e ... ana

A Relative Activity

Level 4

Head noun + e + predicate phrase + ana + remaining participants.

How It Works

Place e before the predicate phrase and ana after its verbal modifiers. When the head supplies the subject, leave that subject unexpressed inside the relative. Objects retain their ordinary marking. A passive relative describes an affected subject and can name the actor in an e phrase.

Compare E waiata ana ngā kōtiro, “The girls are singing”, with ngā kōtiro e waiata ana, “the girls who are singing”. The second embeds the activity in a noun description. A place head can also precede this pattern while the activity retains a separate subject.

The activity is ongoing relative to context, allowing English “was” or “were” in a past setting. There is no person or number agreement. In the progressive circumstance-relative pattern, do not add linking ai or a deictic immediately after ana. A deictic modifying a following noun phrase is separate.

Examples (3)

  1. I whakarongo mātou ki ngā kōtiro e waiata ana.

    We listened to the girls who were singing.

    Mātou excludes the listener; the main clause supplies past context.

  2. He reka te kai e tunua ana e Rangi.

    The food that Rangi is cooking is tasty.

    The food supplies the passive subject; e Rangi names the cook.

  3. He mahana te kīhini e tunu ana a Mere.

    The kitchen where Mere is cooking is warm.

    The kitchen supplies the location; a Mere supplies the subject.

How It Connects

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

e ... anaLevel 4A Relative Activity

Learn This First

Develop ongoing noun descriptions by distinguishing an omitted head subject, an affected passive head and a location head with a separately expressed subject. Recover the activity's time from context and preserve the progressive circumstance pattern without adding an immediate ai or deictic.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.