The Passive: -ʻia
ʻIa after a verb makes the receiver of the action the topic of the sentence.
How It Works
Compare the two sentences.
| Active | Passive |
|---|---|
| Heluhelu ke keiki i ka puke. The child reads the book. | Heluhelu ʻia ka puke. The book is read. |
In the passive, i goes away because the book is now the subject. ʻIa stays next to the verb. A time marker, such as ua, goes before the verb. The passive is handy for saying what happened without saying who did it.
Some writers join ʻia to the verb as one word, and some write it apart. Both appear in print. This course writes it as a separate word.
Examples (4)
- Kuke ʻia ka moa.
The chicken is cooked.
ʻIa follows the verb and ka moa is the subject.
- Kākau ʻia ka leka.
The letter is written.
No doer is named.
- Inu ʻia ka wai.
The water is drunk.
The same pattern works with a short verb.
- Heluhelu ʻia ka puke.
The book is read.
Compare the active Heluhelu ke keiki i ka puke.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The passive turns the object into the subject and drops the object marker.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice The Passive: -ʻia in Bubblegum
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