Tracking People Across a Text

Level 6

Context identifies a pronoun's referent; proximity alone does not.

How It Works

First establish the participants. Ia refers to one person without marking gender, rāua to two third persons, and rātou to three or more. First-person groups additionally distinguish whether addressees are included. The verb has no person or number agreement ending.

A later pronoun need not refer to the nearest name. Follow the developing situation; repeat a name when several participants could fit. Demonstratives can resume an established referent. Successive narrative predicates can omit a participant when that participant remains recoverable, but a subject change often needs explicit wording.

Complement structure also controls reference. E hiahia ana a Rui ki te kauhoe makes Rui the understood swimmer. E hiahia ana a Rui kia kauhoe a Maia gives the desired action a different subject. Shared-subject omission in the first construction does not license deleting participants from every connected clause.

Examples (3)

  1. I tae mai a Maia me tana kurī. Ka noho ia ki te kūaha.

    Maia arrived with her dog. She sat at the doorway.

    The intended referent of ia is Maia. The wording alone does not rule out reference to the dog; repeat Maia if clarification is needed.

  2. I haere a Rui rāua ko Wiki ki te awa. Kei reira rāua ināianei.

    Rui and Wiki went to the river. They are there now.

    Rāua resumes two people; reira resumes the established location.

  3. Ka uru a Kiri ki te toa, ka hoko i te parāoa. Ka tatari a Pāora ki waho.

    Kiri entered the shop and bought bread. Pāora waited outside.

    The omitted buyer is understood as Kiri; naming Pāora establishes the next subject.

How It Connects

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

Tracking People Across a TextLevel 6

Learn This First

Track established participants through names, pronouns and omissions, using construction and context rather than nearest-name selection.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.