Keeping on track with the kupu iti of te reo

There are thousands of verbs and nouns (collectively called base words) in te reo – and new words are continually being introduced.

Understanding the meaning of a few hundred provides quite a good basis for making progress with the language.

Turning, however, to the other major word-group – the particles or structural words – quite a different situation is encountered.

There are only about 55 of these kupu iti (‘‘little words’) in total, and new words are not added to this list.

Rather than any translation meaning it is the various functions of each particle that should be understood.

The number of particles is given as ‘‘about 55’’ because, where a particle of a certain spelling has different functions it is not always easy to determine whether the difference in function requires recognition of quite separate words.

If this seems confusing, the particle kei may serve as an example. In one context kei is a verb particle, suggesting ‘‘caution’’: Kia tūpato / kei hinga / koe. (‘‘Be careful, lest you fall.’’). In another context it may be a location preposition (‘‘at’’ in the present tense): Kei te kura / au / ināianei. (‘‘At the school / I / now.’’ = ‘‘I’m now at school.’’). Obviously, kei in the second sentence is quite a different word to the kei in the first.

Similarly, the preposition a (one of the words for ‘‘of’’) must be considered a distinctly separate word from the personal article a, which has no parallel in English, and is placed before names and pronouns in certain circumstances: Ekōrero ana / a Rewi. (‘‘Rewi is talking.’’); Hōmai / te waiora / ki a au. (‘‘Give / the water of life / to me.’’).

The conjunction me (‘‘and’’) as in ngā pukapuka / me ngā pene (‘‘books and pens’’) is a different word from the verb particle me, which signifies something ought to occur: Me haere / au. (‘‘I should go.’’)

But, with some particles, especially e, i and ki, it’s not always easy to determine exactly how many distinct words should be identified (as opposed to simply how many different functions of the same word):

Kia ora / e hoa! (‘‘G’day mate!’’) E Hone / haere mai! (‘‘Hey Johnny, come on over!’’). In both these instances e is clearly the ‘‘particle of address’’, used preceding words of no more than one long or two short vowels. It would seem to be the same word, functioning only slightly differently, in instructions such as E tū. (‘‘Stand up.’’) or E noho. (‘‘Take a seat.’’).

More to come on this topic.

There are only about 55 particles or kupu iti (‘‘little words’’) in total, and new words are not added to this list.