ētahi ... ētahi

Some and Others

Level 5

Use ētahi in parallel clauses to contrast indefinite plural groups.

How It Works

Ētahi ... ētahi contrasts some members with others. Ētahi occupies the article position: ētahi tamariki does not additionally take ngā. It can also stand without a following noun when the group is recoverable. The examples contrast groups through parallel classifications.

Each clause retains its own predicate. The classification does not acquire a plural ending because its participants are plural. English “others” expresses the contrast; it need not mean every remaining member. Neither occurrence gives an exact number, and the pair does not by itself establish an exhaustive division. An exhaustive interpretation can nevertheless arise from context.

Compare He kaiako ngā manuhiri katoa, “All the visitors are teachers,” with the second example. The paired classifications distinguish groups within the visitors rather than classifying the entire set alike. Context establishes which members belong to each contrasted group.

Examples (3)

  1. He āporo whero ētahi; he āporo kākāriki ētahi.

    Some are red apples; others are green apples.

    Ētahi stands alone as the subject in two parallel classifications.

  2. He kaiako ētahi manuhiri; he tākuta ētahi manuhiri.

    Some visitors are teachers; others are doctors.

    Repeating the noun identifies the set whose groups are contrasted.

  3. He whare nui ētahi; he whare iti ētahi.

    Some are large houses; others are small houses.

    The classifications contrast size without specifying group counts.

How It Connects

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

ētahi ... ētahiLevel 5Some and Others

Learn This First

Use repeated indefinite phrases to contrast some members with others. The parallel claims specify neither exact group sizes nor an automatically exhaustive division.