In this lesson, we will learn the complement of means and agent in Tahitian.
This lesson follows on from the lesson: Prefixes and suffixes in Tahitian – Faa, Haa, Raa, Hia – Tei hea.
The complement of means in Tahitian
What is it again?
The complement of means is used to specify by what means, by what tool the action is carried out.
The object is to answer the question: with what?
It can be: a tool, a utensil, a part of the body, an instrument, a means of transport.
Let’s illustrate with an example:
| Type of complement |
Example | Complement of means in the example |
| Tool | I dug a hole with the shovel | The shovel is a complement of means |
| Utensil | I eat the fish with the fork | The fork is a complement to means |
| Part of the body | I saw it with my eyes | My eyes are complement of means |
| Instrument | I play on the guitar | The guitar is a complement to means |
| Means of transport | I am going to Papeete by motorbike | Motorbike is a complement of means |
With our examples, we notice that in English, the complement of means is announced by on, with, or by .
In Tahitian, how is this constructed?
It results in the use of the particle i:
| Function | Detail | Grammatical construction |
| Complement of means – particle i | Specify by what means, by what tool the action is carried out | VERB + (SUBJECT) + I + COMPLEMENT OF MEANS |
Let’s illustrate with examples:
| Type of supplement |
English | Tahitian |
| Tool | I dug a hole with a shovel | Ua ô (vau) i te âpoo i te ope |
| Utensil | I eat the fish with the fork | E ‘amu (vau) i te i’a i te pātia |
| Part of the body | I saw it with my eyes | Ua ‘ite (au) ia na i ta’u mata |
| Instrument | I play on the guitar | E faata’i i te tītā |
| Moving means | I am going to Papeete by motorbike | Tē haere nei au i Papeete i te mōtō |
The vocabulary
The new vocabulary
| Tahitian | English |
| Ô | To dig, to shell (coconut), hemorrhoids |
| Te âpoo | The hole, the fault, the cavity, the ravine |
| Puta | The hole (in a bag for example), to be pierced, to be pricked |
| Te ope | The shovel |
| Faata’i | To play an instrument |
| Te tītā | The guitar |
The already known vocabulary
Here is the vocabulary already known, it appears in green in the text:
- Ua, E, Tē… nei for the construction of time:
- Vau, au and ‘o na: Introduce yourself in Tahitian – I, you, he – Vau, au – Who
- Ia na: Me, you, him in Tahitian – it is me, with me, for me, at my home, by me
- The particle i:
- The article te: A, the in Tahitian – Te, te mau – Tāne, vahine
| Tahitian | English |
| ‘Amu | To eat, to consume |
| Te i’a | The fish |
| Te pātia | The fork |
| ‘Ite | To see, to know |
| Te mata | The eye |
| Haere | To go, to come, to evolve, to become |
| Te mōtō | The motorbike |
The complement of agent in Tahitian
What is it again?
The complement of agent is used to specify by whom the action was carried out.
The object is to answer the question: by whom?
It can be: a personal pronoun subject (I, you, he) or a proper noun.
In Tahitian, how is this constructed?
It results in the use of the particle e:
| Function | Detail | Grammatical construction |
| Complement of agent – particle e | Specify by whom the action was carried out | VERB + (SUBJECT) + E + COMPLEMENT OF AGENT |
Let’s illustrate with examples:
| English | Tahitian |
| I dug a hole with the shovel | Ua ô (vau) i te âpoo i te ope |
| The hole was dug with the shovel by me | Ua ôhia te âpoo i te ope e vau |
| Hina ate the cake | Ua ‘amu’ o Hina i te faraoa momona |
| The cake was eaten by Hina | Ua ‘amuhia te faraoa momona e Hina |
The new vocabulary
| Tahitian | English |
| Te faraoa momona | The cake, the pie |
To remember
Here is the most important table to remember for this lesson:
| Function | Detail | Grammatical construction |
| Complement of means – particle i | Specify by what means, by what tool the action is carried out | VERB + (SUBJECT) + I + COMPLEMENT OF MEANS |
| Complement of agent – particle e | Specify by whom the action was carried out | VERB + (SUBJECT) + E + COMPLEMENT OF AGENT |
And the rest?
With this lesson, we have just learned how to build the complement of means and agent in Tahitian. And also, we learned 18 vocabulary words and expressions.