Ngā Tohutohu
He whakamārama
In Chapters 1 to 3 of the textbook you practised several uses of the words a and o (of). Let’s add some other types of things to help you learn which of these two words you should use. Objects that the possessor can carry (apart from things associated with the body) take the a category, e.g. books, tables, bags, pets and animals. The possessor has control over these, hence the a category, e.g. te pēke a Hoani (John’s bag); he mōkai nā taku tamaiti (a pet of my child). The word for farm, pāmu, also takes a because it refers to the crops and animals, e.g. te pāmu a Ngāti Porou (Ngāti Porou’s farm).
By contrast, immovable property such as land, buildings, schools, universities and towns take o, e.g. ngā whenua o te iwi (the tribe’s land). All forms of transport, including a horse for that purpose, also take o, e.g. te hōiho o Mikaere Wāka (Michael Walker’s horse). The reason these all take o is because the possessors rely on these things for shelter or to carry them.
The following exercise will give you further practice in the various uses of a and o that have been covered so far in the first four chapters of this workbook, the textbook and the recorded exercises.
Whiriwhiria te kupu ‘a’, te kupu ‘o’ rānei e tika ana hei whakakī i ngā ango.
