takitahi / takirua

One by One and in Pairs

Level 5

Place the grouping modifier after the activity verb, before closing ana.

How It Works

Takitahi describes individual or separate participation; takirua describes participation in pairs. In these activity constructions, the modifier follows the verb. With e … ana, it precedes closing ana: e kuhu takitahi ana, “entering individually”. Neither modifier changes its ending to agree with the participants.

Individual entry can mean entry one by one. Separate journeys, however, need not form an ordered procession. The activity and context determine whether successive timing is implied.

Contrast Tokorua ngā ākonga, “There are two students”, with students writing takirua, “in pairs”. Counting gives a total; grouping describes an arrangement. Other taki- formations require their own established meanings. These examples do not establish unrestricted prefix attachment.

Examples (3)

  1. E kuhu takitahi ana ngā manuhiri.

    The visitors are entering one by one.

    The grouping modifier occurs before ana.

  2. Kei te tuhi takirua ngā ākonga.

    The students are writing in pairs.

    Pairs describe the working arrangement, not the class total.

  3. I haere takitahi ngā kaiako ki te tari.

    The teachers went to the office individually.

    The teachers participated separately; their departure order is unspecified.

How It Connects

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

takitahi / takiruaLevel 5One by One and in Pairs

Learn This First

Describe how participants act individually or in pairs without changing their total number. Let the activity determine whether individual participation implies successive entry or merely separate journeys.