noa

Without Restriction

Level 3

The complete expression determines the useful English meaning.

How It Works

Puta noa i expresses distribution throughout an area. Tae noa ki extends a range up to an endpoint; mai i can introduce its beginning. With a quantity, noa iho can mean “only” or “merely.” These patterns have no person or number agreement.

Compare E whā ngā tūru, “There are four chairs,” with E whā noa iho ngā tūru, “There are only four chairs.” The second presents four as a limited quantity. That differs from geographic “throughout” and temporal “until.”

The geographic example below is a prepositional fragment. Bauer also records noatia with a passive predicate; this modifier form does not establish a universal freely-or-casually meaning for every verb.

Examples (3)

  1. E whā noa iho ngā tūru.

    There are only four chairs.

    Noa iho presents the quantity as limited.

  2. Puta noa i te motu.

    Throughout the country.

    A fragment expressing geographic extent.

  3. I tatari rāua tae noa ki te poutūmārō.

    They both waited until noon.

    Tae noa ki marks the endpoint of the waiting.

How It Connects

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

noaLevel 3Without Restriction

Learn This First

Introduce noa through complete combinations: noa iho with a count, puta noa i for geographic extent and tae noa ki for an endpoint. Their different relationships require different English renderings.