tāu / tōu

Your with a and O Possession

Level 2

Tāu and tōu mean your for one item and one possessor.

How It Works

Tāu pene identifies one pen belonging to one addressee. Tōu whare identifies one house. Both forms include a long vowel and refer to a singular possessor.

Neutral tō, as in tō ingoa, must accompany a noun. Do not confuse it with tō before a nonsingular possessor, such as tō tātou whare. The complete phrase tells you which system is in use.

Examples (3)

  1. Kei hea tāu pene?

    Where is your pen (one addressee)?

  2. He nui tōu whare.

    Your house is big (one addressee).

  3. Ko wai tō ingoa?

    What is your name (one addressee)?

How It Connects

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

tāu / tōuLevel 2Your with a and O Possession

Learn This First

Change the possessor to one addressee while retaining the marked category contrast. Introduce noun-accompanying neutral tō and explain that its complete phrase distinguishes it from tō followed by a nonsingular possessor pronoun.