Exercise Three
Dual personal pronouns
You will notice that there are differences between personal pronouns in the English language and those used in the Māori language. In Māori the same words are used regardless of the gender of the person or people referred to. In Māori, there is a separate set of personal pronouns used to refer to two people. These are called “dual personal pronouns”. These dual personal pronouns are kōrua, rāua, māua and tāua. Different words are used by the speaker to indicate whether the listener(s) or speaker are included or not.
| Includes the speaker and the listener(s) | Excludes the listener(s) | Excludes the speaker | Includes neither the speaker or listener(s) | |
| Dual personal pronoun | tāua we, us, you and I | māua we, us, but not you | kōrua you two | rāua they, them |
Whiriwhirihia te kupu tika mō ia āputa.
Choose the correct word for every gap.
Don’t forget to use commas, question marks, and fullstops and macrons where appropriate (ā,ē,ī,ō, and ū).
Tēnā
Greetings (to 2 people)
Kei te haere
Where are we (you and I) going?
Kei te haere
She and I are going to the shop
Kei te haere
Te Hererīpene and I are going to the picture theatre.
Kei te haere a Wiremu
Wiremu and Tarati are going to Mīria’s house.
Me haere
Shall we (you and I) go and eat?
Kei te haere
Are you two going to the museum?
Kei te pai
Are those two okay?
Kei te aha
What are you two doing?
Kei te hiakai
He and I are hungry.
Me noho
We must stay here.
Kei te moe a Te Hererīpene
Te Hererīpene and Eruera are sleeping.