te / ngā with quantity

Number and Noun Phrases

Level 2

Kotahi te pouaka counts one box; ngā kete e rua identifies the two baskets.

How It Works

A basic counting clause places its number predicate first: Kotahi te pouaka, ‘There is one box’, or E rua ngā pouaka, ‘There are two boxes’. The article belongs to the counted noun phrase. In these definite patterns, te marks the singular item and ngā the plural group.

A number can instead follow the noun within a phrase: ngā pouaka e rua, ‘the two boxes’. Compare E rua ngā pouaka, which states their count, with Kei konei ngā pouaka e rua, which states where the two boxes are.

Most noun bases do not change, but established lexical plurals remain necessary, including tamaiti / tamariki. Postnominal counts can also follow nouns with possessive determiners. Article selection therefore follows the whole noun phrase; a number does not automatically require inserting te or ngā beside another determiner.

Examples (3)

  1. Kotahi te pouaka.

    There is one box.

    The count precedes a singular noun phrase.

  2. E rua ngā kete.

    There are two baskets.

    The number predicate asserts the quantity.

  3. Kei konei ngā kete e rua.

    The two baskets are here.

    The number modifies the noun within the subject phrase.

How It Connects

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

te / ngā with quantityLevel 2Number and Noun Phrases

Learn This First

Contrast asserting a quantity with identifying a counted group: E rua ngā kete versus ngā kete e rua. The article belongs to the noun phrase, and adding a count does not require inserting another article beside a possessive determiner.