Exercise Three
Plural possessive determiners part 2
In Kōwae 9 you have started to learn how to use plural possessive determiners, when only one thing is being possessed. Now it is time to learn and practise the plural possessive determiner forms when more than one thing is possessed. All the rules of plural possessive determiners apply except now we omit the first t to indicate that there is more than one thing possessed. Remember if the t is retained then only one thing is possessed, but when it is omitted there is more than one thing possessed. See the table below for the full set of plural possessive determiners and the following examples for further explanations:
| Includes the speaker and listener(s) | Excludes the listener(s) | Not the speaker | Neither the speaker nor listener(s) | |
| Three people or more | ā tātou/ō tātou yours and my, ours | ā mātou/ō mātou theirs and my, ours | ā koutou/ō koutou your | ā rātou/ō rātou their |
Here are some more examples to illustrate the use of plural possessive determiners utilising the ā and ō categories.
| Kei hea tō tātou waka? | Where is our vehicle? |
| Kei te aha tā rātou kurī? | What is their dog doing? |
| Kei hea ō tātou waka? | Where are our vehicles? |
| Kei te aha ā rātou kurī? | What are their dogs doing? |
Notice the differences between a plural possessive sentence when only one thing is being possessed compared to the examples using plural possessives when more than one thing is being possessed. The t is omitted to indicate that there is more than one vehicle and dog.
You must use your ā and ō categories with plural possessives to establish the relationship between the possessor and the thing being possessed. Remember if the possessor has control of the relationship or is dominant, active or superior to what is being possessed then the ā category is used. If the possessor has no control of the relationship or is subordinate, passive or inferior to what is possessed then the ō category is used, as shown in the following examples.
| Nō hea ō koutou mātua? | Where are your parents from? |
| Nō Taranaki ō mātou mātua. | Our parents are from Taranaki. |
| Kua kite koe i ā tātou mokopuna? | Have you seen our grandchildren? |
| Kāore anō mātou kia kite i ā koutou mokopuna. | We haven't seen your (3+) grandchildren. |
| He taora ō rātou mō te haerenga? | Do they have some towels for the journey? |
| He kai ā rātou hoki? | Do they also have some food? |
For further explanations and examples see Te Kākano pp. 52-56, 140-142; Te Kākano CDs Mahi 51-54; and Te Aka.
Whiriwhirihia te kupu tika hei whakakī i ngā āputa.
Kei wareware ki te whakamahi i ngā piko, ngā tohu pātai, ngā kopi me ngā tohutō i ngā wāhi e tika ana.
Kua tae mai
Your (3+) mother has arrived, Neihana.
E mōhio ana koe ki
Do you know our (their and my) names?
Mā runga pahi rātou haere ai ki
They (3+) go by bus to their jobs.
Kei hea
Where are their (2) children?
Nāu
Was it you who returned our (their and my) keys?
Kei te haere mai
Are your (3+) parents coming?
Kei Ōtepoti
Our (his and my) grandchildren live in Dunedin now.
Ko wai
Who are your grandparents?
E moko, haria mai
Grandchild, bring us our (your and my) chairs.
Ā hea mātou haere ai ki
When will we go to our (their and my) new school ,mum?