te ... a / o

A Possessor After the Noun

Level 2

A possessor can follow the possessed noun.

How It Works

Te pukapuka a Mere is Mere’s book. Te whare o Mere is Mere’s house. The possessor follows the possessed item instead of using an English apostrophe ending.

The personal name follows a or o directly here. In a nested phrase, each possessive link makes its own category choice. Do not copy the category from a nearby possessive without checking which two things it connects.

Examples (3)

  1. Kei konei te pukapuka a Mere.

    Mere’s book is here.

  2. He nui te whare o Wiremu.

    Wiremu’s house is big.

  3. Kei te kura ngā tamariki a Hana.

    Hana’s children are at school.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

te ... a / oLevel 2A Possessor After the Noun

Learn This First

Place the possessor after the possessed noun phrase and let each a/o link express its own relationship. Names follow the possessive marker directly, and nested possession requires interpreting each link separately.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.