is very prevalent in Oriental languages (vid. Lee Heb. Gram., second edition, p.p. 75 and 76, and Carey's Gram. of the Burman, also Humboldt on the Chinese, as there quoted.) The following form, however, will often be found in Maori to supersede it.
A noun, or pronoun, in the oblique case, will, frequently, in Maori, take the finite verb after it;[42]e. g., e whakapono ana ahau ki aia i matei aPonotio Pirato.
The expression "ki tana hekenga atu ki te reinga" is precisely the same as "ki a ia i heke atu ki, &c." Again,Noku i haeremai nei,since I arrived here: lit.,from or of me(I mean)came here; ko te rua tenei o nga wikio Hone, i hoki ai,this is the second week since John returned: lit.,this is the second week of John(I mean)returned;i a ia e ngaro ana,whilst he is hid;mo ratoukahorei rongo,because they would not obey: lit.,for them(I mean)their not having obeyed.
Often, also, a noun, which, in English, would be in the nominative, will, in Maori, be converted into the possessive; the verb following as in the preceding rule; e. g.,naku i patu,I struck: lit.,it was mine(I mean)the having struck it;maku e korero,I will speak: lit.,it will be for me(I mean)the speaking.
It was most probably, through ignorance of this, and the preceding rule, that some good Maori speakers adopted the following very unsatisfactory analysis of the two examples first adduced:—"Naku i patu," they would translate,it was struck byme; "maku e korero,"it shall be spoken by me; and they thus explain them:Naandmameanby; andpatuandkorero, though active inform, are passive inmeaning. To this theory, however, there are strong objections. (1.) It cannot be shewn, except by examples derived from this class, thatnaandmaever signifyby; these words all must admit are the active form ofnoandmo—the prepositions which denote the possessive case. (2.) It will altogether fail in those instances in which other prepositions, besidesnaandmaare found. In the following, for example:—"i a au e noho ana i reira,"whilst I was sitting there; nona i tango,because he took it, it will be seen that it is as difficult to determine the nominatives of "noho" and "tango" as it was to determine those of patu and korero in the other examples. Those who attend to the genius of the language (vid. preliminary remarks, pages 102 and 103, and Syntax of Nouns, sec. 3, page 114) will, we think, find but little difficulty in the question. They will see that there are no participles, adverbs, or relative pronouns, in Maori, and that, therefore, we must not be surprised at a construction which, though loose, is admirably adapted to supply the defect. That Maori has a peculiar love for the possessive form in predication, especially when a relative pronoun is understood, may be seen in the following examples[43]:—ko Tiaki anaketa matou i kite,Tiaki was the only person that we saw: lit., Tiaki was our only one (actively) (I mean) saw; ka tohe kitana i pai ai,he holds out for what he desired: lit., he holds out for his (I mean) desired; he matetoku,I am sick: lit., a sickness is mine; ka tikatau, you are right: lit., yours is right;koewould not be here used; kotaku nohotenei, a, po noa,I will sit here till night: lit., this is my sitting until night.
The leading meaning ofna, andma, and their corresponding passivesno, andmo, seems to be, of the one class,present, orpast, of the otherfuture possession. And most of the examples given in p.p. 63-67, of their various uses might be reduced to those heads. Thus, "note mane i haere mai ai," means, literally,it was of the Monday, (I mean,)having come. "Noreira i riri," it wasof that cause(I mean,)the having been angry;moa mua haere ai,let it be for a future period, (I mean,)the going, &c.
Compound tenses.[44]—A compound tense is one whose time and quality are modified by some other time or circumstance with which it is connected.
Thus in the examples in page 38me i reiraahauepaiana,e—ana, which takenabsolutely, is present, now represents the pluperfect potential; because it has a reference toi reira, a past time, and tome, a particle denoting contingency. Again, in the example, "akuanei tae rawa atukuamate;kua, taken absolutely, refers to past time; but, here, it is takenrelatively, and refers to a future; i. e. to the time in which I may arrive; the sentence meaning, literally, "presently, exactly as I shall have arrived, he is dead." The expressionshall have been dead, in English, all will see, is a compound tense of a similar character, for it iscompounded of a future, and a past tense, and thus represents asecond future.
We proceed to lay before the student some examples of the most important combinations of time and mood. To exhibit all that are possible would extend our work beyond its prescribed limits. Some remarks on this subject have been already made in treating on the verbal particles.
Present.—Kataka ki hea,ehaere maiana?they have reached what place as they come along?
Imperfect tense.—Rokahangaatu e au,i reiraenohoana,when I arrived he was sitting there: lit., he is sitting, &c.Imuaepaiana,formerly I liked(it): lit., I like, &c.Epaiana imua—id.Ipai anoimua—id.Nareiraikore ai ahauepai,that was the cause why I did not assent: lit., thencewasI not, (I mean)ampleased.Iki hoki ia, akuaoti;imea atu ia, a, tutonu iho,he spake, and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast.Heoiahau me tenei tamaiti,kahaere mai;I was the size of this child when I came here.
I heakoe i mua,kakimi?where were you before that you did not look for it?
Nei hoki,kuaora, haereanaki Taranaki,but he recovered, and went to Taranaki;kuamea atu ra hoki;eki maiana,why I said so, he replies, i. e.,replied.
Perfect tense.—Kawha nga wikiengaroana, (orkangaronei;)it has been lost these last four weeks: lit.,thesearefour weeksit islost.
Ikonei te kuriekaiana, mei te huruhuru,a dog has been eating a fowl here, as we may judge from the feathers.Nokukamate,since I have been poorly.
Pluperfect tense.—Kihaii hingakawaiho e korua,it had not fallen when you left it, lit., it did not fall, you leave it.Ia koekuariro,after you had gone,(vid. our remarks onkua, page 153 for other examples.)
First future tense.—MaNgatiwhatuaetakitaki to maua mate, ka ea,Ngatiwhatua will avenge our murder, (and) a satisfaction will be obtained.
Akuanei, rangonarawatiamai,ehokoanaano koe,presently, Ishallhear that youare stillpurchasing: lit., presently, exactly as it has been heard, you are, &c.
Kuamate ahau,eoraanaano nga rakau nei,these trees will live longer than I: lit., I died, these trees are still alive.
Second future tense.—Vid. pag. 37.
Present and imperfect.—(For examples of these vid. onepage 136, onka138, and onai146),koahaukiamate, ko iakiaora; vid. onkia(§. c. 1,) also our remarks on ahei, taea, &c., as auxiliaries.
Pluperfect.—Kuariro au, na te mate o taku kotiroinoho ai,I would have gone; but I remained in consequence of the sickness of my daughter: lit., I departed, my daughter's sickness was the cause of my having remained;enohoana,naHoneingare,he would have stopped, but John sent him: lit., he is remaining, John sent him;Emurua a Hone,naku iora ai,John would have been plundered, but I saved him;me ikahore ahaukuamate,if it had not been for me, he would have died;kuahemo ke ahau,meikauaahau te whakapono,I should have fainted if I had not believed; peneikuaora,in that case he would have been saved;kahua ahau,ihaereai,erongo;I thought that they would have listened (which) was the cause of (my) having gone;maku i rungaekore e marere,when I am at the Southward (it) is never granted; ma raua e rere e kore e hohoro a Raiana,when they both run, Lion does not make haste; me i maku e keri, keihea?if it had not been for me to dig it where (should I have been now)?i. e., I should have dug to a vast distance.[45]
The following combinations of times are incorrect:ite meaiarahina nga Hurai,while the Jews were being led; it should beearahinaana.Ikite hoki ratou i a ia, a,irere,for they saw him and fled; it should be,a, rereana. To ratou taenga atu ki te pa, i reira ano mahara ana ratou ki a ia,and when they had reached the pa, they then recognised him; it should be na,kamahara, &c. Ma Honeewhakaki o koutou peke,perahoki me o matou,John will fill your bags as full as ours; it should be,kia penei me o matou. It may be here noted that when two tenses are connected together, not in the way of government, but are rather in apposition with each other, the latter will generally be the same as, or at least correspond to, the former; e. g., the following constructions are erroneous:—Korerotiaatu,mea ana,speak, saying; it should be,meatia. A ki atuanaa Hone, kamea; it should be, meaana. Ka tahi ahauikite,now for the first time have I seen; it should bekakite.
Note.—Sometimes, however, we meet with exceptions to this rule: (1) when there is a clear case for the operation of epanorthosis; (2) when the particlesaornaintervene.
The character of the sentence will sometimes be found to affect the time of the verb; as, for example, in animated narration, where a large measure of certainty, or when contingency is to be denoted, &c.; e. g., Kihai i u ki uta,kuatae ki te whare,kuatotoro ki te maripi, ki te paoka,Ekaiana,he had not landed, before hehadreached the house,hadstretched out(his hand) to the knife and fork, (he) is eating, i. e., immediately as soon as he landed he began to eat; E pa ma, kia kaha, Kahore kua u,My friends be strong, (in pulling the oar), O no, we have landed, i. e., we are close to shore. A request or command, given to be conveyed to another, will often be put into the imperative, just as if the individual, to whom the request, &c., is to be delivered, were really present; e. g., Mea atu ki a Hone,Taihoa e haere,say to John, Don't go for a while. E kite koe i a te Keha,Haere mai,if you see Keha(say to him),Come here.
Note.—This form is generally adopted when the speaker wishes to be animated and abrupt. Sometimes, as in the first example, it is the only form admissible.
Verbs associated to qualify each other.—It should here also be noted that when two verbs are associated together, the latter of which is modified in meaning by the former, in a way somewhat similar to that in which the infinitive in Latin is modified by its governing verb, the two verbs will, generally, be in the same tense and voice; e. g.,Kuahaere,kuakoroheke hoki,he has begun to get old, lit., he is gone, he is old;keianga koe,keikorero,don't you go and say, &c.;earatakinaana, e patuaana,it is led to be killed.
Repetition of Verbs.—The same verb will frequently be repeated in Maori whencontingency,intensity,distribution,diversity,&c., are intended, and, particularly, when the speaker desires to be impressive and emphatic; e. g., Ko te mea i tupono i tupono: ko te mea i kahore i kahore,(the karakia Maori) is all a work of chance: sometimes there is a successful hit, sometimes a failure, lit., that which hit the mark hit it, that which did not did not; e pakaru ana, e pakaru ana ki tana mahi(it does not much signify) if it breaks, it is broken in his service; okioki, okioki atu ki a i a,trust, trust in him, i. e., place your whole trust in, &c.; haere ka haere, kai ka kai,in all his goings,in all his eatings, i. e., whenever he walks, or eats, (he retains the same practice); heoi ano ra, heoi ano,that is all about it, that is all about it; hapai ana, hapai ana,raise both ends at the same time; i. e.,while you raise, I raise.
Note.—A similar usage obtains in other parts of the language; e. g., ko wai, ko wai te haere?who, who is to go?ko tera tera,that is another, ora different one; he kanohi he kanohi,face to face; ko Roka ano Roka, ko ahau ano ahau?are Roka(my wife)and I different persons?lit., Is Roka Roka, and (am) I I?
Sometimes the former verb will assume the form of the verbal noun; e. g., te haerenga i haere ai,the going with which he went, i. e., so on he proceeded; na, ko te tino riringa i riri ai,so he was very angry.
Note.—The learned student need not be reminded of the remarkable parallel which Maori finds to the four last rules in Hebrew. From this cause it will be sometimes found that an exactly literal translation will be more idiomatic than another. Thus Gen. 1, 7, "dying thou shalt die" could not be rendered more idiomatic than if it be done literally: "na, ko te matenga e mate ai koe."
Of the Passive Verbs.—It has been already observed (p.p. 49, 56) that passive verbs are often used in Maori in a somewhat more extended sense than is met with in most languages. It may naturally, therefore, be expected that their use should be more frequent than that of active verbs: and such we believe to be the case,—Maori seeming to incline peculiarly to the passive mode or form of statement, especially in the secondary clauses of a sentence. Independently of other uses which they subserve, (such as often supplying a more animated style of narration, being sometimes the more convenient—as being the more loose or general—mode in which to advance a sentiment, &c.), there are two of considerable importance which may be here noticed. 1st. They are most frequently employed when the relative pronoun is understood, and are generallyequivalent to the active verb withaiornei,&c., after it; e. g., nga mahi i wakahaua e ia,the works which were ordered by him. The active form here, withoutaiafter it, would be seldom used. Vid. also, the examples p.p. 49, 51. 2ndly. They sometimes supply the place of a preposition; e. g., he aha te mea eomakianei?what is the matterabout whichit is being run?Te tangata ikorerotianei,the man about whom we were talking. The following sentence, ka korero ahau ki te whakapakoko, literally means,I will talk to the image; it should have been, ka korerotiate whakapakoko. This usage, however, does not extend to all the prepositions; and, when some of them are understood, the verb will requireaiafter it. The following sentence, for example, is erroneous: te tangata e kainga ana te poaka,the man by whom the pig is eaten; it should beekaiana, orekainei, orekaingaai.
Constructions will not unfrequently be found in which the active form usurps the place of the passive, and vice versa; e. g., Ko tena kua hohoro tehoroi,let that be first washed; kuatahute kai o te kainga nei,the food of the settlement has been kindled, i. e., the oven is kindled for cooking; Kei teutato matou waka,our canoe is loading; Ko tehea tepatu?which is to be killed?ko tera kuapanganoa ake,that has been much longer on the fire: lit., has been thrown; taria ekawhakite poti,let not the boat be taken away (by you) for a while; he meatiki,a thing fetched; kua oti tekeri,it is finished, the being dug; meweroe koe,it must be(or,let it be)stabbed by you; ka timata tena whenua, tetua,that land has commenced(I mean)the being felled; kei reira, a Hone etanuana,there John (lies) buried;Ka te araitaku ahi e koe,my fire is being stopped up by you, i. e., you are intercepting the communication, &c.; kia rua nga waka ehoemai e koe,let there betwo canoes that will be paddled here by you. The following form is not frequent:—kei te atawhaitia,it the (pig) is being taken care of; kei te takina te kai,the food is being taken off (the fire). When ambiguity might arise from the object of the action being considered as theagent, the passive form is almost always used; e. g., ka poto nga tangata o reirate kitea,when all the men of that place have been seen; ka tata tena tangata te nehua,that man is near being buried.
Neuter Verbs which assume the passive form.—Some neuter verbs assume the passive form (1) without any material alteration of meaning; e. g., kahokiahe huanga,if it is come backwards and forwards to you, it is because I am a relation.[46](2.) Most frequently, however, they derive a transitive meaning from the change. Thus, in the example already adduced, page 50, horihori,to tell falsehoods; te mea i horihoria e koe he tangata,the thing which you erroneously said was a man. Again,—Tangi,to cry: te tupapaku etangihianei,the corpse which is being cried, i. e., which is the subject of the crying; he tangata haurangi,a mad person; te tangata i haurangitia nei,a person for whom another is bewildered.
[38]It is true that whenkuarepresents the pluperfect, or the priority of one action to another, it may be frequently found in connexion withko. But this, we think, is a further confirmation of the distinction for which we contend. For the expression "he had loved us" is clearly more definite than "he loved us,"—the former implying that that affection had been entertainedbefore some past act,—the latter simply affirming that it was entertained, without reference to any date.Kowe defined, page 106, as the article of specification and emphasis, and it is quite natural that it should be associated with a perfect to denote a pluperfect,—its office, in such a construction, being to point out the individual who may be emphatically said tohaveperformed the act—whose was the act which was antecedent, or past. The sentence "ko ia kua atawhai," meanshe is the person who was first kind. This emphatic use of the wordkohas been already illustrated under the head ofcomparison, adjectives; the sentence "kotenei te nui o nga rakau" meaningthis is the large one of the trees; i. e., this is the one of which we may (emphatically) say,It is large. So, also, in the following,—"akuaneikoHonekuatae," the meaning ispresently, it will be John who (emphatically)has gotthere; i. e., John will have got there first.[39]The student will see in this, and the other examples, that the noun, as is very usual in Maori, assumes the form of a verb. To translate literally such verbs into English is often impossible.[40]Following is a connected view of some of the principal means by which the defect of the substantive verb issupplied orimplied, in Maori: he kuri teneithisisa dog. Tenei a Hone,This is John. Tika rawa,it is very correct. Ki tewhaihau i te po nei,if there be wind in the night,&c.Ki tewahau, &c.,idem. Kaaiau hei kianga mai mau, Iam for an ordering for you, i. e., You find in me one that will obey, &c.Waiho, and sometimesmeinga, are often used instead ofai. Eaiki tana,it is according to his, i. e., as he affirms.The following form is worthy of notice, Rokohanga rawatanga atu e ahau,koRaiana!on my reaching (that place)therewasLion; rokohanga atu,kote tahi tangata o Taupo i Maungatautari e noho ana,when I got (there) there was a man of, &c.Taku hoenga ki rotokote waka o Hone,as I was paddling up the river, lo, there was the canoe of John, &c.Some foreigners, we observe, use tera taua for this form. We have never heard anything like it in Waikato.Hei teandki te(vid. page 62) will often, also, seem to lose their distinctive meaning in that of the verb substantive; e. g.,hei tepera me tou,let it be like yours.[41]It will also be recollected that the gerunds and participles will, in that language, often subserve the same office. Thus we have, ante domandum,before they are tamed; urit videndo,he burns when he looks; cum Epicurus voluptate metiens summum bonum,whereas Epicurus who measures the chief good by pleasure.[42]This is an exception to what we find in English, and other languages, the finite verb in them being very seldom found after an oblique case; i. e., after any case beside the nominative, unless the relative, or the personal pronoun with some conjunction, intervene. We may observe, also, that the verbal particles will be often prefixed to other words beside the verb; e. g., e kore koe e paikia maue hanga?Are you not willing that you should do it?kia mouai te kainga,that the land should be yours.[43]That the English language had once a similar tendency might, we think, be shewn by many examples. Thus we hear, "havepity on me," "haveher forth," "Ihaveremembrance of thee in my prayer." Many of our tenses, also, are formed by this auxiliary; e. g., "I have seen," "hehadgone," "I wouldhaveloved, &c." The frequent use, also, of this form in the Greek may be seen in Donnegan's Greek Lexicon, under "echo," to hold.[44]As the English language supplies but few illustrations of this mode of construction, we will here lay before the student some extracts from Professor Lee's Hebrew Grammar, as well to shew how much this usage obtains in Oriental languages, as to enable him to enter more readily into the subject. Professor L. says, page 328, "any writer commencing his narrative, will necessarily speak of past, present, or future events with reference to the period in which his statement is made." This, he says, is the "absoluteuse of the tense." Again, "A person may speak of those events with reference to some other period, or event, already introduced into the context. This is therelativeuse—Hence, a preterite connected with another preterite will be equivalent to our pluperfect; a present following a preterite to our imperfect, and so on." Again, page 330, "They, the Arabians, consider the present tense as of two kinds; one they term thereal present, which is what our grammarians always understand by thepresent tense. The other they termthe present as to the narration; by which they mean the time contemporary with any event, and which may therefore be considered as presentwith it, although past, present, or future with regard to therealorabsolutepresent tense." In page 334 is a good illustration from the Persian: "last night Igoto the house of a friend, and thereseea delightful assembly, andenjoya most pleasing spectacle." The student will see in the above example thatgo,see, andenjoy, arerelative presents, being presents tolast night, the time in which the speaker, in his imagination, now places himself. This mode of construction abounds in the O. and N. T., vid., for example, Mark xiv.,he saw Levi and says to him.Says, here, is present tosaw, though past to the time of the narration.[45]Note.—The student is recommended to notice the various forms contained in the preceding table, and to endeavour to add to them from his own observation. It would also be most useful to throw into one form all the various examples of simple and compound times that he will find in pages 37, 41, to 44, as well also as those contained in the preceding part of this chapter.[46]The passive verbs wheterongia, titahangia, &c., to which we allude, page 39, note, may, we think, on reflection, be most correctly reduced to this head.
[38]It is true that whenkuarepresents the pluperfect, or the priority of one action to another, it may be frequently found in connexion withko. But this, we think, is a further confirmation of the distinction for which we contend. For the expression "he had loved us" is clearly more definite than "he loved us,"—the former implying that that affection had been entertainedbefore some past act,—the latter simply affirming that it was entertained, without reference to any date.Kowe defined, page 106, as the article of specification and emphasis, and it is quite natural that it should be associated with a perfect to denote a pluperfect,—its office, in such a construction, being to point out the individual who may be emphatically said tohaveperformed the act—whose was the act which was antecedent, or past. The sentence "ko ia kua atawhai," meanshe is the person who was first kind. This emphatic use of the wordkohas been already illustrated under the head ofcomparison, adjectives; the sentence "kotenei te nui o nga rakau" meaningthis is the large one of the trees; i. e., this is the one of which we may (emphatically) say,It is large. So, also, in the following,—"akuaneikoHonekuatae," the meaning ispresently, it will be John who (emphatically)has gotthere; i. e., John will have got there first.
[39]The student will see in this, and the other examples, that the noun, as is very usual in Maori, assumes the form of a verb. To translate literally such verbs into English is often impossible.
[40]Following is a connected view of some of the principal means by which the defect of the substantive verb issupplied orimplied, in Maori: he kuri teneithisisa dog. Tenei a Hone,This is John. Tika rawa,it is very correct. Ki tewhaihau i te po nei,if there be wind in the night,&c.Ki tewahau, &c.,idem. Kaaiau hei kianga mai mau, Iam for an ordering for you, i. e., You find in me one that will obey, &c.Waiho, and sometimesmeinga, are often used instead ofai. Eaiki tana,it is according to his, i. e., as he affirms.
The following form is worthy of notice, Rokohanga rawatanga atu e ahau,koRaiana!on my reaching (that place)therewasLion; rokohanga atu,kote tahi tangata o Taupo i Maungatautari e noho ana,when I got (there) there was a man of, &c.Taku hoenga ki rotokote waka o Hone,as I was paddling up the river, lo, there was the canoe of John, &c.Some foreigners, we observe, use tera taua for this form. We have never heard anything like it in Waikato.Hei teandki te(vid. page 62) will often, also, seem to lose their distinctive meaning in that of the verb substantive; e. g.,hei tepera me tou,let it be like yours.
[41]It will also be recollected that the gerunds and participles will, in that language, often subserve the same office. Thus we have, ante domandum,before they are tamed; urit videndo,he burns when he looks; cum Epicurus voluptate metiens summum bonum,whereas Epicurus who measures the chief good by pleasure.
[42]This is an exception to what we find in English, and other languages, the finite verb in them being very seldom found after an oblique case; i. e., after any case beside the nominative, unless the relative, or the personal pronoun with some conjunction, intervene. We may observe, also, that the verbal particles will be often prefixed to other words beside the verb; e. g., e kore koe e paikia maue hanga?Are you not willing that you should do it?kia mouai te kainga,that the land should be yours.
[43]That the English language had once a similar tendency might, we think, be shewn by many examples. Thus we hear, "havepity on me," "haveher forth," "Ihaveremembrance of thee in my prayer." Many of our tenses, also, are formed by this auxiliary; e. g., "I have seen," "hehadgone," "I wouldhaveloved, &c." The frequent use, also, of this form in the Greek may be seen in Donnegan's Greek Lexicon, under "echo," to hold.
[44]As the English language supplies but few illustrations of this mode of construction, we will here lay before the student some extracts from Professor Lee's Hebrew Grammar, as well to shew how much this usage obtains in Oriental languages, as to enable him to enter more readily into the subject. Professor L. says, page 328, "any writer commencing his narrative, will necessarily speak of past, present, or future events with reference to the period in which his statement is made." This, he says, is the "absoluteuse of the tense." Again, "A person may speak of those events with reference to some other period, or event, already introduced into the context. This is therelativeuse—Hence, a preterite connected with another preterite will be equivalent to our pluperfect; a present following a preterite to our imperfect, and so on." Again, page 330, "They, the Arabians, consider the present tense as of two kinds; one they term thereal present, which is what our grammarians always understand by thepresent tense. The other they termthe present as to the narration; by which they mean the time contemporary with any event, and which may therefore be considered as presentwith it, although past, present, or future with regard to therealorabsolutepresent tense." In page 334 is a good illustration from the Persian: "last night Igoto the house of a friend, and thereseea delightful assembly, andenjoya most pleasing spectacle." The student will see in the above example thatgo,see, andenjoy, arerelative presents, being presents tolast night, the time in which the speaker, in his imagination, now places himself. This mode of construction abounds in the O. and N. T., vid., for example, Mark xiv.,he saw Levi and says to him.Says, here, is present tosaw, though past to the time of the narration.
[45]Note.—The student is recommended to notice the various forms contained in the preceding table, and to endeavour to add to them from his own observation. It would also be most useful to throw into one form all the various examples of simple and compound times that he will find in pages 37, 41, to 44, as well also as those contained in the preceding part of this chapter.
[46]The passive verbs wheterongia, titahangia, &c., to which we allude, page 39, note, may, we think, on reflection, be most correctly reduced to this head.
These have been considered at large in chapters 8, 9, 10, 11, and require now but little notice. We proceed to consider the prepositions which follow the verbs, and to offer a few other remarks respecting them.
Verbal postfixes.—An active verb will (as was observed page 60) takeiafter it, to denote the object of the action. Sometimes, however,kiwill be found to supply its place; e. g., mohiokia ia, mataukia ia, wehikia ia, whakaarokitena mea, karangakia ia, kua maukite pu,seized his gun. Whiwhikite toki,obtain an axe,&c.
Between these two prepositions, however, as verbal postfixes, there is often a very important difference; e. g., na ka whakatiki ahauia iakite kai,so I deprived him of food, i. e., I withheld food from him; na te aha koe i kaiponu aiito paraiketekia au?why did you withhold your blanketfromme?he pakeha hei whakawhiwhiia matoukite kakahu,an European to make us possess clothes; ki te hoko atuitaku poakakite tahi paraikete moku,to sell my pig for a blanket for myself. Europeans generallyemploymo, but erroneously. Sometimes other prepositions will occupy the place ofi; ka haere ahau ki te whangai i taku kete riwaimataku poaka,I will go feed my basket of potatoes for my pig, i. e., I will feed my pigs with my basket of potatoes; hei patu moku,to strike me with,—a form similar to hei patuia au.
Note.—Verbal nouns will take the same case as their roots. Occasionally no sign of case will follow the active verb, (1) when the verb is preceded by such auxiliaries as taea, pau, taihoa, &c., e. g., e kore e taea e ahau te hopu tena poaka,it cannot be accomplished by me (I mean) the catching that pig; or, e kore e taea tenapoakae au, tehopu. (2.) When the verb is preceded by the particleme, or by the prepositionsnaandma; e. g.,mehopute poakae koe,the pig must be caught by you;naku i hoputena,the having caught that (pig) was mine. To this rule, exceptions are sometimes heard.
Neuter Verbswill sometimes take an accusative case of the noun proper to their own signification; e. g., e karakia anai tana karakia,he is praying his prayers; e kakahu ana i ona,he is garmenting his clothes; i. e., is putting them on.
Note.—Considerable variation will be found in the prepositions which follow such verbs as heoi, ka tahi, &c.; e. g., heoi ano te koti painou,the only good coat is yours; ka tahi ano te koti pai,nou,idem; manawa te tangata korero teka,hepakeha (Taranaki),a European is the greatest person for telling falsehoods; ka tahi ano taku tangata kino,ko koe(orkia koe, orkeia koe); ka tahi ano tenei huarahi ka takahiakia koe,you are the first person who has trodden this path; if it had beenekoe, the meaning would have beenyou now for the firsttimewalk this road; often, also, the preposition will be omitted, and the noun put into the nominative; e. g., noho rawa atuhewhenua ke,settled in a foreign land; ka whakamoea atuhetangata ke,given in marriage to another man; te huihuinga mai o Mokau, o whea, o whea,kote Wherowhero,the musterings of Mokau, &c., &c., are to Wherowhero, i. e., Wherowhero is the grand object of interest.
Betweeniandkiwhen following neuter verbs, or adjectives, there is often a considerable difference; e. g., mateki,desirous of; matei,killed by; kaha ite kino,strongerthansin, i. e., overcoming it; kahakite kino,stronginsinning; ngakau korekitana kupu,disinclined to, &c.; ngakau korei,discouraged by.
Foreigners often err in the use of these, and other prepositions; e. g., i a iakireira,while he was there; it should be,ireira. E aha ana iakireira? What is he doing there? it should beireira. Katikikona; it should beikona. E mea ana ahau kia kaiite Onewhero,I am thinking of taking a meal at Onewhero; it should be,kite Onewhero. Hei a wai ranei te pono? hei a Maihi ranei, hei a Pita ranei?with whom is the truth? with Marsh or with Peter?it should be,Ia wai, &c. He aha te tikanga o taua kupu nei kei a Matiu?what is the meaning of that expression in Matthew?it should beia Matiu. Again,—kahore he meanote kainga nei hei kai,there is nothing in this settlement for food; it should be,ote kainga nei. Enei kupunote pukapuka,these words of the book; it should be,ote pukapuka. Ko nga mea katoanowaho,all the things outside; it should beowaho. He kahore urupaoKawhia i kawea mai ai ki konei?Was there no grave in Kawhia that you brought him here?it should be,noKawhia. Again,—he mea tikiitoku whare,a thing fetched from my house. The meaning of this, as it stands, is "a thing to fetch my house;" it should be,notoku whare, as in the following proverb: "he toka hapai mainonga whenua." In constructions like these, the agent will take eithereornabefore it, but most frequently the latter. In some tribes to the Southward of Waikato, the following form is in common use:—he pakeke ou,yours are hardnesses, i. e., you are a hard person; he makariri oku i te anu,I have colds from the cold (air). The singular formstouandtokuare mostlyused in Waikato, or the prepositionno; e. g., he pakekenou, and makaririnoku, ortoku.
Prepositions are sometimes used where a foreigner would expect a verbal particle; e. g.,Keite takoto a Hone,John is lying down;i temate ahau,I was poorly;Note tarai ahau i tena wahi,I have been hoeing that place. This form belongs chiefly to Ngapuhi. Ka tae te pakeke o te oneone nei! kahorei tekohatu! How hard this soil is! it is not at a stone, i. e., it is like a stone. Kahore ahaui tekite,I don't see. This last form is used chiefly in the districts Southward of Waikato.
Adverbs.—Most of the adverbs will (as was observed, page 85) assume the form of the word with which they are connected; e. g., rapumarie, rapuamarietia, rapungamarietanga,&c.In some districts, however, they will assume the form of the verbal noun, after the passive voice; e. g., rapua marietanga. Instances will, also, occasionally be found in all parts of the island in which they undergo no change; e. g., whiuapena,throw it in that direction. Whiuapenatiais,throw it in that manner.
Negative Adverbs.—Most of these will, when in connexion with the verb, take a verbal particle before, or after, them; e. g.,horerawakiapai; kahore i pai, or (sometimes), kahoreepai; kihaii[47]pai;ekoreepai; auaehaere, kianoihaere noa,ehara i a au,it is not mine, or,it is different from me(i. e., it was not I), &c.
Kihai iandkahore iare most frequently used indifferently one for the other. An experiencedspeaker will, however, we think, sometimes notice points of difference, and particularly thatkihai iis most frequently employed when reference is made to an act previous to a past act, andkahore iwhen some allusion is made to the present time. Thus, in the following sentence, nau i kai nga kaikihai nei itika kia kainga e te mea noa, we should preferkahore nei ito denotewhichwasnot, andisnot, lawful to be eaten by a person not tapu. In Waikato, haunga with kahore sometimes governs a genitive case; e. g.,Kahore haunga otena. Kahore, when it takes a possessive case after it, will require it to be in the plural number; e. g., Kahoreakumoni,I have no money, lit., there is a negativeness of my monies. So also the particleu, vid. page 93.
In answering a question, the answer will always be regulated by the way in which the question is put, e. g., Kahore i pai?ae;Was he not willing? Yes; i. e., Yes, he was not willing. If the answer was intended to be affirmative, the speaker would have said "I pai ano."